Development Assistance and the Way Forward: A World Bank Perspective

1. Development Assistance and the Way Forward:A World Bank Perspective WSIS Parallel Event: Financing and Measuring the Information Society Tunis, November 15 Pierre Guislain Global ICT Department World Bank Group

2. Outline of presentation • The need for good ICT statistics • World Bank assistance programs for statistical capacity building • Trust Funds/STATCAP/International Household Survey Network • World Bank Lending projects with ICT M&E component • International databases • The way forward 2

3. The need for good ICT Statistics

4. Who need good statistics? • Good quality national ICT statistics are needed to “manage for results” • Developing countries― manage their ICT development strategies and report progress to their citizens • Development partners― increase the effectiveness of their ICT aid programs • Researchers—analysis for impartial intellectual input to policy making • Civil society― increase accountability of public agencies • The private sector‒ plan ICT investments and make markets work 4

5. Why need good statistics? • Poor quality data offers an incomplete picture of ICT development goals that could be misleading for policymakers and development experts • Good quality data is good guidance and can be linked to action-oriented indicators that can be pursued in future ICT projects • Many internationally agreed ICT indicators are still very broad – as statistical capacity improves, indicators should become more defined and specific, easier to measure, and easier to apply in policy making 5

6. Africa has Highest Connectivity Costs in the World Cost of Leasing an E1 Half Circuit (2MB) (US$) Price of 20 hours of Dial-up Internet (US$) Source: World Bank analysis based on TRAI and Telegeography research, September 2005 Source: World Development Indicators, 2003

7. Overall statistics capacity is still low in developing countries. Snapshot of statistical capacity measures 7

8. But, sustainable statistical capacity is possible in low income countries WB stat cap index 8

9. Existing World Bank Assistance Programs

10. Trust Funds • WB supports preparation of National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) through Paris21 and the Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB). • In countries where improvements in ICT measures are a priority, the NSDS should reflect that. 10

11. …promoting strategic planning andincrease financing Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB)—mainly to fund NSDS which sets priorities in the national statistical system. Agencies that measure ICTs need to participate in the country’s process of setting statistical priorities STATCAP—A new lending program to support more efficient and effective statistical systems in developing countries—can be used for overall statistical improvement or for the ICT statistics if a country’s national statistical system deems it a priority area 11

12. WB ICT Lending Projects strengthening ICT statistical capabilities (1/3) Tunisia ICT Development Project (2004) Overall Project Objective: Support ICT institutional and sector reforms Develop e-Government applications and improving e-security Promote the development of the private sector M&E Approach: Ministry of Communication Technologies and Transport established a M&E department whose functions extend beyond this WB project Strengthened the capacity of the Statistical and Economic Unit including the ability to identify key indicators for the ICT sector Key Indicators (examples): Number of new licenses in the VSAT and data transmission segments Increased requests by private sector and citizens submitted through the new e-government services 12

13. WB ICT Lending Projects strengthening ICT statistical capabilities (2/3) Vietnam E-Government Project (2005) Overall Project Objectives: Strengthen ICT technical and regulatory capacity Enhance ICT awareness and usage in the private sector Build sustainable and replicable models for online public service delivery and communications through e-applications M&E Approach: Modernization of the General Statistical Office (GSO) for general statistical capacity building A major component devoted to a comprehensive M&E system of the National ICT Strategy Key Indicators (examples): GSO linked to provincial offices for data collection, flow and dissemination Launch of e-services and lowered administrative transaction costs Evidence of user satisfaction and visits to local government websites 13

14. WB ICT Lending Projects strengthening ICT statistical capabilities (3/3) e-Ghana Project (2006) Overall Project Objective: Generate increased employment in IT-Enabled Services (BPO) sector Enhance efficiency, transparency and accountability in government Improve access to e-capabilities for citizens and businesses M&E Approach: Participatory and results based Integrated multi-donor M&E approach using compatible methodologies Key Indicators (examples): Annual increase in employment generated in the ICT sector Time and cost savings by citizens accessing e-government applications online Percent of rural population in targeted districts have access to and uses e-services 14

15. International Databases:World Bank Country-level ICT Database Over 500 indicators from sources including the ITU, UN, UPU, WEF and the World Bank Many are time-series data starting from around 1975 Over 40 ICT sector structure indicators including level of competition in mobile and Internet service provider Data are displayed in ICT at-a-glance country tables available on the World Bank website Database currently has limited ICT survey data that would give more insight to ICT usage and impacts 15

16. International Databases:Household Survey Network • Coordination of survey planning—web-based information system on planned surveys • Harmonization of concepts and methods—harmonize or develop new questionnaire modules • Central survey catalogue—WB to host & maintain • Searchable to find surveys with ICT questions • Survey Data Dissemination Toolkit & Handbook—Paris21’s “How to” notes & OECD “Handbook on metadata reporting…” • Website at www.surveynetwork.org 16

17. The way forward

18. World Bank stands ready to increase support • World Bank recognizes the relevance and importance of ICT statistics in its results measurement agenda • Support through grants (TFs), investment projects and advisory services • Instruments can be used together to support public-private partnerships

19. … to improve ICT data and capacity Actions 1. Continue to raise awareness among policy makers on the importance of statistical indicators for monitoring ICT policies and carrying out impact analysis.   2. Conduct technical workshops at the regional level to exchange national experiences and discuss methodologies, definitions, survey vehicles and data collection efforts in the area of ICT.  3. Assist statistical agencies in developing countries in their ICT data collection, analysis and dissemination efforts, including the development of national databases to store and analyze survey results. 4. In collaboration with partners, continue development of a global database of ICT indicators and make it available on the World Wide Web. 19

20. Development Assistance and the Way Forward:A World Bank Perspective Thank you. Pierre Guislain Global ICT Department World Bank Group