Building

Sustainable

Community

Information

Systems

Lessons

from

a

Digital

Government

Project

This

paper

introduces

a

rationale

for

and

approach

to

the

study

of

sustainability

in

computerized

community

information

systems

It

begins

by

presenting

a

theoretical

framework

for

posing

questions

about

sustainability

predicated

upon

assumptions

from

social

construction

of

technology

and

adaptive

structuration

theories

Based

in

part

on

the

literature

and

in

part

on

our

own

experiences

in

developing

a

community

information

system

we

introduce

and

consider

three

issues

related

to

sustainability

stakeholder

involvement

commitment

from

key

players

and

the

development

of

critical

mass

-LSB-

Communication

Applications

-RSB-

Bulletin

Boards

Computer

Conferencing

-LSB-

Information

Interfaces

and

Presentation

-RSB-

User

Interfaces

User-centered

design

Design

Human

Factors

New

technologies

make

it

feasible

and

in

many

cases

practical

for

individuals

groups

and

organizations

to

collaborate

in

the

development

of

joint

information

systems

In

fact

over

the

last

three

decades

of

evolution

few

applications

of

information

technology

have

stimulated

so

much

interest

on

the

part

of

so

many

Collaborative

information

systems

are

attractive

to

users

because

they

make

it

possible

to

find

information

from

diverse

sources

in

an

easy

and

efficient

way

Such

systems

make

good

sense

for

information

providers

because

it

becomes

possible

to

attract

a

larger

audience

than

a

solitary

effort

might

otherwise

be

able

to

command

and

to

pool

resources

to

achieve

certain

economies

in

scale

and

technology

expense

The

advantages

of

collaborative

computerized

information

systems

have

been

widely

recognized

but

this

has

been

particularly

the

case

for

those

with

the

goal

of

making

community

information

more

available

accessible

and

oriented

toward

community

development

Computerized

community

information

systems

are

diverse

in

form

and

over

time

have

come

to

be

known

by

many

different

names

including

community

bulletin

boards

civic

networks

community

networks

community

information

networks

televillages

smart

communities

and

Free-Nets

They

have

been

initiated

by

many

different

sponsors

including

government

organizations

at

the

federal

state

and

local

levels

academic

organizations

libraries

and

ad

hoc

groups

of

citizens

that

may

or

may

not

later

transform

their

enterprises

into

not-for-profit

organizations

-LSB-

-RSB-

With

respect

to

longevity

these

projects

have

come

and

gone

only

to

be

replaced

by

newer

and

more

sophisticated

manifestations

of

the

same

basic

information

sharing

capabilities

Consistent

with

the

evolution

of

technology

over

the

last

thirty

years

Kubicek

and

Wagner

-LSB-

-RSB-

analyze

the

historical

trajectory

of

community

networks

to

understand

how

these

applications

have

evolved

over

time

based

upon

their

animating

ideas

the

zeitgeist

of

the

time

the

state

of

technology

access

and

the

kinds

of

services

such

applications

make

available

Their

analysis

makes

it

possible

to

see

that

there

has

never

been

a

standard

for

design

or

operation

when

it

comes

to

community

information

systems

Instead

each

such

project

has

been

very

much

a

social

experiment

born

of

a

cluster

of

varied

ideas

related

to

the

general

theme

of

using

technology

to

promote

the

development

of

vibrant

geographically-based

communities

Since

there

has

been

no

standard

to

follow

each

instance

of

computerized

community

information

system

can

be

seen

as

an

experiment

in

accommodating

the

tensions

between

access

to

hardware/software

infrastructure

design

of

the

particular

application

or

system

user

needs

and

the

initiating

and

ongoing

resources

that

support

these

efforts

These

projects

can

be

resource

intensive

thus

a

variety

of

institutional

actors

have

lent

their

financial

support

particularly

over

the

past

decade

The

successive

rounds

of

funding

for

community

technology

projects

by

the

Department

of

Commerce

's

National

Telecommunications

and

Information

Administration

-LRB-

now

called

the

Technology

Opportunities

Program

-RRB-

is

a

case

in

point

The

Digital

Government

Program

of

the

National

Science

Foundation

has

Copyright

held

by

the

author

provided

support

for

such

ventures

as

have

many

private

foundations

and

technology

corporations

From

the

perspective

of

funding

organizations

the

nature

of

the

experiment

at

the

heart

of

CCINs

is

essentially

this

how

to

build

applications

that

achieve

their

civic

goals

that

provide

services

perceived

as

valuable

by

their

users

and

that

can

command

continuing

support

from

the

community

beyond

the

horizon

of

initial

funding

From

a

purely

academic

perspective

the

more

general

question

centers

on

as

Venkatesh

-LSB-

-RSB-

has

put

it

the

lifecycle

of

community

information

systems

More

specifically

we

wish

to

know

how

such

systems

originate

stabilize

and

change

in

their

sociohistorical

context

-LRB-

p.

-RRB-

We

do

not

have

extensive

knowledge

about

the

extent

to

which

community

information

systems

achieve

their

goals

endure

over

time

or

the

conditions

that

facilitate

effectiveness

and

sustainability

However

based

on

what

we

do

know

it

is

apparent

that

such

enterprises

are

fragile

Perhaps

the

closest

we

have

come

to

a

standard

or

model

is

the

relatively

extensive

set

of

experiments

in

community

networking

in

the

called

Free-Nets

which

were

fashioned

after

the

public

broadcasting

system

and

intended

to

serve

their

localities

by

providing

access

to

wide-area

computer

networks

and

information

about

the

community

Founded

in

the

National

Public

Telecomputing

Network

an

umbrella

organization

for

Free-Nets

went

bankrupt

in

After

successive

decreases

in

the

cost

of

computing

equipment

and

Internet

access

and

the

development

of

the

World

Wide

Web

many

Free-Nets

went

out

of

business

-LSB-

-RSB-

Studies

of

community

networks

funded

by

the

federal

and

state

governments

also

suggest

that

community

information

systems

have

difficulty

enduring

beyond

their

initial

funding

-LSB-

-RSB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

In

this

paper

we

introduce

and

consider

conditions

that

facilitate

the

sustainability

of

computerized

community

information

systems

We

base

our

discussion

in

part

on

our

own

efforts

to

develop

a

community

information

system

called

Connected

Kids

in

Troy

New

York

a

project

that

began

in

a

formal

sense

in

and

continues

today

We

begin

by

presenting

a

theoretical

framework

for

posing

questions

about

sustainability

based

on

the

social

construction

of

technology

and

adaptive

structuration

theory

Drawing

on

the

literature

as

well

as

our

experiences

we

introduce

and

discuss

three

issues

we

believe

to

be

critically

related

to

sustainability

stakeholder

involvement

commitment

from

key

players

and

critical

mass

All

computerized

community

information

systems

are

designed

although

whether

researchers

and

participants

understand

the

significance

of

design

and

its

relevance

to

sustainability

varies

from

context

to

context

In

some

cases

where

community

networks

have

originated

as

the

indigenous

creation

of

technology-savvy

citizens

it

may

appear

to

researchers

that

the

design

of

the

information

system

is

a

natural

expression

of

community

development

unfettered

by

theoretical

considerations

However

in

other

cases

design

is

taken

more

seriously

and

treated

as

an

element

that

can

be

purposefully

controlled

in

order

to

achieve

particular

kinds

of

effects

In

either

case

we

argue

that

the

material

form

functionalities

conceptual

configuration

and

impact

of

technology

is

shaped

by

the

uses

goals

interests

and

ideologies

of

those

who

participate

in

its

development

and

others

who

use

it

following

development

In

the

literature

addressing

the

social

construction

of

technology

this

argument

is

frequently

illustrated

by

showing

how

users

appropriate

new

technologies

for

their

own

purposes

which

may

be

contrary

to

those

of

designers

-LRB-

see

e.g.

-LSB-

-RSB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

-RRB-

However

we

take

this

position

one

step

further

by

suggesting

that

community

information

systems

and

information

and

communication

technologies

more

broadly

reflect

the

interests

orientations

and

indeed

the

ve

social

theories

of

their

designers

as

well

as

being

shaped

ex

post

facto

by

their

users

-LSB-

-RSB-

On

this

basis

we

have

argued

that

academic

researchers

need

to

become

involved

in

the

process

of

technology

design

as

a

way

of

exploring

how

to

improve

the

design

of

technology

and

as

a

way

to

test

social

theory

including

communication

information

and

democratic

theory

However

our

position

suggests

that

users

of

information

systems

must

also

be

included

in

their

initial

conceptualization

and

design

in

order

to

develop

systems

that

reflect

users

needs

goals

and

values

This

leads

quite

naturally

to

creating

interdisciplinary

-LRB-

e.g.

computer

scientists

information

scientists

social

scientists

-RRB-

application

design

teams

that

provide

for

participation

by

community

members

it

is

in

such

collaborative

arrangements

that

sustainable

community

information

systems

may

be

designed

The

social

construction

of

technology

argues

that

technologies

are

shaped

by

both

designers

and

users

and

suggests

that

information

system

design

be

undertaken

collaboratively

by

those

implicated

in

both

the

technical

and

social

conceptualization

of

the

system

However

issues

of

sustainability

ultimately

focus

on

reproduction

of

the

system

Once

designed

information

systems

must

be

deployed

and

once

deployed

they

must

be

re-enacted

on

a

routine

basis

by

their

users

to

be

sustained

Adaptive

structuration

theory

is

one

of

the

most

fully

developed

theoretical

perspectives

for

understanding

how

new

technologies

come

to

reproduce

social

structures

or

to

generate

structural

change

in

particular

social

contexts

DeSanctis

and

Poole

-LSB-

-RSB-

base

their

work

on

structuration

processes

originally

described

by

Giddens

-LSB-

-RSB-

Giddens

-LSB-

-RSB-

suggests

that

technologies

in

organizations

either

reproduce

existing

social

structure

or

change

social

structure

by

virtue

of

the

kinds

of

structures

that

are

instantiated

when

social

actors

use

technologies

Structure

consists

of

rules

and

resources

that

actors

draw

upon

to

produce

social

behavior

For

DeSanctis

and

Poole

-LSB-

-RSB-

social

structures

are

physically

incorporated

in

new

technologies

in

two

complementary

ways

First

technologies

embody

rules

and

resources

embedded

in

the

form

of

particular

material

capabilities

functionalities

and

features

that

comprise

a

variety

of

behavioral

options

to

be

used

in

constructing

social

action

Second

the

spirit

of

a

technology

also

considered

to

be

a

property

of

the

technology

expresses

the

values

and

goals

that

are

brought

to

bear

upon

the

tasks

the

technology

was

originally

intended

to

accomplish

Together

the

features

and

spirit

of

a

technology

comprise

its

structural

potential

or

the

range

of

possible

actions

that

users

can

draw

upon

to

constitute

or

reproduce

social

structures

in

technology

use

Orlikowski

-LSB-

-RSB-

disputes

a

portion

of

this

conceptualization

noting

that

according

to

Giddens

-LSB-

-RSB-

structure

has

a

virtual

rather

than

material

existence

and

thus

can

never

be

physically

incorporated

into

technology

Instead

-LSB-

w

-RSB-

hile

a

technology

may

be

seen

to

embody

particular

symbol

and

material

properties

it

does

not

embody

structures

because

those

are

only

instantiated

in

practice

-LRB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

p.

-RRB-

and

if

reproduced

are

systematically

repeated

over

time

Orlikowski

's

-LSB-

-RSB-

point

is

that

users

may

draw

upon

only

some

of

a

technology

's

features

and

may

do

that

in

ways

that

depart

substantially

from

the

original

conceptualizations

of

designers

In

essence

users

enact

technology

in

their

collective

systematic

and

routine

use

of

a

technology

reproducing

some

of

the

technology

and

some

of

its

associated

structures

through

practice

Orlikowski

's

-LSB-

-RSB-

term

technologies-in-practice

references

the

idea

that

as

users

engage

selectively

with

particular

technological

features

particular

structures

or

sets

of

rules

and

resources

associated

with

the

technology

are

selectively

reconstituted

Thus

a

technology-in-practice

is

a

repeatedly

experienced

personally

ordered

and

edited

version

of

the

technological

artifact

being

experienced

differently

by

different

individuals

and

differently

by

the

same

individuals

depending

on

the

time

or

circumstances

-LRB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

p.

-RRB-

Applied

to

sustainability

our

questions

center

on

the

conditions

under

which

users

appropriate

the

system

For

community

information

systems

there

are

generally

two

kinds

of

users-information

providers

and

information

consumers

and

of

course

the

same

individuals

may

play

both

user

roles

Thus

our

questions

become

Under

what

conditions

do

users

collectively

and

routinely

draw

upon

and

apply

particular

features

of

a

community

information

system

When

do

they

reference

the

way

their

system

should

work

in

order

to

construct

a

shared

perspective

about

community

action

Through

regular

and

routine

enactments

of

technology

in

regular

use

users

reproduce

the

rules

and

resources

or

structures

of

community

life

that

are

instantiated

in

technology

use

This

is

not

to

say

that

unfaithful

appropriations

or

those

that

are

out-of-line

with

the

spirit

of

the

technology

can

not

occur

but

it

is

to

say

that

it

is

unlikely

they

will

sustain

a

community

information

system

We

begin

our

discussion

of

factors

related

to

sustainability

by

distinguishing

between

the

effectiveness

and

the

sustainability

of

computerized

community

information

systems

Community

information

systems

are

designed

and

advocated

with

many

goals

in

mind

some

of

which

focus

on

traditional

issues

of

community

development

such

as

decreasing

unemployment

stimulating

economic

growth

improving

health

and

social

welfare

and

others

focus

on

building

social

capital

or

enhancing

interest

and

participation

in

government

decision

making

processes

The

issue

of

effectiveness

addresses

whether

such

systems

are

achieving

the

goals

for

which

they

were

designed

Sustainability

on

the

other

hand

addresses

whether

the

information

system

is

able

to

endure

past

its

initial

launching

phase

whether

it

is

used

and

reproduced

by

its

intended

audience

and

whether

it

can

continue

to

attract

resources

beyond

those

obtained

for

initial

development

and

deployment

Clearly

these

two

concepts

are

not

irrelevant

to

each

other

but

neither

are

they

the

same

It

is

possible

that

questions

of

sustainability

logically

precede

those

of

effectiveness

but

there

may

also

be

important

relationships

between

effectiveness

and

sustainability

Sustainability

has

long

been

a

consideration

in

the

development

of

information

systems

Indeed

the

failure

rate

of

new

IT

applications

in

the

public

sector

has

motivated

significant

interest

in

addressing

the

issue

of

sustainability

and

speculation

about

the

extent

to

which

participation

in

system

development

is

related

ultimately

to

system

adoption

and

use

-LSB-

-RSB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

More

specifically

government

services

are

increasingly

out-sourced

to

not-for-profit

organizations

that

may

not

be

experienced

in

collaboration

-LSB-

-RSB-

Information

technology

makes

it

possible

for

organizations

to

collaborate

in

providing

information

but

whether

or

not

such

collaborations

actually

take

place

is

more

than

a

technical

issue

The

development

of

any

information

system

and

particularly

collaborative

systems

requires

organizations

to

change

in

a

very

real

way

some

of

their

routine

modes

of

operation

and

incorporate

new

behaviors

Scholl

's

-LSB-

-RSB-

research

finds

that

stakeholder

involvement

and

the

commitment

of

senior

executives

to

be

highly

related

to

the

integration

of

e-government

projects

into

business

process

change

for

government

organizations

Stakeholder

involvement

has

long

been

acknowledged

as

a

key

element

in

the

construction

of

community

information

system

although

applied

to

this

context

rather

than

that

of

traditional

hierarchical

organizations

the

idea

bears

further

scrutiny

We

have

also

seen

the

commitment

of

key

executives

playing

a

role

in

our

own

development

work

We

discuss

each

of

these

two

ideas

at

some

length

below

and

add

a

third

development

of

a

critical

mass

of

users

Stakeholder

Involvement

Our

work

was

motivated

in

part

by

Schuler

's

-LSB-

-RSB-

invitation

to

academic

researchers

to

collaborate

with

communities

in

building

community

networking

projects

At

the

time

it

was

fair

to

characterize

our

institution

's

hometown

Troy

NY

as

a

digitally

divided

community

Our

experiences

suggested

that

new

technologies

and

their

potential

seemed

to

be

of

interest

to

the

members

of

the

community

-LRB-

see

-LSB-

-RSB-

-RRB-

But

many

community

and

government

organizations

lacked

access

to

hardware

and

network

connections

as

well

as

the

expertise

needed

for

using

this

equipment

It

seemed

most

likely

that

we

would

need

to

do

more

to

generate

interest

in

the

development

of

a

community

information

service

in

order

to

stimulate

participation

from

likely

stakeholders

in

such

a

project

Connected

Kids

was

conceived

in

Fall

in

the

course

of

discussions

among

Troy

City

Government

representatives

on

the

topic

of

how

new

technologies

might

usefully

be

employed

to

provide

services

to

the

community

At

the

time

we

learned

that

the

mayor

sought

to

reinvigorate

the

City

's

office

of

youth

services

and

had

speculated

about

whether

these

technologies

could

be

used

to

provide

one

of

that

office

's

primary

and

most

popular

functions

which

was

to

disseminate

information

about

resources

and

programs

sponsored

by

not-for-profit

organizations

as

well

as

those

sponsored

by

Troy

's

own

Department

of

Recreation

It

seemed

clear

to

us

the

World

Wide

Web

might

indeed

be

used

for

such

purposes

Thus

Connected

Kids

was

conceived

as

both

a

digital

government

project

as

well

as

a

community

information

system

We

received

initial

assurances

that

the

City

would

administer

the

information

system

after

it

had

been

successfully

designed

and

deployed

Connected

Kids

began

with

sensitivity

to

the

need

for

stakeholder

involvement

particularly

that

of

participating

organizations

that

we

hoped

would

be

information

providers

We

were

aware

that

the

best

way

to

kill

a

community

network

was

to

fail

to

involve

the

community

in

system

development

-LSB-

-RSB-

We

took

seriously

Gygi

's

-LSB-

-RSB-

prediction

that

the

degree

of

community

involvement

and

the

extent

to

which

the

project

represented

community

interests

and

participation

would

likely

affect

political

and

economic

outcomes

Thus

although

our

project

began

initially

as

a

collaboration

between

academic

researchers

and

government

administrators

we

moved

quickly

to

invite

community

organizations

to

participate

at

an

orientation

meeting

in

February

and

held

a

series

of

focus

group

discussions

in

October

in

which

we

explored

with

representatives

of

participating

organizations

how

such

an

information

system

might

be

conceptualized

to

best

meet

their

information

needs

In

Fall

and

Winter

we

undertook

a

series

of

participatory

design

sessions

in

which

representatives

of

participating

organizations

were

introduced

to

portions

of

a

system

prototype

based

on

their

previous

contributions

and

asked

to

describe

their

experiences

and

suggest

improvements

Finally

as

we

designed

interfaces

in

Summer

and

Fall

we

again

consulted

with

representatives

of

participating

organizations

in

user

testing

sessions

By

Fall

and

Winter

we

had

demonstrated

the

system

and

trained

numerous

representatives

of

participating

organizations

who

reportedly

found

our

interface

pages

easy

to

use

However

these

same

organizations

were

not

spontaneously

or

frequently-entering

information

about

their

programs

or

activities

for

youth

Based

on

contributions

from

our

collaborating

organizations

the

design

of

Connected

Kids

reflected

much

of

the

best

wisdom

about

community

information

systems

the

system

could

be

used

to

both

create

and

easily

update

data

-LSB-

-RSB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

we

had

involved

end

user

groups

-LRB-

kids

and

their

parents

-RRB-

in

the

design

as

well

-LSB-

-RSB-

-LSB-

-RSB-

and

the

system

focused

principally

on

information

deemed

crucial

by

our

participating

organizations

information

that

we

expected

had

the

capacity

to

be

integrated

into

the

routine

lives

of

the

communities

they

serve

-LSB-

-RSB-

Further

access

to

technology

lost

its

urgency

as

an

issue

since

it

is

no

longer

the

case

that

our

participating

organizations

lack

access

to

networking

technology

Thus

we

did

not

attribute

our

problems

with

data

entry

to

system

attributes

Instead

we

considered

the

suggestion

by

Scott

and

Page

-LSB-

-RSB-

that

sustainable

technologies

are

processes

-LRB-

authors

emphasis

-RRB-

they

are

not

products

In

traditional

hierarchical

organizations

lower

levels

of

stakeholder

involvement

may

be

sufficient

for

system

acceptance

However

a

community

information

system

requires

that

members

of

the

community

contribute

information

and

it

must

be

seen

to

be

in

their

continuing

interest

to

do

so

In

Fall

we

have

sought

to

create

a

quasi-formal

governance

body

to

administer

the

project

a

Connected

Kids

Advisory

Board

recruiting

representatives

from

organizations

-LRB-

from

among

the

most

influential

-RRB-

to

commit

to

guiding

the

short-term

future

of

the

project

-LRB-

approximately

year

-RRB-

as

we

transition

to

system

deployment

in

Spring

Our

Board

has

now

met

for

several

months

and

it

remains

to

be

seen

whether

this

vehicle

will

foster

a

sufficient

level

of

system

participation

perhaps

ownership

to

sustain

Connected

Kids

through

deployment

and

beyond

Commitment

from

Key

Players

Scholl

-LSB-

-RSB-

finds

that

support

from

key

executives

is

critical

to

incorporating

e-government

projects

into

an

organization

's

business

processes

and

our

experience

underscores

this

finding

In

fact

we

would

expand

the

range

of

individuals

likely

to

be

considered

key

Not

only

are

senior

executives

important

but

so

also

are

others

in

the

organization

that

have

any

significant

job-related

association

with

the

information

system

under

development

Application

development

projects

take

place

over

potentially

long

periods

of

time

and

involve

many

different

individuals

in

many

different

roles

Job

occupants

in

the

public

sector

may

be

comparatively

stable

but

they

are

not

permanent

Those

who

champion

an

application

development

project

may

not

be

around

when

it

is

time

to

deploy

the

system

What

is

generally

not

recognized

when

academic

researchers

undertake

technology

projects

in

organizational

contexts

is

that

they

may

need

to

become

the

primary

advocates

for

deployment

of

the

project

This

is

not

a

typical

role

for

researchers

who

may

with

ample

justification

see

their

obligations

confined

to

simply

performing

the

research

or

developmental

work

on

the

project

However

researchers

who

seek

to

develop

sustainable

products

may

find

themselves

required

to

situate

the

project

politically

within

the

organization

or

group

of

organizations

for

which

it

was

originally

intended

They

may

in

fact

be

the

only

individuals

who

can

play

this

particular

role

In

the

case

of

Connected

Kids

we

secured

commitment

from

both

the

mayor

and

deputy

mayor

of

Troy

along

with

of

course

that

of

our

primary

organizational

liaison

We

continued

to

work

for

quite

some

time

reporting

regularly

on

progress

to

our

liaison

without

realizing

that

this

individual

was

getting

progressively

involved

in

turf

battles

with

another

technology-oriented

actor

in

city

government

As

our

liaison

's

influence

within

city

government

eroded

so

also

did

support

for

our

project

without

our

awareness

Once

we

understood

what

was

happening

we

acted

quickly

and

luckily

in

sufficient

time

to

re-establish

the

importance

of

the

project

with

the

mayor

and

deputy

mayor

From

that

point

hence

our

primary

liaison

was

the

deputy

mayor

Unfortunately

mayoral

administrations

come

and

go

and

the

administration

that

was

our

primary

government

partner

was

voted

out

of

office

in

November

Within

six

months

all

the

individuals

who

had

any

primary

working

relationship

with

our

project

were

gone

and

we

faced

the

need

to

re-create

commitment

with

a

new

mayor

and

deputy

mayor

a

process

that

took

considerable

time

and

that

has

delayed

implementation

by

nearly

a

year

Of

course

this

is

not

something

we

could

have

prevented

However

it

is

interesting

to

note

that

our

new

liaison

with

city

government

is

an

individual

who

had

worked

in

city

government

under

both

administrations

Critical

Mass

of

Users

Ultimately

for

a

community

information

system

to

endure

it

must

establish

a

significant

number

of

regular

users

who

enact

the

technology

for

at

least

some

of

the

purposes

for

which

it

was

originally

intended

and

in

so

doing

reproduce

community

structures

that

are

instantiated

in

the

technology

In

our

case

this

means

bringing

an

audience

of

end

users

to

the

system

who

are

interested

in

information

about

youth

that

is

disseminated

through

it

Connected

Kids

is

in

many

respects

similar

to

an

electronic

public

good

-LSB-

-RSB-

that

is

a

product

established

through

the

contributions

and

for

the

benefit

of

a

set

of

actors

that

also

has

the

effect

of

benefiting

other

users

In

our

case

the

system

was

designed

by

and

for

youth

organizations

which

serve

as

information

providers

We

have

sought

to

show

how

these

organizations

may

appropriate

the

technology

and

accomplish

what

Bannon

and

Griffin

-LSB-

-RSB-

suggest

which

is

to

use

the

technology

as

a

means

to

further

their

own

ends

-LRB-

p.

-RRB-

rather

than

as

an

end

in

itself

However

the

added

value

of

a

collaborative

information

system

is

that

in

bringing

an

audience

to

information

distributed

by

one

organization

that

audience

is

also

available

to

peruse

the

information

of

other

organizations

Thus

the

overall

effect

is

to

increase

the

cumulative

size

of

the

audience

for

all

involved

Further

the

external

user

audience

benefits

from

the

ease

of

accessing

information

from

a

wide

variety

of

organizations

that

all

provide

services

for

youth

Patterson

and

Kavanaugh

-LSB-

-RSB-

argue

that

the

pro-social

benefits

of

a

public

good

are

achieved

when

the

system

achieves

a

critical

mass

of

users

In

our

case

this

would

equal

the

number

of

users

that

information

providers

consider

to

make

it

worth

their

continuing

efforts

to

input

information

about

their

activities

As

Markus

-LSB-

-RSB-

points

out

the

number

of

users

will

depend

on

the

diversity

and

value

of

the

information

available

through

the

system

Thus

sustainability

is

dependent

on

the

reciprocal

interdependence

of

both

information

providers

and

information

users

Both

information

in

the

system

and

use

must

achieve

critical

mass

and

this

must

happen

relatively

soon

after

deployment

Our

strategy

is

to

bring

both

of

these

activities

together

in

time

We

have

asked

the

Connected

Kids

Advisory

Board

to

develop

a

marketing

campaign

that

will

accompany

the

deployment

of

the

system

and

they

are

currently

embarked

on

this

activity

Bolstered

by

the

participation

of

RPI

and

the

City

of

Troy

we

seek

to

attract

a

large

external

audience

to

experiment

with

the

system

Advisory

Board

members

recognize

that

the

success

of

the

marketing

campaign

depends

on

the

presence

of

considerable

amount

of

high

quality

information

in

the

system

and

have

committed

to

providing

it

In

this

way

we

seek

to

jumpstart

a

virtuous

circle

in

which

sufficient

quantities

of

information

and

use

reciprocally

reinforce

each

other

creating

a

critical

mass

of

information

providers

and

consumers

Poised

for

deployment

Connected

Kids

enables

us

to

test

a

range

of

expectations

generated

by

this

set

of

considerations

regarding

sustainability

Within

the

next

year

we

should

be

able

to

assess

relationships

related

to

stakeholder

involvement

such

as

those

between

factors

such

as

perceptions

of

involvement

in

system

design

and

administration

actual

participation

in

system

design

and

testing

activities

and

perceptions

of

ownership

with

outcomes

such

as

the

extent

of

data

contributed

to

the

system

perceptions

of

commitment

to

the

system

and

significance

of

organizational

resources

devoted

to

participation

Further

we

should

be

able

to

assess

relationships

between

the

perceived

amount

and

quality

of

information

in

the

system

and

end

user

satisfaction

likelihood

of

returning

to

the

system

and

interest

in

becoming

more

involved

in

system

activities

Of

course

we

will

continue

to

be

able

to

comment

anecdotally

on

what

we

have

learned

about

the

politics

of

technology

diffusion

in

public

sector

organizations

-LSB-

-RSB-

Bannon

L.J.

and

Griffin

J.

New

technology

communities

and

networking

Problems

and

prospects

for

orchestrating

change

Telematics

and

Informatics

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Cowan

D.D.

Mayfield

C.

T.

Tompa

F.

W.

and

Gasparini

W.

New

role

for

community

networks

Communications

of

the

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Dawes

S.S.

Bloniarz

P.

A.

and

Kelly

K.

L

Some

Assembly

Required

Building

a

Digital

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for

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Government

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DeSanctis

G.

and

Poole

M.S.

Capturing

the

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in

advanced

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use

Adaptive

structuration

theory

Organization

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Giddens

A

The

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of

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of

California

Press

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CA

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Uncovering

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Assessing

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Researching

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ed

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J.

Methodological

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T.M.

Zappen

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C.L.

Transforming

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Age

Perspectives

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Prospects

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K.

Equity

access

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R.M.

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and

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consequences

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and

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L.

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W.

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Page

M.

and

Scott

A.

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agency

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women

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S.J.

and

Kavanaugh

A.L.

Building

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and

LaRose

R.

Electronic

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explanations

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Rosenbaum

H.

Web-based

community

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organization

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access

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Current

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Government

Research

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O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 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