CoE Research - Enabling the Adoption and Diffusion of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) among SMEs in Jamaica

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Research Title Enabling the Adoption and Diffusion of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) among SMEs in Jamaica
Research Questions 1. What is the level of awareness among Jamaican SMEs to FOSS and how do this, and other factors, influence adoption?
2. How would interventions through managed support services, structured implementation approaches and effective training impact the level of adoption of FOSS in the sector?
Scope / Methodology The overall research project utilized a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods conducted over three distinct phases.
Phase 1: A survey and a series of facilitated workshops conducted on a sample of sixty-five (65) Small Medium Enterprises in Jamaica to determine Adoption & Use patterns of ICTs in general and FOSS in particular, among Jamaican SMEs
Phase II: Develop a Solution Framework for the implementation of FOSS Applications in SMEs. Components of this proposed framework includes a series of ICT artifacts and methodologies
Phase III: Evaluate the effectiveness of the solutions through a series of implementation Case Studies.
Findings
Publications Upcoming Publication: "Adoption & Diffusion patterns of FOSS in Jamaican SMEs: A Study of Perceptions, Attitudes & Barriers for Owner-Decision makers" accepted as a Chapter for the upcoming Book: Free and Open Source Software for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries, by United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), scheduled to be published by UNU Press, http://www.unu.edu/unupress/ , in summer, 2011.
Research URL