CIRN Purposes
Jan06

The purpose of the network is to promote and represent community informatics and community networking research internationally. Community Informatics lies at two cross-roads: bringing together people concerned with electronically enabling communities: local, virtual and communities of practice; and structuring collaborations between researchers and practitioners, including industry, in these three domainsand to support a community based approach to the implementation of ICT systems and services including Internet access and responses to the Digital Divide.

Community Informatics lies at the junction of two cross-roads and brings together people concerned with electronically enabling local (and virtual) communities; and structuring collaborations between researchers, practitioners (including industry) and policy makers to support community ICT implementation and effective use.

CIRN sees collaboration with those undertaking community focussed ICT implementations in Less Developed and Developed countries both for enabling ICT access and for providing specific community oriented ICT enabled services as a significant priority.

The intent of the Network is to ensure that these implementations are informed by the range of available knowledge and experience concerning the community use of ICTs and to provide as might be required the range of technical, social science, and community development skills that are needed by such implementations.