Publisher: telecentre.org, Mission 2007
Partners: NASSCOM Foundation, Plan International - India, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, World Corps, Development Alternatives and Splash! Communications
Source: http://www.telecentre.org/uploads/tele-manuals.pdf
 
Introduction

To  strengthen  the capacity-building component of the Mission 2007 ecosystem, telecentre.org – with the help of Mission 2007 partners initiated a project called 'Training Commons' to achieve two objectives:

• To encourage organisations engaged in telecentre training to document their efforts and evolve training content so that it can be used as curriculum by others; and,
• To help organisations willing to share their curriculum and knowledge by creating a consortium called Training Commons, founded on the ethos of knowledge- sharing and partnerships.

The idea mooted at the Mission 2007 partners meet in Chennai during October 2005 resulted in a telecentre.org-led project called 'Mission 2007 Training Commons' in February 2006.

The two-year effort of the Mission 2007 Training Commons project involved scores of partners who were willing to share their knowledge, resources and expertise in the formation of the curriculum. The partners are NASSCOM Foundation, Plan International - India, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, World Corps, Development Alternatives and Splash! Communications.

There are four main manuals which are part of this module. They can be used independently or as part of a larger package. The manuals address various questions in four main areas – grassroots marketing, grassroots communications, entrepreneurship, and info-mediary skills (managing telecentres). The manuals seek to provide valuable information that helps both trainers of telecentre managers and the managers themselves learn about different aspects of telecentre management, to become more knowledgeable, and to gain some specialised skills so that they can make a success out of the telecentres they run. Let us see the brief description of all the four manuals.

I. Grassroots Marketing

The module on Grassroots Marketing has seven chapters designed to explain, in simple terms, the principles of marketing. When anyone sets up a small business, he or she does so in the expectation that it will be a success and that it will not only pay for its costs of operation, but also allow profit. That is why businesses, small and big, are run and there is no reason why a telecentre should not be run as a small business.

To do so, however, one needs to learn the basics of marketing, that is, understand the concepts of marketing; what are the differences between urban and rural markets; and what grassroots marketing is. One also needs to understand who are the customers; what are the services they require, what telecentre as a business can provide for them; how the budgeting of a telecentre can be done; what should be the price for the services offered; how the accounts should be maintained; how a marketing campaign should be designed; what should be the pattern for service deleivery; and how to determine whether the initiative is suuccesful or not.

II. Grassroots Communications

The module on Grassroots Communication, focuses on rural communications. Rural conditions are very different from urban settings and one has to be creative, even if radio, television and other urban media are present.

Through this module, one learns how to communicate, write better, take photographs, to create comic strips, make small radio programmes and even use your computers to make small digital stories. In many ways, when these skills are combined with  the knowledge of the rural community that one already possess, one will be well ahead of their urban counterparts. And one will also learn to earn additional income through creative activities.

III. Entrepreneurship

This manual, introduces the relevant knowledge and skills, of entrepreneurship. In Indian languages, the term 'antarprerana' or inner drive is sometimes seen as the key motivating factor for success. Inner drive and a desire for achievement is important, but it is equally essential to understand how knowledge and skills can be used to start a new ICT enterprise.

When it comes to a special effort such as a telecentre, one needs to learn how to develop a business idea, do a quick market survey and create a business plan that can be used to find initial funding support for their efforts. Through the manual the telecentre operator learn; how to be a leader, how to motivate their staff, and how to make small telecentre business grow.

IV. Info-mediary Skills
This manual throws light on the skills that are required by a telecentre operator. A telecentre operator is a mediator or a go-between of information and knowledge. In other words, he/she helps his village community to access information using the telecentre. He would have to understand their requirements, find the information they need and provide it to them.

For this, the operator  would have to understand of  the  role of an info-mediary, develop some special personality traits, learn about information and communication technologies, and also how to use information within their community.

The chapters in this manual takes step by step through the process. This chapter is specially designed keeping telecentre operators in mind.