Towards a sustainable knowledge management and development perspective approach: The sustainable rural community development portal

Abstract

This paper presents the rural community planning portal initiative – a collaborative project between the CSIR Built Environment and Walter Sisulu University, Centre of Rural Development together with development partners with interest in rural development. The philosophy and thinking behind the rural community planning portal is that it will act as a seed for the generation of an inclusive and dynamic rural development agenda that is sensitive and relevant to contemporary issues and challenges in rural development. The portal was conceived as an interactive tool that acts as a fountain of knowledge aimed at seamlessly sharing, disseminating and transferring such knowledge with a view to catalyse rural development. Being mindful of the pitfalls of merely developing a portal as a receptacle of existing rural development information, the rural community portal was designed to appeal to and meet the rural growth and development needs of a cross-section of rural development stakeholders i.e. children, women, youths, adults and the aged from all walks of life. Consequently, attributes such as a discussion forum, document information system, e-journal, training and capacity building section and project management sections (which have provision for adding project site information, such as tracking progress and complaints with the aid of pictures) to make sure the site is vibrant and kept as responsive to user needs as possible, have been built into its architecture. The idea is to have a relevant portal that reflects and captures the dynamic needs of rural communities and the rural planning fraternity. The portal website’s design is underpinned by a developmental approach – with improvements and further add-ons being grafted as the project matures. Ultimately, the idea is to use the platform to encourage dialogue, innovative and creative thinking aimed at tackling rural growth and development challenges more resolutely. Rural growth and development technology application and intervention areas covered include, but are not limited to, rural access and mobility, rural housing and efficient settlement, sustainable development, energy and economic development, water and sanitation, agriculture and land reform, climate change and adaptation strategies, micro-enterprise and local livelihood systems development