Phronesis as a Paradigm for ICT-enabled Transparency: The Case of the Nicaragua Canal Megaproject

This paper proposes the use of Phronesis as an alternate research paradigm to inform the design of information systems that can enhance the transparency and accountability of megaprojects. We illustrate the proposed approach in the context of the Nicaragua Canal Project, a contemporary Mega-Project for which the research questions addressed by the three Aristotean intellectual virtues: episteme, techne, and phronesis, are presented and examined. We differentiate between the types of questions that can arise in investigating megaprojects and show that Phronesis is more suitable than the traditional research paradigms of Epistemology (episteme) and technology (techne) for answering the type of societalmanagerial “choice” questions that typically arise in the case of megaprojects. Therefore, phronesis can provide an appropriate framework for the design of ICT-enabled systems that can facilitate the advancement of different stakeholder values and perspectives that need to be considered in making value choices.