Urban action plan

8/14/2019 Urban action plan

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USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF

URBAN POOR AN ACTION AGENDA

Somnath Bandyopadhyay

Abstract

Communities in urban slums are poor in fiscal terms but are rich in terms of a variety ofskills. Information technology can help in generating better market value for servicesrendered using these skills. In addition, IT can play a major role in enhancement ofknowledge and specialised skills at a relatively cheap rate.

While IT is a useful catalyst for leap-frogging the developmental process, the core of theissue is development of human resources. The development and strengthening of

community based organisations (CBOs) at every slum is advocated. In addition, amechanism for micro-enterprise ventures for marketing of services through the use ofinformation technology is also suggested. These information service companies (ISCos)will become the fulcrum for the economic development of the slum communities and

their faster integration into the urban milieu.

A five-year action agenda has been suggested for the urban centres of Gujarat, with afocus on these two local institutions. The action points for the first three years includesurveys, database development, need assessment, setting up of the infrastructure andleasing it and orientation and training of communities to prepare them for theinformation age. The action points for the next two years include mainly technicalassistance to these two institutions and their capacity building.

Keywords: development, communities, information, marketing, services, training,networking, governance.

Introduction (What is needed?)

Urban areas have the potential to generate wealth. The poor in the urban areasare generally those who migrate from the rural areas in search of improved

livelihood opportunities. The fact that most choose to stay on is a pointer to thefact that they do perceive an improvement in their living conditions comparedto the other option available to them return to the villages.

Another important conclusion may be safely drawn from the continued presenceof urban poor his ability to specialise and integrate with the urban economy.

Either he hones up his existing skills or he picks up new skills, or both, in orderto provide specialised services in an economy that is discerning enough to beable to keenly value these.

The earlier stages of our economic development have focused on restrictingmigration of the rural poor to the urban centres. Realisation has now dawnedthat this is not viable. The focus needs to shift to the development of an

enabling environment that will lead to a faster integration.

Rather than considering slum communities as a mere vote-bank, at best, or a

breeding ground of anti-social elements, at worst, these communities need to beregarded as a pluralistic resource-bank that provide vital support to themainstream development of the cities and, with some support, has the potential

to radically transform the overall economic scenario.


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Setting the agenda (What should be the focus?)

A strategy to empower the urban poor through improved economic integrationwill be based on recognition of the potentials, an assessment of the possibilities

and a realistic evaluation of the present policies. Some of the basic elements ofthis strategy, where IT can be an important tool, will be mechanisms formarketing of services, enhancement of skills and participation in developmentprogrammes.

Marketing of services: The entire range of services, such as those of domestichelp, plumber, carpenter, mason, electrician, barber, rickshawdriver etc.,

can be made available in a value-added mode through a computeriseddatabase. These are the services that are increasingly assumingsignificance in the modern economy. While consultants, catering industry

and even beauty parlours, have been recognised as service sectorindustries and have been brought under the service-tax net, we generallyfail to recognise the services of the unorganised sector delivered byindividuals who generally live in the poorer sections of the urban

conglomerates. Creating a market by providing consumers with a range ofspecialised services to choose from will benefit all sections of thecommunity.

Enhancement of skills: Since improved services will mean better economicreturns, there will be an automatic demand for skill enhancement. People

will be willing to pay for training and education that will equip them withbetter, more relevant and more specialised skills. This means that theybecome consumers of an emergent knowledge market which providerelevant and focused training. Ultimately, a competitive market based on

continuous enhancement of knowledge and specialisation of services willprovide the basis of sustained economic development.

Participation in development programmes: The urban poor is often deprived ofbasic municipal services such as drinking water supply and sanitation,access to infrastructure such as roads and power supply and basic human

development programmes like health care and education. While thegovernment deems most of these settlements as illegal, proper markets

are also not created because such services demand a degree of guaranteefrom the residents, normally not available from the ephemeral populace

in these localities. A lasting solution is possible only if the governmentlegally recognises the existing individual ownership of land and property.Since this is beyond the civil society, the second best option is to develop

peoples institutions that provide counter-guarantees to developmentalinitiatives either in the form of operation and maintenance (O&M) ofinfrastructure facilities or in the form of collective payments which aremore secure and easy to manage.

Elements of the action plan (What is the road-map?)

Information technology (IT) has the potential to play a key role in translatingthis agenda into a viable action programme. The basic steps will include thedevelopment of a database that is wide in scope and deep in content, setting up

a network for easy access and evaluation of comparable data and professionalmanagement that maximises economic returns.

Development of database: An urban slum profile is created through the

development of a detailed database on the human resources and thephysical infrastructure. The data on human resources will focus onindividual skills and professional abilities. Aggregation will be available atthe household level and the entire slum level. Data on physical

infrastructure will be available at the slum level, to be linked to thehousehold level at a later date.


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The development of the database on human resources will begin with thecensus records and the voters list their verification and validation and move on towards details on individuals. Data on health will be most

important, particularly for children below the age of fifteen, and willinclude medical history pertaining to vaccination, major diseases and anyknown genetic traits. In addition, reproductive health data for womenbetween the age group of 15-45 will be collected and collated. At the

social level, incidences of malaria, water-borne, air-borne and otherspecific health hazards will be documented.

Data on education will not be restricted only to the formal mode, but alsoassess the skill levels acquired through experience and other non-formalmodes of learning. Relating this to livelihood, in terms of nature of work,

mode of operation and available references, will be a more precisemethod of assessing the knowledge level. Given the fact that a largenumber of individuals in this country are under-employed, rather thanunemployed, it is also necessary to probe for skills that are not self-

evident to the individuals themselves, e.g. traditional songs, dances,handicraft etc.

Data on physical infrastructure will include details on roads, water supply,

drainage, electricity etc. In addition, details of the available publicfacilities like health centres, educational institutions etc. are important.An important aspect will be the details on cost both capital as well asrecurring of infrastructure. Related to the costs will be the institutional

mechanisms for meeting these expenses. The role of civic authorities,peoples representatives and funding agencies need to be spelt out clearlywith regard to each available infrastructure in a particular slum area.

Networking of information: This is needed at three different levels the intra-community network, the slum-city network and the worldwide network.

The intra-community network will seek to enhance the basic awareness ofthe communities regarding developmental programmes, their costs and

management framework. Community ownership and decentralisedmanagement mechanisms will lead to reduced transaction costs at themacro level while ensuring better utilisation of facilities at the microlevel. Transparency in adherence to norms developed by thecommunities, particularly with respect to the payment of individual usercharges, will be a major disincentive for default. On the economic front,

individuals will have the option to pool their resources in order togenerate better opportunities. Even from the social perspective, objectiveinformation will replace half-baked information and gossip, thus leading

to better decision-making in issues such as marriage.

The slum-city network will seek to improve the marketing of services

available from the slum areas by increasing the reliability of the services,improving valuation through an evaluation of the services and raising thestandards of services by inducing competition. Registration of the serviceproviders at the community level and referrals from previous clients will

go a long way to provide reliability of the services offered somethingthat becomes a major bottleneck in an economic transaction in the urbansetting. The prospect of positive reference from a client, especially in a

competitive environment, will ensure higher quality of services. Thus, thesystem will work through a set of positive feedback that will ensureproper valuation of services and a constant effort towards increasedvalue-addition.

The world-wide network may seem redundant in the initial stages.However, it is a low-cost option that offers a fabulous choice to the

enterprising individuals to explore larger vistas. Increased global


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awareness is also likely to bring about an impetus for faster developmentthrough the use of innovative strategies. Also, the internationaldevelopmental agencies are more likely to assist such communities, since

these are more visible, lend themselves to independent evaluation andare transparent in their operations.

Management of information: In the information age, management of information

has to be a profit-making business venture a challenging task indeedgiven the poor understanding of what constitutes valued information,particularly in the context of the urban poor.

The basic information has to be detailed, multi-sectoral and free. It is the

depth and the breadth of this database that will determine the success ofa business model based on value-added services thereafter. This criticalstep needs imaginative leadership, professional management and

financial resources. The investments are bound to be front heavy and thereturns will only start trickling after some time-gap.

The value-added services will be in the form of facilitating transactions,providing customised information and back-end services. Each successfultransaction, be it hiring a rickshaw or hiring a domestic help, will entail a

service charge levied on either the provider or the consumer, or both.

Even before an actual transaction, a consumer might like to obtain acomparative statement of the various service providers in a particular

manner, which may merit an additional payment. Development of skillsthrough specialised training programmes, obtaining feedback fromconsumers for use as future references and other forms of documentationwill constitute some of the back-end services.

Operationalising the action agenda (How to go about?)

There will be two clear phases of operation: the first needs heavy investment in

terms of human and infrastructure development while the second needseffective governance and technical assistance.

Phase I (0-3 years): A competent development agency is an absolute pre-

requisite to spearhead the process. In the present context, it could eitherbe a professional NGOs or socially oriented business establishment, orboth, in order to bring in the financial resources, management skills andsocial sensitivity. The major action points in this phase will include:

Survey and data collection may be done by a professional agency, incollaboration with the spearhead agency. There are three major sub-

components (i) human resources, (ii) civic amenities and infrastructureand (iii) policies, programmes and institutional set-ups. Government andcivic records, group interviews and questionnaire surveys, and

mechanisms for volunteering information will have to be used. Activeparticipation of local persons, preferably those who would later play animportant role in managing the information kiosk, would be important.

Assessment of needs maybe done through a competent market-researchagency, along with the spearhead agency. The assessment will seek toexplore the nature and diversity of services required, degree of skillsdemanded and willingness to pay.

Development of the database application is another specialised activityrequiring the involvement of professional software developers. Ease of

operation, flexibility of analysis and ease of enhancement are some of thekey features, necessary for success. In addition, managing transactions,either through registrations or payments, or both, will have to be secure,swift and simple.


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Orientation and training of communities, preferably through a hands-onapproach, in collecting, using and updating of information. A variety oftraining modules could be designed some aimed towards imparting

general understanding and use of IT by the entire community, and someaimed towards development of entrepreneurial skills for a few selectmembers who would then be able to sustain the business model, either ontheir own or through partnership ventures. The spearhead agency, in

collaboration with specialised agencies, will have to conduct theseprogrammes.

Setting up of infrastructure, including an information booth a kiosk inevery slum area that will house not only the computer systems, but also ablackboard and a notice board. The amount of electronic resources,

including bandwidth, will be assessed separately by professionalsdeveloping the database application.

Leasing out of the infrastructure to entrepreneurs, on the basis of normsdeveloped by the spearhead agency, in consultation with the CBOs.

Policy/ institutional support, in the form of incentives to establish micro-enterprise ventures in urban slums, facilitation in data collection and networking

and legal support to the CBOs, will provide a major boost to the process and

add to its sustainability.

There is already a favourable climate for the establishment of business venturesin Gujarat. Apart from the general entrepreneurial skills available, there arespecialised institutes like the Enterprise Development Institute (EDI), Institute

of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) and Lokbharati (Sanosara) that trainprofessional managers and development specialists. Tax and other incentivesare often given to the manufacturing sector on a routine basis. One could,therefore, push for both fiscal as well as non-fiscal incentives to such micro-

enterprise ventures in urban slums of Gujarat, preferably in partnership withlocal persons, that provide a wide array of information related services Information Service Companies (ISCos).

Government and civil society work closely for the development of poorer

sections of the society in many parts of the State of Gujarat. The UrbanPlanning Partnerships (UPP) is one such example. A pro-active role of thegovernment in data collection and networking of different slums of the city willstrengthen the programme in many ways. Data related to the physical assets,their costs of maintenance and persons responsible for managing these will bemade available to the general public, who will act as a watchdog in enforcing a

better work culture. Improved awareness will also lead to enhancedparticipation of the communities in the process of governance.

The most crucial policy support will be the legal recognition of the community-based organisations (CBOs) at the slum level as key partners in the process ofdecentralised governance. Some of the key functions of these CBOs will be to

formulate norms for operation and maintenance of physical infrastructureand essential services;

register the service providers from their areas and provide necessary counterguarantees for economic decisions at the community level;

act as market regulators at the micro level by registering individual serviceproviders, regulating norms for transactions and arbitrate in case of internaldisputes.

Phase II (4-5 years): A couple of years handholding by the spearhead agencywould be necessary to provide for additional strengthening of these

institutions. The major action points in this phase will include:

Capacity building of the CBOs: In addition to the policy support, the CBOswill need to develop an ethos of debates and discussions the basic


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principles of democratic governance. While on the one hand it wouldserve as a single entity for managing any major external developmentprogramme, it needs to have a detailed set of norms for internal

management be it payment of user charges, providing participatorylabour inputs or election of office bearers.

Capacity building of the ISCos: In addition to the policy incentives, theISCos will need to develop managerial and entrepreneurial skills in orderto sustain themselves. They need to be encouraged to innovate andcreate a shelf of value-added services, while strengthening the few that

ensure steady returns. A professional evaluation of the quality of servicesoffered, their market value and consumer feedback could be used todevelop a system of rating and even instituting an award.

Development of back-end services: A variety of teaching and trainingmodules need to be developed for the enhancement of skills within thecommunities. While the basic knowledge related to hygiene, publicconduct and citizens responsibilities would be freely available, those

skills that ensure economic returns to the individuals need to be paid for.In addition, basic education for any person below the age of 15 would beavailable free of cost in a modular format. Basic accounting and

communication would be the focus of these teaching modules. Ideally,these services could be rendered through an independent, professionalagency working through a separate, focused programme supported by thegovernment. Independent rating agencies and certification mechanisms

will also develop in due course of time.

Critical elements (What will decide its success?)

In order to realise the full potential of this programme, it is necessary to knowthe critical elements involved.

Managing human skills: It is necessary to overcome our initial awe of the

various gadgets that are involved and start recognising the humanelement that drives it. Investments in training and education of persons

are much more rewarding than investing in the latest hardware alone.Managing change: There is often a tendency towards complacency once a

project is done. In contrast, old information has no value and henceneeds constant updating. Enhancement of skills, persistence of individuals

and upgradation of technology is vital for success.

Managing exchanges: Swift response, ease of communication and credibility of

the institutions are essential in realising the full benefits of theprogramme.

Urban action plan

Documents

Transcript of Urban action plan