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Internet Access and Training Program (IATP)
Interim Monitoring and Evaluation Report
SUMMARY
As part of its monitoring and evaluation efforts, IATP conducted extensive online surveys and in-depth focus group discussions, soliciting responses from users and trainees from across the region. According these efforts’ results, IATP met or exceeded nearly all of its deliverables set out for year one.
Response to IATP’s core services—internet access, technical training, informational events, and civil society networking support—has been strong. This evaluation found receptive audiences, community needs, and strong prospects for ICT4D programming in IATP host countries. Survey results indicate that IATP has positively affected these Eurasian nations’ social, economic, and political development.
IATP measured its success against the following three program objectives:
1. Empower citizens to use free access to information in promoting democratic reform.
During the reporting period, IATP centers logged nearly 485,000 visits from over 72,000 individuals. Of those people, almost 30,000 were new users, and a slightly larger number also participated in IATP’s 5,700 technical training sessions. Internet access proved to be IATP’s most popular service, used by 96% of all IATP users, 91% of whom reported satisfaction with it. 100% of those surveyed described the IATP trainings they attended as useful. In addition to its diverse services, IATP also reached out to an array of public, private, and civil society sector representatives. The program provided training to 2,500 local government representatives, 1,600 librarians, 600 NGO officials, 600 entrepreneurs, and 170 members of the media.
Where do you turn for information sources? |
Use IATP centers more than other sources of information |
Use IATP centers the same amount |
Use IATP centers less often than other information sources |
Azerbaijan |
96% |
4% |
0% |
Georgia |
80% |
15% |
4% |
Moldova |
46% |
42% |
12% |
Tajikistan |
76% |
22% |
2% |
Turkmenistan |
60% |
28% |
12% |
Ukraine |
61% |
26% |
13% |
2. Build networks between civil society representatives and local, regional, and international partners and resources.
1,600 citizens participated in IATP’s online events that linked rural communities, professional specialists, and civil society activists from different countries. 92% of survey respondents found IATP forums useful. Cooperation with USAID-funded projects was rigorous during the reporting period. Initiatives promoting e-government, human and labor rights, professional media, education, medicine, agriculture, benefited from IATP expertise in online publication, distance learning, website development, and internet research.
3. Support targeted development projects by training select community members in the use of vanguard technologies and solutions.
The program succeeded in extending Web 2.0 training as one of its core competencies, significantly outpacing all projected targets in bringing local content from journalists, activists, experts, and governments online. Achievements toward this end include the launching of 546 new locally-focused Web resources, including 128 blogs, 23 wikis, and 40 local government sites.
Respondents reported that they:
|
Regularly used skills learned at IATP |
Accomplished something they would not have without IATP help |
Undertook |
Learned new ideas |
Believed IATP offered new access to information and promoted transparency |
Now understand that the internet can help them in their work and research |
Azerbaijan |
100% |
100% |
100% |
96% |
100% |
100% |
Georgia |
91% |
90% |
88% |
85% |
82% |
85% |
Moldova |
82% |
96% |
71% |
89% |
71% |
88% |
Tajikistan |
78% |
97% |
93% |
73% |
82% |
85% |
Turkmenistan |
65% |
92% |
96% |
68% |
74% |
86% |
Ukraine |
94% |
93% |
92% |
70% |
83% |
73% |
CONCLUSIONS
Focus groups conducted during this evaluation showed the extent to which citizens continually benefit from access to public internet access. Active internet users, most of whom were former IATP trainees continuing to use their ICT skills, were far more successful as professionals and community change agents. Statistics, however, continue to demonstrate that only a small number of citizens in Eurasia have embraced the internet—from as little as 1% in Turkmenistan, and only as high as 30% in Ukraine. Thus, Eurasian residents will continue to benefit from ICT training. The high degree of satisfaction reported by users and trainees suggests that the program continues to bring real benefits to the average citizens of these communities—99% of participants would recommend IATP’s services to others.
Without IATP, survey and focus group participants agree that their communities would lose an important resource. Only 11% of respondents reported that they could find free ICT training elsewhere. Over 60% of respondents perceive IATP as a contributor to greater transparency by fostering local internet content. While most users report that information could be obtained through other sources, the IATP center’s professional and socially-active environment makes it the preferred choice for information access in surveyed communities. Nearly 90% of users report being involved in an initiative that was informed or encouraged by participation in IATP.
This evaluation indicates that a community without IATP would be less active, less informed, and less empowered. In low resource environments, practical, user-oriented resources and training centers are effective tools for encouraging social, economic, and political development.
