Understanding the Influence of ICT in Development: A Study of Uganda’s Water Sector

In Sub-Saharan Africa, numerous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives have been implemented to address information gaps, service delivery and enhance decision-making within multiple sectors. Drawing on concomitant perceptions that ICT for Development (ICT4D) and Information Systems in Developing Countries (ISDC) studies postulate ICTs amplifying development conditions; this paper examines the influence of a development-oriented intervention implemented by Uganda's Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) to manage information challenges. The artefact called Water Supply Database (WSDB) is now positioned by MWE as the main information repository, and we describe the conceptual process of understanding and theorising its influence. This exploratory study adopts Classic Grounded Theory (CGT) to determine how stakeholders in the water sector perceive developmental influence of the WSDB. We present theoretical findings analysed from qualitative interviews to rationalize WSDB influence on water sector development and the implications of adopting CGT as a suitable methodology for theorisation in ICT4D.