From expectations to implementations: An analysis of Ushahidi and ICT projects in Kenyan civil society

This dissertation analyzes the adoption, implementation, and sustained use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by civil society organizations in Kenya. Using two research strands, adoption and implementation theories and research into factors contributing to the success and failure of information and communication technologies for development (ICTD) projects, this dissertation analyzes how groups working in Kenyan civil society use new media technologies to achieve social justice and development goals. This research focuses on the influence of the interaction of individual, technological, and contextual factors on the implementation process and project outcomes.;To study the relationship among factors, this dissertation examines seven cases of civil society groups implementing the Ushahidi Platform through an analysis of the characteristics of the implementers, the perceptions and attributes of the technology, and the context surrounding the implementations. This dissertation is part of a growing body of research on the strategic use of ICT, particularly web and mobile technologies, by civil society groups across the globe. This study shows how complex factors interact to produce different technology adoption decisions, implementations, and outcomes and how technology implementations influence organizational effectiveness.;This study examines the Ushahidi Platform, a free and open-source crowdsourcing, data-visualization, and mapping software, as an example of a new type of technology that is gaining prominence in civil society. As more groups adopt these new tools, which often integrate mobile and web components, it becomes increasingly important to interrogate the influences of the adoption of these tools on civil society organizations' work and relationships. This study analyzes the growing trend of ICT adoption by civil society groups using Nairobi, Kenya as the context for the study. The findings are based on ten-months of fieldwork completed in 2009 and 2010, and the study draws from data collected using multiple qualitative methods.