Development Account Projects
Capacity-building for information and communication technology measurement and policy
Background:
As information and communication technology considerations are increasingly integrated into national development strategies, there is a growing need for reliable data and indicators regarding ICT readiness, use and impact. Such data help policymakers formulate policies and strategies for ICT-driven growth and monitor and evaluate ICT-related developments in both the economic and the social realm, and help companies make the right investments and business decisions. They also allow developing countries to benchmark their performance, helping them to take policy decisions to narrow the digital divide.
The project responds to the World Summit on the Information Society Geneva Plan of Action, which calls for action to develop statistical indicators for benchmarking and performance evaluation, to follow up the implementation of the Plan of Action and to track global progress in the use of ICTs. This project will build upon UNCTAD expertise in the area of e-commerce and e-business development, as well as its partnership with a number of international and regional organizations on the project “Measuring ICT for development”, which was launched at the eleventh session of UNCTAD, in June 2004. The project also correlates to the UNCTAD mandate to develop and apply mechanisms for monitoring and measuring digital economy developments and ICT use in countries. (For further information, see http://measuring-ict.unctad.org.) Four regional commissions (ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA) are members of the partnership, and UNCTAD will work closely with them on this project to implement regional workshops, select beneficiary countries for capacity-building activities and create regional networks.
In addition, UNCTAD will work closely with a number of partners, including the Department Economic and Social Affairs/United Nations ICT Task Force and the United Nations Statistics Division.
Objective:
To strengthen the capacity of Governments in selected developing countries to produce internationally comparable ICT statistics and indicators for effective policymaking.
Expected accomplishments:
- Increased capacity in selected beneficiary developing countries to implement ICT and e-business programmes for the compilation of statistics that are comparable at the international and the regional level
- Established regional networks on ICT indicators in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Western Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean
- Increased availability of e-business statistics for impact assessment, evaluation and benchmarking of information economy developments
Implementation status:
The project started in 2006 and most of the planned activities were successfully implemented. A regional technical workshop on information society measurements in Asia-Pacific was co-organized with UN-ESCAP and ITU in Bangkok, Thailand. A consultant was hired to prepare a methodological manual on the collection of statistics on ICT in business in developing and transition countries, and a first draft is currently being reviewed. In addition, a mission protocol for advisory missions was prepared, which will serve as a basis for planning the missions. A first national training session on ICT statistics and impact analysis will be held in January 2007 in the National Statistical Office of Thailand. As a result of the trainings, governments will be able to analyse the impact of ICT use and access in their countries on development and growth. Furthermore, a stocktaking of capacity building needs in developing countries was carried out to prepare for advisory missions, with more than 50 countries requesting assistance. As a result, a database of developing countries’ technical assistance needs in the field of ICT measurement was created, as well as a roster of experts who could participate in the capacity building activities. The work has been closely coordinated with other agencies that are members of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development.
