ICT initiatives for vulnerable groups in Brazil: intended and unintended consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Despite the multitude of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), their successful implementation has been slow and faced more difficulties than anticipated. Although the deployment and use of ICT has become inevitable, many emerging countries have faced challenges in adopting ICT for the benefit of their entire population. During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, ICT initiatives became a major issue, especially for vulnerable groups. The purpose of this study is to understand the intended and unintended consequences of ICT initiatives during the pandemic, through two case studies in Brazil covering relevant societal areas, namely social protection and public education. The results bring two main contributions. The first is an understanding of how social groups, negotiation mechanisms and technologies-in-practice are enacted to inform public policies and actions. The second concerns the production of knowledge for the Information Systems area, by revealing the challenges and opportunities brought by ICT to emerging markets in a post-Covid-19 reality.