Dr Patrice Braun, Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Women & Technology (APCWT) - member of the Global Women and Technology (GWT) Network and the Steering Commitee of the International Taskforce on Women and ICTs (ITF),  Deputy Director CRIC and a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Regional Innovation & Competitiveness at the University of Ballarat in Australia, has been awarded a Federal Government 2010 Endeavour Research Fellow Award ($23,500) to conduct research in Bangladesh.

The Endeavour Awards are the Australian Government's internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing high-achieving individuals with a unique opportunity to undertake study, research or professional development. The Endeavour Awards enable collaboration in areas of shared interest between the people of Australia and the region. In doing so, the Awards aim to develop mutual understanding and foster enduring linkages between individuals, organisations and countries.

Patrice’s study explores how women can be engaged and empowered with the help of ICT to address regional challenges in areas such agriculture, collaborative business development and entrepreneurship as the basis for sustainable livelihoods for their families and communities.

Adopting an Action Research methodology, the study

(1) maps information flows, and knowledge needs for women in two rural communities in Bangladesh and

(2) and documents the processes of engaging local women in the development of an ICT-enabled network and/or cooperative structure that is geared to the culture, context and complexity of the region.

Anticipated project outcomes include a solid understanding of the impact on local conditions and opportunities within a global knowledge economy context and the creation of a toolkit for the future mapping and implementation of ICT-enabled entrepreneurship and network solutions that connect women in developing economies to socio-economic opportunities to support sustainable livelihoods for their families and communities.