Universities as Partners in Measuring e-Business and ICT for Development

1
Universities as Partners in Measuringe-Business
and ICT for Development

• UNCTAD Expert Meeting on e-commerce
• Geneva, 8-10 September 2003
• Stéphane Gagnon, Ph.D.
• Assistant Professor
• Director, NJIT e-Business Laboratory
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• Email gagnon_at_njit.edu
• Web Site http//elab.njit.edu

2
Outline

• Evolving Role of Universities
• Using Metrics for ICT Policy
• End-User Perspective
• Data Producer Perspective
• Areas of Possible Contribution
• Providing New Processes
• Providing New Metrics/Tools
• Providing New Forums
• Providing New MS Degree
• Next Steps - Multilateral Effort

3
Evolving Role of Universities

• Moving beyond traditional roles of data producers
  and users
• New research issues measurement process, tools,
  and methodologies
• New role focuses on leveraging and blending
  skills/assets such as
• Hands-on knowledge of e-business
• Collaborative research with industry
• Understand the needs of data users
• Data mining tools for policy analysis
• Capacity to train data producers/users

4
Using Metrics for ICT Policy

• Policy Makers Must...
• Pinpoint the actual digital divide
• Carefully allocate large ICT budgets
• Resolve debates about privatizations
• Ensure returns to all parties involved
• Control and hold actors accountable

• Metrics Used to
• Identify the right people to help
• Size projects to the actual needs
• Clearly delineate national interests
• Secure investors with neutral data
• Report to donors or field auditors

5
End-User Perspective

• Needs of Policy Makers
• Reset Priorities e-business and ICT policies
  must be refocused on citizens with most pressing
  needs and on local entrepreneurship
• Build Vision Policy analysis and decision making
  processes must be reengineered to exploit
  databases
• Coordinate Policies Process to leverage policy
  interdependencies (e.g., linking ICT
  entrepreneurship, providing local training, and
  building e-government tools, etc.)

6
Data Producer Perspective

• Concerns of Statistical Agencies
• Measurable Goals The e-business technologies and
  practicies targeted must have clear inputs and
  outputs
• Value of Data Benefit/cost ratios of the data
  must be shared by many and correlated to
  strategic initiatives
• Analytical Tools Analysts need a data warehouse
  to produce real-time reports at varying
  levels/units of disaggregation, time, geography,
  etc.

7
Areas of Possible Contribution

1. New Processes Improve and help deploy new policy
   processes built to exploit guidelines and metrics
   databases
2. New Metrics/Tools Leverage industry links to
   customize and adapt metrics for complex
   e-business technologies
3. New Forums Stimulate international cooperation
   to transfer capabilities to countries ready to
   join a multilateral effort
4. New MS Degree Build a new graduate program to
   train policy and statistical analysts, and ensure
   international comparability through common
   standards

8
Providing New Processes

• Identify best practicies from experienced NSOs,
  governments, agencies, etc.
• Document their processes into standards, build
  some readily deployable guidelines with clear
  staffing/tasking, models, etc.
• Build an international database of local experts
  and potential employees/partners
• Help senior officials implement the WSIS
  consensus on the data-driven approach
• Help policy units in key ICT areas to identify
  capabilities and coordination
• Carry out some reengineering exercises to
  demonstrate validity of new approach

9
Providing New Metrics/Tools

• Survey instruments must be integrated and
  repackaged for various contexts/constraints
• Create a global network of ICT suppliers to build
  a common template to assess technology
  capabilities of ICT industries (e.g., surveying
  IBM partner firms, their trade or FDI
  elasticities of ICT, etc.)
• Use students as field agents to find new metrics,
  validate tools, etc.

10
Providing New Forums

• Invite NSOs and ICT analysts to international
  academic meetings
• Maintain a constant flow of cases, news, etc.,
  especially in specialized ICT and e-commerce
  policy areas
• Build an international, virtual, online support
  network, with discussion and chat servers,
  moderated by NSOs
• Identify private consultants ready to pass a
  certification with experienced NSOs, and willing
  to join networks and deliver practices
  internationally

11
Providing New MS Degree

• Graduate (MS or PhD) degree should serve as
  incentive for policy and statistical analysts to
  innovate
• Must be focused on hands-on use of DB tools and
  analysis methods
• Hybrid model - accredited institution as the hub,
  allied with local institutes
• The theory half is remote or e-learning
• The methods half is face-to-face experts
• Experienced NSOs deliver hands-on

12
Next Steps - Multilateral Effort

• NSOs
• Identify users
• Build consensus
• Set priorities
• Create NSO unit
• Adopt standards
• Invest in tools
• Invest in training
• Share outputs
• Improve DB tools

• Universities
• Assess needs
• Identify experts
• Set deliverables
• Find incentives
• Optimize process
• Create DB tools
• Launch degree
• Publish findings
• Improve standards