Digital Dividend or Digital Divide? eGovernment, ICT and Social and Economic Development in Rural Areas

The economic challenges confronting governments have been exacerbated by the recession while the social challenges are ever more complex. Governments as drivers of social and economic development seek innovative ways of confronting the challenges of inclusion, accessibility and power distribution. EGovernment interventions have been designed to communicate information, deliver services and offer citizens and businesses additional avenues to interact with and participate in government. Accordingly, eGovernment is perceived to increase government efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency, improve citizen-government interactions and foster social and economic development. However, a 'digital divide' is evident in both the economic and social spheres, with problems being particularly intense in rural areas. Consequently, coherent government policies and strategies are needed to ensure that digital technologies and services reach all regions and socioeconomic groups. To achieve the digital dividend, long-term vision, targeted policies and consistent, even-handed policy implementation are required. This paper examines the role of eGovernment in social and economic development in rural areas. It adopts a predominantly qualitative approach to explore the nature of social and economic development problems in rural areas and the potential of ICT as a government tool to counter those challenges. The paper begins by reviewing conceptualisations of eGovernment, the perceived benefits for social and economic development and the implications of the digital divide. In addition to the general barriers to eGovernment adoption, some specific challenges which arise in the rural context are identified. Then, research emanating from the DARRA project is used to provide evidence from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland of regionally generated visions of ICT utilisation and EGovernment and e-business solutions which foster economic and social development in those regions. Thus, the paper serves to document the problems and the potential of ICT interventions and demonstrates the influence of such interventions in promoting economic and social development which results in better connected individuals and communities, more competitive businesses and more effective public services.