The management of information in development [623600]

ARTICLE
The management of information in development
projects: A proposed model for enhancing
community participation in democracy
and policy making in Africa
Coetzee Bester
Published online: 5 June 2008
/C211Centre for European Studies 2008
Abstract Politicians in their role as information managers and developers could play an
important role in leading communities via agreed expectations towards achievable results,
thus becoming real leaders for sustainable democracy. The first section of this articlefocuses on the need for development in Africa and the specific challenges faced bydevelopment operations as the foundation for sustainable democracy in Africa. It describesthe need for a holistic and integrated information management model as part of the projectmanagement body of knowledge aimed at managing the information flow between com-munities and development teams. It is argued that information, and access to information,is crucial to development projects and can therefore be seen as a critical success factor inany development project, particularly towards sustainable democracy. The second sectiondescribes the three information areas of the holistic and integrated information manage-ment model. In the final section we suggest roles and actions for information managers to
facilitate information processes integral to the model. These processes seek to create a
developing information community that aligns itself with the development project andsupports and sustains it.
Keywords Information management /C1Democracy /C1Development /C1Africa /C1
Information manager /C1Project management /C1Developing information community /C1
Cultural anthropology
Coetzee Bester co-authored with J.J Britz (University of Wisconsin) and A. Merkestein (University of South
Africa, Pretoria). Part of this article will also be published as ‘The Management of Information in Devel-
opment Projects—A Proposed Integrated Model,’ South Africa Journal of Information Management (March
2008), http://www.sajim.co.za/ and is published here with the editor’s permission.
C. Bester ( &)
Department of Information Science, University of Pretoria, Main Campus IT (Information Technology
Building), c/o Lynnwood Road and Roper Street, Room 6-73, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africae-mail: [anonimizat]; [anonimizat]
123Eur View (2008) 7:33–44
DOI 10.1007/s12290-008-0033-y

Development projects in Africa: introduction and statement of the challenge
For the purpose of this article the authors wish to state that if the development of
communities is one of the cornerstones of sustainable democracy, political representa-tives should inter alia become leaders in that development. They need to becomeleaders in the development of physical infrastructure, human potential, communityrelations as well as policies, systems and procedures in order to guide communities and
nations towards sustainable growth, civilisation and freedom. Ideally, therefore, the
function of political representatives, political parties and policy manifestos managedthrough the proposed model should include elements of information management andproject leadership. The results of trustworthy, transparent information and credibledevelopment projects will also lead to the re-election of politicians, long-term careersfor government officials, and involved communities—thus contributing towards sus-tainable democracy.
Both African leaders and international organisations [ 22,23] acknowledge the fact that
information is a crucial resource in development projects, and, moreover, that there is aneed for an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to the appropriate management of the flowof information in development projects (UNDP [ 26]). Greig et al. [ 15] in their book
Challenging Global Inequality , argue that there is a general disillusionment with current
development theories and projects and that there is a need to redefine the ‘ …aims, means
and strategies for development’.
The immediacy, relevance, trustworthiness and effective management of the flow of
information are critical to the success of development projects [ 6]. This is especially so
since internal and external stakeholders involved in development often have differentexpectations of development projects and, therefore, will respond differently to theobjectives of projects and to the processes and procedures used to realise such expecta-tions. It will, for example, be highly inappropriate for a development agency to build,without prior consultation (sharing of information) with the local community, a shoppingcomplex on a piece of land that is regarded as sacred by this community.
The focus of this paper is therefore to propose an integrated and holistic information
management model that can be used in development projects in Africa. The paper, which isprimarily based on a literature study, is qualitative in nature and focuses on the descriptionof the model. A minor empirical component is included which is comprised of personalobservations and informal interviews with local people that were affected by developmentprojects. One of the authors (Bester) has worked extensively on development projects inAfrica for the last several years. The proposed model presented in this article is thereforenot only based on a literature study but is also a result of the practical experience gainedover the last few years.
The proposed information management model furthermore provides those engaged in
development activities with some checklists to monitor and evaluate three areas of
information use and their flows during the development process. The three information
areas are as follows: (1) information related to the initiation and introduction of thedevelopment project, followed by (2) the application of information regarding the man-agement of the development process itself (including strategic information and projectmanagement information), and (3) a seventeen-point checklist of community life tomonitor the developing community. This re-emphasises the authors’ point of departure thatcommunities are not merely important sources of information, but are also users andevaluators of information during development processes.34 C. Bester
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Three information areas
The proposed model is divided into three information areas as it relates to the flow and use
of information during development projects. Information area 1 deals with informationregarding initiating development. Information area 2 focuses on information regardingdevelopment management processes, and information area 3 considers informationregarding the community life, culture and traditions of the developing community. For the
composite model, see Fig. 1. In the following paragraphs the different information areas
will be discussed in more detail. The link to development will also be illustrated.
Information area 1: Information regarding initiating development (motives, motivation,
vision and mission)
In information area 1 of the model a differentiation is made between external and internal
initiators of development. External initiators include, for example, international develop-ment agencies that initiate development projects in developing communities. The vision
and mission statements formulated by the external project initiators, as set out in planning
documents, typically reflect the intention, meaning and purpose, aims and general objec-tives of a development project, whereas specific management objectives provideinformation on the project strategy and/or methodology.
Bearing this in mind, it seems logical that the project’s planning documents serve as the
basis for the external and, to a lesser extent, the internal initiators of development to enablethe effective management of information pertaining to the development project.
For a number of reasons—for example, different interpretation of information and local
customs and culture—it may well happen that there is a marked difference in the
Fig. 1 The composite modelThe management of information in development projects 35
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interpretation of the vision, mission and expectations of the internal versus the interpre-
tation the external initiators/stakeholders of a development project. Internal initiators/stakeholders, in other words the local leaders, will view the project and its impact from theperspective of the target community, that is, from the inside out, while external initiators/stakeholders view it from the perspective of the development agency, that is, from theoutside in [ 1–17,27]. Chapman [ 12] refers, in the same context, to this as the difference
between insiders andoutsiders . Often, external initiators originate from more developed
environments and from different information backgrounds. It follows that external initia-
tors may have preconceived ideas (mental maps) about the community that is the object of
development, its problems and its ability to solve them, which might be based on priorexperience in other development contexts. Internal initiators are from the community andhave intimate knowledge and understanding of the community’s background, which inmany cases differ from that of the external initiators [ 30p 162; 27].
Based on practical experience and the literature [ 27], Greig, Hulme and Turner [ 9, cf.
15] the authors suggest, therefore, that given the differences in stakeholders’ motives, both
overt and covert, it might be sensible to conduct feasibility studies to test the acceptabilityof the objectives and methods of the intended project with the local community prior to itscommencement. When it is found that there exist essential differences between the viewsof external and internal stakeholders, these must taken into account, for in itself the results
of such studies will not suffice as indicators of project success ([ 9], 40). In agreement with
Lievrouw and Farb [ 17], the authors are of opinion that a common understanding among
the different stakeholders needs to be in place to ensure some measure of success indevelopment projects.
Information area 2: Information regarding development management processes (project
methodology information)
Central to any development project is not only the identification of action plans but also the
actual implementation and evaluation of these plans. The Africa Development Bank refers
to this as ‘results-based management’ [ 2]. The internationally renowned Association of
Volunteers in International Service , which is involved in many development projects,
formulates this as follows: ‘At the heart of project implementation is a human relationshipbetween staff or volunteers and beneficiaries, rather than statistics of project impact orreach’ [ 4]. Information area 2 of the model focuses therefore on successful development
project implementation rather than on the mere rationalisation of the objectives or motivesfor the project. Central to this information area is the management of project methodologyinformation, that is, the information related to the planning, organising and controlmechanisms required for the successful conclusion of a project. The information collectedfrom information area 1 (motives, motivation, vision and mission) form the basis for the
implementation strategy.
To identify options and alternatives available to the project manager, the project’s
viability and its strategy are further tested by an analysis of the project environment basedon the information gathered during information area 1—in other words, collecting andanalysing information from the local community and integrating it into the aims andobjectives of the project. This can be expected to result in relevant planning, organisingand control mechanisms. Since budgetary information is vital management information,this is included as an integral element of all other measurable sets of information.36 C. Bester
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A primary value of this second information area is that it can serve as a set of indicators
against which internal and external stakeholders can continuously assess quality, mutualconsent and progress, thereby ensuring the credibility of the development project.
The rationale for the inclusion of information regarding development management
processes lies in the contribution this makes to both the management of projectinformation and the enhancement of project credibility. In discussions with Africanleaders at the local government level during the SADC workshops [ 3], it transpired that
when development projects are announced by (inter)national organisations or national
leaders, the response of community leaders is often one of ambiguity and distrust,
particularly when detailed implementation and management plans are not available. Thisconfirms similar findings by Libasse [ 16] and Africa Farm [ 1]. Africa-Farm is an
international non-governmental organisation that aims to reduce poverty in eastern andsouthern Africa and refers to its development projects as participatory management
projects [1]. The organisation made it very clear that local communities have to be
involved at all levels of development projects. Thus, the management of the imple-mentation phase of a project must be guided, measured and evaluated on the basis ofmanagement information that is from the onset available to and shared with the targetcommunity.
Information managers can use the information generated in information area 2 as a set
of guiding and management indicators to monitor progress and to evaluate the probability
of a successful conclusion of the project. It also assists project management teams in thecreation of a checklist as a tool to monitor and evaluate the project to ascertain whether itcomplies with agreed-upon motives, objectives, time schedules and budget allocations.
Information area 3: Information on the community life, culture and traditions of the
developing community
A development project can, during its lifespan, be likened to a temporary organisation in
which various groupings of stakeholders perform different ‘organisational’ roles. All
stakeholders, both external and internal, generate and use information, and contribute tothe formulation and realisation of the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the project.Since the community targeted for development is seen as the main beneficiary of thedevelopment project, community members, in particular, must be regarded as importantstakeholders [ 23].
The target community, although expected to benefit most from the development project,
also stands to lose the most. A development project may bring about ‘progress’ and providecommunity members with new skills and opportunities for growth; it may also, however,cause the community to sacrifice elements of its traditional ways of living, views of lifeand humanity, beliefs about what is right and wrong, etc. Eventually, the ‘success’ of the
development project, that is, whether it brought joy or unhappiness to the community, will
not be determined by the project managers but by the target community, and the com-munity will decide whether or not the sacrifices were worth the benefits.
At the heart of information area 3 is the assumption that societies do not function in
discrete categorised areas, but use strategies and integrated activities to adapt to andmanage their environments so as to maximally satisfy their fundamental human needs [ 10,
19]. Information area 3 centres on the information-related needs of all players in the project
and the activities necessary to satisfy these needs. The focus is furthermore on the processThe management of information in development projects 37
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of the acquisition of new information and the active realisation of what this new infor-
mation means to the community, and how it relates to their prevailing socioculturalknowledge base [ 21].
Founded on the notion that individuals, groups and institutions exist on four levels of
needs, which are thought not to be hierarchical or linear [ 19,28], this part of the model
assists stakeholders to be part of a developmental cycle moving from level to level: fromexistence toconstruction todevelopment tosocial structuring and again to existence ,
whereupon the cycle recommences. These four levels comprise 17 critical sociocultural
variables that typically guide community activities, affect new developments and have a
mutual influence on one another. These levels and variables must be managed as part ofcommunity development projects. Information area 3 serves as a tool for experientiallearning and awareness. It creates ways of experiencing new, that is, external, informationwhile it raises awareness of the value and meaning of existing information, and the relationbetween the two. External as well as internal stakeholders will need to be able to assimilatethe new with the current information to create newmeaning that can be useful in support of
the development project.
Roles and actions for information managers: facilitating the development process
The three information areas described in the previous paragraphs provide a framework to
understand and structure the flow of information during development projects. The ques-tion arises: How should the information identified within the three areas be managed? Thiscan be referred to as the facilitation process, and aims to align and motivate both internaland external stakeholders. The facilitation process is, in a sense, the vehicle for themanagement of the information generated in the information areas. Without this processthere cannot be any effective management of the information flow related to the devel-opment process. If the flow of information between the three different areas is not managedin an effective manner, an environment of distrust or misunderstanding can result that can
seriously hamper the implementation of the project plans.
Creating an information community
In this part of the paper the focus is on interaction and exchange of information between
the different stakeholders. We refer to this as the development of an information com-
munity that evolves around the sharing of information not only to enable mutual
understanding, but also to ensure the success of the project. Implicit in this understandingis the notion that an information community refers to an environment where groups of
people are aware of the importance of information, and where they interact as a team to
access information, which enables them to fulfil their needs, thereby facilitating theirdevelopment [ 3].
In development projects, project management teams, and in particular information
managers, frequently have the task to create an information community comprising thedeveloping (target) community and the project team. The main focus will be on addressingeffectively the information needs of all the stakeholders. For this to happen optimally, anactive information flow between the project team and the developing community is nec-essary. Developing a successful information community depends on a number of factors.38 C. Bester
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These include the following:
•Awareness of the need for information: Information is of no value if its usefulness is
not appreciated. Thus, it is imperative that the developing community understands therelationship between its need for information and the achievement of specific goals,such as information needed to solve a problem, to survive or develop or to be educated.Olorunda [ 24] correctly argues that no development can take place without addressing
the information needs of people. The developing community must, therefore, identify
its need for information related to the development project, and this must be agreed
upon and expressed [ 3,27].
•Availability of information sources: Generally, information can be sourced in a number
of accessible formats. Unless information sources are available to and accessed by thedeveloping community, they are of no use [ 8].
•Access to information sources: Methods used by developing communities to access,
process and use information vary and reflect not only the level of education of membersof the community, but also cultural attitudes. Literate community members can accesstext-based sources of information to find the information they need. It is also importantto distinguish between access and accessibility of information. A person might haveaccess to a book, but if the language is foreign and not understandable there is no
accessibility of the content [ 7].
•Infrastructural influences on the availability of information: The extent to which
developing communities can develop towards the ‘ideal’ of an information commu-nity—in other words, to allow the successful exchange of internal and externalinformation—depends largely on the communities’ ability to apply and integrate theircustoms and traditions with local industrial capabilities and with modern informationand communication technologies such as the Internet and computers [ 29].
The main rationale for information management is the formation of an aligned information
community in which the internal and external project goals, processes and procedures areshared as much as possible. Thus, one of the pivotal tasks of information managers that areinvolved in project management is to facilitate an information flow that addresses, from an
information needs perspective, both the community’s needs for development and the external
development goals of the project. It is, moreover, important that these information managersbe aware of existing gaps in the awareness of availability and access to the neededinformation, and the possible barriers to free information flow. They must inform themselvesabout existing credible, available, accessible and usable sources of information in thecommunity and be knowledgeable about common methods of communication, such as oralcommunication through community leaders, newspapers, electronic communication, etc.Where needed they should design strategies for managing information within the constraintsand opportunities identified. Information managers could, for instance, begin the commu-nication process at the level of the existing, indigenous knowledge that resides within thelocal community. Gradually the ‘foreign’ information can be introduced, and how this new
external information might benefit the community can be illustrated. In this way mutual trust
can be built, and certain community members may be identified to introduce the external/foreign information into the community on the information manager’s behalf, since it is morelikely that the information will be accepted if it comes from an internal source, particularly ifit entails a departure from a traditional practice [ 11]. If information managers can guide the
community towards discovering or uncovering the new information and put it into use, thepossibility that the community will accept this new information will be reinforced.The management of information in development projects 39
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Pertinent questions information managers must answer include the following:
•Is there a lack of information relating to the development project amongst the
community in terms of content and format?
•What information is available, accessible and usable, and is the community aware of its
need for this information?
•How can the community receive usable, credible and relevant information about the
project while keeping in mind the content, sources and format needed to relay the
required information?
Knowledge of information and consequences for information management
Human survival and development is inextricably linked to both individual and group
knowledge. Knowledge is not only crucial to preserve and maintain what is valued, but isjust as important for change. Knowledge is not, however, neutral. The roots of knowledgereside in a particular culture and reflect a particular worldview, a mental map [ 18]. In
developing communities indigenous knowledge plays a pivotal role that needs to be taken
into account in any development project. It is constructed over time, with one generation
sharing its norms and ideals with the next. In contrast, the information that is imported intothe community by development workers is largely foreign and relatively recent [ 12]. At
times this imported information is imposed upon the community, at times it may beborrowed by choice, and, if successful, it may be integrated into indigenous knowledge asan integral part of community development [ 25]. It seems logical, therefore, to assume that
communities might reject, distrust or undermine the introduction of new ideas or infor-mation if this is seen as a threat to the continued existence of the community’s culture,religion, language and way of life. It can be expected that once the community considersthe new information relevant and contextually acceptable, it will more readily engage withthe integration process. It is imperative that project leaders, including the information
managers, understand this and manage both indigenous and foreign knowledge in ways
that promote and enhance the development process.
Motivation is of crucial importance for the sustainability of development projects.
Motivation is also more likely to be maintained if applicable information is freely availablethroughout the project and is credible. Experience gained at workshops with initiators andfacilitators in government and community contexts has shown that information sharing isone of the most important elements to motivate communities and to build trust and enhancetheir sustained acceptance of and commitment to development projects [ 3].
Based on their knowledge of the developing community, information managers who are
involved in project management should ensure that they:
•are aware of the ability of the local community to correctly interpret new information;
•make the information needed accessible through appropriate and usable formats;
•monitor, interpret and address the community’s changing needs and feelings towards
the project, so that progress can be made in terms of the objectives of the project;
•make available to the community the new information needed to fully comprehend the
project objectives so that it can become integral to the community’s existing knowledgeof the development project; and40 C. Bester
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•understand the reasons, if any, for a community’s resistance towards the project, and
find ways of addressing these issues.
Facilitating information flows
Both the guidelines developed by Pippa Norris [ 23] and our own experience suggest that
when project managers enter a developing community their first priority should be todetermine whether the environment of the intended development project is conducive tosustainable development. Once this has been positively established and the project has
commenced, the project manager must observe its potential impact on the life and needs of
the target community. In order that this be done well, the proposed model encourages anawareness of the different characteristics, needs and existential elements of developingcommunities. With motivation and commitment depending to a large extent on the pro-vision of timely, credible and usable information, facilitation processes depend on the earlycompilation of a holistic information map for the development project. The information
map reflects the three information areas discussed earlier. It is then possible, based on theinformation map, to facilitate the information flow between the developing community andthe project team. The information manager should be aware of any relevant local orindigenous knowledge that may exist in the community which may impact on the project.With the assistance of information managers, the flow of the local or indigenous infor-
mation back to the project managers and, possibly to the project initiators, might create a
new information base that could be used to inform the project team. From time to time,therefore, information managers should be prepared to resort to the methodology of changemanagement. Some pertinent questions in this respect are the following:
•What does the community need to know regarding the envisaged project?
•How can new information be integrated into existing local structures of information?
•How can the community’s traditions, beliefs, norms and values be accommodated
without compromising the aims and objectives of the project?
•How can the community’s traditions, beliefs, norms and values be accommodated in
such a way that information is communicated, used and applied by the informationmanager?
•How can differences between existing information and new/foreign information be
reconciled? Can the new information be interpreted in terms of the existing knowledge?Is more background knowledge needed? Does the new information clash with existingbeliefs?
Based on the answers to the above questions it might be necessary to include change
management processes into information and project management.
Given that a project could easily come to a halt because of the lack of community
involvement, it cannot be stressed enough that project and information managers mustensure that information about the project and the internal and external needs is freely andreadily available. To do so, the following processes are suggested:
•Facilitation of the needs analysis and needs prioritisation of the developing community
within the holistic approach.The management of information in development projects 41
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•Development and maintainance of networks as information instruments in the process
of development.
Facilitation of needs analysis and prioritisation of needs
How, then, can the needs of the developing community be prioritised and addressed? We
take as a starting point that all communities are engaged in a range of distinct but ofteninterrelated cultural activities such as health, education, religion, politics and economics(see Fig. 1). The holistic development of the community will be possible only if these
activities are integrated into a single, holistic approach. Crucial to the success of such an
approach is the information managers’ ability to
•see the expressed needs from the point of view of community members;
•manipulate specific needs in such a way that different aspects are balanced;
•negotiate the feasibility of addressing the community’s expressed needs by painting the
whole picture for them; and
•prioritise different needs in cooperation with the community.
Information managers should, moreover, be aware of different priorities within the
developing community and understand the differences between the community’s ‘wants’and the community’s ‘needs’. Even though the community might initially not agree, the
information manager must motivate and assist the community to prioritise its information
needs in terms of the developmental goals as jointly formulated by the informationmanager and the community at the onset of the project.
Community consultation as a source of information in development projects
As I have argued, it is important to consult the developing community when one intends to
launch a development project. This is a complex matter and covers many kinds of infor-mation that needs to be gathered. In information area 3 these different kinds of information
are presented. It provides for the accommodation of four levels (the quadrants) comprising
17 interrelated components representing specific sociocultural actions with clusteredactivities and community or appointed leaders to guide the community on related matters.Consulting the community in matters of importance means that one needs to take note ofeach level and its components, adopt a balanced approach in accommodating the culturalcomponents and base community consultation processes on these.
In the consultation process it is important that project managers should strive to include
all community leaders representing the different sociocultural and political spheres.Moreover, the project management team should create strategies to keep all communitystakeholders fully informed—sharing both good and bad news—and establish communi-cation channels between the community leadership and the project management team, thus
providing opportunities to discuss positive and negative aspects of the project. This should
create lasting credibility for the project, build trust and assist in curbing the influence oflocal politics.42 C. Bester
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The following checklist for community consultation is suggested:
•Description of the envisaged development project.
•Objectives for the development project.
•Motives and motivation for the project.
•Strategy and management plan for the project.
•Financial benefits/implications for the project.
•Possible information on local knowledge regarding the project.
•Possible indigenous knowledge that could influence the project.
Processes used by an information manager to consult the community might include
sessions that aim at
•informing community leaders of the background to the project and providing them with
basic information in this regard;
•answering possible questions that the community has and creating opportunities for
leaders to report back to their constituencies/interest groups; and
•guiding community leaders towards the project objectives and informing them of
project progress so that they experience the movement and success of the project.
Conclusion
We have argued that information and access to information are crucial in community
consultation for development projects and can, therefore, be seen as a critical successfactor in any development project and ultimately also in building sustainable democracy.Based on these premises we argued that there should be a holistic, multidisciplinary andintegrated approach to the management of information in development projects. An inte-grated model was presented that can be used by political leaders, governments and projectmanagement teams to provide greater insight into the information needs and the infor-
mation flow in developing communities.
The successful implementation of this model will benefit not only democracy and
development organisations but also individuals, interest groups and local communities. Itdoes not only take into account local customs and culture, but takes also as a starting pointthe information needs and behaviour of individuals, interest groups and local communities.
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Coetzee Bester is a lecturer in the Department of Information Science at the University of South Africa in
Pretoria and a former Member of the South African Parliament.44 C. Bester
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