Developing Indicators in Africa: The Scan-ICT Project

www.uneca.org/aisi/nici
Sub-regional Workshop on ICT
Indicators
Developing Indicators in Africa:
The Scan – ICT Project
26-29 October 2004
Gaborone, Botswana
ECA

Topics
Topics
 Background
 Scan-ICT countries
 Scan-ICT selection criteria
 Scan-ICT Project/objectives
 Methodology
 Major findings
 Recommendations
 Lessons learnt
 Scan-ICT Phase II

Background
Background
 Africa still lags behind in the global transition to
an Information Society – e.g. - lowest rate of
internet users and fixed lines
 Lack of basic information on key ICT & related
social indicators, ICT related activities & the
impact of ICT policy decisions & plans
 To overcome this gap in information &
technology (for utilisation in the promotion of
social & economic growth), an action framework
to build Africa’s Information & communication
infrastructure was launched - AISI

 The African Information Society Initiative (AISI)
was launched in 1996 by the African Ministers in
charge of planning and economic and social
development
 Adopted by the 1996 OAU Summit
 It is a vision for ICT development in Africa
 It is a cooperation framework for partners to
support ICT development in Africa (PICTA
members)
 It also focuses on analysing and evaluating ICT’s
and content trends in Africa – Scan-ICT
What is AISI?

What is Scan-ICT?
What is Scan-ICT?
 Multi-partnership initiative (Nov 2000) for
building the capacity to define, collect &
manage key information needed to support ICT
investment & transition of Africa to an
Information society.
 It monitors the penetration, impact &
effectiveness of ICT applications across Africa.
 The goal is to create a pan-Africa ICT network
that would collect, analyse and disseminate ICT
related knowledge.

Scan-ICT project objectives
Scan-ICT project objectives
 Determine ICT status & collect, disseminate
ICT-related information in Africa
 Develop & continuously monitor ICT activity &
progress indicators for investment
 Develop a benchmarking strategy to improve
ICT performance in Africa
 Promote effective use of existing national
capacity & promote public awareness on the
importance of ICT’s for development

Scan-ICT Countries & Partners
Scan-ICT Countries & Partners
 Ethiopia
 Ghana
 Morocco
 Mozambique
 Senegal
 Uganda
 ECA
 IDRC
 NORAD
 EU

Scan-ICT Countries
Scan-ICT Countries
 Selection criteria:
 Country request for study
 In-country capacity to undertake a Scan-
ICT study
 Possibility of leading to reform of the ICT
sector
 Scan-ICT partner preferences
 Geographic/linguistic/cultural balance in
Africa (English, Arabic, French &
Portuguese speaking countries)

Scan-ICT Project activities
Scan-ICT Project activities
 Setting up of institutional structures &
organisational mechanisms for
collection of indicators using a
harmonised methodology
 Data collection areas: (minimal)
 Infrastructure
 Sectoral applications (education,
health public administration, private
sector)
 Information economy

Methodology 1/3
Methodology 1/3
 Scan-ICT methodology indicators:
 Infrastructure
 Strategic planning
 Capacity development
 Sectoral applications
 E-governance
 Information society
 Information economy

Methodology 2/3
Methodology 2/3
 Quantitative and qualitative approaches
used in generating data from:
 Primary sources – data collected by
national networks through interviews &
questionnaires;
 Secondary sources - documents from
official, private & international sources
 Data collection & analysis through
extensive national consultations.

Methodology 3/3
Methodology 3/3
 Model of Scan-ICT framework
Themes ICT
Infrastr.
Strategic
Planning
Capacity
Development
Sectoral
applic.
Gov’nance Info.
Econ.
Section
of
Inquiry
ICT Status Sources of
ICT
Knowledge
ICT
Indicators &
Benchmarks
Case
studies
& Best
Practice
ICT Policy
research
Recom
&
actions
Areas of
study
Country
profiles
Regional
thematic
studies
Pan-African
thematic
studies

Major findings 1/2
Major findings 1/2
 ICT penetration greater in educational &
public administration facilities than in
health institutions
 Widely spread individuals using ICT’s due
to lack of knowledge
 Shortage of qualified staff critical in all
sectors – low proportion of ICT experts
 Computers widely used as traditional
office tools
 Low % of institutions with web sites

Major findings 2/2
Major findings 2/2
 Although there is a demand for skilled ICT
personnel, training institutions are
concentrated in the urban areas
 Acute shortage of ICT professionals in rural
or semi-urban areas
 On-the–job training opportunities remain
very low across all sectors
 Lack of coordination in ICT training

Recommendations 1/4
Recommendations 1/4
 Recommendations can be divided into 3
categories:
 Policy issues
 Human resource development
 Infrastructure

Recommendations 2/4
Recommendations 2/4
 Creation of an enabling policy
environment for ICT4D by:
 Strengthening regulatory frameworks
 Instituting policy reforms in the
telecommunications sector
 Instituting measures not only to reduce tax
& duty on computers & accessories, but on
Internet connections & access charges

Recommendations 3/4
Recommendations 3/4
 Encourage enterprise development & private
sector investment by increasing credit facility
availability & venture capital creation
 Implementation of innovative poverty reduction
programmes which empower citizens &
increase access
 Preparation & implementation of ICT4D master
plans (NICI) addressing current & future needs
 Prioritising small ICT projects with considerable
& immediate development impact e.g.
telecentres

Recommendations 4/4
Recommendations 4/4
 Designing & launching ICT training
programmes at all levels – awareness
creation on ICT issues. Standardisation of
training courses
 Encouraging & supporting the private sector
engaged in R&D/software development
 Infrastructure expansion & increase in ICT
access points in order to bridge the urban-
rural infrastructure gap

Recommendations from the
Recommendations from the
SCAN-ICT Review Workshop
SCAN-ICT Review Workshop
(17–18 February 2004)
(17–18 February 2004)
 There is need to extend the second phase
of the project with inclusion of more
countries
 National Statistics Offices should be
included in the next phase of SCAN
ICT practitioners and statisticians
reflected on the first phase of the Scan-
ICT project as follows:

Lessons Learnt
Lessons Learnt
 The methodological framework developed
served the intended purpose – research can be
rolled out to more countries by linking existing
methodology with the MDGs
 Linkage with various ICT initiatives is needed to
sustain the Scan-ICT process and increase its
responsiveness to strategic planning and ICT
investments
 It is crucial to continuously monitor and capture
data to facilitate informed decisions

Launch of SCAN-ICT Phase II
Launch of SCAN-ICT Phase II

List of potential Countries
List of potential Countries
 Botswana
 Gambia
 Mauritius
 Niger
 Nigeria
 Rwanda
 Sudan
 Tanzania
 Tunisia
The Republic of Finland
will be the major Funding
Partner. What about ITU?
 Ethiopia
 Ghana
 Morocco
 Mozambique
 Senegal
 Uganda
New SCAN
New SCAN
countries
countries
Continuation from Phase 1
Continuation from Phase 1

Expected Outcomes
Expected Outcomes
 Linkage with various ICT initiatives such as
national e-strategies, harnessing ICTs for
decentralization of public administration, e-
governance projects, etc.
 Gender desegregation of indicators and
Focus on women & ICTs
 Inclusion of studies on sectoral applications in
all countries:
 Education
 Agriculture
 Health
 Public Administration
 e-Commerce

Access to Country Reports
Access to Country Reports
 All: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/scanict
 Ethiopia: http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php
 Ghana:http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php
 Morrocco:http//www.scanict.org
 Mozambique:http://www.scanict.uem.mz
 Senegal:http://www.osiris.sn
 Uganda:http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php

…
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Thank You
Thank You
merci
merci

Developing Indicators in Africa: The Scan-ICT Project

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