Building Capacity in ICT Policy: International Development Research Centre

Project Leader: Dr. Rohan Samarajiva

Institution: LIRNEasia (Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies)

Region: Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand)

Start Date: 05/2006

Project Details

WSIS Action Lines: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6

LIRNEasia researchers taking notes at a workshop

"We want our research to influence stakeholders: governments, regulatory agencies, the private sector, the operators, the media, the public, civil society. But what is influence without effect? We want our research and capacity building to result in changes to laws, policies, regulation, and most importantly in implementation. But even that is not enough. Success means that people's lives are improved."

- Rohan Samarajiva, Executive Director, LIRNEasia,

at an IDRC-funded workshop on ICT indicators

Context: Why is this project important?

Though the Asia-Pacific region is a leader in both the manufacture and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), economic indicators in many parts of the region remain remarkably low. In many countries, institutional constraints hinder the supply and use of ICTs for development. Comprehensive and country-specific research on the most effective policy interventions to ensure greater participation of both suppliers and users of ICTs in the Asia-Pacific region is lacking.

The Project: How does this initiative address the development problem?

LIRNEasia and Pan Asia Networking (PAN), alongside several other IDRC Programs, first teamed up on a project launched in 2004 called ICT Governance for Poverty Reduction. This project aimed to support the achievement of pro-poor, pro-market ICT regulatory and governance regimes, and to assist in the development of regional networks in Asia, Africa and Latin America & the Caribbean.

PAN’s 2006-2011 prospectus includes a strong focus on research to instigate policy and regulatory reforms in the telecommunications sector. In response to a recognized lack of such research in the Asia-Pacific region, PAN is supporting LIRNEasia to develop a flagship Asian research network. The network seeks to identify the institutional conditions for effective use of ICTs, not only in abstract terms but also in country context, and to collaborate with multiple stakeholders to catalyze policy changes that will benefit users and suppliers. Through this regional network, LIRNEasia seeks to build capacity for informed evidence-based intervention in the public policy process by persons attuned to the specific national contexts within which policy is made and implemented.

Objectives:

The overall objective of the 2006-07 research program of LIRNEasia is the creation of an evidence-based research platform and capacity for ICT policy and regulation reforms conducive to inclusive growth in the context of a more integrated world economy. More specifically, the project aims to:

Develop sustainable supply- and demand-side data collection procedures with the participation of national data collection authorities (principally national regulatory authorities in telecom) in South Asia; apply them to three South Asian countries (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and to three South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand) with the potential to extend the procedures and practices across all of emerging Asia;
Examine the contribution that ICTs can make to improving the life conditions of small-scale farmers through the conduct of baseline studies and their assessment;
Develop an Asia-Pacific scholarly network on ICT policy and regulation supported by LIRNEasia as a viable virtual organization; with lessons being drawn for developing effective knowledge networks and virtual organizations; and
Disseminate the output of all three activities in multiple ways to different audiences capable of influencing reform, including carefully targeted rapid-response interventions, including the development of an alternative model of influencing policy.

Development Impact

For information on the impact of Phase I of this project, please visit its webpage. As this phase has just recently started, its development impact cannot be assessed at this time.