The ICTD InfoBank has been designed and developed by APCICT as a place for online convergence of like-minded individuals and organizations working to strengthen capacities in the use of information and communications technology for development (ICTD) in the Asia-Pacific region. The ICTD InfoBank does not attempt to duplicate the work of other ICTD portals, it aims to provide easy access to relevant resources on ICTD. The resources available in the ICTD InfoBank aims to support trainers and educators in building ICTD capacity, and assist policy makers in making informed decisions.
Resources on the ICTD InfoBank include: publications, reports, journal, articles, working papers, training manuals, guidelines, case studies, video and audio files, and multimedia materials, as well as web portals with links to relevant resources, and blog sites. Users can browse these different types of resources by various topics (e.g. e-commerce, e-governance), by country, or by organization that have published these resources.
Asia and the Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS) Policy Brief: The objective of this research is to provide a national-level, gender-sensitive analysis of current planning processes, policies and initiatives on information and communications technology for development (ICTD) in institutions of higher learning (IHLs) in five surveyed countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It is intended to help prepare future ICTD leaders in the countries.
Asia and the Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS) Policy Brief: E-government has been growing in a rapid pace over the past 19 years. The United Nations E-Government Survey, with the overall theme “gearing e-government to support transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” underscores a persistent positive global trend towards higher levels of e-government development. This implies that globally, there has been steady growth in enhancing e-government and public services provision online.
Today’s digital technologies are transforming almost every sector of the economy by presenting new business models, introducing innovative products and services – and, ultimately, changing the way countries around the world harness socioeconomic development. Digital technologies, and the benefits that they bring, can connect citizens to services and opportunities, and help them build a better future. However, for markets to function effectively, they must be accompanied by an enabling policy and regulatory environment.
The World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union are pleased to present the Digital Regulation Handbook and Digital Regulation online Platform, the result of an ongoing collaboration over two decades between the two agencies. It aims to provide practical guidance and best practice for policy makers and regulators across the globe concerned with harnessing the benefits of the digital economy and society for their citizens and firms.
This handbook is designed to help countries monitor progress towards becoming information societies, based on international statistical standards, and is an important contribution to improving analysis and benchmarking across countries.
What is the impact of government policies and regulation on the performance of the ICT sector, as measured by capital investment, network deployment, service pricing, consumer demand, and ultimately impact on the economy? Is competition enough of an incentive to drive an improvement of sector performance? How long does it take for changes in regulation and policies to affect sector performance? Econometric modelling built on data from 145 countries between 2008 and 2019 was used in this study.
In the wake of the global pandemic, the importance of digital skills has never been so evident, nor so urgent. As those lucky enough to enjoy fast connectivity took refuge from the global health emergency by moving to a virtual environment to support economic continuity, education and interpersonal contact, those lacking access to digital networks and skills have been left even further behind.
To support implementation at all levels, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the need to exploit the contribution to be made by a wide range of data including Earth observations and geospatial information. Five years on, there are few examples of countries exploiting non-traditional data sources for the global SDG monitoring framework. Furthermore, where examples do exist, they are making use of only two types of non-traditional data: Earth observations and geospatial information, and citizen-generated data.
This policy paper examines inequalities in the access to and use of ICTs in ESCAP member States of the East and North-East Asian and South-East Asian sub-regions. It uses the classification and regression tree analysis to explore the ICT gaps between population groups and determines the characteristics and circumstances of individuals most likely to be left behind.
By applying the same methodologies and econometric models used for assessing global effects, this study focuses on the impact of broadband, digital transformation and policy and regulatory frameworks on the growth of markets for digital services in the Asia-Pacific region. It also provides evidence of the importance of regulatory and institutional variables in driving digital growth, illustrating that broadband technologies and effective ICT regulation can have positive impacts on the development of national economies and prosperity.