Harnessing the potential of ICT for collective empowerment amongst the urban underserved communities

The PhD research focuses on two issues of actuality in information and communication technology for Development (ICT4D) research: the role of ICTs in cultivating collective empowerment and the place of private and public access to ICTs in relation to development. The project seeks to relate these two streams from a perspective that shifts the focus from the individual to the collectivity, by addressing the question: How can ICT (and in particular the integration of mobile and public access services) contribute to the collective empowerment of underserved urban communities? The study is framed within the capability approach drawing on the writings of Sen (1999) and later scholars who expanded his work with attention to collective and relational dimensions of agency, capabilities and empowerment (Foster and Handy, 2008; Stewart, 2005). The methodological framework is shaped by a design-based research approach, rooted in exploratory ethnography (Madden, 2010) and emergent design (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).