The sustainability of information and communications technology (ICT) projects has garnered increasing interest in recent years. The authors of this paper identify and categorize the issues involved in sustainability through a study of the literature. These categories are then illustrated using a particular rural development project.

The categories identified by the authors are social and cultural sustainability, institutional sustainability, economic/financial sustainability, political sustainability, and technological sustainability. Overall sustainability requires a harmonious integration of the various categories. The potential value of ICT in rural development is briefly reviewed, as is the concept of sustainability in rural development. The particular rural development project discussed, located in a rural village in South Africa, involves e-commerce in tourism.

Social and cultural sustainability is manifested by the people in the community feeling empowered and invested. Institutional sustainability is attained when governing processes and structures can continue to perform in the long term. Financial sustainability, often the only category of sustainability considered, is measured by whether the project can generate enough income in the long run to support itself. Political sustainability is reflected in how political entities influence the project. Technological sustainability is addressed by ensuring that the technologies used can be updated as needed, and ensuring that spare parts and supplies will be available. The rural development project described is in its early stages, but may have difficulty with social/cultural sustainability and political sustainability. These difficulties are reflected in incomplete involvement of the local community in early stage planning and in computer training.

The value of this paper is in the wide range of ideas it brings together. The value of the approach needs testing.