PTC Special Interest Group on ICT Development

by: Stephanie Rolfe, Ph.D., Chair, PTC Development Special Interest Group (SIG)

The Special Interest Group (SIG) on ICT development was formed at PTC'07. This paper brings together the ideas of contributing group members regarding the role and focus of the group. It is hoped that it will stimulate further discussion and an agenda for the SIG meeting at PTC’08. It is organized into 5 sections: i) the role of the group, ii) region/area of interest, iii) topics for discussion or focus, iv) ideas for future conference sessions, and v) agenda for PTC’08 and work agenda.

1. Special Interest Group Role

The objective of the group is for action rather than rehashing old ground - to make specific improvements in a region’s telecommunications services. However, due to limited financial resources, it is generally agreed that the role of the SIG is not financial, i.e. to undertake funding of projects. Rather, the strength of PTC lies in its networks of members. With this in mind, the following suggestions have been made:

• acting as catalyst and coordinator in bringing different players together (government, operators, suppliers, users, financiers, international organizations). One thought would be to coordinate funding/sponsorship for projects or for studies through some kind of mechanism (perhaps setting up a fund to which members contribute on a ‘corporate citizenship’ basis?)

• sharing knowledge - distribution of papers and presentations on development issues from conferences and seminars, e.g. through some kind of knowledge repository, through reciprocal links between the PTC website and that of other organizations, or through setting up some kind of social networking site/wiki.

One useful question to consider for the SIG meeting at PTC’08 would be: What is the goal of the group? This will then help determine its role. Is it to act / implement / advise / coordinate?

2. Region / Area of Interest

No contributor specified a specific region of interest. One obvious region is the Pacific, a region which faces many obstacles in ICT development, and is an area in which many of those who contributed live and work.

3. Topics for Discussion or Focus

Another area of general agreement was the need to complement rather than duplicate existing activities: working closely with other international organizations would ensure this. As an example, in the Pacific this would mean working closely with such groups as PITA (Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association), PICISOC (Pacific Islands Internet Society) and PIF (the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat).

Also, an emphasis is placed on appropriate input, i.e. input that responds to needs identified by the developing regions themselves. One contributor asked whether there is some kind of knowledge base which the group can draw on for this information. To my knowledge there are two initiatives in process for the Pacific region at this stage, both arising from the work of the Pacific Islands Forum ICT Task Force.

• an e-readiness survey - which aims to collect data along the lines of the ITU DAI (Digital Access Indicator). This information is being collected by a couple of regional bodies, one of whom has confirmed that they are happy to share the data with us. It must be realized however that there has traditionally been difficulty in getting up-to-date data in the Pacific.

• a resource center - which is to be established to support ICT policy & planning in the region. This is still in the planning stage, but is envisaged to be a database of material including: short-term consultancies supporting ad hoc need, policy templates, examples of best practice, ICT research, etc.

The structure of the resource center is still uncertain although it would be something which follows the model of those that the World Bank and ITU have, and it has been suggested that this could be one area that the SIG could support.

Other suggested areas of focus include:

• identifying what services are needed in developing countries

• identifying relevant / appropriate technologies for developing countries

• developing quantitative information - for example costs of services, relative affordability, quantitative data on economic and / or social benefits of ICT development

• looking at the work of other organizations to spur development using ICT eg OECD, ITU

• women in ICT in developing countries

• if the group decides to go ahead with coordinating funding for research, one idea would be to fund graduate students researching relevant topics. As well as the topics just mentioned above, suggestions include:

  • specific applications e.g. health, education
  • content - development of local content
  • content - digital content policies / regulation; (e.g. issues include cybercrime, inappropriate material, IP, taxation issues
  • the GAP concept for funding telecommunications services
  • input into resource center design, as outlined above.

Another question for PTC ’08 - What next? - having identified areas of need & feasibility, where do we take it from there?

4. Ideas for future conference sessions:

Two suggestions were made for future conference sessions:

• a session with papers from developing countries;

• a session on best / worst case practices

5. Agenda for PTC’08 and work agenda:

From the above, it is clear that there is scope for significant contribution by the SIG to ICT development and it is hoped that this paper will generate discussion and further input, both leading up to and at PTC’08. The agenda for the SIG meeting will cover these issues - namely the goals of the group (which will determine its role), the region of interest, and specific short- and long-term action that it will focus on.

• approach PTC attendees who belong to other international organizations for input
• identify organizations to set up knowledge sharing
• establish links with other organizations

Just a reminder: if you have any comments to make on this paper, we can communicate as a group by email using dev@ptc.org or you can contact me directly at stephanie.rolfe@gmail.com. I look forward to our meeting at PTC’08!