ADB's ICTD Team Work Plan, 2016–2017 aims to identify ICT options in ADB's operations, diversify ICT portfolios in ADB's operations, develop ADB's capacity for ICT operations, and leverage knowledge partnerships in ICT.

1. The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian
Development Bank, or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included
in this presentation and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this presentation do not imply any
view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.
Ramping Up Information and
Communications Technology
for Development
Olivier Serrat
2016

2. ICT in the 21st Century
• Ever faster and cheaper, information and
communications technology (ICT) allows
people to seek, acquire, and share expertise,
ideas, services, and technologies; boosts
efficiency and productivity; reduces
transaction costs and barriers to entry;
provides the means for sweeping
reorganization of business; and generally
makes markets work better.
• ICT has already transformed the financial
services, media, retail, and
telecommunications sectors. Through the
globalization it simultaneously feeds on and
accelerates, it is reshaping societies,
economies, and governments worldwide.
ICT are
technologies
that facilitate
by electronic
means the
processing,
transmission,
and display of
information.

3. The New Dimensions of ICT
• Applications
• Control Centers
• Helpdesks
• Information
Technology Security
• Big Data
• Data Analytics
• Data Management
• Data Mining
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things
• Remote Sensing
• Sensor Technology
• Broadband
• Mobile Devices
• Next Generation
Systems
• Wireless
Technology and
Optical Fibers
Connectivity Structure
SupportUsage

4. Why ICTD?
ICT is so embedded in our lives we no longer realize it is at play. But,
this is not yet the case everywhere: "ICT for Development" (ICTD)
springs from the desire to leverage ICT to propel economic and social
progress and enhance its effects in developing countries.
Almost half the world lives on
less than $2.50 a day.
Developing countries that
harness ICT can leapfrog
stages of development by:
Increasing avenues for economic and
political engagement.
Strengthening social networks.
Making public services more efficient.
Without ICT, the efforts of developing countries to connect, innovate,
and transform will be stymied. Their endeavors to produce, diffuse,
and use ICT require substantial investment—both public and
private—in policy and regulatory frameworks, infrastructures,
applications, and capacities and skills for ICT.

5. The ICTD Ecosystem
Policy and
Regulatory
Framework
Infrastructure
(including
connectivity)
Applications
(including
contents and
services)
Capacities and
Skills

6. Opportunity
Performance
Quality,
Knowledge,
and Innovation
Ramping Up ADB's Role in ICTD—
Strategic Thrusts, 2016–2017
Identify ICT
Options in ADB's
Operations
Diversify ICT
Portfolios in
ADB's
Operations
Develop ADB's
Capacity for ICT
Operations
Leverage
Knowledge
Partnerships in
ICT

7. Ramping Up ADB's Role in ICTD—
Results Framework, 2016–2017
Results and Contributing
Actions/Outputs
Indicator Responsibility
Center
Time
Frame and
Target
1. ICT Options in ADB's Operations are Identified
1.1 ICT issues in strategic and operational documents are peer-
reviewed.
1.2 Country-level assessments of ICT options are conducted.
2. ICT Portfolios in ADB's Operations are Diversified
2.1 Technical assistance for high-priority ICT projects and capacity
development is extended.
2.2 ICT is featured in country partnership strategies and attendant
country operations business plans in selected developing members
countries.

8. Ramping Up ADB's Role in ICTD—
Results Framework, 2016–2017
Results and Contributing
Actions/Outputs
Indicator Responsibility
Center
Time
Frame and
Target
3. ADB's Capacity for ICT Operations is Developed
3.1 ICT skills of targeted staff are built.
3.2 Informal knowledge-sharing activities on ICT-related topics are
conducted, leading to case studies of and briefings on, say,
successful applications in key sectors and short-format publications.
4. Knowledge Partnerships in ICT are Leveraged
4.1 A regional knowledge network of centers of excellence in ICT is
instituted.
4.2 The quantity and quality of knowledge capabilities in ICT is
enriched by learning in strategic alliances.

9. Ramping Up ADB's Role in ICTD—
Outcomes and Impact, 2016–2017
Intermediate Outcomes
ICT options in ADB's
operations are
identified
ICT portfolios in
ADB's operations
are diversified
ADB's capacity for
ICT operations is
developed
Knowledge
partnerships in ICT
are leveraged
Outcomes
Enhanced policy
and regulatory
frameworks for ICT
operations
Strengthened DMC
capacity to utilize
ICT for development
Increased
investments in ICT-
led and ICT-enabled
operations
Impact
A narrowed digital
divide and better,
inclusive service
delivery to the
public through ICT
DMC = developing
member country.

10. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Climate Change ICT can play multiple roles at all stages of climate change—from monitoring
it, adapting to it, mitigating its impacts, and developing long-term
solutions—in sectors such as energy, housing, transport, etc. To note, ICT
itself contributes to climate change through the proliferation of user
devices, all of which require power and radiate heat.
Disaster Risk
Management
ICT can improve early warning systems; supports rapid assessments; and
facilitates communication, coordination, and management of resources.
Education ICT strengthens education system capacity, facilitates access to educational
services, and improves teacher ability to deliver those services. In higher
education, for one, ICT is beginning to globalize open, online, and flexible
systems that deliver cost-effective and equitable pathways to just-in-time,
mobile learning.
Energy Beyond "build and grow", smart grids are the emerging paradigm: they are
webs of technologies aiming to automate, improve efficiency, monitor, and
increase the availability of electric grids at generation, transmission, and
distribution levels. ICT can rejig business models.

11. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Environment ICT that frees detailed trend and real-time data offers promising solutions
to enhance monitoring, policy design, regulations, and citizen engagement
for environmental management. This can enable significant
transformations of economic and social structures, human activities, and
governance processes to accelerate transitions to green growth.
Finance ICT can promote the cost-effectiveness, stability, and integrity of financial
systems and advance consumer protection, security, and transparency. The
alternative delivery channels for financial services it makes possible include
automated teller machines (ATMs); agent banking; call centers; e-wallets;
extension services, e.g., field staff, mini-branches, and "branches on
wheels"; as well as internet banking, all of which quicken financial
inclusion.

12. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Gender Equity ICT can enrich the education, health, and material asset endowments of
women, whose mobility and time constraints are more severe compared to
men. ICT-enabled jobs in banking, insurance, printing, and publishing, for
example, are likely to be taken up by women. Social media can also
empower women to participate and have a stronger voice in society.
Health Growing and aging populations challenge healthcare spending and dictate
a shift away from treatment to predicting, diagnosing, and monitoring. ICT
can drive sector-wide improvements in accountability, efficiency, and
transparency. E-health and e-medicine have an increasingly important role
to play. Opportunities also exist for medical services in times of crisis.

13. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
ICT A reliable ICT infrastructure for storage and connectivity is the basis for the
operation of all ICT-related services across sectors. This said. reaping in full
the opportunities ICT provides means that priority topics such as
sustainable and redundant international and domestic connectivity,
coverage, sustainable O&M, processes, quality of service, performance,
standardization, security, affordable tariffs, storage, resiliency, well trained
staff and adequate budgets for capital expenditure (capex) and operating
expenditure (opex) must be addressed. At a higher level, the development
of ICT infrastructure must to go hand in hand with ICT-related national or
regional strategies, policy and regulatory frameworks, and reliable power
supply.
Public–Private
Partnership
The need for public–private partnerships is likely to grow in the first and
middle miles, but also where clients live in rural and remote areas but
demand justifies their formation. Beyond the ICT sector per se,
partnerships that leverage ICT are both feasible and necessary in a wide
range of sectors such as education, health, transport, urban, and water.

14. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Public Sector
Management
Open government is gaining momentum. Increasingly, ICT can be used to
hold governments accountable, raise efficiency, and improve transparency.
By helping monitor and report on trends and events and engage citizens in
dialog, the participation it fosters can also optimize service delivery.
Regional
Cooperation and
Integration
Regional cooperation and integration and ICT are highly complementary:
the first opens economies of scale and more diversified business
opportunities for ICT investments while the latter enables broader scope
and greater depth of real economic activity within and across sectors, this
without the need for physical connectivity in the case of services. On top,
"cross-border mobility" of skilled and scarce professionals can take place
on demand without the need for physical travel. Furthermore, with nation-
wide internet access that is also operable across countries, any business
can take advantage of cross-border physical logistics systems to conduct
what business requires physical movement. Cont’d

15. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Regional
Cooperation and
Integration Cont’d
Cont’d Thus, ICT is instrumental in trade facilitation through enhancing
production networks and supply chains. The internet is a global system of
interconnected computer networks that use a protocol commonly known
as TCP/IP—short for Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol—
to link billions of devices worldwide. Evidently, this international network
can be better managed if countries cooperate, for instance in information
technology security. Additionally, the internet can also serve as a powerful
accelerator of regional cooperation and integration; the vast landscape
encompasses internet governance, common digital markets, and the
provision or safeguard of regional and global public goods.
Rural Development
and Food Security
ICT can serve rural communities by providing local content and basic
services to people who are marginalized by distance or geography. It can
also help rural communities stay in touch, eliminate intermediaries, directly
access markets and value chains, grow bargaining power, facilitate the
provision of agriculture extension services, aid long-distance learning,
improve farm productivity, and develop nonagricultural economic
activities.

16. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Social Protection ICT can enable client identification, registration, and tracking; transaction
processing using management information systems; cash delivery; and
monitoring and evaluation. Opportunities also exist to support citizen
feedback and grievance redress systems and monitor and assess spatial
dimensions of poverty and vulnerability.
Transport Intelligent transportation systems emphasize safety, management, and
efficiency. But, ICT can also lessen environmental impact, for example
through guidance systems that lead motorists to the most appropriate
parking spaces, which reduces engine time; use of the Global Positioning
System for navigation or vehicle dispatch, which cuts journey time; and
road pricing schemes that encourage greater use of public transport, which
alleviates congestion and reduces energy use.

17. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Urban Development Cloud-based services, increasingly powerful mobile phones, sensors, big
data, and data analytics present huge opportunities for cities to enter new
phases of technological development and better deliver services. Game-
changing opportunities exist across most aspects of urban life including
education, energy and other utilities, health, inclusion, and urban mobility,
as well as related urban planning. Integrated and comprehensive
Geographic information systems applications for planning, implementing,
and monitoring urban development are keys tools and mechanisms that
can ensure cohesion, efficiency, and smooth articulation across all urban
sub-sectors. Smart and connected buildings using cutting-edge material
would enhance the optimization and sharing of resources, Community-
based mapping and planning would help improve local governance and civil
society engagement.

18. Illustrative ICTD Opportunities
Sector/Theme Opportunity
Water Integrating ICT such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
systems in water and sanitation projects can, for instance, reduce the cost
and duration of monitoring and inventory activities, disseminate
hydrological information, improve efficiency gains of water service
providers, track water use with remote sensing, improve collection rates of
water service providers through ICT based-payment systems, ensure better
services to the poor, decrease business and physical non-revenue water,
optimize water pressure and pumping stations energy efficiency, measure
water quality and implement water safety plans, and strengthen citizen
voice and accountability frameworks.

19. Further Reading
• ADB. 2008. Strategy 2020: Working for an Asia and Pacific
Free of Poverty. Manila. www.adb.org/documents/strategy-
2020-working-asia-and-pacific-free-poverty
• ——. 2009. Social Network Analysis. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/social-network-analysis
• ——. 2009. Writing Weblogs. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/writing-weblogs
• ——. 2009. Collaborating with Wikis. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/collaborating-wikis

20. Further Reading
• ADB. 2009. Enhancing Knowledge Management under
Strategy 2020, Plan of Action, 2009–2011. Manila.
www.adb.org/documents/knowledge-management-action-
plan-2009-2011
• ——. 2010. Social Media and the Public Sector. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/social-media-and-public-sector
• ——. 2010. E-Learning and the Workplace. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/e-learning-and-workplace
• ——. 2014. Midterm Review of Strategy 2020: Meeting the
Challenges of a Transforming Asia and Pacific. Manila.
www.adb.org/documents/midterm-review-strategy-2020-
meeting-challenges-transforming-asia-and-pacific-r-paper

21. Further Reading
• ADB. 2014. Midterm Review of Strategy 2020 Action Plan.
Manila. www.adb.org/documents/midterm-review-strategy-
2020-action-plan
• ——. 2016. Ramping Up ADB's Role in Information and
Communications Technology for Development—ICTD Team
Work Plan, 2016–2017. Manila.
• ——. 2016. Road to 2030: Information and Communications
Technology in ADB's Corporate Strategy and Operations.
Manila. www.adb.org/projects/documents/helping-
transform-asia-and-pacific-support-for-adb-new-corporate-
strategy-jul-2016-dpta

22. Videos
• ADB. 2014. The Evolution of Information and Communications
Technology in ADB. Manila. vimeo.com/123063686
• ADB. 2014. Increasing Access to Information in ADB. Manila.
vimeo.com/123063689
• ADB. 2014. Milestones in ADB's Information Systems and
Technology. Manila. vimeo.com/123073445
• ADB. 2014. The Use of New Technologies in ADB. Manila.
vimeo.com/123073450
• ADB. 2014. ADB's Information Systems and Technology
Strategy, 2013–2018. Manila. vimeo.com/123079790

23. Videos
• ADB. 2014. "Digital ADB": Adopting New Technologies in the
Digital Era. Manila. vimeo.com/123080137
• ADB. 2014. Expanding and Integrating Technology in ADB's
Operations. Manila. vimeo.com/123080140
• ADB. 2014. Digital Interaction with Partners. Manila.
vimeo.com/124399624

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