Guide to the integration of ICT in Spanish Cooperation by Alvaro Ortega

Guide to the integration of ICT in Spanish Cooperation

An electronic version of this document can be downloaded at: http://www.mae.es http://www.aeci.es

NIPO: 502-06-046-2 ISBN: 978-84-8347-019-0

For any communication regarding this publication, please contact:

Dirección General de Planificación y Evaluación de Políticas para el Desarrollo Secretaría de Estado de Cooperación Internacional. Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación C/ Príncipe de Vergara 43, 5a planta , 28001 Madrid Tel.: +34 91.379.9686 Fax: +34 91.431.1785 dgpolde@mae.es

Preface The Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation 2005-2008 contains several references to the role of ICT in cooperation. Chapter 8, “The Quality of Aid”, dedicates a specific section to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This chapter states that “The utility of ICT will be valued as a tool for the attainment of the objectives defined in the various priority strategic sectors, thereby responding to the requirement of Target 18 of MDG 8, ‘In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.’ In addition, a guide will be drafted for the introduction of ICT in Spanish Cooperation Activities.” (page 117).

This Guide is a response to the above-mentioned mandate. It is of a practical rather than conceptual nature, and structure-oriented rather than fine-detailed.

It has five chapters:

• Chapter 1 contains a brief description of the usefulness of ICT in development and for cooperation, as a tool to facilitate information management, the creation of knowledge and coordination among cooperation agents.

• Chapter 2 is about the application of ICT in development areas (education, health, the environment…) that are considered strategic in the Master Plan. It also examines cooperation in the ICT sector itself, as well as issues concerning communication for development.

• Chapter 3 describes how to integrate ICT in the work of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), and by extension of the State Secretariat for International Cooperation (SECI) itself, within the Spanish Development Cooperation system. This integration is envisaged both from a corporate perspective (in the work of AECI-SECI professionals) and in the portfolio of projects and programmes.

• Chapter 4 shows how to best implement such integration, indicating strategies and a methodology to help plan it and effectively carry it out.

• Finally, Chapter 5 offers brief conclusions with the main messages of the document. In short, the document seeks to convey the message that integration of ICT in the field of development cooperation is consistent with the appearance of the Information and Knowledge Society, and it is part of Spanish Cooperation’s necessary technological and informational updating. Moreover, it seeks to give ICT its rightful place, relinquishing simplistic positions: ICT is neither an unnecessary luxury nor the solution to every problem, but just a tool that opens new possibilities for action and increases the effectiveness of development cooperation actions. We can make use of all the experience, practices and reflections made by the international community in recent years, and

which culminated recently in the work carried out by the World Summit on Information Technology, under the auspices of the United Nations (Geneva, December 2003 – Tunis, November 2005). Its results unequivocally require Official Development Assistance systems to integrate ICT in their actions and operation. In this sense, this Guide is a first step and an organized basis for action and debate.

Executive Summary The role of ICT in development and in cooperation In this early stage of the Information Society, information and knowledge are essential resources for human development, understanding this concept as the increase in options and freedoms for women and men to live a satisfactory life. For this reason, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a strategic instrument for both individual and collective development.

ICT is used to gather, disseminate, exchange, process, store and access information. Nowadays, the term ICT usually refers to digital instruments such as PCs, databases, e-mail, the Internet or mobile phones. However, other analogue ICTs, such as radio, telephony or television should also be included, because of their evident usefulness and ubiquity.

The need to make use of ICT to promote human development has found ample support in development forums and organizations, such as DAC/OECD, the United Nations, the G77 and G8, and the World Summit on the Information Society. The UN Secretary-General himself, Kofi Annan, was a determined promoter of the integration of ICT in development; in his “Millennium Report” (2000), he highlighted the use of ICT for development as one of the seven short and medium term priorities, stating that “New technology offers an unprecedented chance for developing countries to leapfrog earlier stages of development. Everything must be done to maximize their peoples' access to new information networks”.

The basic argument for considering the integration of ICT in development refers to the value of information and communication. When we ask ourselves if ICT can really help promote development, the answer will lie, on the one hand, in the value of information for people who live in poverty. What is the value of information on prices for a woman living in a rural area? Or that of information on legal rights for somebody who is persecuted for belonging to an ethnic or religious minority? Moreover, communication also has an intrinsic value (in addition to the information being communicated) as an instrument to create networks, foster collaboration and facilitate contacts among people. Only after analyzing the value of information and communication (and, therefore, its

necessity) may informed decisions be made on whether it is viable to use ICT and how to do so if it is.

What is known as the “digital divide” refers to the differences in how the development opportunities offered by ICT are seized. These differences are mainly due to a lack of access to technologies, a lack of capacity to use them, and a lack of relevant contents. The digital divide is an expression of other development divides, and it also contributes to aggravate them (another term used is “information poverty”). Therefore, by fighting against the digital divide we are also contributing to narrowing those other divides, and promoting inclusion within the new context of the Information Society. This “digital inclusion” brings about numerous effects: economic (in productivity and economic growth), social (collaboration networks, social services) and political and in the area of governance (public administration, citizen participation).

For all these reasons, the integration of ICT in development has been explicitly expressed in the UN Millennium Development Goals, more specifically in Goal 8, which refers to a global partnership for development. Furthermore, it has been recognized that ICT can contribute to the achievement of all the other Goals. Among the recommendations of the recent World Summit on the Information Society is that of mainstreaming ICT in development cooperation, which is the central theme of this Guide: “ICT should be fully mainstreamed into strategies for Official Development Assistance through more effective donor information-sharing and coordination, and through analysis and sharing of best practices and lessons learned from experience with ICT-for-development programmes.”

Areas of activity related to ICT and development There are various activity perspectives from which to envisage the role of ICT in cooperation. Firstly, from a thematic perspective, it could be said that ICT is a tool with a high degree of horizontality in development; that is to say, they can be used in practically every area. To provide examples, the guide points out a variety of uses of these technologies in priority areas in the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation 2005-2008, such as (i) poverty, (ii) education, (iii) health, (iv) gender equality, (v) governance, (vi) water and sanitation, (vii) the environment, (viii) culture and (ix) humanitarian aid. Therefore, this approach recommends integrating ICT in the Spanish Cooperation portfolio.

Secondly, reference is made to the ICT sector itself and to national development policies. The strengthening of the ICT sector means providing infrastructure, technical capacities and offer of products and services. In general, the ICT sectoral approach in development cooperation will

support the achievement of the national ICT strategies defined by government, mainly by human and institutional capacity-building. Cooperation can also provide assistance in the very definition of what is known as national e-strategies, and in managing their implementation, for example through e-readiness studies that analyse aspects of infrastructure, capacity, access, contents and legal frameworks concerning the use of ICT.

Various types of initiatives aimed directly at the ICT sector can be mentioned. One of the most widespread is that of the “community telecentres” programmes. These centres enable community access to ICT (including training) and to information. Telecentres are central elements for developing countries as regards strategies for universal access to information and communication services. Another strategic dimension is training human resources that specialize in ICT, as many developing countries show a significant shortage of professionals in the area of ICT. This is a field in which universities can play a leading role as cooperation actors. In this respect, it is worth highlighting capacity-building in free or open code software (programs such as Linux, Apache or OpenOffice), which is a result of the solidarity of volunteers and constitutes a global public asset that is becoming a growing technological resource for development.

Finally, the use of ICT affects the way cooperation is carried out. The most widespread way is by the networking of cooperation actors. According to sociologist Manuel Castells, networks are the quintessential organizational structures in the Information Era. Networks have significant effects on cooperation, as they facilitate collaboration and coordination. Citizen networks, for example, help build the Information Society from the base. Some major international NGOs function as action and information networks.

ICTs also have an impact on cooperation by enabling the incorporation of new actors and reinforcing the presence of others. A new type of voluntary service has appeared, online voluntary service, which enables the “global citizen” to participate in actions of solidarity anywhere in the world. The increase in communication options has enabled the participation in cooperation of people who traditionally were not involved, such as people with disabilities (who can become capacity-builders), immigrant men and women, and the elderly. And universities are taking a leading role, both because of their technological excellence and because they have students with a vocation for solidarity and who are very familiar with the new technologies. The guide contains references to interesting experiences, both Spanish and from other countries.

Outline of the integration of ICT in Spanish Cooperation For the World Summit on the Information Society, the Spanish representation compiled, for the first time, the Spanish Development Cooperation experience in activities concerning ICT and Development. This compilation was of doubtless interest, and proved that there is some ICT activity in Spanish Cooperation, although it is relatively small in comparison with other DAC donor countries. In addition, it also revealed the lack of systematic follow-up of this new dimension of cooperation work. And it provided evidence of something symptomatic of the existing difficulties in information flows and knowledge management: many of the Spanish Cooperation actors found it difficult to obtain information, which probably resulted in an incomplete compilation.

This guide seeks to facilitate the drive to integrate ICTs in the Spanish Cooperation system, mainly in its governing body, the State Secretariat for International Cooperation (SECI) and in the agency responsible for the management of Spanish cooperation policy, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI). But the practical approach proposed in this Guide may be adopted, as appropriate, by any of the actors of the Spanish Cooperation system. In general, a more widespread use of ICT in Spanish Cooperation would lead to increased quality and in better results and a greater impact of the supported projects and programmes.

“Integration” is an ambiguous term, which deserves explanation. In the context of cooperation, integration of ICT refers to its use in planning, designing, implementing, promoting and managing cooperation actions, projects and programmes. The basic purpose is to meet the information and communication needs of the different development areas, while appraising their specific conditions. Such integration will result in greater efficacy, which entails dimensions of effectiveness (achieving the desired results) and of efficiency (doing so within a certain timeframe), in all the aspects of a cooperation actor’s work.

Model for the integration of ICT The proposed integration model (Table 1) includes both applications and processes. Applications include technological resources (hardware, software) and content favouring the use of technology (manuals, courses). Processes are actions related to information flows and knowledge management. Applications and processes are often strongly interdependent; for example, the promotion of knowledge networks (a process) requires software for cooperation such as intranets (an application), which facilitate it.

The integration scheme contains two complementary dimensions: one is external, and concerns AECI’s work in the field, mainly its portfolio of projects and programmes. The other one is internal, and refers to the management and operations performed within the Agency. We propose that progress should be made in parallel, in both dimensions, in order to achieve greater effectiveness of the suggested changes. For example, it does not make much sense to provide projects with communications tools if information is not managed appropriately at head office, or to set up knowledge networks controlled by head office if the projects lack tools to help them generate such knowledge.

The external dimension of ICT integration within AECI would respond to the question: “Which ICT implementations favour AECI’s work in the field, and particularly, its projects?” Four main goals are pursued: (i) the day-to-day analysis and assessment of the use of ICT in each project; (ii) capacitybuilding among project staff and local actors in order to make best use of available ICT resources; (iii) the promotion of collaboration networks to involve a greater number of persons and organizations in the projects; (iv) the effective implementation of the knowledge generated by means of the projects; and (v) the use of efficient, integrated communications.

Various lines of action may be considered to put into practice the integration of ICT into AECIsupported tasks carried out in the field. Firstly, and possibly the measure having greatest impact, would be the introduction and use of ICT in the projects and programmes of the AECI portfolio, in a cross-cutting way (i.e., within any area of activity). Secondly, it might be possible to include ICT projects, aimed especially at narrowing the Digital Divide (such as the creation of community telecentres), and also study the possibility of participating in international initiatives with the same goal in mind. Furthermore, it might be useful to consider introducing ICT in order to reinforce access to information and knowledge management in Spanish Cooperation country strategies.

The internal dimension of ICT integration concerns the use of such technologies in the management of the work and operations of development agencies. It responds to the question: “What ICT uses might contribute to the more effective functioning of AECI-SECI?”.

The Guide has more to say on this dimension, the elements of which depend on strategic decisions made within AECI-SECI, mainly concerning the specific actions and products identified in Section 4.1. It is important to note that within the context of the present Guide, we do not include traditional data processing systems for administrative and management purposes (funding, budgets, human resources, logistics/inventories).The study of such systems does not necessarily influence the ICT applications and processes that are aimed at managing information and knowledge for substantive or development goals (which is the purpose of the present document).

The internal integration of ICT within AECI-SECI is aimed at achieving three main goals: (i) rapid, straightforward access to the information needed by AECI-SECI staff for their work; (ii) simplifying the tasks involved in managing the AECI portfolio, as well as that of other State agencies; (iii) knowledge management. The latter concept currently represents a significant challenge to many development organizations, as there is frequently insufficient experience in the task and enormous amounts of information to be handled. An added problem is that a large proportion of useful knowledge is not codified, but tacit (i.e. it exists only in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds).

Strategies for the successful integration of ICT in Spanish Cooperation Two fundamental considerations underlie the ICT integration approach described in this Guide: firstly, the instruments used should never take priority over the goal to be achieved â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on the contrary, they are intended to serve this purpose, which means ICT is seen as the means and not the ends of development in themselves.

Secondly, ICT should provide a pragmatic approach to cooperation, as resources that should neither be ignored (as this would be anachronistic, ineffective and incoherent with the realities of development) nor overrated (as the actors in the field of cooperation and development must make efficient use of limited resources). Therefore, the approach adopted is analytical, objective and open. It is advisable to be familiar with ICT and to use it with common sense and practicality when, where and however necessary. And this will depend, to a large degree on the information and communication necessities that arise in any given area of development.

As occurs in other types of organization (e.g. within governments, companies, NGOs or universities), the integration of ICT within cooperation agencies goes hand in hand with the management of foreseeable change, especially in work patterns.

The main bottlenecks in the integration of ICT are found in processes and procedures, more than in the technologies. Modernizing or updating infrastructure (hardware and software) is the simplest part, because it involves objective criteria. More effort is required for people to acquire the skills to use new technologies, especially in a field such as cooperation, in which attitudes towards technology tend to be sceptical, or even hostile. Therefore, the critical factor in integrating ICT is probably capacity-building, both human and institutional, within the agencies concerned.

We cannot overstate the importance of effective training of AECI-SECI personnel as part of a process of info-technological updating. This is the part that is most costly and perhaps the one that will take longest. In this respect, there is no difference between development agencies and banks,

government offices or large companies; the principal investments in processes of technological integration are usually aimed at training programmes, i.e. the human resources involved. In the specific case of AECI-SECI, it must be borne in mind that in a situation of possible scarcity of human resources and one of corporate reorganization, what is sought is (1) to improve skills in the use of ICT; (ii) to improve the use of and access to information; and (iii) to make at least some of the personnel aware of the possibilities of ICT in projects and programmes.

Over and above improvements in infrastructure and skills, it is important that the surroundings should favour work habits corresponding to new levels of instrumental functionality. For example, it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be much use developing a new corporate intranet equipped with state-of-the-art facilities if the persons and departments involved arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accustomed to sharing information, nor wish nor have any incentive to do so. Therefore, the integration of ICT does not normally take place in isolation, but forms part of processes of change or reform at corporate level.

The rhythm of ICT integration should be gradual and continuous, aimed at a medium-term time span (4-5 years). It is important to insist on realistic actions and goals, placing more emphasis on effectiveness than on efficiency. Monitoring the process is crucial, and should be part of the whole process of integration. Learning will be hands-on, and it will be profitable to set up a feedback mechanism that is as dynamic as possible so that plans and actions may be readily modified when necessary.

The system of Spanish Cooperation: networked cooperation As a whole, Spanish Cooperation could be analyzed from the standpoint of systems, characterized by a series of resources (inputs), standards/transactions (processes) and results (outputs). Some of the resources, standards and results are common to all the components.

Given the complex, decentralized and heterogeneous nature of the Spanish Cooperation system (Table 1), the structure that we have is one of a network, made up of a number of actors (nodes), with different weights and characteristics. Among these actors there are relations (links), represented by communications and transactions, sometimes bilateral, sometimes between more than two actors at once, and which occasionally involve most of the actors simultaneously. These relations are more likely to be horizontal than hierarchical. Nevertheless, this network does not seem to be a highly organized, functional one, i.e. the system may be structured (formally) as a network but does not function as such to a significant degree.

At a global level, there is a gradual, and possibly irreversible, trend towards the networking of development cooperation practices, in what could be termed ‘networked cooperation’. To describe this concept, we once again refer to other sectors, such as companies, public administrations or universities, where the mainstreaming of ICT has given rise to fundamental changes, going beyond purely formal ones, producing schemes of e-business, e-government and virtual universities, respectively. Networked cooperation is structured within networks and acts via networks. ICT forms a crucial part of these systems, which to function well require information that is precise, accurate and timely.

Networked cooperation can be characterized as incorporating the following basic factors: •

The management of cooperation programmes by means of productive networks, the goal of which is to generate human-development oriented products (such as the creation of free software).

•

The redefinition of traditional development projects towards ‘network projects’, which are configured within a network, and for which participation is not limited to their geographic space.

•

Emphasis on knowledge management (production, access and dissemination) as the key functions in cooperation activities.

•

Seeking to involve multi-actor activities (government – civil society – companies – universities) in development, in order to take advantage of greater and more varied provisions of resources, as well as to share functions and responsibilities.

What benefits may be derived from a more networked style within the system of Spanish Cooperation? On the one hand, it would facilitate the fulfilment of the stipulations of the Master Plan with respect to the diversity and plurality of the Spanish system, as well as the principles of collaboration, complementarity and quality. Moreover, the gradual introduction of networking into Spanish Cooperation will facilitate a proactive involvement in the international cooperation system, both in the multilateral field (especially with regard to United Nations agencies) and in multinational initiatives in which various donors are participating.

Recommended actions and products to promote the integration of ICT in Spanish Cooperation We shall now identify a series of concrete actions and products to operationalize a large proportion of the model for integrating ICT into the work and functions of the AECI-SECI as described above, and also to promote dynamics by which the system of networking Spanish Cooperation may be advanced. These concern both the internal dimension of the model (the Guide contains instructions

as to how ICT should be introduced into projects and programmes, see Table 2) and are overarching elements, as they address all the necessary aspects. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that the document is not exhaustive, but just a Guide, one that is indicative but not a detailed action plan.

Actions and Products to promote the integration of ICT FOR AECI AND/OR SECI Advancing the internal dimension 1. General ICT training for AECI personnel 2. Design of a corporate informational architecture (AECI-SECI) 3. Formulation and implementation of a knowledge management strategy 4. Implementation of e-services within AECI 5. ICT for the marketing, visibility and transparent management of Spanish Cooperation 6. Setting up technological standards 7. Designing platforms and information formats

Advancing the external dimension 8. Training in information handling and the application of ICT in development / cooperation 9. E-learning in AECI-SECI, for personnel, projects, etc. 10. Spanish Cooperation Strategy Document on ICT and Development 11. Setting up networks for personnel and projects 12. Specialized assistance on ICT for Development in AECI-SECI 13. Back up for cooperation projects that incorporate ICT

FOR THE SPANISH COOPERATION SYSTEM 14. The Spanish Cooperation website 15. Informal committee on ICT and Development within Spanish Cooperation 16. Research into ICT and Development 17. Promoting talks and/or public conferences