An Advisory Panel will be set up for this study, which will communicate virtually through an e-discussion list. The Panel members will be requested to guide the preparation of the final outputs, including the Policy Briefs. The Panel, which will consist of 8-10 members, will comprise high-level resource people.

A Technical Support Group may also be set up alongside the Advisory Panel. This Group would offer more issue-based feedback on the working drafts of the ICT study. This Group could comprise approximately 8-10 members.

UNDP’s NHDRnet, SURF-it net, and RRnet will be used to receive feedback on various drafts of the study.

An overall Research Coordinator will assist with the drafting of a common research methodology to be adopted by each national research team. The draft research methodology, along with the methodological instruments and indicators, will be discussed virtually by all research teams prior to their finalization. The Research Coordinator will also produce an overview chapter for the final publication that will highlight all the cross linkages between countries, the cross-country best practices , as well as comparative analysis and assessment of e-policies and e-strategies in the region.

Commissioning country papers: A Lead Researcher/Author, assisted by two researchers, will constitute the national research team in each country participating in the study.

UNDP’s Kuala Lumpur-based Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP, and the New Delhi-based Human Development Resource Centre (HDRC, will provide overall guidance and direction for this study.

UNDP’s Human Development Report Office in New York, whose 2001 and 2002 Human Development Report’s focused on “new technologies” and “deepening democracy” respectively, will also provide guidance and support in this effort.

The draft national studies prepared by each national team will be tabled for discussion at a national stakeholders workshop. The second draft of each national study will be discussed at a workshop involving all the Lead Researchers, the Research Coordinator, APDIP, and HDRC.