Published by Oleg Petrov June 21st, 2009
in eDevelopment.
As part of their response to the ongoing crisis, many countries are implementing economic stimulus packages. Public support to the build out of broadband infrastructure figures in many of these packages. What is the rationale for such support? How can it be implemented to support and enlarge private investment? What are the outcomes of such stimulus in terms of jobs and economic growth?
To discuss these issues, the Global Information and Communication Technologies (GICT) Department of the World Bank is organizing a Global Dialogue panel discussion on the role of broadband as both a short-term stimulus and a driver of long-term growth in the context. The discussion will take place on June 22, 2009, from 9 am to 11 am (EDT/Washington DC).
Public support can help rollout next generation ICT networks and provide short-term stimulus while laying the foundation for long-term growth. Broadband networks can support long-term innovation-led economic growth. Recent research by the World Bank finds that for every 10 percentage-point increase in the penetration of broadband services, developing countries can see an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points.
Such broadband stimulus can help Eastern Europe catch up with the EU-15 countries in broadband penetration and realize such growth opportunities. One estimate suggests that two-thirds of broadband subscribers globally are in developed countries. Broadband subscription rates in the Euro area countries, for instance, are significantly higher than that in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
These investments should be within the context of a broader ICT sector development strategy. State investment should accompany market reforms or be framed within the context of a level competitive playing field. These investments should also “crowd in” and not “crowd out” the private sector. Put another way, state aid should not compromise the level competitive playing field for all service providers or serve as a way to increase the role of the state in service provision. This event will discuss the transparent and competitively neutral implementation mechanisms that Eastern Europe’s economies can consider as they design and execute such programs.
Event materials and details: http://go.worldbank.org/VOKZO5KNY0
Published by Oleg Petrov June 9th, 2009
in eDevelopment.
Governments spend considerable amounts on IT, with the aim to improve efficiency, transparency, and to deliver more interactive services to citizens and businesses. Cloud computing is a fundamentally new approach to IT, which may lead to significant cost savings. At a time of financial crisis and of major fiscal constraints, cloud computing may be key to contain government expenditures. This World Bank workshop discussed on June 16, 2009 the emergence of cloud computing and the advantages that it offers in terms of cost savings in particular. The workshop will also highlight various challenges that need to be addressed with a special focus on connectivity, business models, efficiency, reliability, integration, security, privacy and interoperability issues.
The key objective of this workshop is to demystify and clarify the concept of cloud computing for both World Bank staff and our country clients. There is a lot of confusion around this idea with over 20 definitions offered so far by various parties. The workshop will also clarify the potential role of the World Bank and other development organizations in helping developing countries to realize this opportunity.
Some questions to ponder about:
- Can developing countries leapfrog government transformation goals by using the cloud computing approach? Is it the right time for developing country governments to experiment with this approach?
- Hosting of applications/data across borders: under what circumstances will governments allow their applications to be hosted on an offshore technology platform?
- Data security: can personal information on citizens/businesses be adequately safeguarded in a cloud environment?
- How should governments and development agencies adjust their legal and procurement policies and procedures to enable this approach? How can this be accommodated within World Bank lending operations?
- What is the transition strategy for developing countries? Are private “government clouds” an interim solution which should be promoted?
- What is the appropriate role for the World Bank and other development organizations?
The workshop was attended by some 40 people in DC and about 70 in other 5 countries and about 70 were watching live webcast (numbers TBC).
Here’s the video recording
The unofficial summary (drafted by partners from Austria) can be found at:
Part 1: http://ict4d.at/2009/06/16/financial-crisis-and-cloud-computing-opening-session-global-overview
Part 2: http://ict4d.at/2009/06/16/financial-crisis-and-cloud-computing-country-and-industry-perspectives-closing-remarks
The slides and rich set of background materials are on event website at: http://go.worldbank.org/QGZ86BA9X0
Published by Oleg Petrov May 22nd, 2009
in eDevelopment.
May 28, 2009, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (Washington DC time, GMT - 4 hours)
World Bank invites you to this seminar to discuss lessons learned from implementing an integrated e-government and e-development program in Sri Lanka and setting up a dedicated government agency to support this agenda.
Continue reading ‘e-Sri Lanka: Transforming Government and Society with ICT’
Published by Samia Melhem May 9th, 2009
in Uncategorized.
I have been reading a lot on procurement reform supported by information and communication technology tools to increase transparency, fiduciary compliance, performance, and quality of public procurement. I have been privileged in the last two weeks to work with a set of five countries on a knowledge exchange event related to eProcurement. In that exchange we have been hearing about other countries that have / are reforming their procurement systems. I thought I’d test the interest in that topic by sharing my personal thoughts with e-development community. Please note these thoughts are mine as a person and do not represent my institution’s position (disclaimer!) Continue reading ‘eProcurement: Improved Governance, Cost Savings. So what is the hold-up?’
Published by Oleg Petrov April 29th, 2009
in Uncategorized.
Governments are looking for ways to deliver services to citizen more efficiently and effectively, while addressing equity, access, security and privacy considerations. Citizen electronic identity cards and other secure identity applications are quickly becoming the preferred solution to ensure that government benefits are reaching the right people in a secure and cost effective manner. Continue reading ‘How National ID Cards and Other eID Applications can Improve Service Delivery and Governance?’
Published by Oleg Petrov April 3rd, 2009
in e-Procurement and eGovernment.
This one-day World Bank/OASIS workshop offered a unique opportunity for professionals from the World Bank, leading public administrations and the private sector to share experiences in using open standards for transforming government. Issues surrounding public financial management, e-procurement, cloud computing, electronic identification, security, and interoperability frameworks were discussed. Continue reading ‘Why Open Standards Are Important for Government Transformation’
Published by Oleg Petrov November 20th, 2008
in Uncategorized and e-Procurement.
Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) plays a significant role in the context of public sector reform and modernization. Benefits include increased transparency, efficiency, performance, and monitoring of public procurement. The strength of e-GP in the GAC agenda arises from its capacity to improve the accessibility of information and to ensure fiduciary compliance by automating practices prone to corruption. While many client countries have started to invest in e-GP initiatives, the design and implementation of such programs appears as a mystery to governments. Critical success factors are often neglected and overemphasis is put on hardware and software.
Continue reading ‘Demystifying Electronic Government Procurement’
Published by Oleg Petrov November 13th, 2008
in Mobile Applications and m-Government.
Mobile services are quickly emerging as the new frontier in transforming government, health, banking and many other sectors due to fast growing penetration of mobile phones even in the poorest and most remote areas of the globe. In theory, many services can be now made available on a 24×7x365 basis at any place in the world covered by mobile networks, which today means almost everywhere. This emerging trend in improving service delivery and organizational efficiency and effectiveness can be called mobile-enabled development (m-development) or mobile transformation. Transforming service delivery with mobile technologies is of great interest to many African countries and there are early success stories like m-Pesa in Kenya and Wizzit in South Africa. Continue reading ‘Enabling Mobile Transformation in Africa’
Published by Oleg Petrov November 7th, 2008
in ICT in Education.
We just had a lively presentation and discussion of the findings of a recent whitepaper from Vital Wave Consulting, “Affordable Computing for Schools in Developing Countries: A Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Model for Education Officials”, and the accompanying case study of ICT in education initiatives in India.
Learn more and watch recorded webcast. Share your thoughts here!
Published by Oleg Petrov November 3rd, 2008
in Sectoral Applications.
We just had a lively discussion with Larry Cuban, Kentaro Toyama, Jan Chipchase and Leigh Linden, four distinguished expert practitioners from widely divergent backgrounds and areas of expertise who helped us explore historical perspectives on technology use in education, especially in the leading example of the United States, new and innovative directions in technology geared to address pressing needs in developing countries, how ethnographic research with multinationals is transforming the way technology products and services are being developed for use in low income communities around the world, and what the data can tell us about the impact of technology use in education. Continue reading ‘Low-cost ICT devices in Education: Hope, Hype and Heuristics’
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