ICT Policy and Regulations Researches: Rural Information and Communication Technology Policy Advocacy, Knowledge Sharing, and Capacity Building

Regional

RETA: REG 41093-01

Project Name
Rural Information and Communication Technology Policy Advocacy, Knowledge Sharing, and Capacity Building

Executing Agency
Asian Development Bank

Contact	:	Hyunjung Lee
Tel. No.	:	+63(2) 632-5835

TA Amount (US$ '000)
500.00

Activity Type
Others

Date of First Listing
10 December 2008

Project Impact

The TA aims to contribute to improving policy, legal, and regulatory environments to make them more conducive to the rapid deployment of ICT infrastructure and services for rural development.

Project Outcome

At the completion of the TA, it is envisaged that the TA will enhance the participating countries' capacity in planning, implementing, and monitoring their policies, and legal and regulatory frameworks for rural ICT development with better implementation mechanisms and tools and through knowledge sharing activities.

Project Outputs

The TA has 3 Outputs: (i) case studies and toolkit development, (ii) policy analysis and improvement, and (iii) knowledge sharing and capacity building. Component A: Case Studies and Toolkit Development. Building upon the relevant publications and studies undertaken by the World Bank, ITU, WTO and other development partners and researches from the academy, firstly this component will review the theoretic literatures, internationally governing or recommended frameworks (including WTO), and empirical researches on the different policy and regulation schemes and practices (both government-driven and market-based approaches) used to encourage rural ICT development and to implement universal service program, and based on such review, will develop the frameworks of the case studies and the outcomes of policy toolkits respectively. Following the developed frameworks and outlines, secondly the component will conduct case studies on the above identified six countries, particularly focused on their impact performance in rural ICT development and universal service provision and related success and failure factors. The methodologies to be used include the interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, and/or workshops with local stakeholders including telecommunication/ICT network and service providers and internet-based business companies, NGOs, reserach institutes, local governments and authorities, municipalities, and other concerned stakeholders. Thirdly, based on the literature review as well as the findings from case studies, policy toolkits will be developed for ICT policymakers and regulators to support their rural ICT development and universe service program. This will consist of (a) policy design principles and general guidelines and (b) toolkit for ICT policymakers and regulators to develop necessary and appropriate policies and regulations for rural ICT development and universal service provision. Particular attention will be given to the rural broadband expansion. Component B: Polciy Analysis and Recommendations in Cambodia and Mongolia. This component will analyze relevant policies, strategies, and legal and regulatory frameworks related to rural ICT development and universal service program in Cambodia and Mongolia. Based on this analysis and using the benchmark cases and toolkits to be developed under the above component, this component will develop recommendations for necessary reform strategies and schemes to reinforce the key success elements and lessen, if not eliminate, factors that lead to failure, as well as to encourage the provision of appropriate rural ICT infrastruture and universal services. Based on the assumption that enabling policy and regulatory environment for universal access and fair competition can promote and accelerate rural ICT development, it is important to involve all relevant stakeholders including the telecom industry and public sector in order to determine and take into consideration their needs, opinions, and requirements when recommending the appropriate policies, legislations, and regulations aimed at rural ICT development. Therefore this component will, as part of its scope, conduct public hearings and various activities, e.g., interviews, surveys, focus,group discussions, workshops, etc., to gather inputs from concerned stakeholders. Component C: Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building. This component will provide various platforms for knowledge sharing on the findings, practices, case studies, and other knowledge products among the ICT policymakers, ICT regulators, ICT operators and ICT policy researchers in the Asia and Pacitic region, using the latest knowledge management techniques and networking technologies, including online communities of practice and websites. In collaboration with national research institutes or universities specialized in ICT policy and regulation research, the developed toolktis and case studies will be transformed into training programs that focus on training-the-trainer. The training program will be offered to the selected policymakers in Cambodia and Mongolia.

Consulting Services

Individual Consultants One International Consultant (ICT Specialist, 6 person months); 6 national consultants (National ICT Specialists, 3 person months each) based individually in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, PRC, and Republic of Korea; and 2 national consultants (National ICT Specialists, 6 person months each) based individually in Cambodia and Mongolia

Project Processing Stage