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Mapping the ICT Decision-Making Environment

Mapping the ICT Decision-Making Environment. Professor David Souter ict Development Associates ltd & University of Strathclyde. Purpose of presentation. To describe the findings of the Louder Voices project To map the international decision-making environment for ICTs and ICT4D/ICD

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Mapping the ICT Decision-Making Environment

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  1. Mapping the ICT Decision-Making Environment Professor David Souter ict Development Associates ltd & University of Strathclyde

  2. Purpose of presentation • To describe the findings of the Louder Voices project • To map the international decision-making environment for ICTs and ICT4D/ICD • To introduce discussion of current issues of importance for ICT decision-making in the region and the processes involved in them

  3. The Louder Voices project • Report in 2002 to DOT Force • assessed influence of middle-income and developing countries in international ICT decision-making • recommended national and international action to improve such countries’ participation • based on: • case studies of three institutions (ICANN, ITU, WTO) • case studies of six countries (Brazil, India, Nepal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia) • case studies of three issues (ccTLD dispute resolution, IP telephony, WTO telecommunications offers) • interviews with decision-making participants • recommendations included establishment of regional centres of expertise in international ICT policy

  4. In the past ... • international communications policy was dominated by: • the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) as standards-setting body for international telecoms relations • bilateral relationships to exchange traffic between monopoly telephone companies governed by bilateral accounting negotiations • treaty-based arrangements to manage specific internationally-owned facilities (e.g. INTELSAT and INMARSAT) • these relationships were largely between governments • they are challenged by the restructuring of the industry - privatisation, liberalisation, and technological change, including Internet

  5. Today ... • there is increasing diversity in the bodies that make important decisions about international telecoms and ICTs • including: • traditional treaty-based organisations (such as ITU) • privatised former treaty-based organisations (such as INMARSAT) • non-ICT sector international treaty organisations (such as WTO) • regional intergovernmental and regulatory associations (e.g. EU, WATRA) • private sector standard setting fora • miscellaneous governance arrangements for the Internet originating outside traditional treaty-based structures • and many others

  6. In addition: • the telecoms/ICT sector is no longer independent of wider global concerns because of: • convergence with other ICT sectors • the telecoms/ICT sector’s growing share of global GDP • and increased awareness of the role which ICTs can play in social and economic development • this has led to: • involvement by development agencies (such as the World Bank and UNDP) in ICT policymaking • the creation of new international institutions seeking to bridge the paradigm gap between the ICT and development sectors - such as the DOT Force, UN ICT Task Force and WSIS • enormous diversity in ICT decision-making • and a paradigm gap between ICT and development sectors

  7. Mapping International ICT Decision-Making • The Louder Voices project developed a mapping process to differentiate between different areas of ICT decision-making and locate roles of different agencies • This mapping can be readily adapted to help establish objectives and priorities of national organisations and decision-makers

  8. Development Assistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks & services Application of ICTs for development Mapping International ICT Decision Making: “Soft” Results ofInter-nationalICTDecision-Making “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Narrow Broad

  9. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making: The Role of the ITU “Soft” International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  10. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making:The Role of the WTO “Soft” World Trade Organisation (WTO) Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  11. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making: Internet governance “Soft” ISOC Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making IETF ICANN “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  12. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making:Example Roles of Other International Organisations “Soft” UNCTAD WORLD BANK UNESCO UNDP Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making WIPO “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  13. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making:Example Roles of Non-Governmental Actors “Soft” CIVIL SOCIETY NGOs CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE BUSINESS NGOs Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making PRIVATE SECTOR STANDARDISATION FORA REGULATORY PRACTITIONERS, LAWYERS, ACADEMICS, RESEARCHERS, ETC. “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  14. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making:Some Sample Issues “Soft” The Global Information Economy And Society (The Networked Economy, eCommerce, eGovernment, etc.t) The Digital Divide Trade in Telecommunication Services IP Telephony Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making Internet Names And Numbers “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  15. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making:An Example Issue: “Soft” IP Telephony Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  16. DevelopmentAssistance Policy Coordination Standards Laws and Regulations Exchange of ICT services & products between sovereign nations Use of common ICT resources Development of ICT technology, networks, services in all countries Application of ICTs for equitable, sustainable global development Mapping International ICT-Decision Making:Some Sample Issues “Soft” ITU Results ofInternationalICTDecision-Making PRIVATE SECTOR STANDARDIZATION FORA IETF “Hard” Scope of International ICT Decision-Making Broad Narrow

  17. Findings of the Louder Voices study • Internationally-made decisions are increasingly important in determining the impact of ICTs in all countries, at all levels of economic development • Small countries, developing countries (and especially LDCs) have limited impact in international decision-making on ICTs - at government, private sector and civil society levels • Issues of particular concern in developing countries are under-represented in international discussions on ICT policy and regulation, and are not taken into account into international decisions • Governments and civil society in developing countries lack the research and analytical resources and infrastructure for policy dialogue required for effective engagement in international fora

  18. International ICT policy processes are complex International decision-making Agenda setting Proposals Decisions National and regional policy formulation Policy formulation Issue identification Implementation Policy coordination Deep policy structures Policy assessment Policy research & analysis Evaluation

  19. International ICT Decision-Making - requirements Coordination capacity Policy capacity Technical capacity National, regional & global ICT markets

  20. Obstacles to small and developing country participation – international • lack of easy, affordable and timely access to information about issues • lack of functional participation in international fora, especially • participation in the informal tier of decision-making • weak negotiating strategies • poor prioritisation of issues requiring involvement • lack of effective regional coordination • ineffective use of financial resources available for participation

  21. Obstacles to participation - national • (lack of) linkage between ICT and mainstream economic/social/development agendas/institutions - and of internal dialogue between government agencies • lack of (multi-)stakeholder engagement in national policymaking • weakness of technical and policy capacity • poor prioritisation of issues requiring involvement (need for assessment of impact) • (lack of) linkage between international decisions and national implementation strategies

  22. Requirements for effective participation in processes • Need to engage with issues at all stages of policy development - from the start, not the end • Need to analyse impact and importance of issues - at policy level and level of the citizen - and prioritise use of resources • Need to understand perspectives of other actors within international discussions - and focus negotiating strategies accordingly • Need to maximise impact through coordination with other actors that have shared objectives (e.g. regionally) • Need to identify ‘bottom line’ objectives and potential ‘trade-offs’

  23. African involvement in WSIS: weaknesses (APC study) • Formal participation preceded the first PrepCom: there was no continental discussion of WSIS issues as they evolved • Formal discussion was national or continental: there was no effective regional tier • Few countries held national multi-stakeholder fora • Delegations to WSIS PrepComs and Plenary were overwhelmingly from the traditional telecoms sector: under-representation of development ministries, private sector, civil society, women

  24. Additional issues for effective policymaking • The value of national / regional / continental engagement with an issue • The relationship between ICTs and ICT4D/ICD issues, organisations and paradigms • The impact of national scale • Sharing of expertise and pooling of resources between different national and regional sectors • The timetabling of issues: where can change take place and within what timescale?

  25. Contact: david.souter@runbox.com

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