A community driven ICT development approach to empower a Community in Tension (CiT)

Abstract

The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) solutions for community empowerment has seen an increased interest from various stakeholders. Such solutions present challenges specifically in the area of identifying the appropriate ICT community development approaches. This paper suggests a community-driven approach for the development of an ICT solution to support a Community in Tension (CiT) due to the scourge of drug abuse amongst its citizens. The CiT used skills and resources available in the community as part of its development approach. The result of this collaboration was the Drug Advice Support (DAS) system which uses mobile and web technologies. DAS was co-created by the community who needed the system to aid them with the social issues they are facing due to the substance abuse problem. It concludes by indicating how the community-driven systems development approach could be used to aid other communities who require localised solutions.