Implementing National ICT Strategies: How the World Bank Can Help The Case of E-Sri Lanka

1. Implementing National ICT Strategies: How the World Bank Can HelpThe Case of E-Sri Lanka Nagy Hanna Senior Advisor, e-Development, World Bank Chair, e-Development Services Thematic Group Mainstreaming e-Development Video-Seminar October 18 and 20, 2004

2. What is e-Development • E-Development is about transition to knowledge economy by leveraging its driving force - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for competitiveness and equity. • E-Development is not only about technical change but also complementary changes to induce development that is effective, and empowering.

3. Benefits of e-Development • ICTs’ potential impact: • Growth & Competitiveness • Poverty Reduction & Human Development • Public Sector Performance

4. Growth & Competitiveness • ICT as a major sector with one of the highest growth/export potential: • Software export (India, Ireland, Israel) • Services and business process outsourcing (India, Philippines, Caribbean) • Hardware export (Costa Rica, China, Taiwan, Malaysia) • Service and logistics hub (Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland) • ICT as enabler for competitiveness: • Reduce barriers to entry; increase competition • Lower transaction costs; optimize global supply chains • Promote innovation; share knowledge. E-Administration (Singapore, India, US, Canada)

5. Macro Impact on Productivity • Ireland, Finland, Korea: close to 1% of labor productivity growth (95-2000) due to productivity growth in ICT manufacture. • US: TFP rate almost doubling (95-02) due to ICT and complementary investments (Brynjolfsson) • ICT accounts for much of Europe’s lag behind US in recent growth performance (EIU). • Due to differences in effectiveness of ICT use, not ICT investment levels.

6. Poverty Reduction & Human Development • Connecting the rural poor to critical information • Portals for rural information, collaboration, learning, participation • Empowering SMEs and micro-enterprises • Empowering Communities • Improving access and quality of service in remote areas; CDD • Education • Lifelong learning through distance education and open universities • Distribution of uptodate educational material • Health & Social security • Access to info and services; remote consultations. • Transforming social security systems: Russia, CIS, LCR

7. Public Sector Performance • Increasing efficiency of government operations • E-Procurement (Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Romania) • IFMS; decentralization; M&E LCR) • E-Admin. (Singapore, India, Canada) • Improving quality of public services and reducing transaction costs • Example: India, land records, extension, registry, forms. • Improving business and investment climate • Customs, trade net, port (Singapore). • Websites for FDI: Vietnam • Increased transparency and accountability • Example: Seoul’s OPEN for applications; Argentina’s. Cristal for budget

8. Why an e-Development Strategy? • Beyond pilots: increase sustainability, scalability, impact • Beyond sectoral components: overcome systemic problems • Beyond ministerial silos: create e-Gov frameworks, common infrastructures, databases, standards • Beyond technology: promote cross-sector, holistic approach with synergies between policy, Information Infrastructure, Human Resources, e-Gov, e-Commerce, telecenters, content and software services

9. Why an e-Development Strategy? • Need for enlightened leadership to drive policy reforms and institutional change- cannot afford a ‘wait and see’ attitude • Need for focusing scarce resources; sequencing and phasing of complementary investments • Need for partnerships: Public-Private-NGOs • Need to integrate into country development strategy, PRSP, competitive strategy • Framework for donor coordination in ICT- exploitation of network effects • Framework to enable pilots, bottom-up initiatives, shared learning and scaling up • Link to Millennium Development Goal: outcome M&E.

10. e-Dev Strategy Framework E-Government e- Leadership, Policies & Institutions E-Business & ICT Industry e-Society Information Infrastructure

11. e-Sri Lanka Case Study

12. The e-Lanka Story • USAID-funded ICT cluster study • PM asks for Bank support at highest levels. • Bank works with stakeholders to clarify vision • Linking e-dev to “Regaining Sri Lanka”, PRSP • Highest-level government support nurtured • Developing e-leadership at several levels • Passing ICT bill and enabling laws • Piloting, demonstrating, learning • Designing comprehensive multi-year program

13. I. ICT Policy, Leadership and Institutional Development • Nurturing leadership: ICT Agency, CIOs, Cabinet committee, Admin Reform Committee • Balancing top down leadership and bottom up learning and innovation: NGOs. local governments. • Partnering with private sector: India, Armenia. • Enabling e-laws & telecom reforms. • building capabilities for NGOs, communities • Program management, M & E, piloting and learning • Singapore, India, Turkey, Romania, Russia, Armenia

14. I. ICT Policy, Leadership and Institutional Development • Some Anticipated Outcomes • Effective policy and institutional environment for ICT use in public and private sectors • Effective ICT leadership among top government officials, business and civil society leaders • Effective multi-stakeholder partnership framework • Effective national coordination of ICT programs and projects, particularly for e-government. • Enhanced country brand of ICT capabilities • Augment resources & coherent investment (FDI, donors)

15. II. ICT Education and Industry Promotion • ICT Capacity Building Fund (ICBF): competitive grants, fee-based contracting for • Innovative ICT training • Promotion of FDI in ICT and enabled services • Diffusion of ICT in SMEs • Domestic software industry promotion • Some Anticipated Outcomes: • increased employment in software & ICT industry • increased software exports • improved competitiveness of local industry, SMEs

16. III. Information Infrastructure • Rural Connectivity • Smart subsidy scheme to extend access in rural areas, encourage private participation • Poorest regions to be targeted: rural areas in the South; post-conflict regions of North and East • Telecenter Program • Implementation partnerships: Public-Private, NGOs • Competitive recruitment for telecenter operators; associated with Telecenter Support Institutions • Community outreach to enable distance learning, computer training, academic curriculum support

17. Telecenters: Roles and Responsibilities Sectoral Institutions as content providers Telecenter Support Institutions Rural Telecom Operators Build Local Capacity: NGOs, Universities, Private companies Telecenter Operators Subsidy scheme to guarantee affordable connectivity Local entrepreneurs to run telecenters; Allow several viable models Community Community-Based Approach; Inclusion of vulnerable groups

18. III. Information Infrastructure • Some Anticipated Outcomes: • Improved affordability & availability of services • Reduced transaction costs: citizens, businesses • Increased private sector investment in information infrastructure • Enabled e-commerce and services leading to higher employment and entrepreneurship in rural areas • Mobilization and sharing of local knowledge • Empowerment of target groups through community driven development

19. IV. Re- Engineering Government • Establish vision, policy, strategy • Pilot and phase strategic applications • Human and business processes: restructuring, information sharing, KM, community of practice • Identify needs of government clients and underlying common information infrastructure: • Leadership: E-Parliament, E-Cabinet • E-citizen services • Public financial management: taxes, customs, budget • E-procurement; project MIS • Key infrastructure: portal; government-wide network; population registry; land info; national smart card • Common technology standards for information sharing

20. IV. Re- Engineering Government • Some Anticipated Outcomes: • transparency in government operations • client-focused processes • government accountability for service level standards • electronic sharing of data across agencies • separation of service delivery from transaction processing • always-on, user-friendly, distance-neutral information and service facilities to citizens and businesses • selective unbundling and privatization in provision of public services

21. E-Government: Evolution or Revolution? Transformation All stages of transactions electronic. New models of service delivery with public-private partnerships Transactions Electronic delivery of services automated, e.g., renewal of licenses Delivering Value To Citizens Limited Interactions Email contact, access to online databases & downloadable forms via intranets Web Presence information on rules and procedures Complexity of Implementation and Technology

22. Road Map and Journey • How to accelerate evolution to transformation? • How to orchestrate various elements of e-development to support e-government? • The role of leaders, change agents and administrative reform processes. • Developing processes and tools: CIO council, technology architecture, IT budget, etc. • Developing roadmap/plan: multi-year prioritized investments in common platforms and infra. • Promoting learning; sharing of best practice.

23. V. e-Society • E-Society Fund: competitive grants to local community organizations, NGOs, private companies • Grants to focus on innovative, socially relevant ICT pilot projects; possibility of increasing scale and scope • Some Anticipated Outcomes: • increased awareness of ICT among rural and urban poor • improved community capacity for utilizing ICT to meet local needs • increased economic opportunity and equity through wide use of ICT in agriculture, health, education • Empowerment of women and youth

24. Lessons Learned • ICT pervasive impact, not an isolated pillar • Need to integrate ICT into core development strategy. Not ICT vs. education, but ICT to enable all sectors & meet basic needs better. • From development vision to e-Development. • Need to adopt a strategic approach. Balance top direction and bottom initiative. Set vision, priorities, standards, sequence of investments • E-leadership and CIO roles key.

25. Lessons Learned (cont’d) • Quick wins - high-priority e-services that are relatively simple, have a high transaction volume, and involve a large group of clients. Pilots integral to strategy implementation. • Partnership between government, private sector, civil society donors, and diaspora. • Avoid technology focus: ensure complementary investment. Skills, organizational innovation, and incentives are crucial to make technology work. • No “one-size-fix-all" strategies.

26. Mainstreaming e-Development: Challenges to Countries • Coalition for reform and implementation: from paper strategies to practice • Links to country development strategy and budget framework • Focus and priority setting • E-Leadership and implementation capacity • Early results and adaptive planning

27. Main Challenges to Aid Agencies • Mainstreaming ICT into development agenda and Country Assistance Strategies. Operationalize WSIS? Ownership by operational departments. • Avoid pitfall of e-development as technology fix • Building core competency across turfs and sectors. • Knowledge sharing; partnerships. • Empowering e-champions and integrators.