eGovernance for Development تصغير

Mission

Modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are powerful tools that can help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Indeed, one of the MDG targets explicitly calls on governments, the international community, and the private sector to create innovative partnerships to make the new technologies, specially ICTs, accessible to all. .1 In this context, the effective integration or mainstreaming of ICTs at the local, national and regional levels into development strategies and programmes is pivotal. As stated in the Millennium Declaration, good governance is one of the critical elements that must be in place in developing countries to make the achievement of the MDGs feasible.

Good governance is thus one of the key requirements of development. ICT can support good governance by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of governments; enhancing the delivery of critical public services; making public administrations more attuned to the needs of citizens; improving transparency and accountability; fostering citizen's access to public and official information; enhancing citizens participation in the public policy process; and improving inclusion and participation of all stakeholders in good governance processes. Therefore, eGovernance - namely the process of public decision making that uses ICT to enhance "people-centred" governance - becomes particularly important. The International Conference on e-Government for Development, (Palermo, Italy, 10-11 April 2002), organized by the Government of Italy with the support of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), raised awareness on the opportunities offered by the use of modern ICT by public administrations in the process of economic and social development, to foster transparency and participation, effectiveness and efficiency.

In view of the enormous potential of ICT to improve governance all over the world, a number of organizations - including governments, business, international organizations, civil society organizations, technical and academic communities - have come together to launch the Community of Expertise on eGovernance for Development. The Community aims at harnessing the potential of modern information and communication technologies to promote good governance and thereby advance development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

The establishment of the Community of Expertise on eGovernance for Development is to acknowledge and materialize the importance of partnerships in creating a shared future. The Community will seek to fully leverage the existing and ongoing work on e-governance, especially as it refers to the WSIS Implementation and Follow-up processes, and be attentive towards not duplicating existing work. The Community will function primarily as electronic mail and web-based network using innovative on-line collaboration tools complemented by limited off-line activities.

Objectives

The Community of Expertise on eGovernance for Development will aim at:

  1. Bringing together existing and emerging local, national, regional and global networks that work on eGovernance and providing a common knowledge platform for information sharing and dissemination
  2. Enhancing outreach and promoting partnerships for action within the global multi-stakeholder community engaged in eGovernance for Development
  3. Providing a forum for advocacy and policy advice in the field of eGovernance for Development and fostering both North-South and South-South cooperation
  4. Increasing awareness about the potential use of ICT to reduce poverty and accelerate development, and improved quality of decisions made about adoption and use of ICT by public administrations and citizens/civil society networks in the world
  5. Creating a platform and network of international expertise on which partnerships on e-governance can be based.

Deliverables

The Community of Expertise on e-Governance for Development will act as a global knowledge broker on eGovernance. Among other activities, it will:

  • Facilitate access to information on relevant activities of the UN System (UN Secretariat, Agencies, Programmes and Funds);
  • Facilitate access to ongoing projects, programmes and practices on eGovernnance in the world at all levels
  • Facilitate access to existing networks on eGovernance at the global, regional and local levels
  • Identify opportunities/actors for multi-stakeholders partnerships, and mobilization of resources for it
  • Create a global community of experts on eGovernance

Lead organization

Division for Public Administration and Development Management, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DPADM/UNDESA)

Partners

1. United Nations Development Programme - eGovernance Sub-practice
2. Global Centre for Information and Communication Technologies in Parliaments (ICTParliaments)
3. Fordham Graduate School of Business Administration
4. Italian Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations.
5. Intel Corporation
6. Regional Cooperation Office for City Informatization (RCOCI)
7. IT4ALL Network of Local Authorities for the Information Society
8. CIFAL Bilbao - International Center for Training of Local Agents
9. IBM US
10. Microsoft Corporation