Abstract
This paper reviews and analyzes government e-service delivery through Union Digital Centers (UDCs), being identified as telecenters. With the emergence of e-governance, e-services delivery has become expedited across different countries in the world including Bangladesh to foster socio-economic development. However, the concept of ‘digital divide’ or ‘digital gap’ limits the ultimate success of e-delivery services by increasing the gap between rich and poor. In connection to the digital gap, literature evidence that telecenters have largely failed to reach targeted hardcore poor. This research has used a survey technique to collect data from 383 respondents located at 14 different UDCs and seven divisions. The findings of the paper contemplate a positive response in terms of availability, cost, convenience, and delivery of services. Nevertheless, strengthening the approach of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) remains a necessity to reach the success goal in e-governance. This study would be particularly helpful for practitioners or government policy-making agencies to identify perceptions on e-services at root level. Keywords: telecenters, e-governance, e-service delivery, socio-economic development, public-private partnership, Bangladesh DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-2-12
Highlights
The global tools of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have impacted our life in terms of carrying out personal and social communication and networking
This paper examines the characteristics of the Union Digital Centers (UDCs) and its users, and explores the perceptions of the service receivers to identify if UDCs are playing any significant role in reducing digital gap in rural Bangladesh
Most of the visitors are in the 16-25 age group (40%) closely followed by the 26-40 age group (30%)
Summary
The global tools of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have impacted our life in terms of carrying out personal and social communication and networking. Digital gap can be promoted by an uneven distribution of computer access and skills biases (Bélanger and Carter, 2006) It can be observed in connection with the ability of a government referred to make their online services accessible and beneficial (Warschauer, 2004). Cullen (2003) describes the digital divide as 'the gap that exists in most countries between those with ready access to the tools, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and those without such access or skills. This is identifiable in reference to a developing country such as Bangladesh, where still a large number of people living below the poverty line. Dixit (2009: 281) has argued that the telecenters provide opportunities to improve communication and reconnect citizens to the state offering greater access to information and group-based discussion
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