The Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009

The Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009 is produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD, the leading international business school, and is sponsored by Cisco Systems. It presents rankings of countries' networked readiness and continues to be one of the most comprehensive assessments of the impact of ICT on the development process. The Report is 8th of a series.

According to the Report, Denmark and Sweden lead the rankings followed by the United States. At no. 4 is Singapore. The Report reaffirms the crucial role of ICT for general competitiveness and progress amidst the global economic downturn, and the importance of investing in  ICT  infrastructure, services and innovation. 

This year's Report carries the theme “Mobility in a Networked World”, focusing on the relationship between mobility and ICT. Part 1 features the Networked Readiness Index for 2008–09; Part 2 presents best practices and policies in networked readiness and competitiveness, focusing on specific country case studies; Part 3 includes  profiles for each of the 134 economies covered in this year’s Report; and Part 4 features detailed tables for each of the 68 variables composing the NRI this year, with rankings for the 134 economies covered in the Report, as well as technical notes and sources.

Measuring the Information Society-The ICT Development Index

'Measuring the Information Society-The ICT Development Index' is the 2009 edition of the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Development Index (IDI). The Index features ICT use  in more than 150 countries worldwide and compares progress made between 2002 and 2007. It combines 11 indicators into a single measure that can be used as a benchmarking tool at the country, regional, and global levels. The Philippines is ranked 91 out of 154 countries, with an IDI of 2.63 in 2007. 

The Report indicates that there has been significant progress on ICT access, with all countries showing improved ICT levels during the past five years. ICT access includes fixed and mobile telephony, Internet bandwidth, and households with computers and Internet. On the other hand, ICT use, which includes the number of Internet users, and fixed and mobile broadband, their progress has been slower. Broadband technology, according to the report, still has to take off in many countries. Countries with low ICT levels are primarily from the developing world. The report may be downloaded at the ITU website.

UNCTAD Information Economy Report 2007-2008: Science and Technology for Development: The New Paradigm of ICT

The Information Economy Report 2007-2008: Science and Technology for Development: The New paradigm of ICT, analyses the current and potential contribution of information technology to knowledge creation and diffusion.

The Report analyzes the contribution of ICTs to growth, development, and innovation, taking into consideration other factors such as human capital, externalties, other by-products of the innovation process, as well as the policy environments that support innovation. The Report stresses the critical importance of open access to knowledge, especially among developing countries.

This report is published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It is produced by the staff of the UNCTAD ICT and E-business Branch, and provides an analysis of current themes and issues on the effects of ICT on trade, economic performance and development. For more information about this Report, as well as those published in 2005 and 2006, please email the Science, Technology and ICT Branch, Division for Technology and Logistics (DTL) at ecommerce@unctad.org.

Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008

The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 is a joint project between the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, and sponsored by Cisco Systems. It uses the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), composed of 127 economies to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments. The NRI is a comparative and benchmarking framework developed by INSEAD to represent the state of technology readiness for 127 countries.

The Index is composed of three component indexes: 1) the environment for ICT offered by a given country or community, 2) the readiness of the economy's key stakeholders  (individuals, business and governments) and, 3)  the usage of ICT among these stakeholders. The Philippines is ranked no. 81, out of 127 countries.

More information on the Report summary and anaytical tables are available at the Report website. 

India's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Annual Report (06-07)

I was quite happy to come across an Annual Report (2006-2007) of India's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, online. India's much-documented and successful experiences in using ICTs as tools for economic developement and poverty-alleviation, makes this report an informative resource for other emerging economies like the Philippines, with similar goals of tapping the potentials of ICTs.

With the Philippines looking forward to having its own Department of ICT, hopefully before 2010, the Annual Report provides information on the breadth and depth of work of an established ICT Ministry or Department, as well as some of the challenges that are encountered, both institutionally and in the field.

For those who are following developments on the status of the Philippines' proposed Senate Bill 2546, on the establishment of the Department of ICT, please visit the website of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). The CICT has announced that President Arroyo has, very recently, certified the Senate Bill as urgent. 

Paper on ICT Literacy in the Asia-Pacific Region Released by UNESCO Bangkok

The 'Strategy Framework for Promoting ICT Literacy in the Asia-Pacific Region', is a newly-released e-publication by UNESCO Bangkok. Authored by Dr. Elena Pernia, this paper analyzes ICT literacy in the Asia-Pacific Region and presents measures to promote ICT literacy development in the Region. The paper targets individuals and institutions engaged in ICT literacy education.

ITU Resources of Interest

Downloadable files have recently been made available by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU):

The Global Information Society: A Statistical View--seeks to define the information society through ICT statistics. 

'Measuring Information and Communication Technology Availability in Villages and Rural Areas'--attempts to measure one of WSIS' ten targets, and that is "to connect villages with ICTs and to establish community access points" by 2015.

The ITU website also features an updated World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database 2007, 11th Edition (June 2008). This resource, available on CD-ROM and via online subscription, contains time series data for the years 1960, 1965, 1970 and annually from 1975-2006. Telecommunications statistics cover telephone network size and dimension, mobile services, quality of service, traffic, staff, tariffs, revenue and investment. 

The Philippines Information Technology Report 2008

The Philippines Information Technology Report 2008 is available at a discounted price of US$ 875 or 595 Euros.  Prices include airmail and email delivery and 3 quarterly updates. Please visit the Business Monitor International (BMI) for more information on BMI publications.

Asia Research News has announced that the fourth edition of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific (DirAP) 2009-2010 will be released early next year. 

According to the press release, the issue will cover 'themes such as ICTs, education and the Millennium Development Goals, distance education, ICTs and non-formal education, private-public partnership in ICTs for education, and knowledge and innovation."

The review will also consist of "two overview chapters - one on emerging ICT4D technologies and their relationships to markets and communities, and the other, on regulatory approaches to ICTs and best practices."

The 2007-2008 edition is available on the IDRC website as an open ebook. For more information on past editions of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific, you may visit http://www.digital-review.org/.