I. General Concepts of a Community Telecenter 

In terms of management, a community telecenter is not different from other community learning centers, namely an agricultural technology transfer center in each district. A community telecenter has become a brand new learning center that attracts considerable attention from people throughout the world as a result of advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that has contracted our contemporary world into a single society known as “a global village.” To make use of ICT as another tool for development is, thus, so significant that any communities can no longer avoid.              

The following is a conclusion drawn from a study and direct experience in operating various types of community telecenters which can be adopted as an ideological base in our community telecenter.

 The Characteristics of a Community Telecenter that Helps Strengthen a Community Criteria for considering a community telecenter that helps build up the community strength are as follows:  

1. A community telecenter should operate in accordance with the directions of the community development.

 2. A community telecenter is to be able to provide knowledge, appropriate technology, and guidance on how to manage equipments, materials and labor in the community. 

3. A community telecenter should aim at promoting the ability of the community in administration and involving the community members in administration.

 4. A community telecenter should operate to promote greater unity of community members and bring benefits to them clearly and fairly according to the level of participation.

5. A community telecenter should take information or activities concerning community environment and ecosystem into consideration in order to keep pace with current trends toward environment. 

6. The operating procedures of a community telecenter should not be complicated in order that a community will be able to spread duties and responsibilities among members all over the community 

7. A community telecenter should offer holistic information essential for the community to utilize. 

II. Participatory Management of a Community Telecenter

There are plenty of procedures for establishing a community telecenter but a procedure that is simple and focuses on the participation of the community members as well as related organizations is the following: 

1. Both the leader and the members together with related organizations should receive equal opportunities to express opinions on establishing a community telecenter.  

2. The members are given opportunities to propose activities they are interested with reasons supporting the following issues:- Whether a community telecentre responds to the directions of community development.- Whether a community has the ability or knowledge of operating a telecenter. 

3. The leader or the chair of the meeting compiles activities as well as reasons proposed by the community or the members. The community or the members then give their opinions towards those activities or the members vote for the activity they uphold. Afterwards the members will collaboratively discuss and plan the activity, media, content etc. winning the majority vote. 

4. The members are divided into groups responsible for appropriate duties in order to help each other plan tasks concerning operating a community telecenter. 

5. Each group presents and discusses existing differences together so as to bring them to a conclusion.

6. The meeting appoints a team to write a summary on each issue their group is in charge of such as examining a purchasing price of materials and equipments to create as accurate budget plan as possible.  

III. Community Telecenter Strategies and Directions that Help Strengthen a Community

1. Operate self-dependently

2. Have a natural and dedicated leader

3. Promote fairness and equal benefits among community members

4. Assist people who lack good opportunities

5. Emphasize on local wisdom

6. Encourage community members to participate more actively in a telecenter’s activities

7. Provide a wide range of services based on the reality of a community

8. Discover and promote the use of villagers’ wisdom

9. Bridge the collaboration gap between organizations, networks and government agencies

10. Aware of one’s own problem and link it with public problems

11. Develop the power of generosity

12. Yield an opportunity for the community to plan its development or determine its own fate.

13. Promote increased participation of a religious leader and an opinion leader

14. Allocate a budget effectively

IV. Procedures for Managing a Community Telecenter

1. Join together in thinking, working and examining

3. Allow the community to adjust its working process in order to respond to the local demands

4. Operate as a flat organization

7. Organize the social power at all levels

8. Have the ability to manage its own affairs

9. Coordinate the network partners such as government agencies and other organizations in order to encourage more cooperation.

10. Form a social power group to weaken the patronage system

11. Operate in a transparent manner and be able to scrutinize

12. Adjust an old management structure and procedures

13. Be flexible to achieve new learning processes that are not limited to a certain discipline

14. Create a knowledge exchange process within and across networks 

V. Key Directions and Strategies for Establishing a Community Telecenter

1. Study and explore holistic knowledge in a community or local area by the community or the organizations of the community.

2. Synthesize and transfer villagers’ experience and knowledge between communities as well as a community and the public.

3. Enhance the ability to manage specific information concerning the community such as the community business(Study manufacturing system, market etc. and comprehend the whole process)

4. Join together in making master plans of a telecenter and put them into practice

5. Establish a budget to strengthen a community

6. Connect a learning network between communities

7. Create activities and a learning process for the youth to participate in operating a telecenter

8. Provide workers with encouragement or welfare

9. Promote leadership and discipline at work among the members

10. Create and restore various forms of local wisdom

11. Foster the participation of home, temple, school, culture and religion

12. Coordinate and build up a network between the leaders from the government, private organizations and community, and also between parties at varying level

13. Exchange significant information such as product information or knowledge across provinces and region

14. Serves as a center to coordinate, publicize, and support any kind of the community media such as the community radio, cultural and local media etc.

15. Enable the master plans of a telecenter to accord with the master plans of the community together with the development plans at any levels

16. Educate the members about politics and government

17. Support the management to create a network between savings groups from other villages and examine, exchange and learn from each other

18. Create a linkage between partners, and follow as well as scrutinize the establishment of public laws

19. Provide significant information such as a community economic plan based on a sufficiency economy

20. Serving as a center to spread community plans, namely the community master plans, to other communities

21. Offer significant information such as information regarding the village fund as the national fund

22. Provide a knowledge exchange process between communities such as a organizing a public learning platform to respond to every strategy

23. Provide a procedure for making a connection between significant information such as establishing an information center of the community, province, region, or country

24. Provide a procedure for making a connection between significant information such as expanding opportunities to the community based on the latest constitution such as section 40, 89, 46, and 56 the right to information

 Example 1: In 2002, the National Electronics and Computer Technology summarized the findings on a Community Telecenter Pilot Project.The most important part of development is placing an emphasis on a community, a real owner of a pilot telecenter. To sustainably respond to the community demands, the community is to pay attention and participates in establishing a telecenter. Additionally, the community is to have a location that is convenient to access and is strong enough to help each other operate a telecenter. Extending the network of the cooperation between organizations supporting the communities in a pilot area and other agencies or communities is also a crucial basis for sharing experience that will enormously benefit the development at any levels. 

Example 2:  In 2002, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University and Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives conducted a study on the Management of the Community Fund in order to increase the capacity for sustainable development. In brief, the findings suggested that the management of the community fund aiming at sustainability should follow the following directions and steps:                       

Step 1: Holding a community meeting as a stage for knowledge exchange and discussion with members within and outside the community is counted as the first step to create a learning process                       

 Step 2: A community is to review itself, explore its potential, and observe successful communities after preparing readiness and the community strength in the first step                        

Step 3: Master plans are important components of the community development planning. Making master plans is a decision-making process at the district level in order that the directions of the district development will be in accordance with the community demands                        

 Step 4: Opinions from the community members are collected to establish regulations, rules or conditions                        

Step 5: Support from external organizations in the form of fund, knowledge and market etc. is provided     

Example 3: In 2003, UNESCO Thailand published a 10-step manual on how to sustainably operate a Multipurpose Community Telecenter (MCT). Below are the 10 steps in brief:

 STEP1: Getting started Collaboratively develop the understandings concerning the concepts of a telecenter, the importance of a telecenter, and the relation between a telecenter and a community, as well as appointing the committee 

STEP 2: Holding an open community meeting Allow the members to join together in learning and exploring the needs and the problems of the community 

STEP 3: Management Clearly identify the roles of the committee at each level such as the roles of the steering committee and the roles of the management committee, and also fix the meeting time 

STEP 4: Staffs AppointmentDefine job descriptions and make an agreement together 

STEP 5: Services and ProgramsExpand existing services and seek participating parties 

STEP 6: Building and Equipment Evaluate the needs for buildings, furniture and hardware and software equipments 

STEP 7: Planning ProceduresConduct a situational analysis as well as determine the mission and action plans together

STEP 8: Financial ManagementWork collaboratively on an annual budget plan and grants application 

STEP 9: Operating ProceduresEstablish clear operating procedures of a community telecenter 

STEP 10: Customer Service and Promotional IssuesDefine the roles of customers, improve services, and deal with promotional issues