Briefing Note 1: The Linkage between ICT Applications and Meaningful Development

This briefing note explores the various dimensions of information and communication technology (ICT) applications in key sectors of development in countries of the Asia-Pacific region. It also highlights substantive issues and decision points, from policy to implementation, in the use of ICTs to meet development needs. It is published by the United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT/ESCAP) and is drawn from Module 1 - The Linkage between ICT Applications and Meaningful Development, one of eight modules of the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders (Academy).

More specifically, the note focuses on ways in which ICTs, particularly computer and web-based digital technologies, can be used to promote sustainable social and economic development and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). "A framework for understanding the linkages between and among various development sectors and ICTs is provided... followed by a discussion of the different roles that ICTs can play in reducing poverty, providing education and healthcare for all, promoting gender equality, and coping with environmental change and extreme climate events." The document illustrates the relationship of citizens, policymakers, and service providers as a triangle with ICTs as the centre. "In principle, citizens influence policymakers and politicians through existing political processes, such as elections. In practice, this is a slow process; it does not always work....Even if [economically] poor people can reach the policymakers, services will not improve unless the policymakers can ensure that the service providers will deliver the services to the people. It is easier to influence service outcomes by strengthening the link between the citizens and the service providers through the use of ICTs....ICTs can be used to provide improved and equitable delivery of services; facilitate complex planning processes and coordination across sectors and enable increased information sharing, outreach, and monitoring of key efforts."

The document cites two approaches to the deployment of ICTs: 1) The direct approach focuses on the ultimate beneficiaries and uses ICTs to directly link them with the service providers. 2)The indirect approach is supportive - i.e., it focuses the development of policies, infrastructure, support systems, and content, which in turn is expected to benefit the ultimate beneficiaries. As stated here, industry and private sector-led growth supported by ICTs has in some cases contributed to poverty reduction. However, the economically poor have benefited less than the non-poor. The recommendation is to address poverty using ICTs to deliver services directly to the economically poor. An example of an ICT system focused directly on poverty alleviation is Malaysia’s SINAR system, a database on the urban poor that is available for use by governments and donor agencies in their efforts to provide services for this sector. In the education sector, ICTs can provide marginalised groups access to schools and educational resources, enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and improve administrative and instructional efficiency. "Real learning gains and the improvement of an education system will take place only when all of the elements of educational change, from policies and practices, to teachers, learners and other stakeholders, come together." As far as achieving for gender equality, the document states that ICTs cannot change power structures but can empower women by building their capacity not only to access and use technologies, but also to participate in their design, influence their content, and shape their uses. "ICTs can also facilitate women’s participation in government and political affairs by providing a communications platform to exchange opinions, to articulate and aggregate interests, and to engage political leaders in women’s issues. Women’s advocacy groups can effectively use ICTs to network and connect with each other, and to mobilize public opinion."

In the health sector, ICT interventions can be direct, linking patients to expert medical services; and they can serve health care providers, medical professionals, researchers and health managers, and policymakers through health monitoring systems and continuing professional education. ICTs can link doctors and patients; doctors can link to medical literature and teaching hospitals; and deployment of ICT-based surveillance systems can work for the prevention, reporting, and monitoring of diseases. ICTs can be applied to disaster management, reducing disaster risks, controlling environmental degradation, and serving vulnerable populations such as those of island states where climate change effects are being felt.

Policy makers, particularly those from locations with commonalities of: small populations; small markets; limited resources; distance, remote, and underserved populations; poor telecommunications systems; and vulnerabilities not only to forces of nature but also to globalisation and privatisation - can benefit, as stated here, from the application of ICTs. There is a need in these locations for sustained political, policy, and administrative support from elected officials, and policymakers. Andhra Pradesh, India, is offered as an example where the following contributed to the use of ICTs for poverty reduction:

• ”Direct intervention and involvement of the head of the government
  
• The establishment of empowered committees of senior government officials who meet every fortnight to take decisions and resolve problems
  
• Public-private partnerships between the government which provides the guidelines and the industry which provides the services
• The setting up of special project implementation units in all departments
  
• Sustained training and capacity building of government officials
• Ongoing monitoring and review of the processes, and independent evaluations conducted by reputed institution"