ESCWA’s Regional Plan of Action for Building the Information Society (RPoA)

ESCWA’s Regional Plan of Action for Building the Information Society (RPoA)Mansour FarahTeam Leader and Senior Information Technology Officer, ICT Division, ESCWAhttp://www.escwa.un.org/

Mansour FarahTeam Leader and Senior Information Technology Officer, ICT Division, ESCWAhttp://www.escwa.un.org/

Workshop onPublic-Private Partnership for ICT

InitiativesRiyadh, 17-19 February 2008

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA)

Objectives of the RPoAObjectives of the RPoA

To build a sustainable and inclusive information society in the region, in line with WSIS Geneva Plan of ActionTo propose a comprehensive strategic frameworkTo foster partnerships and propose a modality for implementationTo achieve the Millennium Development Goals

RPoA: Result of Collaborative Efforts

RPoA: Result of Collaborative Efforts

Arab ICT strategy, adopted by the Arab Summit in 2001 Pan-Arab regional conference on WSIS, in Cairo, June 2003, including Cairo declarationTentative plan of action for the information society in the region, produced by ESCWA in December 2003 WSIS-Geneva global Plan of Action (PoA)Series of round tables planned by ESCWA during 2004 to address regional specificityEfforts of the Taskforce on Realization of the Arab StrategyFeedback from the ESCWA Second Regional Preparatory Conference for WSIS and an online forum

Listed in chronological order

Evolving RPoAEvolving RPoA

PartnershipDecentralization Results-based management (RBM)

Modularity Open-endedness Government priority

Rolling projects Leading responsibility Implementation upon maturity

Periodic monitoring and reportingOnline follow-up

The RPoA can assimilate future needs of Arab countries along with a mechanism to periodically introduce new regional strategic actions, report on progress of work, and adjust the plan accordingly. Considerations include:

RPoA Strategic Framework

RPoA Strategic Framework

Main components of the strategic

framework

Main components of the strategic

framework

Areas

Action lines

Programmes

Projects

The strategic framework aims at streamlining actions at the regional level and at promoting the development of national capacity for achieving the transition towards the information society

The strategic framework aims at streamlining actions at the regional level and at promoting the development of national capacity for achieving the transition towards the information society

WSIS Action Lines(International partnership)

WSIS Action Lines(International partnership)

C1: The role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for

developmentC2: Information and communication infrastructureC3: Access to information and knowledgeC4: Capacity buildingC5: Building confidence and security in the use of ICTsC6: Enabling environmentC7: ICT Applications: e-government, e-business, e-learning, e-health, e-employment, e-environment, e-agriculture, e- scienceC8: Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local contentC9: MediaC10: Ethical dimensions of the Information SocietyC11: International and regional cooperation

Areas of interest to the region

(Regional partnership)

Areas of interest to the region

(Regional partnership)Policies and strategiesICT infrastructureAccess to information and knowledgeCapacity buildingBuilding confidence, trust, and securityEnabling environmentICT ApplicationsCultural, linguistic, and Arabic contentMediaInternational and regional cooperation

Women empowerment in the information society

Nth Programme

Increasing community access with emphasis onthe marginalized and disabled

Developing the ICT sector

WSIS Global plan of action

Empowering Arab NGO’s in the information society

ICT in education and scientific research

Developing telecommunications infrastructure

Developing e-government services

Information society measurements

ICT for economic development

Promoting digital Arabic content (DAC)

Regional plan of actiontowards the Information Society

Partnership programmes

Main areas of action

Arab ICT Strategy Axis 1 Axis 7

Project 1

Project 2

Project n th

Project 1

Project 2

Project n th

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Lists ofProgammes and

Projects

Lists ofProgammes and

Projects

1. ICT for economic development

1.1 CyberPort for trade and transport1.2 CyberHaven for regional tourism

development1.3 Connecting Arab ATM networks1.4 ICT Hub for SMEs

2. Developing e-government services

2.1 Enhancing government decision support capabilities in the socio-economic fields

2.2 Regional e-government portal 3. Empowering Arab

NGO's in the information society

3.1 Arab NGO's information network3.2 Arab civil society academy for

capacity building

4. Developing telecommunications infrastructure

4.1 Towards an integrated regional telecommunications network

4.2 Enhanced broadband access through pilot national applications

Programmes

Projects (1/4)

5. Developing the ICT sector

5.1 Legislation model for an ICT enabling environment

5.2 Establishment of ICT incubators5.3 Partnership space for incubating

telecommunications projects

6.1 Women empowerment through ICT6.2 Promoting the rights of women and

children through the use of ICT6.3 Enhancing Arab women’s role in

development and decision making through the use of ICT

6.4 Gender evaluation methodology for ICT initiatives (GEM)

6. Women empowerment in the information society

7. Information society measurements

7.1 Core ICT indicators7.2 ICT indicators database7.3 Capacity building for information

society measurement

Programmes

Projects (2/4)

Programmes

Projects (3/4)8. Promoting digital

Arabic content (DAC) 

8.1 Establishing a digital Arabic library*8.2 Connecting Arab documentation

centres*8.3 Developing an Arabic search engine*8.4 Arabized ICT e-glossary8.5 Arabic domain name system (ADNS)8.6 Arab region network for document

cataloguing and processing8.7 Memory of the Arab world 9.1 Regional Hub for capacity building in

open source software for education and research

9.2 IT teacher training framework9.3 Regional scheme for deployment of

technical computing software9.4 Lifelong learning for socio-economic

development.9.5 Networking academies9.6 Learning object repository in Arabic

(LORA)

9. ICT in education and scientific research

* These projects have been

earmarked as most important by Arab Ministers

of Telecommunication

s and Information Technology

Programmes

Projects (4/4)10. Increasing

community access with emphasis on the marginalized and disabled

10.1 Empowerment through community access: total access points*

10.2 PC for Every Home* 10.3 Information technology clubs*10.4 Empowerment of the visually

disabled through ICT10.5 Market information systems for

agriculture and fishing businesses* These projects have been

earmarked as most important by Arab Ministers

of Telecommunicatio

ns and Information Technology

RPoA Methodology for

Programmes

RPoA Methodology for

Programmes

Programme DetailsProgramme Details

Conceptual overview;Mapping to the areas presented in the strategic framework of RPoA;Outline that includes the programme’s main objectives, challenges, implementation strategy, expected accomplishments and indicators of achievements.

Each programme in the RPoA is presented by its champion-partner using the following structure:Each programme in the RPoA is presented by its champion-partner using the following structure:

Criteria for adding Programmes

Criteria for adding Programmes

Presented in a clear and concise format by its champion-partner (RPoA uses the Results-Based Management paradigm);It has a coordinating agency/institution (usually the champion-partner);It has a high impact on a number of areas that are identified in the RPoA strategic framework.

A programme can be added once it satisfies the following criteria:A programme can be added once it satisfies the following criteria:

RPoAMethodology for

Projects

RPoAMethodology for

Projects

Projects: Actions translated into results

Projects: Actions translated into results

Originally, there were 38 projects proposed by various partners and distributed among 10 programmes;Each project has a coordinating/leading agency;Projects are regional in nature, with most having national components;Implementation starts upon maturity;Regional projects recommended by the Working Group on the Realization of the Arab Strategy are included and flagged as most important for the Arab Governments.

The list is an evolving one and will be adjusted as changes on existing projects are made and as new projects are added.

The list is an evolving one and will be adjusted as changes on existing projects are made and as new projects are added.

Project Development Phases Project Development Phases

Phase 1. Preparing the project concept paper

Phase 2. Identifying

funding agencies and

possible partners

Phases Outputs

Project Concept Paper (PCP)

Preliminary interest for developing a project document

Letter of intent

Phase 3. Preparing

the full project

document

Project document (ProDoc)

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

Implementation reports

Progress of work report

Impact analysis report

Phase 4. Implementing the project

Monitoring

Evaluation

Implementation Modality

Implementation Modality

Role of different stakeholders

Role of different stakeholders

International /regional

organizations

& NGOs

Government

Mature firms(Private sector)

Banks and donor

organizations

Universities(educationa

l sector)

Suggested Modality Suggested Modality

Strategic Partners

Steering level

.......

Steering Committee+

Secretariat

Programme 1 Programme 2 Programme n

Project1.1

Project1.x

Project2.1

Project2.x

Projectn.1

Projectn.x

ProgrammeLevel

Project Level

NationalCoordination

Level

Online Partnership Space Online Partnership Space

Development of Knowledge repository

PartnershipMechanism

maturity level

Flexibility toupdate/addprogrammes

Flexibility toupdate/addprojects

successes

On-line subscription

On-line forum tosolicit comments and

identify partners

Transfer of ownership

Development of partnership networks

Completion of project

Shared failures and

Project monitoring

Project evaluationProgrammes

RPoA Strategic Framework

Main areas of action

Project Project

Project

Project

Implementation phase

Project

Implemented projects:building blocks

for developing theinformation society

Information Society Portal for the ESCWA Region

(ISPER)

Information Society Portal for the ESCWA Region

(ISPER)

ISPER (1/2)ISPER (1/2)

Provides tools to enhance efficiency of partnerships and efficiency of development work, communication and cooperation;Deploys modern online tools for collaboration among stakeholders:

Real-time discussion forums,Collaboratively generated content,Syndicated content feeds, Up-to-date content on projects and priorities in the region,Real-time dissemination of statistical indicators.

ISPER (2/2)ISPER (2/2)

Constitutes a source of information on the Arab ICT Strategy;Is a one-stop-shop on implementation detailsCatalyzes partnerships between project implementers and donors;Fosters partnerships by:

Raising awareness of available projectProviding market intelligenceCatalyzing community of practice

Thank you!Thank you!

farah14@un.org