The social dynamics underpinning telecentres in Nepal : feedback and absorptive capacity in a national innovation system

This article offers a conceptual analysis of two aspects of openness: extended feedback and absorptive capacity in the context of a developing country national innovation system. Extended feedback is defined as the capacity of national agencies, responsible for telecentre development, to learn and share learning about the practices, ideas and information demands of people using their telecentres. This allows for a greater diffusion of knowledge across the national innovation system (NIS). Absorptive capacity is defined as the capacity of users to access and share information and apply it for productive practices. These concepts are used in this article to help explain the ways that social networks can be consolidated and extended, horizontally and vertically, through telecentres in rural Nepal and consequently contribute to social and economic development. The argument is developed that telecentres, providing there is extended feedback at the institutional level and absorptive capacity at both local and central levels, extend access to ‘bridging social capital’. The paper concludes by identifying some potential indicators for monitoring and evaluating the impact of ICT (Information Communication Technologies) using these concepts.