Seeking Transformation Through Information Technology

The ability to harness Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is increasingly at the heart of national competitiveness and sustainable development. As countries seek a way out of the present period of economic contraction, they are trying to weave ICT into their development strategies, in the same way enterprises have learned to use ICT to transform their business models and strategies. This integration offers a new path to development that is responsive to the challenges of our times. In Seeking Transformation Through Information Technology, Nagy Hanna and Peter Knight provide a framework for assessing the opportunities, challenges, and prospects for “e-transformation.” Featuring contributions from country experts, the editors and authors provide in-depth case studies of ICT deployment in Brazil, China, Canada, and Sri Lanka, and asses the progress of such efforts. The result is an essential resource for academic researchers, policy analysts, policymakers, and industry leaders interested in the role of ICT in national development, innovation, and economic growth.

The ability to harness Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is increasingly at the heart of competitiveness and sustainable growth. As countries engage in an increasingly competitive global economy, they are trying to weave ICT into their development strategies, in the same way enterprises have learned to use ICT to transform their business models and strategies. This integration offers a new path to development that is responsive to the challenges of our times. In National Strategies to Harness Information Technology, Nagy Hanna and Peter Knight provide a framework for assessing the opportunities, challenges, and prospects for “e-transformation” and for analyzing the options and innovations adopted to manage the e-transformation process. They ask hard questions: what does it take to harness ICT to transform an economy? Why some countries accelerate their development journey with ICT while others fail? How did successful countries balance the need for strategic leadership with bottom up innovation? Can countries reduce the risks of digital divide? What have been the roles of government and private sectors? What lessons can be learned for countries at different levels of development? Featuring contributions from country experts, the editors and authors provide in-depth case studies of ICT deployment in Singapore, Finland, the Philippines, and South Africa, and asses the progress of such efforts. The result is an essential resource for academic researchers, policy analysts, policymakers, and industry leaders interested in the role of ICT in national development, innovation, and economic growth. In National Strategies to Harness Information Technology, Nagy Hanna and Peter Knight provide a framework for assessing the opportunities, challenges, and prospects for “e-transformation” and for analyzing the options and innovations adopted to manage the e-transformation process. They ask hard questions: what does it take to harness ICT to transform an economy? Why some countries accelerate their development journey with ICT while others fail? How did successful countries balance the need for strategic leadership with bottom up innovation? Can countries reduce the risks of digital divide? What have been the roles of government and private sectors? What lessons can be learned for countries at different levels of development? Featuring contributions from country experts, the editors and authors provide in-depth case studies of ICT deployment in Singapore, Finland, the Philippines, and South Africa, and asses the progress of such efforts. The result is an essential resource for academic researchers, policy analysts, policymakers, and industry leaders interested in the role of ICT in national development, innovation, and economic growth.

Nagy Hanna presents a systematic approach to integrate ICT into development policies and programs across sectors of economy and society. This book bridges the current disconnect between the ICT specialists and their development counterparts in various sectors so as to harness the ongoing ICT revolution to maximize development impact.

This book considers the opportunities and challenges of harnessing digital technologies for improved public services and governance. It focuses on the challenges of applying digital technologies in developing countries, where dramatic results can be realized. It addresses questions like these: How can digital technologies help enhance transparency, accountability, and participation to improve service design and delivery? Where are the opportunities to enhance key areas of governance and public service delivery? What are the promising practices to strengthen supply and mobilize demand for good governance and service delivery? What are the emerging lessons from recent experience? The author explains with real cases how ICT can be deployed to improve public sector efficiency and accountability for resource management; improve access and quality of public services for citizens; enhance transparency and reduce costs of government-business transactions, support entrepreneurship, attract private investment, and reduce the burden of regulation; and enhance the effectiveness of political oversight and policy institutions. This book details the importance of understanding the social, political, and institutional contexts and the policies that might scale up ICT for governance and public service improvement.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, ICT4D 2017, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in May 2017. The 60 revised full papers and 8 short papers presented together with 3 keynotes were carefully reviewed and selected from 118 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: large scale and complex information systems for development; women empowerment and gender justice; social mechanisms of ICT-enabled development; the data revolution and sustainable development goals; critical perspectives on ICT and open innovation for development; the contribution of practice theories to ICT for development; agile development; indigenous local community grounded ICT developments; global sourcing and development; sustainability in ICT4D; and information systems development and implementation in Southeast Asia. Also included are a graduate student track, current issues and notes. The chapter ‘An Analysis of Accountability Concepts for Open Development’ is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com.

Understanding the key IT issues facing firms within their surrounding contexts is critical for the firm, government, and their international counterparts.In response to the dominant and pervasive bias in Information Systems (IS) research towards American and Western views, the World IT Project was launched and is the largest study of its kind in the field. This book captures the organizational, technological, and individual issues of IT employees across 37 countries.The book enables management and staff to formulate business and IT-related policies and strategies. Likewise, it allows policymakers, governments and vendors to address important issues at the national level as well as to respond to the needs of partners and stakeholders in other countries. It also offers current and future academic scholars a grounded understanding of the international IT environment and provides a sound foundation to launch many international IT studies.

A Internet no Brasil: Origens, Estratégia, Desenvolvimento e Governança Demi Getschko, Membro do Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil (CGI.br) e Diretor Presidente do Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR (NIC.br)."Este é o livro certo na época certa, quando a governança da Internet está nas manchetes. A visão política que fundamenta nosso sistema de governança é muito avançada e incorpora a rica diversidade de nossos stakeholders acadêmicos, políticos, técnicos, empresariais e do terceiro setor. Esta diversidade permitiu o florescimento da Internet em nosso país. Peter Knight capta todas estas visões en um livro que propicia uma leitura instigante e deliciosa." Michael Stanton, Diretor de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento da Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP) "Este livro oferece uma descrição bem informativa de como os governos brasileiros e suas instituições aliadas construíram juntos, e continuam a expandi-la, uma infraestrutura de comunicações exigida por uma sociedade moderna baseada no conhecimento. O trabalho não está absolutamente completo, mas o livro apresenta exemplos de como as futuras extensões podem continuar a ser construídas para melhorar o resultado. Com convicção, um traço comum em todo o livro é a ênfase no oferecimento de uma infraestrutura de fibra óptica em todos os lugares, de modo que a futura expansão possa usar mais uma vez os cabos existentes." Steve Goldstein, ex-membro da National Science Foundation (NSF) na área das Conexões Internacionais da Internet e ex-membro do Diretório da ICANN. "Neste breve livro, o Dr. Knight, um antigo economista e gerente do Banco Mundial em Washington, agora estabelecido no Brasil, começa com uma descrição detalhada e meticulosa do desenvolvimento das redes no Brasil até a adoção da tecnologia da Internet pela comunidade acadêmica. Passa à comercialização e apresenta o estado atual e as últimas implicações das políticas globais para a governança da Internet tratadas na NETmundial. Uma dádiva para os historiadores da Internet e aficionados das suas políticas também." Nagy Hanna, autor, conselheiro, acadêmico. Ex-assessor senior e principal estrategista de eTransformação do Banco Mundial. "A Internet é fundamental para a realização de qualquer estratégia de eTransformação. Ter acesso a essa infraestrutura do século XXI é cada vez mais crítico para a saúde social e econômica e a competitividade das nações. Peter é um observador perspicaz da evolução, uso e governança da Internet no Brasil. Este é o livro certo agora, quando a governança da Internet está em discussão. Apresenta uma análise fácil de ler que deve ajudar os observadores externos e os brasileiros a compreenderem a abordagem à Internet deste importante país." Vanda Scartezini, Ex-Secretária Nacional para Política de Tecnologia da Informação e duas vezes membro do Diretório da ICANN. "Extremamente relevante por resgatar a memória da evolução da Internet no Brasil. O livro traz uma excelente oportunidade para os jovens de hoje e do futuro compreenderem os caminhos que trouxeram até eles esta fantástica oportunidade de desenvolvimento pessoal e social que é a Internet. Como nasceu a Internet no Brasil? Quem foram seus pioneiros? Como interagiram com os pais da Internet nos Estados Unidos e na Europa? Que estratégias guiaram o desenvolvimento da Internet no Brasil? Como ela se desenvolveu em termos de cobertura, uso, velocidade, preço e qualidade do serviço? O que precisa ser feito para melhor realizar o seu potencial de aceleradora do desenvolvimento econômico, social e político? Qual é o modelo brasileiro de governança da Internet e como está evoluindo? Estas são as principais questões abordadas neste livro. O autor tem sido um observador e participante no desenvolvimento e uso da Internet na África, Ásia, Rússia e Estados Unidos, mas, sobretudo, no Brasil. Ele interagiu com muitos pioneiros da Internet em todo o mundo, que o inspiraram e o educaram sobre ela. Este livro, completado logo depois da Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance (NETmundial), realizada em São Paulo, visa proporcionar um pano de fundo que possa ser útil para os participantes deste importante encontro e para os entusiastas da Internet no Brasil e ao redor do mundo.

Demi Getschko, Member of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and Chairman Executive Committee of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). "This is the right book at the right time, when Internet governance is in the headlines. the political visions behind Brazil's governance system are very advanced and embody the rich diversity of our academic, political, technical, entrepreneurial, and civil society stakeholders. That diversity has allowed the Internet to flourish in our country. Peter Knight captures all these visions in a book that the reader will find both provocative and pleasurable to read." Michael Stanton, Director of Research and Development, National Education and Research Network (RNP). "This book provides a very informative description of how Brazilian governments and allied institutions have together built, and continue to extend, the communications infrastructure required for a modern knowledge-based society. the job is by no means complete, but the book shows examples of how future extensions can continue to be built to improve the result. Unsurprisingly, a common thread throughout the book is the emphasis on providing ubiquitous fiber optical infrastructure so that future expansion can reuse existing communications cables." Steve Goldstein, Former National Science Foundation Program Officer for International Internet Connections and former Member of the Board of ICANN. "In this short book, Dr. Knight, a former World Bank economist and manager now living in Brazil, moves from a meticulously detailed rendition of the development of networking in Brazil through to the adoption of Internet technology by the academic community. Then, he follows the path to commercialization and present day status and the very latest global policy implications for Internet governance (e.g., NET Mundial). A gift to Internet historians and policy wonks as well!" Nagy Hanna, Author, Advisor, Academic. Former senior advisor on e-transformation and chief strategist at the World Bank. "The Internet is central to realizing any eTransformation strategy. Harnessing this 21st century infrastructure is increasingly critical for the economic health and competitiveness of nations. Peter is a keen observer of the Internet's evolution, use, and governance in Brazil. This book is a timely and readable analysis that should help both external observers and Brazilians understand this important country's approach to the Internet." Vanda Scartezini, Former National Secretary for Information Technology Policy and twice former member of ICANN Board of Directors. "Extremely relevant for rescuing the memory of Internet's evolution in Brazil. the book provides an excellent opportunity for the youth of today and tomorrow understand the path that led to them this fantastic opportunity for personal and social development that is the Internet."