Implementing National ICT Strategies How the World Bank

Implementing National ICT Strategies: How the World Bank Can Help The Case of E-Sri Lanka Nagy Hanna Senior Advisor, e-Development, World Bank Chair, e-Development Services Thematic Group Mainstreaming e-Development Video-Seminar October 18 and 20, 2004

What is e-Development n E-Development is about transition to knowledge economy by leveraging its driving force - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for competitiveness and equity. n E-Development is not only about technical change but also complementary changes to induce development that is effective, and empowering.

Benefits of e-Development n ICTs’ potential impact: – Growth & Competitiveness – Poverty Reduction & Human Development – Public Sector Performance

Growth & Competitiveness n ICT as a major sector with one of the highest growth/export potential: § Software export (India, Ireland, Israel) § Services and business process outsourcing (India, Philippines, Caribbean) § Hardware export (Costa Rica, China, Taiwan, Malaysia) § Service and logistics hub (Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland) n ICT as enabler for competitiveness: § Reduce barriers to entry; increase competition § Lower transaction costs; optimize global supply chains § Promote innovation; share knowledge. E-Administration (Singapore, India, US, Canada)

Macro Impact on Productivity n n Ireland, Finland, Korea: close to 1% of labor productivity growth (95 -2000) due to productivity growth in ICT manufacture. US: TFP rate almost doubling (95 -02) due to ICT and complementary investments (Brynjolfsson) ICT accounts for much of Europe’s lag behind US in recent growth performance (EIU). Due to differences in effectiveness of ICT use, not ICT investment levels.

Poverty Reduction & Human Development n Connecting the rural poor to critical information § Portals for rural information, collaboration, learning, participation n n Empowering SMEs and micro-enterprises Empowering Communities § Improving access and quality of service in remote areas; CDD n Education § Lifelong learning through distance education and open universities § Distribution of uptodate educational material n Health & Social security § Access to info and services; remote consultations. § Transforming social security systems: Russia, CIS, LCR

Public Sector Performance n Increasing efficiency of government operations § § § n E-Procurement (Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Romania) IFMS; decentralization; M&E LCR) E-Admin. (Singapore, India, Canada) Improving quality of public services and reducing transaction costs § Example: India, land records, extension, registry, forms. n Improving business and investment climate § Customs, trade net, port (Singapore). § Websites for FDI: Vietnam n Increased transparency and accountability § Example: Seoul’s OPEN for applications; Argentina’s. Cristal for budget

Why an e-Development Strategy? Beyond pilots: increase sustainability, scalability, impact n Beyond sectoral components: overcome systemic problems n Beyond ministerial silos: create e-Gov frameworks, common infrastructures, databases, standards n Beyond technology: promote cross-sector, holistic approach with synergies between policy, Information Infrastructure, Human Resources, e. Gov, e-Commerce, telecenters, content and software services n

Why an e-Development Strategy? n n n n Need for enlightened leadership to drive policy reforms and institutional change- cannot afford a ‘wait and see’ attitude Need for focusing scarce resources; sequencing and phasing of complementary investments Need for partnerships: Public-Private-NGOs Need to integrate into country development strategy, PRSP, competitive strategy Framework for donor coordination in ICT- exploitation of network effects Framework to enable pilots, bottom-up initiatives, shared learning and scaling up Link to Millennium Development Goal: outcome M&E.

e-Dev Strategy Framework E-Government E-Business & ICT Industry e- Leadership, Policies & Institutions Information Infrastructure e-Society

e-Sri Lanka Case Study

The e-Lanka Story n n n n n USAID-funded ICT cluster study PM asks for Bank support at highest levels. Bank works with stakeholders to clarify vision Linking e-dev to “Regaining Sri Lanka”, PRSP Highest-level government support nurtured Developing e-leadership at several levels Passing ICT bill and enabling laws Piloting, demonstrating, learning Designing comprehensive multi-year program

I. ICT Policy, Leadership and Institutional Development n § § § Nurturing leadership: ICT Agency, CIOs, Cabinet committee, Admin Reform Committee Balancing top down leadership and bottom up learning and innovation: NGOs. local governments. Partnering with private sector: India, Armenia. Enabling e-laws & telecom reforms. building capabilities for NGOs, communities Program management, M & E, piloting and learning Singapore, India, Turkey, Romania, Russia, Armenia

I. ICT Policy, Leadership and Institutional Development n Some Anticipated Outcomes § Effective policy and institutional environment for ICT use in public and private sectors § Effective ICT leadership among top government officials, business and civil society leaders § Effective multi-stakeholder partnership framework § Effective national coordination of ICT programs and projects, particularly for e-government. § Enhanced country brand of ICT capabilities § Augment resources & coherent investment (FDI, donors)

II. ICT Education and Industry Promotion n n ICT Capacity Building Fund (ICBF): competitive grants, fee-based contracting for § Innovative ICT training § Promotion of FDI in ICT and enabled services § Diffusion of ICT in SMEs § Domestic software industry promotion Some Anticipated Outcomes: § increased employment in software & ICT industry § increased software exports § improved competitiveness of local industry, SMEs

III. Information Infrastructure Rural Connectivity § Smart subsidy scheme to extend access in rural areas, encourage private participation § Poorest regions to be targeted: rural areas in the South; post-conflict regions of North and East § Telecenter Program § Implementation partnerships: Public-Private, NGOs § Competitive recruitment for telecenter operators; associated with Telecenter Support Institutions § Community outreach to enable distance learning, computer training, academic curriculum support n

Telecenters: Roles and Responsibilities Sectoral Institutions as content providers Telecenter Support Institutions Build Local Capacity: NGOs, Universities, Private companies Rural Telecom Operators Telecenter Operators Local entrepreneurs to run telecenters; Allow several viable models Community Subsidy scheme to guarantee affordable connectivity Community-Based Approach; Inclusion of vulnerable groups

III. Information Infrastructure n Some Anticipated Outcomes: § Improved affordability & availability of services § Reduced transaction costs: citizens, businesses § Increased private sector investment in information infrastructure § Enabled e-commerce and services leading to higher employment and entrepreneurship in rural areas § Mobilization and sharing of local knowledge § Empowerment of target groups through community driven development

IV. Re- Engineering Government § Establish vision, policy, strategy § Pilot and phase strategic applications § Human and business processes: restructuring, information sharing, KM, community of practice § Identify needs of government clients and underlying common information infrastructure: § § § Leadership: E-Parliament, E-Cabinet E-citizen services Public financial management: taxes, customs, budget E-procurement; project MIS Key infrastructure: portal; government-wide network; population registry; land info; national smart card § Common technology standards for information sharing

IV. Re- Engineering Government n Some Anticipated Outcomes: § transparency in government operations § client-focused processes § government accountability for service level standards § electronic sharing of data across agencies § separation of service delivery from transaction processing § always-on, user-friendly, distance-neutral information and service facilities to citizens and businesses § selective unbundling and privatization in provision of public services

Delivering Value To Citizens E-Government: Evolution or Revolution? Transformation All stages of transactions Limited electronic. New Electronic Interactions delivery of models of service delivery with services Email contact, public-private automated, access to online e. g. , renewal of partnerships databases & licenses downloadable forms via intranets Transactions Web Presence information on rules and procedures Complexity of Implementation and Technology

Road Map and Journey n n n How to accelerate evolution to transformation? How to orchestrate various elements of edevelopment to support e-government? The role of leaders, change agents and administrative reform processes. Developing processes and tools: CIO council, technology architecture, IT budget, etc. Developing roadmap/plan: multi-year prioritized investments in common platforms and infra. Promoting learning; sharing of best practice.

V. e-Society n n n E-Society Fund: competitive grants to local community organizations, NGOs, private companies Grants to focus on innovative, socially relevant ICT pilot projects; possibility of increasing scale and scope Some Anticipated Outcomes: § increased awareness of ICT among rural and urban poor § improved community capacity for utilizing ICT to meet local needs § increased economic opportunity and equity through wide use of ICT in agriculture, health, education § Empowerment of women and youth

Lessons Learned ICT pervasive impact, not an isolated pillar n Need to integrate ICT into core development strategy. Not ICT vs. education, but ICT to enable all sectors & meet basic needs better. n From development vision to e-Development. n Need to adopt a strategic approach. Balance top direction and bottom initiative. Set vision, priorities, standards, sequence of investments n E-leadership and CIO roles key. n

Lessons Learned (cont’d) n n Quick wins - high-priority e-services that are relatively simple, have a high transaction volume, and involve a large group of clients. Pilots integral to strategy implementation. Partnership between government, private sector, civil society donors, and diaspora. Avoid technology focus: ensure complementary investment. Skills, organizational innovation, and incentives are crucial to make technology work. No “one-size-fix-all" strategies.

Mainstreaming e-Development: Challenges to Countries n Coalition for reform and implementation: from paper strategies to practice n Links to country development strategy and budget framework n Focus and priority setting n E-Leadership and implementation capacity n Early results and adaptive planning

Main Challenges to Aid Agencies Mainstreaming ICT into development agenda and Country Assistance Strategies. Operationalize WSIS? Ownership by operational departments. n Avoid pitfall of e-development as technology fix n Building core competency across turfs and sectors. n Knowledge sharing; partnerships. n Empowering e-champions and integrators. n