ITU/ECA ICT indicators Workshop 26 - 29

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ITU/ECA ICT indicators Workshop 26 - 29

• E-Ready for What?
• Linking ICT indicators, MDGs and Real Access
• Ntombi Masakazi, Policy Associate
• Collaboration on International ICT Policy for
  East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
• A programme of bridges.org and CATIA
• ITU/ECA ICT Indicators Workshop
• Gaborone, 26-29 October 2004

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Collaboration on International ICT Policy in
Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

• A programme of bridges.org and DFIDs Catalysing
  Access to ICT in Africa (CATIA) project
• Build capacity of East and Southern African
  stakeholders to participate in international ICT
  policy-making processes
• Support governments, civil society organisations,
  and other actors
• Help frame representative input
• Build capacity among all stakeholders
• Facilitate a dialogue and debate, and raise
  awareness
• Connect diverse initiatives and bolster momentum
  
• Provide input and support to pan-African
  initiatives and
• Provide objective information.
• CIPACO sister organisation focusing on West and
  Central Africa

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E-readiness and ICT indicators

• Bridges.org has compared e-readiness assessments,
  and considered their usefulness in developing
  countries
• Comparison e-Readiness Assessment Tools
• Who is Doing What and Where E-Readiness
  Assessments
• Relationship between e-readiness and ICT
  indicators
• Making e-readiness approaches more relevant by
  setting them in a context of socio-economic
  development
• E-readiness assessments can help countries
  measure and improve their ICT capabilities
  benchmarking, setting goals
• Different assessment tools measure different
  things (different ICT indicators)

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E-readiness current status (1)

• Assessments provide a useful starting point
  high level overview but lack granularity
• Increasing trend towards international
  benchmarking Global IT Reports a useful
  comparative tool, but focus is on developed
  countries and competitiveness
• Recognition of the need to move beyond assessment
  to planning and implementation
• infoDev toolkit provides framework for moving
  ahead

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E-readiness current status (2)

• Focus on e-commerce and competitiveness
  disregards internal divides and other social
  factors like literacy and poverty even in
  developed countries
• Many (22) assessment tools available, but few
  look at ICT and its impact real or potential
  on societal issues
• Still some duplication 4 years after our report
• Many of the countries that need the most help
  have still not been assessed

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Inclusion and exclusion

• Egypt, China, Philippines, Indonesia, and India
  now assessed 10 times or more
• 42 countries assessed 5 times or more
• Africa countries are the least assessed
• 7 countries in Asia and the Pacific never
  assessed
• All countries in Central and Eastern Europe have
  been assessed
• 3 countries in Latin and South America and the
  Caribbean never assessed

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Digital divide reports

• Looks at problem from ground level as well as top
  down
• Engages society in the process
• Engagement public support
• Recommendations from all levels
• Encourage small achievable steps, rather than
  unrealistic national goals
• Cities or provinces as a manageable vehicle for
  change
• Cape Town example

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ICT indicators developing country issues...

• Juggling pressing priorities and ICT
• There is a lot at stake health, education,
  SMMEs
• Why the need to be e-anything?
• ICT indicators need to be integrated into broader
  strategies to ensure they are solving the
  problems at hand within the developing countries
• E.g. poverty reduction strategies
• Defining ICT indicators
• Are they valid for developing countries?
• Factors to make them more appropriate to
  developing countries, e.g. universal access
  head count or shared access

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ICT indicators more developing country issues

• Are international ICT benchmarks/rankings
  appropriate to developing countries?
• No clear answer, but provokes thought, e.g.
• Economist Economic Intelligence Unit
• Progressive Governance Conference
• More international organisations where ICT
  policy-making happens (e.g. ICANN, WIPO, WTO)
  should engage on ICT measurement
• Efforts being made to engage developing country
  stakeholders on ICT measurements
• UN Conference of Trade and Development, Brazil

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But e-ready for what?

• E-Ready for What? Bridges.org evaluating
  InfoDevs e-readiness assessment programme,
  linking with concrete goals the MDGs
• One option -- focus on the Millennium Development
  Goals
• Eradicate poverty and extreme hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

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MDGs and ICT indicators

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
• International commitments
• World Economic Forums Global Governance
  Initiative
• Implications for developing countries
• Putting ICT indicators in the context of MDGs
• Gauging ICT diffusion with focus on MDGs makes
  ICT goals more concrete
• Helps policy-makers understand links between ICT
  and other pressing priorities
• Capacity-building on ICT indicators (like this
  meeting) should also focus toward MDGs

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The role of ICT in reaching the MDGs

• Help measure and track progress
• Provide solutions
• Increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness
• Access to information
• Help to build capacity
• Dissemination of information
• Promote inclusion and increase transparency
• Many specific examples eg use of sms technology
  to improve TB treatment regimes

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E-readiness/ICT indicators and the MDGs

• MDGs provide focus for planning process
• Poverty is the greatest problem that needs to be
  addressed
• Helps ensure that social agenda is addressed, as
  well as political and technological
• Internet access doesnt feed or house people
  smart use of technology could
• MDGs and digital divide reports are more closely
  aligned with peoples needs
• ICT use should be included in Poverty Reduction
  Strategy Papers, and not be an agenda on its own

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Can ICT really help?

• Digital divide is only a new manifestation of an
  old problem
• ICT in itself will not help it is only a tool
• Access to ICT does not guarantee success eg
  failed telecentres
• Literacy, content and language issues
• Depends how it is used
• Benefits not always tangible
• Policy and infrastructure challenges
• Need to think holistically about the problem and
  the solution

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For ICT to make a Real Impact on societies/
economies, people need Real Access to it

• ICT appropriate to local needs and conditions
• ICT is affordable to own and use
• Locally relevant content and services are
  available for use, especially in terms of
  language
• ICT use is integrated into peoples daily lives
• People have the capacity and training to use ICT
  effectively
• The local economic environment supports ongoing
  ICT use
• The macro economic environment is favourable to
  ICT use
• The legal and regulatory environment supports ICT
  use
• People trust ICT use and understand its
  implications, especially in terms of privacy,
  cybercrime, etc.
• There are no socio-cultural factors that inhibit
  ICT use, e.g. in terms of gender, race, age, or
  religion
• Public support for ICT use
• Government has the political will to drive needed
  change

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Real Access and the MDGs

• Powerful combination give specific targets and
  steps to take
• Public awareness and support for initiatives
• Real Access criteria have proven efficacy
• Based on human needs, not technology driven
• Greater chance of success

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What is needed to link ICT indicators/e-readiness
with MDGs?

• More use of digital divide style assessments
• Using the Real Access criteria to ensure that
  what is delivered is what people really need
• Linking work to the MDGs via Real Access
• No more un-coordinated assessment work
• Build capacity to solve the problem in the
  developing world

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Conclusion points for discussion

• Are ICT indictor definitions valid for developing
  countries?
• How useful are international rankings, models and
  comparisons?
• What models are there for developing countries?
• What is the role of international organisations?
• Do we need more indicators for developing
  countries?
• Can ICT indicators/e-readiness assessments be
  linked effectively with the MDGs and a Real
  Access approach?