"Over the last six years, IICD has facilitated Roundtable processes in each of its nine Country Programmes in Burkina Faso, Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana, Jamaica, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. A Roundtable workshop is usually the first activity to be held at the start of a Country Programme and, as
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such, represents the first step towards facilitating ICT-enabled development in developing countries. Once a Country Programme is underway, a Roundtable workshop is generally held each time a new sector is added. During the period 1998 to 2003, a total of 22 Roundtable processes were facilitated. They generated ideas for 139 locally owned ICT projects in the health, good governance, education, livelihood opportunities, and environment sectors. This booklet is the result of an evaluation of the Roundtable process between 1998 to 2003 based on quantitative and qualitative indicators. The findings are relevant for all those involved in facilitating ICT for development initiatives, particularly decisionmakers in organisations for development cooperation, local policy-makers, practitioners in organisations working with ICTs for development, and the donor community. Following an introduction to the concept of ICT-enabled development and an acknowledgement of the growing recognition in development circles of the important role that ICTs can play in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, the booklet goes on to describe how the Roundtable process works. The Roundtable process is then placed within the context of the seven guiding principles that guide IICD’s holistic approach to ICT-enabled development: Demand-responsiveness; multi-stakeholder involvement; local ownership; capacity development; partnerships; learning by doing; and embedding ICT projects at the sector level. Empirical examples from different countries are also provided throughout the booklet. The main findings of the evaluation of the Roundtable process are then presented, followed by lessons learned and recommendations." (Foreword)
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"This consultancy report is based on interviews with the technical teams of six organizations in Ecuador. These organizations are very different in nature, target populations and topics of dedication. However, they share the common denominator of using ICT applications to carry out activities for ac
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hieving their objectives. Such denominator responds to the interest of HIVOS, and this is the reason for choosing them as the objective organizations for the evaluation of HIVOS policy and program 'Access for all: equal opportunities in cyberspace'. By using an interview guide, all organizations were visited for about half a day. In most cases, a brief presentation of the project initiated the interview and members of the technical team of each organization interacted with the consultant. In some cases, additional written information was made available, but the brief description of each case and the answer to the guide questions are the interpretation of the consultant. It is important to point out that the material made available on the organizations and HIVOS contribution to them through its program was rather limited. For this reason it was often necessary to talk about the HIVOS involvement in each organization during the interview. This is acknowledged in the description of some of the organizations, but the intention is to provide a better context in which each case can be analyzed." (Introduction)
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"This study presents preliminary findings of the mounting efforts to develop systematic evaluation frameworks for ICT for Development programs. The evidence from these findings shows that there is increasing interest for understanding the impacts that ICT initiatives are having in realizing socioeco
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nomic change. Efforts from diverse organizations -- academia, foundations, international research institutes, development organizations and practitioners in the field -- are generating valuable information that piece by piece will better inform not only future investments in the field, but most importantly, how these investments are making a difference in the lives of poor and underserved communities. This study presents preliminary findings of different approaches used to evaluate programs in the following areas: 1) E-government; 2) E-education; and 3) ICT and Civil Society. An additional set of evaluation frameworks for Telecenters, E-health, Gender, Poverty Reduction and Small and Medium Enterprises are included in the Annexes for reference." (Abstract)
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"The Sourcebook highlights the key and fundamental ICT ofr Development (ICT4D) issues by emphasising the importance of ICT4D policies, the development of national ICT agendas, the application of ICTs in specific sectors, and the role of government and members of parliament in the process of implemen
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ting ICT4D in their respective countries. Examples from the Asia-Pacific region are provided to demonstrate how different stakeholders have successfully applied ICTs to bridge the digital divide with concrete socio-economic benefits. The Sourcebook also seeks to provide and equip parliamentarians and other decision-makers in government with key skills required to evaluate and monitor ICT initiatives within their respective nations with emphasis on the importance of analysing the objectives of ICT4D programmes, determining appropriate ICT components, empowering and encouraging stakeholder participation, and evaluating the eventual outcome of ICT4D initiatives." (Back cover)
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"There are five elements of USAID’s strategic approach to ICT for development: Policy Reform: Getting telecommunications policy right is the foundation for growth in the sector and for the affordable spread of ICT applications. Access: Connecting with those at the end of the “last mile,” econo
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mically and geographically, is essential for expanding access to the benefits of ICT applications to those of greatest concern to USAID. Capacity Building: Building the capability of professionals and the capacity of institutions leads to broader and more targeted use of these applications. Applications: Innovations in how to apply ICTs to benefit users can speed development. Partnerships: Implementing all these strategic elements depends on collaboration with partners to ensure the needed technical and financial resources." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly seen as integral to the development process. This paper reviews some of the evidence for the link between telecommunications and the Internet and economic growth, the likely impact of the new ICTs on income inequality and anecdotal
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evidence regarding the role of the Internet in improving government services and governance. It looks at methods to maximize access to the new ICTs, and improve their development impact both in promoting income generation and the provision of quality services." (Abstract)
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"The concept of multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) as an instrument for achieving development goals is sound, particularly when stakeholders with unique complementary strengths or core competencies add value to development efforts and pool their resources and assets in solving problems. But while m
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any laud the virtues of MSPs, most are struggling to make them work. The central challenge seems to revolve around the nurturing of a working relationship based on trust, mutual respect, open communication, and understanding among stakeholders about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Stakeholders from each sector bring their own organisational mandates, interests, competencies and weaknesses to partnerships. Without open acknowledgement of these factors, and without processes in place to facilitate negotiations among stakeholders for optimal outcomes, effective MSPs will not emerge [...] Knowledge about MSPs as reflected in the contents of this publication is not perfect. It is meant to trigger debate and to serve as an open invitation for all stakeholders with MSP experiences in the area of ICT4D to share their perspectives and knowledge on the subject. What the GKP would like to obtain is a thorough and comprehensive understanding of how MSPs work and can be made to work effectively – knowledge which we ultimately intend to share with the rest of the world. The GKP is the world’s first MSP operating at the global level in the area of ICT for Development. It precedes the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force (DOT Force) and the Digital Opportunities Initiative (DOI)." (Pages iii-iv)
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"This publication by the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) highlights initiatives that are using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to make a real and meaningful difference in communities around the world, no matter how disadvantaged or isolated they may be. These stories on Youth, P
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overty and Gender are snapshots of the learning process that accompanies the introduction and implementation of ICTs in a community development project. In publishing these stories, the GKP hopes to share experiences and lessons learned to increase global understanding of how ICTs can be used to tackle poverty, injustice and inequalities. Conceptually, the idea of knowledge sharing and 'storytelling' underpins all of GKP programmes and projects. Good success stories have the ability to inspire and motivate communities. This is what the GKP hopes will happen when we award and recognise communities which have used ICT to uplift and empower themselves. [...] The stories were submitted under three broad categories: Youth, Poverty and Gender. The best among them have been selected for the inaugural GKP Youth Award, the Tony Zeitoun Awards for poverty reduction, and the Gender and ICT Awards. The awards will be presented at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to be held in Geneva in December 2003." (Foreword)
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