Information and Communications for Development 2006: Global Trends and Policies

Preface:

The report discusses the following issues:
· experiences, trends, and outlook on the ICT sector with a focus on actual results and justified expectations
· global ICT development trends
· empirical evidence of the benefits that ICT is providing in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction

The purpose of the report:
· Creation of a basis for more systematic monitoring and evaluation of the progress and impact of ICT
· Provide useful insights on ICT for development in general.
The work and achievements of the GICT:
· The Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (GICT) is the World Bank Group department that focuses on the ICT sector.
· GICT is undertaking several initiatives to advance methods of monitoring results in ICT for development projects.
· GICT’s results measurement agenda aims to strengthen the availability of ICT sector indicators at country, micro, and project levels
· GICT has defined a core set of information-and communication-related indicators to create tables that present a snapshot of country-specific ICT issues.

The purpose of Information and Communications for Development 2006: Global Trends and Policies
· To consolidate all the M&E efforts and share the findings with the development community
· To apply the data to a range of topics: investment trends, principles and practical solutions to extending ICT services, the role of ICT in doing business, trends in national e-strategies, and approaches to tracking ICT globally.
· To work with countries and the international community to determine how best to use ICT for poverty reduction and economic growth in the developing world