Development of ICTs

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Vikas Nath Founder, Digital Governance
Initiative www.DigitalGovernance.org Special
Advisor to the Executive Director, South Centre,
Geneva

• Development of ICTs
• or
• ICTs for Development?
• Can Local Sightedness Solve this Dilemma?
• Using E-Governance as a Case-Study

EPFL Executive Master in e-Governance Lausanne,
Switzerland 13 October 2006
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To understand this session better let us get out
of this classroom and transport ourselves back
into our countries
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Development of ICTs What do we mean?
ICTs can be visualized as Infrastructure
Roads, Electricity Grid, Railway Lines
Communication Tool Post, Newspapers
Capital Finance, Ideas, Human Resources As
in the case of Infrastructure, Communication
Tools and Capital, development of ICTs leads to
economic growth, greater opportunities and human
development. And yet, similar to Infrastructure,
Communication Tools and Capital developing ICTs
itself cannot ensure that lives of all people,
including those belonging to the marginalized
sections, will improve automatically. Millions
of people still lie in poverty next to roads and
highways!
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ICTs for Development What do we mean?
ICTs can be visualized as Access to Education
online classes, libraries, course
material Access to Employment job notices,
outsourced jobs Access to Information market
price, weather and floods information, government
schemes Access to Advice agricultural,
business, health advice Access to Services
shopping, banking, government services High
access-cost equipment fees, limited bandwidth,
expensive ICT solutions, software business
models, lack of technical know-how means many
developing countries are unable to deliver
benefits of ICTs to their population (inspite of
good intentions).
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Which Path should countries follow?
Development of ICTs? ICTs for Development?
High Invesment in ICTs is no guarantee that development benefits will accrue to people who need them the most. ? Eg Often countries with low-levels of ICT investment and e-readiness rank higher in providing development benefits to their population. Development benefits cannot be provided efficiently and to a large section of population in absence of a well-developed ICT infrastructure. ? Eg There is a limit to employment that can be generated and benefits that will accrue from setting up SMEs/ rural industries in absence of ICTs. ICTs can open up new markets and make the costs competitive.
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The Way Forward is

• Prioritization of Development Benefits
• Localization Targeting of Desired Constituencies
• Being Indigenous in Development of ICTs
• Being Innovative in setting up  ICT for
  Development models 
• LET US TAKE THE EXAMPLE OF
• E-GOVERNANCE .

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E-Government at a Glance
Source UNPAN http//unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups
/public/documents/un/unpan006268.pdf
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E-Gov Readiness Index (top 10)capacity of public
sector to use ICT
E-Participation Index (top 10)willingness to
provide information and communication tools (6
Areas Health, Educ, Finance, Employment, Social
welfare General
E-government Readiness Index E-government Readiness Index
Country Index
United States 0.9062
Denmark 0.9058
Sweden 0.8983
United Kingdom 0.8777
Republic of Korea 0.8727
Australia 0.8679
Singapore 0.8503
Canada 0.8425
Finland 0.8231
Norway Chile (top 25) 0.8228
E-participation Index E-participation Index
Country Index
United Kingdom  1.0000
Singapore 0.9841
United States  0.9048
Canada 0.8730
Republic of Korea 0.8730
New Zealand 0.7937
Denmark 0.7619
Mexico 0.7619
Australia 0.7143
Netherlands Chile, Colombia, Philippines, Brazil, Venezuela.(top 25) 0.6984
Source UNPAN E-Gov Global Survey 2005
http//www.unpan.org/egovernment5.asp
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Ranking of Municipalities Online(84 Cities)
CRITERIA Citizen Service Delivery

• 1 Seoul
• 2 Hong Kong
• 3 Singapore
• 4 Rome
• 5 Shanghai
• 6 New York
• 7 Auckland
• 8 Stockholm
• 9 Sao Paulo
• 10 Sofia

Among the top 25 cities 8 cities are from
developing or transition countries Shanghai
Dubai, Macao, Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Kyiv, Sofia,
Bucharest.
Source Survey done by Rutgers, the State
University of New Jersey- Newark, USA
http//newark.rutgers.edu/egovinst/Website/summar
y.htm
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Who is the Government for Citizens ?Who are the
Citizens for Government ?
CITIZENS
GOVERNMENT
Women
Central Government
Home Ministry
Farmers
Taxpayer
Courts
Agriculture Department
Rural Population
National Banks
Senior Citizens
Municipality
Un- Employed
State Government
Customs
Entrepreneur
Media
Excise Department
Police
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Localization and Prioritization of Development
Benefits (Who are the users and what services do
they need?)
Small Medium Enterpreneurs ? Tax excise subsidies, Government loans, Credit availability
Farmers ? Pest control, Market and minimum support prices, Government schemes and subsidies
Unemployed ? Government employment and roster, medical benefits
Rural people ? Local government offices, health education facilities
Fishermen ? Weather pattern, rehabilitation plans
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TARGETING E-Governance is Match- Making between
Citizens and Service Providers
E- GOVERNANCE
USER GROUPS
SERVICE PROVIDERS
Un- Employed
Transport Ministry
Farmers
NGO Workers
Department of Youth Employment
CITIZENS
Home Ministry
Women
Senior Citizens
Local Municipalities
Children
Local Media
Health Department
Local Businesses
Agriculture Department
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5 Innovative E-Governance Models being used in
Several Developing Countries

• Wider Dissemination Model
• Critical Flow Model
• Comparative Analysis Model
• E-advocacy/ Pressure group model
• Selective-Service Model

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Wider Disseminating Model Information Public
Domain Wider Public Domain
CITIZENS

• Govt. Laws, Legislations, Notices
• Local Govt. Offices and Officials Information
• Government Budget, Plans and Expenditures
• Key Judicial Decisions state vs. citizen
  decisions
• Government Tenders, Procurement Notice
• Government Employment

Wider Public Domain
CITIZENS
Public Domain Information
CITIZENS
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Examples
Mongolia Open Government http//open-government
.mn Malaysia E-Flood Information
http//jps.selangor.gov.my Philippines
Government Online (but not yet!)
http//www.gov.ph/directory Uzbekistan Portal
of the State of Authority http//www.gov.uz
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MONGOLIA
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1. The system integrates all hydrology data from
   District DID (JPS) to the Shah Alam Hydrology
   Unit automatically and in real time.
2. It then provides real-time river monitoring to
   safequard life and property, and offers flood
   warnings through SMS.
3. The project simplifies government agency flood
   rescue operations.

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INDIA (For Fishermen) Fish Shoal Movements in
the Indian Ocean
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Critical Flow Model Critical Information Private
Domain Wider Public Domain

• Corruption Information
• Enquiry reports, scientific research, impact
  studies commissioned
• Companys Green Ratings
• Human Rights Violations Records
• Whistle Blowing

Wider Domain
Private Domain Information
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Examples
Bangladesh Human Rights Portal
www.banglarights.net independent web portal which
exposes and challenges discriminations and
violations of human rights. India Central
Vigilance Committee www.cvc.nic.in Online filing
of complaints against public officials and online
exposing of names of Corrupted Government
Officials. Mexico Declarenet
www.declaranet.gob.mx Declaranet" allows for
on-line filing of income for federal employees.
Bloggers
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BANGLADESH Human Rights Violations
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INDIA Central Vigilance Committee
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Comparative Analysis Model Information
in Private / Public Domain Public / Private
Domain Wider Public Domain
Public/Private Domain
Wider Domain
Public Domain Information
Public/Private Domain
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Comparative Analysis Model

• Based on comparison
• over Time
• Based on comparison between 2 Services at a
  given time

• Court Rulings / Historical Archive
• Tracking Performance Records / Background of
  Electoral Candidates

• Bringing out Best / Worst Practices
• Cases of Corruption, Budget Irregularities

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Examples
India National Courts http//indiancourts.nic.in
Sri Lanka Comparison of Education Indicators
(Kothmale Project) Philippines Comparison of
Electoral Candidates India Green Ratings of
Chief Ministers/ Comparing Environmental Records
of Industries http//www.cseindia.org
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INDIA National Courts
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INDIA Green Rating of Industries / Paper Mills
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Mobilisation and Lobbying Model Building Allies /
Networking Networks for Concerted Action
Real Community
Virtual Community
Communities
Common Goal
Individuals
Strategic flow of Information to build strong
issue-based Allies to complement action in Real
World.
Networks
Interest Groups
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Examples

• SMS and Mobile Political Campaigns- Philippines,
  Belarus (ice-cream flash mobs) and Ukraine
• SMS Protests Lebanan (organise massive
  anti-Syrian protests after the assassination of
  former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri)
• Anti-Corruption Signature Campaigns India
  (Petition OnlineCorruption)
• Email Groups for Lobbying Zimbabwe Kubatana.net

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Service Delivery Model USER
SERVICE PROVIDER
E-Procurement E- Shopping E-ballots E-taxes,
parking tickets, licenses E-Government
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Examples
Philippines Online Marriage, Birth Certificates
(City of Manila) http//www.cityofmanila.com.ph/se
rvice.htm China Shanghai Investment Promotion
Agency http//www.investment.gov.cn/english/index.
html Indonesia LIVE E-Commerce India Delhi
Government Online Complaint Form
complaints.mcdonline.gov.in
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PHILIPPINES
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CHINA Shanghai Investment Promotion Agency
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Indonesia Want to buy a LIVE SHEEP?
Leave me a message
SpecificationsFor sale jamnapari goats ex
Indonesia. Quality breeders between 6 and 9
months old. Able to supply up to 450 goats per
month. Berat LahirBerat Dewasa Jantan 3 - 4 kg
  Jantan 68 - 91 kg Betina 3-4 kg   Betina 36-63
skg
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COMING BACK The Way Forward is

• Prioritization of Development Benefits
• Localization Targeting of Desired Constituencies
• Being Indigenous in Development of ICTs
• Being Innovative in setting up  ICT for
  Development models 
• THUS THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE
• BEHIND ICT PROJECTS SHOULD BE

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THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE

• Increasing the  Public Value of Services  being
  offered by Information Technology to local
  community?

What do you mean by PUBLIC VALUE of Services?
Okay, let me explain what that means?
O O i
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Case A pre-ICT Situation
V Value of Service being derived by the User U
V1B
A
B
V1A
U1
C
V2C
U2
U4
V4D
U3
D
V3D
V5D
U5
SERVICES (A, B, C, D)
USERS (5)
Total Public Value of Services derived U1V1
U2V2 U3V3 U4V4 U5V5
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3 WAYS to increase PUBLIC VALUE OF SERVICES

• Bring NEW USERS under the reach of the
  Information Technology
• Provide NEW SERVICES to Existing Users
• Enhance the QUALITY OF EXISTING SERVICES being
  offered so that users derive greater Value from
  the same service.

THE SITUATION WILL THEN CHANGE..
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Case B Desired post- ICT situation
G
U6
U8
A
B
U1
U7
C
E
U2
U4
F
U3
D
U5
USERS (8)
SERVICES (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H)
New Public Value U1V1 U2V2 U3V3 U4V4
U5V5 .. UiVj
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ICT Projects Guideline

• Who are the Target groups that we want to reach
  out to, through Internet?
• What are the local information needs of the
  disadvantaged community?
• What are the existing channels by which
  information reaches to the disadvantaged
  community?
• What is the weakest link in the chain of
  information flows from source to the
  disadvantaged communities?

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QUESTIONS?
Vikas Nath Inlaks Scholar, London School of
Economics, UK Founder, Digital Governance
Initiative Founder, DevNetJobs.org
Initiative Special Advisor, South
Centre Vikas.Nath_at_gmail.com http//www.VikasNat
h.org