The UNECA has been implementing a UN project entitled "knowledge networks through ICT access points for disadvantaged communities" jointly with the United Nations Regional Commissions, with ESCWA as the lead agency, over a period of 36 months starting in 2006. The main goal of the project is to empower poor and disadvantaged communities through the transformation of existing ICT access points in selected countries around the world into knowledge hubs of global knowledge networks. The project aims at increased engagement of target beneficiaries in disadvantaged communities (with an emphasis on women) in these knowledge networks. This involvement will serve to deploy relevant knowledge pertaining to key areas of sustainable development such as employment, education, gender and health. Close collaboration with other relevant United Nations agencies as well as representatives of Governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations, has been maintained throughout the different phases of implementation.

To understand how telecentres are established, operated, managed, sustained and integrate in the community, 6 countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) will participate in a baseline research survey involving 15 telecentres. Each participating telecentre will involve the community they serve and will target over 100 respondents mainly direct and indirect beneficiaries of the telecentres. These telecentres were chosen considering urban and rural representation.

The following telecentres will participate in the survey:
Burundi
Télécentres Communautaires  du Burundi and BYTC, Dushirehamwe Community Multimedia Centre
Ethiopia
Youth Network for Sustainable Development Telecentre, Tesfa Ethiopia Multipurpose Community ICT Centre
Kenya
Ugunja Community Resource Centre, Kenya Telecentre Network, Animal Utilisation and Welfare (KENDAT) and Kimathi Information Centtre.
Rwanda
Nyamata Telecentre, Rwanda Telecentre Network and Mayange Communication Centre
Tanzania
Sengerema Community Multimedia Centre, Kibengwe Rural Communication Access and Development Centre, FADECO Telecentre
Uganda
Women of Uganda Network – WOUGNET, Nakaseke Community Multimedia Centre and Nabweru Community Multimédia Centre.

The aim of the community baseline research is to compile a community knowledge base and information needs including sources of information through probing the community needs in term of knowledge (in agriculture, health, education, gender, employment, etc.) and by cooperating with local authorities/institutions to create sustainable facilities and knowledge hubs satisfying community needs in term of information and knowledge.

Telecentres will be encouraged and supported to establish a community knowledge base based on a regular survey probing the community needs in term of knowledge (agriculture, health, education etc), and by cooperating with local authorities/institutions to create sustainable facilities satisfying community needs in term of information and knowledge.

To this effect and to accurately discern the unique characteristics of the communities in each community telecentres and ensure that knowledge hubs’ services and content development including project planning, implementation and evaluation is based on accurate information, compiled and verified in an ongoing and increasingly detailed manner, the first Pillar of the Regional Knowledge Network Strategy provides the means to link existing academic/research resources to community development challenges in a reciprocally beneficial manner, via community-based participatory research (CBPR).

CBPR is an iterative process, incorporating research, reflection, and action in a cyclical process which engages a community fully in the process of problem definition/issue selection, research design, conducting research, and interpreting the results.

There are many qualified and talented researchers in the communities and in academic, government and non-government institutions based in and outside the locality. This activity is designed to provide opportunities to enlist and create links with these individuals and institutions to conduct iterative, ICT and information focused community development research in partnership with the telecentres and community-based organizations (CBOs) active at the local level.

To render the data gathered most useful, it will be disaggregated by gender, age, economic and education characteristics, etc.

The establishment of baselines for communities of where they are today compared to where they want to be tomorrow is intended to engender the bottom up, grassroots type of support required for successful community led development, and constitute the most solid foundation upon which future, elaborated versions of a knowledge base of the concerned community would evolve.

Therefore, this activity promotes and arranges telecentres research in the identified thematic areas by the regional stakeholders.