Community informatics in pandemic times

This chapter examines community empowerment, economic and business development, and equity of service as the issue of success and decline in regional and rural communities is explored with a particular focus on community informatics initiatives (CI). In Australia, there has been a vision for online services to be used to open up regional communities to the rest of the world. Government support has been seen as enhancing the competence levels of local communities so they become strong enough to deal equitably in an increasingly open marketplace. But how effective have regional portals and other online initiatives been? This chapter explores whether economic and social benefits are generated via establishing and sustaining regional CI initiatives. Theory relevant to online communities is introduced to provide a context for the presentation of two case studies. The dissemination of the critical learning from these cases can inform others about the diverse factors which impact on the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of regional CI initiatives.

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Community Informatics in Perspective

Using Community Informatics to Transform Regions ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-132-2.ch001 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 1-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Wal Taylor

Keyword(s):

Interpersonal Communication ◽

Policy Development ◽

Community Informatics ◽

Cultural Sustainability ◽

Face To Face ◽

Existing Structures ◽

The World ◽

Taxonomic Framework ◽

Descriptive Models ◽

Development Practice

This chapter provides a reflection on Community Informatics (CI) practice as a means of contextualising its role in emerging civil society and its governance at the local or regional level. CI is more than electronically enabled interpersonal communication; it has a pluralistic potential, it is ubiquitous and it comes bundled with paradoxes. It does not sit easily with the existing forms of governance and service provision and it does not have existing structures or accepted descriptive models that easily allow it to be contextualised within itself or alongside more well-understood models of commerce, public administration or governance. Yet its potential has been grasped by community-based organisations (CBOs) all over the world as they come face to face with the centralising potential of IT to impact regional economic, social and cultural sustainability. The chapter proposes a taxonomic framework for CI policy development, practice and research.

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