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Strengths and Weaknesses of Disseminating Grant Information Via the Internet

Certainly, there are many strengths in utilizing Internet technology for disseminating grant information. First, it is a relatively cheap way for donor organizations to make information on their funding programs accessible. As stated before, imagine the cost of trying to disseminate funding information via TV or radio, through mass mailings, or by sending representatives door to door? A big part of this is because a website is a pull technology, which means the donor is only paying for those who actually seek the information. With TV, radio, mail, and door to door “sales”, a donor must pay for a lot of “eyeballs” that aren’t interested in order to find the smaller percentage that actually are. And, in order to pull, all a grantee needs is an Internet connection, and it can most likely gain access to funding information—especially when donor sites are built with low bandwidth in mind. Second, the Internet is much faster than these other alternatives. TV and radio require professional production and the purchase of airtime, which can all take weeks or even months. Third, the world is on its way to being wired through a bevy of Internet connection options, such as WiMax, cable, DSL, satellite, and dialup. This is the direction global technology is clearly heading, so utilizing it further institutionalizes it. It wouldn’t make sense to head in the opposite direction of technology, especially when the whole purpose is to narrow gaps, not widen them.

Yet, there are also important weaknesses in utilizing Internet technology for development aid. First, and foremost, it transfers cost to the grantee in order to receive granting information. This might not be a problem for an organization that has already established a funding history, has managed to pay for at least adequate Internet infrastructure, and has the wherewithal to continue the funding stream. But, for a startup grantee, the necessary equipment can be expensive, whereas advertising is, for all intents and purposes, free to the grantee. Second, it can create a divide between grantees—those that have relatively easy access to funding because they have a decent Internet connection versus those that are essentially stopped at the door for not having a connection at all. This is not to say this is fundamentally a problem. Some grantees and potential grantees might not have what it takes, anyway, to truly help with development, and this would provide a means of weeding them out. However, we have already seen that there are areas known for heightened poverty, such as rural areas, that are struggling to even have Internet, and would certainly be able to make a case that they have relatively greater need. If donors utilize the Internet the wrong way, and rely on it too heavily, it could create yet another poverty trap in the name of alleviating poverty.

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