UNDP ICT Programme Officer/Focal Point

ICT Programme Office/Focal Point A

Full Name

Dr. Fredrick Arthur Abeyratne

Designation/Position

Programme Analyst

Station (UNDP Country Office)

Sri Lanka

Email Address

fredrick.abeyratne@undp.org

Telephone Number

94-1-580691

Fax Number

94-1-581116

e-Readiness Assessment

Has the Government (or any third party or donor) conducted a multi-sectoral ICT or e-readiness assessment of the country?

NO

At present an ICT Policy is being prepared.  An e-readiness assessment will help in the implementation of same.
 

Existing e-Policies, -Strategies, Acts, Decrees, etc

Has the Government developed, or is the Government planning to develop, ICT policies?

YES

The Govt. is actively in the  process of preparing an ICT policy with the help of the World Bank
 

Ministry/Agency in Charge of ICT Policy Formulation

Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology
 

Scope of ICT Policies

It covers the total economy according to initial discussions.
 

Was the process of ICT policy formulation participatory in nature, and did it involve stakeholders?

YES
 

Does the Government have an official policy on ICT and Gender?

NO

UNDP has been continously advocating gender equality, specially engendering data in development of MISs
 

Does the Government have an official policy on Open Source Software?

NO
 

Access

How is the Government addressing the issue of equitable access to ICT for all of its citizens, especially marginalized groups and those in rural communities?

Govt. has a programme of IT development within the Govt. owned school system.  Other than that there are no specific state sponsored programmes.
 

What is the Government planning to do to increase local connectivity to the Internet?

There are number of private service providers.  No special Govt. Programmes.  Limited access to the telecom system by all people (Costs prohibitive), has impeded increasing local connectivity.
 

Has the Government implemented, or is it planning to implement, e-government/e-governance initiatives to better deliver government services through the application of ICT and to improve government transparency and efficiency?

YES

There are several initiatives, including assistance from UNDP, in developing MIS systems, which are planned to develop into e-govt./governance tools.

UNDP continues to advocate e-governance/Govt as tool for good governance.
 

Local Content Development and Knowledge Management

Is the Government aware of or is it active in standardization and localization of ICTs (e.g. local input/output conventions and standards for digital exchange, development of local language character sets conforming to international UNICODE and other standards) for fostering local content development and knowledge management?

YES

Already there are laid down standards.  Character sets in local languages are developed and are been used for web page developments etc.
 

Please suggest how UNDP can assist in further developing local content development.

Within Projects this is possibility
 

International Donors of ICT for Development

Please list (in order of total contributions for 2002) the top five donors who have invested in ICT for Development.  DO NOT include UNDP.

Donor

Specific Area of Support

Amount (USD)

1

World Bank

Policy Development

2

JICA

Infrastructure

3

SIDA

Policy Development

4

ADB

Infrastructure

5

UNDP

Software (MIS), limited quantity of computers

Please list (in order of priority) the five top areas of ICT for Development for the donor community.  E.g. e-Government, e-Commerce, e-Learning, ICT policy, etc.

1

ICT Policy

2

Infrastructure

3

e-Government/Governance

4

e-Learning

Please list and describe the three primary ICT for Development areas of focus for your UNDP Country Office.

NOTE: Please DO NOT list actual projects/activities, there is another section for this information.  Please describe the general focus areas (e-policies, e-government, e-commerce, e-learning, etc.) instead.

Area One
e-Government/Governance

Area Two
e-Learning

Check List: Please provide additional comments where applicable.

UNDP has played or is playing a crucial role in assisting the national government with ICT policy formulation.

NO

No, since other donors are already involved in this area
 

ICT for Development is a well established programme area within your UNDP Country Office.

YES

In all our on going project ICT has been identified as an activity, to develop MIS systems towards e-government/governance
 

The UNDP Country Office requires assistance in identifying UNDP’s potential niche in ICT for Development interventions in the country.

YES
 

The UNDP Country Office is in partnership with the local government in ICT for Development initiatives/projects/activities.

YES

External Resources Dept, Finance Commission,  Legal Draftsman’s Dept,  SL Institute for Development Administration,  Provincial Councils.
 

Please share with us some UNDP County Office success stories, lessons learned, etc., with respect to the work that you have done in ICT for Development.

Specially for Aid Management  and Fiscal Devolution  MISs are being developed
 

What are the major external obstacles in delivering ICT for Development outputs, thus far?  And how has the Country Office overcome these obstacles?

One of the biggest obstacles is, although UNDP helps with advice and software, Govt. finds it difficult to find partners to procure hardware.    Advice along is not enough, Govt. lacks finances to put to practice ICT practices.  Generally, since larger donors offer hardware, govt. is inclined to get their help at policy level.
 

What are the major internal obstacles in delivering ICT for Development outputs, thus far?  And how has the Country Office overcome these obstacles?  Please provide suggestions on how to overcome these obstacles.

Internally there is support for ICT.  But again not for hardware, which is what the Govt. needs.  We have been able to partnership with donors to share software and hardware in certain instances.