Community Informatics

Community informatics (CI) is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support community‐defined development goals. It is a multidisciplinary field that includes researchers and practitioners from information studies, social work, rural sociology, public policy, urban planning, among other areas. Similar to social informatics, CI considers organizational use of ICTs across virtual and physical spaces. However, CI is more concerned with how communities develop the social and technical capacities needed to promote ICT access, adoption, and use. Early CI studies examined the role of online community networks in developing social capital, while others considered the potential of public computing centers, telecentres, and libraries to address the digital divide. CI projects are as diverse globally as they are locally. A common theme connecting them is community participation in ICTs to promote social action and social change

Community organization · Digital divide · ICTS · Informatics · Information and Communications Technology · Knowledge management · Multidisciplinary approach · Political science · Public relations · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Engineering · ICT in Developing Communities · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development · Knowledge Management and Sharing

• Effective use

  Open Access•Michael Gurstein•First Monday•2003

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