The vision:

A centre of excellence where community development workers, youths, men and women are empowered with ICT4D knowledge and skills for socio-economic development of Toro region by the end of 2011.

ToroDev is result oriented and strives to ensure that activities implemented on its threefold strategic approach ( Civil Society, Private Sector and Government Partnership strategies) are effectively monitored in order to achieve the above vision.

 The overall mission:

To carryout research, lobby for and build modern ICT infrastructure, with usable equipment that include appropriate hardware and software, provide training to community development workers, local youths, men and women, share knowledge and skills with community Based Organisations and NGOs, monitor and evaluate the impact of the resource centre activities on realizing the long term goals and objectives of ToroDev.

The overall aim/goal:

To produce and provide efficient and effective information services and ICT training in the region that are relevant to the local youths, men and women and general community needs, while being sensitive to issues of culture, gender, income levels and political ideological divergences of the people by the year 2011.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Carryout research on the availability ICT infrastructure, technology, application appropriateness based on cultural norms of local population and government policies by september 2009.

2. Provide research skills and equipment for access, training and use of modern ICT services to 200 community development workers and 400 youth leaders in Toro region by the year 2011.

3. Set up a wireless Local Area network for information and knowledge sharing amongst the 10 main CBOs and NGOs involved in youth and gender development activities in Fort portal town by the year 2011.

4. Organize orientation workshops; conferences and radio talk shows targeted to the youth leaders and community development workers on how to train, access and use the ICT resource centre services by the year 2011.

5. Train 400 youth leaders and 200 community development workers and enable them access modern ICT facilities at the resource centre to enhance the acquired techniques which they will finally apply to their community development activities by the year 2011.

6. Get involved in research on effective integration of modern ICTs in businesses and other small-scale income generating projects of youth and women groups in at least two (2) CBOs per Sub County in Toro region by the year 2011.

First of all, how do we understand ICTs at Toro Development Network (ToroDev)? We understand ICTs in its broadest context – going beyond modern physical computer equipment, software and networks that are often misunderstood to be designed for the elite and urban population, to also traditional and rural techniques of gathering, processing and disseminating information by established rural information centres that use oral sensitisation and distribution tools that include cinemas, printed posters and other materials, public addresses, community radios and telephony.Therefore, our organisational objectives (ICT4D research, provision of equipment and training, setting up networks and bridging the urban - rural digital devide) and activities combine both modern and traditional ICTs. ToroDev has proved that ICTs posess the potential of easing rural community research activities - gathering, compiling and processing data, documenting and dissemination of comprehesive, relevant and timely rural development information. This was evidenced during the community information needs assessment survey that was completed in April 2006.

We use ICTs to advocate and lobby for Improved intrepreneural skills training, information based agricultural production practices through the use of internet(e-mails and e-articles to farmers) and market research (the use of mobile and public payphones and internet to determine prices in urbarn centres and global markets). Eventually, farmers get better prices for their produce as they get price information in the wider market and sellers get information on the volumes the farmers are producing.

The three privately owned radios stations in the community; Voice of Toro and Life FM in Kabarole district and Kyenjojo Development Radio in Kyenjojo district (through Private Sector Partnership strategy), have greatly helped us to organise ICT4D community awareness programmes through announcements, talkshows and to disseminate our research findings where an average 20,000 (youths, men and women) beneficiaries are directly empowered.

Again Internet has helped us to expand our ICT4D research boundaries and improve our Civil Society Partnership strategy through online networks we have established with other rural ICT4D projects in Ghana, Senegal, south Africa and Kenya. We have been able to create and maintain partnerships with funding organisations like Kabissa in USA, I-Network Uganda, Computer Aid International (CAI), African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD) and International Development Research Centre (IDRC) through online networks.

The press, for example, privately owned and Uganda's best selling newspaper, "The Daily Monitor" has helped us to publish our articles on ICT4D serries both online (on their website) and in printed papers where an avereage of 700 youths, 200 women and other 500 men can access and read them. For example, go to; http://allafrica.com/stories/200705080975.html or url.

Absolutely. Our project approach is transferable. Let us look at the three cases below;

1. Local Governments in Toro and other regions in Uganda and many other developing countries would indeed replicate our Project approach. For example, the ICT Ministry and the Uganda communications Commission are planning to establish over forty rural information centres throughout the country. Go to http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/32237. Community telecentres require to actively involve rural people, and we have scored in this area. We believe that our approach to this project would help Rural Communication Development Fund (RCDF), as an instrument of Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), to establish these telecentres as Bob Lyazi, the RCDF manager affirmed, "We want to use experience from the existing facilities".

2. Community Based organizations like Rwenzori Information and Communication Network (RIC-NET) an ICT4D community based organization in the Great Rwenzori region of Uganda, go to: http://www.ricnet.info, is a good example. We are in consultations to help it adopt our approach in its plan for the establishment of rural information centres in Kyaka, Bundibugyo and improve one in Kamwenge district since all these proposed centres require active rural community involvement right from the beginning.

3. I-Network Uganda (http://www.i-network.or.ug) specialises in ICT4D Knowledge Sharing and Expertise. It organises seminars, workshops and conferences about the state on ICT4D activities in Uganda. On June 4, 2007, the Executive Director, Toro Development Network paid a courtesy visit to I-Network head offices in Kamwokya, Kampala and had a brief interview with the Programme Manager, Ms Natalie Kimbugwe. The first question posed to her was, "How does I-Network source all the information it shares with its members?" This is what she had to answer, "We do community ICT4D research ourselves and also rely on research carried out by other partners and collaborators like you, and be able to share that knowledge with others in the entire country." That indeed shows that our community activity results can be replicated and used by other institutions to serve a wider national knowledge sharing agenda.

The bottom line is that our approach is more community based. It requires an institution/organisation that is willing to pay more attention to the rural people's priorities -especially non profit, chartable institutions.  Profit making organizations may find it difficult to fully replicate this project approach. However, they can partly replicate a few componets of the project approach only when fulfilling their corporate social responsibility activities - giving back a benefit to their customers.

A combination of government departments/institutions and civil society organizations would work better in replicating this project approach. This is because it involves policy formulation where the government has an upper hand.