Italy - UNDP e- Leadership Project in the Western Balkans

1. Italy - UNDP e-Leadership Project in the Western Balkans Stefano Cacciaguerra Coordinator for ICT Directorate General for Development Cooperation Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government of Italy Stability Pact eSEE Initiative Workshop on eGovernance Skopje,September 25-26 2007

2. Table of Contents • Background • Project Objective • Project Focus • Key Project Partners • Project Thematic Scope • Project Implementation

3. 1 - Background • In 2003 the Government of Italy launched the e-Government for Development Programme • Within this context, the Government of Italy has established a partnership with UNDP, funded through UNDP’s Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund • This project is part of the initiative and introduces a series of important innovations for a sub-region eager to capitalize on the benefits of using ICT in the various governance processes

4. 2 – Project Objective • The project is expected to nurture a pool of e-Leaders identified among senior government executives in six beneficiary countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and UNMK-Kosovo) • The e-Leaders will champion the use of ICT in Public Governance to implement specific initiatives linked to the public administration reform • The replication and creative adaptation of Best Practices made available at the national, regional and municipal level will act as the project main implementation instrument, in order to reduce the “digital divide” that separates most of the Western Balkans countries from the rest of SEE and EU

5. 3 – Project Focus • The project will focus on a jointly agreed set of thematic areas, important for advancing public administration reforms • Establishing strong relationships with the private sector will speed up the acquisition of the required know-how, along with more traditional teaching methods • e-Leaders shall focus on the identification of potential applications to be actually implemented • All involved countries shall demonstrate their commitment by identifying as e-Leaders government executives with relevant supervisory responsibilities, at central and local level • Regional and municipal institutions are increasingly becoming active parts in the development process and their share of our Country ‘s APS is becoming more and more relevant. • Their partecipation to the program will constitute an important added value. We are expecting that six italian regions facing the Adriatic sea will support this program and showcase their already existing experiences in the Balcan area.

6. 4 – Key Project Partners • Western Balkans Governments, at central and local levels • Government of Italy • UNDP Country Offices in all SEE countries • eSEE Initiative Cooperation Process (Secretariat, Working Group) • Stability Pact for SEE (Office of the Coordinator) • Public Administration schools/institutions • Professional associations, private sector, public foundations and media

7. 5 – Project Thematic Scope • The project scope will include, but not be limited to, the following issues: • Capacity and competency building in the application of e-Governance policies and practices • ICT-led organizational change and modernization of the public sector back and front-office • Central e-Governance strategies and implementation • Local e-Governance strategies and implementation • e-Public Services • Access to Public Information • Privacy, security, trust • Role and competencies of Senior Information Officers • e-Democracy (e-Participation, e-Transparency, e-Inclusion)

8. 6 – Project Implementation • The project will be implemented in two main phases. • Phase I is scheduled to last for about 4 months; it will set priorities, identify partner institutions and potential e-Leaders and establish project procedures, communication channels and coordination arrangements • Country Action Plans will be set up at the end of Phase I for implementation during Phase II • Phase II is planned over a timeframe of about 18 months • Both phases are expected to take advantage of the existing partnership between the Government of Italy and UNDP • the Government of Italy will provide additional in-kind contribution as well as technical assistance, made available to the project countries throughout the project life time

9. 6 – Project Implementation Phase I • Phase I consists of six main steps: • Identification of Priorities • Identification of Partners • Support to the eSEE Secretariat (to be continued during Phase II) • Launching event, to be held in Italy • Start-up workshop, to be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina • Implementation preparation

10. 6 – Project Implementation Phase II • Implementation, according to Country Action Plans developed during Phase I, shall mainly focus on the following proposed objectives and activities: • Develop and make available teaching and learning content in e-Governance for governments officials and others • Provide advisory services on demand in formulation and implementation • Develop and implement pilot projects with high replication potential • Help understand and utilize e-Participation, e-Transparency, e-Inclusion tools • Create a regionally common web-based system to facilitate exchange of best practices in e-Governance, as well as a pool of local trainers and consultants for inter-country assignments

11. Thank you!