'The NICI book summarizes ICT policy processes in countries including Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi and Nigeria and intends to help other countries chart their own ways to bringing ICTs to the service of their development.'

The Centre for International Private Enterprise's Virtual Business Association helps business association leaders develop both the necessary skills for managing voluntary organizations and an understanding of the basic principles of the market and democracy. CIPE is expanding the reach of the VBA into Africa, providing a means for African business associations to exchange best practices and jump-start their presence on the Internet.

The individual Web sites provide associations with a forum f more...

This PowerPoint presentation recognises importance of Telecentre Sustainability and suggests strong need for multi-stakeholder partnerships. K.A.M. Morshed makes the case that donor supported telecentres are continually at risk of closing down once the support is withdrawn and that a lack of market disciplines reduce incentives to perform well as well as the ability to face competition when it arrives. With this in mind, sustainability in the telecentre environment is a challenge, both for the g more...

The draft policy attempts to tackle difficult issues like vendor lock-in and attempts to provide a level playing field for all. It makes special provision for encouraging open standard work in Indian languages. It also lays down certain guiding principles for selection of standards. The policy will be applicable to all systems used for e-Governance in India including legacy systems.

For at least a decade governments and nonprofit organizations, often supported by bilateral aid, have experimented with telecentres as a means to extend access to computers, the Internet, and other information and communication services to rural and low-income urban areas of developing countries. Results have been mixed. This Note proposes a guide for government policy on telecentres conceived as private businesses—though with development functions—that are commercially sustainable beyond in more...

Telecentres have become a popular and often effective approach to telecommunications development and achieving universal access/service. They can also play a significant role in poverty reduction, ranging from job creation to providing ICT skills. Nevertheless, telecentres have also suffered from sustainability problems and from dependence on donors. As this study will demonstrate, increased private sector investment is critical for telecentre sustainability and growth.

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To read a web entry about technical assistance in ICT-enabled poverty alleviation efforts as well as access a paper that proposes a model project involving the China Agricultural University (CAU) to link the university hub to community telecentres visit: http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/103634/1/

'The differences between the two regions in their openness to trade, investment, and new ideas could not be more striking, nor could the economic consequences be more stark.' Howard Pack, Issues in Science and Technology, Spring 2008.