Building a knowledge society: the relationship between information and development in Bangladesh

Abstract

The objective of the research is to identify how information can influence development in the developing countries, especially in Bangladesh. A variety of information gathering stages were undertaken including documentary analysis, interviews with key officials, structured interviews with individuals living in rural and urban slum areas and focus groups. Officials at the central planning level responsible for community development and information services in Bangladesh were interviewed to ascertain their views of the relation of information and development in Bangladesh. At the grassroots level both information providers and users were interviewed to collect information relating to the impact of information services on development in rural and poor urban areas of Bangladesh. Structured interviews which allowed for quantitative analysis were undertaken in four remote villages and two poor urban areas. Analysis of the data collected has led to the development of a model for community information centres which might become central to information dissemination and provide a focus for information policy in Bangladesh.