ICTs are not a 'quick technological fix' for the world's problems. Rather they can offer benefits in specialised areas - by giving access to information (when frequently information equates to power); by enabling the rapid dissemination of information; and by giving people and communities access to those with power and influence.

Big World believes that ICT solutions need to meet the following criteria if they are to have a tangible beneficial impact on poor communities:

* meet genuine needs: are demand-led (by community), rather than technology-driven (which risks introducing financial and technological dependencies)

* be sustainable (in installation, maintenance, on-going development, financially).

* be relevant to felt needs and demands of local people (rather than a visible icon of economic development for the benefit of donors and commercial interests)

* be appropriate to the local context (social, economic and cultural) in all aspects

* promote community participation, by involving beneficiaries and other stakeholders (eg ngos, csos, local government etc) at every stage wherever possible

* be integrated within the community - not foisted upon it from outside

* be sufficiently robust to survive weather conditions, poor transport and everyday use

* be flexible to meet the changing needs of communities

* be scaleable so as to increase usage or output with increasing demand

* be based wherever possible on open standards and sources (as opposed to proprietary systems) so that applications may be adapted freely as needs change; and may be replicated by different organisations in different contexts

The digital revolution is creating new winners and losers at unprecedented speed. Many African nations (especially sub-Saharan), who may attract little commercial investment, risk total exclusion in the new emerging knowledge economy.

Big World recognises the importance of formally learning from our experience and others and aims to incorporate appropriate evaluation and impact assessment methodologies in our work. This will enable us to share our successes (and failures) with others, to measure the longer-term impact of ICTs on different communities, and to contribute to the growing body of understanding internationally in this area.