Abstract:
Effective rural development programmes require precise and reliable data on a
variety of socio-economic and environmental parameters. While government
organizations remain the major source of data, there is a rising acknowledgment of
the potential for citizen-generated data to enhance official data. The purpose of this
research is to investigate which particular data necessary for rural development
projects may be efficiently obtained from citizens/beneficiaries using participatory
mapping exercises and mobile-based data collecting methods. The study employs
an opinion survey of people to assess their willingness to contribute data and to
identify the factors that influence their participation. The study also maps the
variation in data contributed by people who have access to citizen service centers
(CSCs) and those who do not. ANOVA test has been used to analyze variance in
the data collected and compare the citizen-generated data to other data sources.
The study provides a pathway on how citizen-generated data may improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of rural development initiatives. The findings will also
highlight the areas that require improvement in terms of citizen service centers and
other facilities with recommendations for the use of citizen-generated data in rural
development programmes. Overall, this study aims to improve the participatory
approach to planning process and add to the expanding body of knowledge on the
use of citizen-generated data in rural development.
Keywords: Citizen-generated data, Participatory mapping exercises, Mobile-based
