ICT in Bangladesh

Background In Bangladesh, Government use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), especially those related to the Internet is still underdeveloped. The Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (MOSICT), the government agency responsible for ICT related issues has not been able to achieve the goals set out for E-Governance in the National ICT policy of 2002. The Government of Bangladesh has inadequate capacity and infrastructure to harness the benefits of ICT in improving public sector management and processes. Use of ICT within the Government is very limited and only a small number of civil servants have Internet and email access. Furthermore, strategic ICT planning skills are in short supply within the Government. As a result, the Government has not been able to utilize ICT systems and applications to improve the efficiency, transparency and quality of public services and processes. Governments to citizen and business interactions are inefficient and cumbersome. Information stored in paper files is difficult to access and replicate. The flow of information between government agencies is also slow and this delays the decision making process. While a limited number of public agencies have websites, these are mainly informational and these technologies have not been effectively utilized to facilitate and improve information sharing within and between agencies. The Government announced its National Policy on ICT in October 2002. The vision and the objectives of the policy are:     Vision •This Policy aims at building an ICT-driven nation comprising of knowledge-based society by the year 2006. In view of this, a country-wide ICT-infrastructure will be developed to ensure access to information by every citizen to facilitate empowerment of people and enhance democratic values and norms for sustainable economic development by using the infrastructure for human resources development, governance, e-commerce, banking, public utility services and all sorts of on-line ICT-enabled services.     Objectives • Promote and facilitate use of ICT in all sectors of the economy for transparency, good governance and efficiency improvement. • Develop a large pool of world-class ICT professionals to meet the needs of local and global markets. • Promote use of ICT by providing special allocations for ICT project implementation in the public sector. Train the decision makers in ICT use and promote a ICT culture; • Provide effective incentives for development of ICT sector to both local and foreign entrepreneurs; • Develop an efficient ICT infrastructure that provides open access to international and national networks; • Establish legislative and regulatory framework for ICT issues like IPR, data security and protection, digital signature, e-Commerce, ICT education etc. as well as to ensure quality ICT education provided by different private organizations. • Set up national databases that are reliable and easily accessible to all the people of the country; • Set up an ICT organization at the highest level to continuously promote and foster ICT Industry; • Enact Laws and Regulations for uninterrupted growth of ICT, in conformity with World Trade Organization (WTO) stipulations. The Government through both the Ministry of Planning and MOSICT has begun to implement limited programs in line with the above policy, including: (i) establishment of a Government web portal (http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd); and (ii) establishment of individual Ministry websites. The Ministry of Planning is currently undertaking a project to establish web presence for Ministries. In June 2003, the MOSICT and Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) prioritized a number of activities in the e-governance sphere to be implemented by the Government in the short term, including: (i) building ICT infrastructure in all government agencies; (ii) ensuring ICT training for all government employees; (iii) appointing a Chief Information Officer in each Government Agency; and (iv) ensuring that all government organizations with whom citizens need to interact have a web presence. On January 11, 2004, the Government’s Cabinet Committee on Good Governance and Administrative Reforms decided that the use of ICT in Government would be accelerated in order to bring about more transparency in Government. The Government of Bangladesh is committed to utilizing ICT as a tool to improve Government information flows and public sector management practices. To meet the vision and objectives of the ICT Policy, it is necessary to develop a short, medium and long term National ICT Road Map/Action Plan for Bangladesh. 2. Scope of Work 2.1 Main Objective The main objective of this assignment is to develop a Short, medium and long term National ICT Action Plan or Road Map for Bangladesh on the basis of the National ICT Policy 2002, that provides detailed action plan for the (i) use of ICT in Bangladesh’s development efforts and (ii) development of Bangladesh’s ICT sector as a whole and in particular spheres.   2.2 Tasks The main tasks to be undertaken by the consultants include the following: 2.2.1 Task 1: Building a framework of the National ICT Road Map. The consultants will: • Carry out broad consultations with various stakeholders in Bangladesh in order to identify the goals and build the framework of the National ICT road map. In doing so, the consultants will take into account the previous work that has been done in the country. • Gather and exchange information on the current ICT development status in Bangladesh, identify who are the main stakeholders, what are the success stories, failed efforts, and the lessons learned. • Identify aspects of the National ICT policy that have been established as a priority and also identify other aspects that should be considered in the next 3 – 5 years. 2.2.2 Task2: Identifying the Key Elements of the National ICT Roadmap. Following the first set of consultations, and after identifying the priorities, issues and needs in terms of ICT development in Bangladesh and determining how they should be addressed, the consultants will: • Identify the key elements or thrusts to be addressed in the ICT road map and come to agreement with the MOSICT/BCC on these key elements; • Assess, discuss and develop the main strategies required to address the selected key elements of the National ICT roadmap. 2.2.3 Task 3: Developing detailed action plan and programs for each of the key elements of the road map. The consultants will: • Develop in detail the main strategies to achieve the objectives of the key elements of the roadmap. The strategies will also consist of programs to be undertaken in the short and medium terms. The objective of each strategy will be clearly developed. • In developing the strategy, identify the organization(s) responsible for implementing the strategies, including the terms of reference that detail the tasks and action steps to be undertaken, responsibilities, resource requirements, implementation schedule, monitoring and evaluation indicators; and mechanisms for monitoring). 2.2.4Task 4: Conducting consultations on the Road Map. After developing the road map, the consultants will: • Conduct consultations with the stakeholders on the draft road map and strategies to address its key elements. • Take into consideration the results of the consultation and incorporate them into a revised road map for adoption by the Government. 2.2.5Task 5: Capacity Building. The consultants will also assist in capacity building of MOSICT and BCC staff and officials.
3. Structure for the ICT Roadmap
Our recommended criteria for developing the structure of the roadmap are that it should:
- Cover all the key areas normally covered within the scope of a
national plan for ICT for development. Based on research undertaken
by Gov3 across over 30 countries, that suggests that it should be
capable of covering at least the following:
o Coordination and policy setting
o Increasing diffusion and use
o ICT skills and employment
o Digital content
o ICT business environment
o Enhancing the infrastructure
o Policy assessment and evaluation
- Build on existing work in Bangladesh.
- Be clearly communicable
- Form the basis for strong programme management, including ensuring
that closely related areas of work are clearly shown as such
I have easy and affordable access to ICT Motivation I see real benefits from ICT which are directly relevant to my life
Transforming
Government
E-democracy
E-citizens
E-business
E-Finance
E-SME
E-Agriculture
E-education
E-health
E-disaster and
climate change
E-culture
1 Empowering users 5
Leadership and Governance 3 Growing the
ITEC sector
Hardware
Software
Applications
Digital content
Confidence
I have all the skills I need to use ICT, and I feel trust and security
using it 4 Enabling the market Fiscal
framework
Regulatory
framework
Legal framework
ICT Roadmap for Bangladesh > recommended work streams
Strategic trade-off model for the Bangladesh ICT Roadmap
Short term
Year 1
Medium term
Years 2-3
Longer term
Years 4-5
- Legal and regulatory Framework
- Empowering Citizens
- Access
- Confidence
- Motivation
- Education
- ICT/ITES industry
- Business
- Leadership and Governance