Why and How to Plan the Islands' Information Society by Cipriano Marin

Why and How to Plan the Islands' Information Society -

I I

Planning Concise Guidelines

*** * * * * * *** * Models for European Digitallslands

------

----

Models for European Digitallslands

Why and how to plan the islands' Information Society

A Concise Manual for Developing Regional Planning Initiatives within an Information Society Framework

Introduction

Background Whya Planning Manual? The Intended Readership How to Use the Concise Planning Manual The Structure and Layout of the Concise Version of the Planning Manual................................

3 4 4 4 5

Chapter 1: Structures & Organization

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

6 6 7 7

The Regional Steering Committee Management Unit Work Groups The use of Consultants

Chapter 2: Baseline Audit and Benchmarking

2.1 Baseline audit 2.2 Benchmarking

8 8

Chapter 3: Analysis

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4

Strategic Gap Analysis Developing the Regional SWOT Regional Situation Analysis Identifying Key Issues

9 9 9 10

Chapter 4: Considering the Options

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5

11 11 12 12 14

Options Paper Awareness-Raising and Public Participation Public Debate Regarding Priorities Partnerships Networks :............................................................................

Chapter 5: Formulating the Strategy & Building Consensus

5.1 The Strategy and Action Plan 5.2 Developing a Vision 5.3 From Visions to Objectives....................................................................................................... 5.4 From Objectives to Priority Actions 5.5 From Priorities to Measures and Projects Proposals

15 15 16 16 16

Chapter 6: Embedding the Strategy & Action Plan

6.1 Final Version of the Strategy & Action Plan 6.2 Identifying and Securing Sources of Development Finance 6.3 Integration of The Strategy & Action Plan into Regional Development Plan

17 17 18

Chapter 7: Implementing the Strategy & Action Plan...................................................................

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5

20 20 21 22 22

Programme management arrangements................................................................................. Feasibility Studies Selection of Projects Monitoring and Evaluation Systems........................................................................................ Periodic Revisions of the Strategy and Action Plan

Finally

Edited by:

INSULA Intemational

Scientific Council for Island Development cloUNESCO 1, rueMiotlis 75732 Pans, FRANCE Tel.: +33145.68.40.56, Fax: +331 45.68.58.04 E·mail: insula@unesco.org

MEDIS Project Consortium: INSULA· PROODOS ERIS@ • ANCINET UNESCO

SILTANET LId. S.A· ITER • CIES - HIIU MAAVALlTSUS

(Spoosonng

CEMR (Sponsonng

partner) partner)

Introduction Background

In the last decade, information and communications technologies (ICTs) have become so pervasive that they have given rise to a number of new concepts such as the Information Society

the Digital Revolution and the Knowledge-Based

Economy. The fact

that these technologies are already influencing, directly or indirectly, the lives of many people is not disputed, nor is there any doubt that they will continue to affect a growing number of people. However, it is equally certain that ICTs affect different people and different regions in different ways. Some are benefiting from the opportunities that these new technologies and their applications bring whilst others are lagging behind and are faced with a growing threat of exclusion. At a regionallevel, the development or acceleration of the information society necessitates a number of pre-conditions: amongst these are widespread access to advanced telecommunications infrastructure and affordable services, a criticaĂ mass of demand, and the skills to use and develop ICTs and their applications. Each is necessary and none is sufficient. It might be argued, however, that the appropriate infrastructure is especially necessary. But there is mounting evidence that private sector telecommunications operators are concentrating their attention in the most lucrative markets where returns on investment are both greater and faster. Typically, this agglomeration effect is benefiting the richer, more densely populated and least peripheral areas and leaving the poorer, more sparsely populated and more peripheral regions at a further disadvantage3. Nowhere is this more evident than in many insular and ultra-peripheral regions. If Less Favoured Regions (LFRs) in general, and insular regions in particular, are to grasp the benefits and opportunities that the information society has to offer, they need to engage in strategic and concerted actions to accelerate its development. A significant number of LFRs4 have already set out to establish and implement regional information

This Concise Manual to developing regional planning initiatives within an information society framework is a substantiafly summarized version of the deliverable "European Islands and the Information Society: Planning Manual" a detailed manual, developed within the MEDIS Models for European Digital Islands (IST-1999-20896) project. funded by the European Commission's 1ST Programme The Information Society (IS) is one in which a community has the skifls and affordable access to afl forms of electronic services when and where they are wanted. Such a society is characterised by a wide range of electronic services, both public and private. Furthermore, the people in the society have an awareness of and the ability to use existing services and also do use them in every day life See, for example, the Final Report of the ASPECT (Analysing Spatial Planning and Emerging Communications Technologies) Project, co-financed by the European Commission under INTERREG IIc, www.region-numerique.org/ aspect, January 2002. From 1994 to 1997, the Commission (DG XIII and DG XVI) co-financed the IRISI (Inter-Regional Information Society Initiative) pilot project in which six EU regions sought to develop IS strategies and actions plans and the integration of these into Regional Development Plans and their Structural Funds programmes. The six regions worked coflaboratively through a Learning network to share experience and good practice and to pro vide one another with mutual support. The pilot project was deemed a sufficient success that the Commission launched a cafl foflowing which a further 22 regions foflowed (1996-99) a similar process and methodology in the RISI (Regional Information Society Initiative) project.

society strategies and actions plans, with assistance from the European Commission, and there is therefore a substantial amount of experience and good pracfice".

Why a Planning Manual? The MEDIS Models for European Digital Islands (IST-1999-20896)6 project had the objective to create a Planning Manual to provide help to those who are responsible for, and involved in, the development of a regional information society strategy and action plan. The intention has been to provide, as simply and clearly as possible, a step-bystep guide in the form of tips, tools and templates to be used as a supplement to earlier guides. This Concise Version of the Manual has as its goal an easier and primary introduction to the Planning Manual itself, and all its tools, as well as serving the purpose of facilitating the wider dissemination of the ideas behind the Planning Manual.

The Intended Readership The information society will affect all sectors of society and the economy. In principie, therefore, all should have the opportunity to be involved in attempts to shape and accelerate it. In practice, of course, this is not feasible. Nonetheless, it is advocated that a broad regional partnership should be created in which the representatives of all key sectors of the regional community should be included.

How to Use the Concise Planning Manual As previously stated, no two regions are identical. In an islands context, some island territories are large and some are small. Some island regions are archipelagos, consisting of a large number of small islands whilst others are large territories in their own right. Some islands are relatively prosperous whilst many are relatively poor. Some islands are located close to the mainland, many others are quite isolated, being located at significant distances from the mainland, but they are all dependent on air and sea transportation that can be subject to disruption. Like mainland regions, island regions vary in their administrative, legal and cultural characteristics. Variations such as these make it more difficult to define a single methodology that will be appropriate to all in all circumstances. However, despite the important variations that exist, the methodological approach offered in this Manual has been tried and tested in 28 (mainland) reqions' that also displayed significant differences and there is good reason to believe, for the most part, that the processes proposed here for developing an 5

4 7

See /he Guide /0 Developing Regional Informa/ion Socie/y Ini/ia/ives, unpublished bu/ available on reques/ from ghughes@irisi.u-net.com. A shorl version of /he Guide in 5 European languages is available from /he European Commission (DG Regio). MEDIS aims /0 pro vide a forward looking analysis of /elecommunica/ion, /elematic infras/ruc/ure and service needs in European islands. The resulls are lo benefi/ communities and adminis/ra/ive organisations in islands, peripheral and lesser developed regions in Europe. A planning manual, /aking in/o accoun/ /he resul/s of /he projec/, will help European islands build up /heir own developmen/ s/ra/egies. The 28 IRISI and RISI regions

information society strategy and action plan can be applied in island regions and territories. This experience is further enhanced by the studies conducted during the Medis project and the use of the method presented in this manual in a pilot experience on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. The methodology and especially the tools rnentionec" in this manual have been customized to suit islands and LFRs with limited previous experience in planning, but can equally well be used in larger communities or by experienced planners. By using the manual, the planner should be able to avoid mistakes and futile work. One of the virtues of the manual is that it makes it easier to repeat the work after a few years, taking advantage of the lessons learned in the first round of planning. In this Concise Planning Manual the word region is used throughout the text, not in the sense of an administrative unit, but in the meaning of an undefined territorial area of any size. Thus, the word region could mean an island, a group of islands, a mainland area with islands, purely a mainland area, a village, a town, a m~nicipality, a county, a province, a prefecture, a NUTS II or III-region, etc.

The Structure and Layout of the Concise Version of the Planning Manual If a community decides to initiate a planning process aimed at development of the regional Information Society, the first phase should be to establish a management structure for the planning process. This is described in Chapter 1 - Structures & Organization. The following step is to get information about the present status of the Information Society in the region, as described in Chapter 2 - Baseline Audit and Benchmarking. Chapter 3 describes the Analysis of the material gathered in the baseline audit and benchmarking procedures. This chapter also describes the instrument offered by a SWOT-analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). In Chapter 4 we describe the creation of an options paper as well as the importance of awareness raising and a public debate regarding the options. The raising of awareness among the wider public is an action that must be present through the whole planning process. The important concept of creating networks and partnerships is also described in Chapter 4. The following step, Chapter 5, describes how to formulate a vision and develop it into a Strategy and Action Plan. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with the embedding and implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan, in which the selection of projects, monitoring and evaluation are important parts. It must be pointed out that even if the different actions in the Planning Manual are described in a sequential order, several of them could and should be performed simultaneously. In so me cases a different order can be applied. Actions like awareness raising and public debate, as well as the creation of networks and partnerships, should be active during the whole process. 8

These lools may be downloaded on MEDIS websile (www.teleinsula.com/medis) or by requesl al insula@unesco.org Theyare designed following Ihe same pattern of Ihe Chaplers of Ihis Concise Manual.

THE CONCISE PLANNING MANUAL FOR AN INFORMATION SOCIETY A Step by Step Approach

Chapter 1: Structures & Organization 1.1 The Regional Steering Cornrnittee In the case of the RISI (Regional Information Society Initiatives) regions, the chairpersons in the majority of Regional Steering Committees (RSC) appear to have been appointed either by the regional authority or by the leading organisation involved in proposing the initiative. Projects in the RISI-regions have unequivocally demonstrated the importance of effective leadership at the highest level and that the appointment of the chairman of the RSC needs to be considered with great careo To be effective, the RSC has to be of a manageable size, but also ensure the representation of all the key players/sectors in the region. That includes representatives of the regional and local authorities, universities and research institutions, the telecommunication operators, hardware and software suppliers, large private sector corporations and small/medium sized enterprises, the media, the health services, education system and transport sectors, to name some examples of large groups of regional players. The composition of the RSC should also include participation from groups with broad representation in the society, such as trade unions, as well as marginal groups, such as disadvantaged people and ethnic minorities. The size of the RSC must be decided in accordance with regional conditions, but as a guideline the average of the steering committees in the RISI-regions varied in size between 15 and 25 members. The main tasks of the Regional Steering Committee is to appoint the management unit and the work groups, to give these bodies necessary financial means and to ensure that the planning process advances in accordance with the time table also set by the RSC. The RSC should also have plenary discussions about all documents of significance, such as the options paper, the vision and the strategy and action plan.

1.2 Managernent Unit The Management Unit (MU) will comprise a small team of 3-5 people. Ideally, members of the management team should possess a range of complementary skills and expertise (project management, administrative, technical etc.). The Director of the Management Unit must be a good integrator with influence and also someone who is especially

sensitive to political contexts, a diplomat and a soft leader. The other members of the MU should be analysts, promoters, organisers, money hunters, and diplomats (integrators of disparate interests). The main task of the MU is to supervise the process, to keep

it moving, make the subcontractors and work groups do their assigned tasks and be the administrative body of the planning process. There are many good arguments why the MU should be anchored inside the regional governmental structure. Quicker progress is often achieved if the authority of the government can be used when dealing with the many participants. However, promotion of the information society is sometimes challenging to existing structures and there could be some long-term advantages from putting the management structures in an external body, for example a non-profit organization or foundation ..

1.3 Work Groups In order to get a wide participation in the planning process it is advisable to establish thematic Work Groups (WG). A work group can represent thematic concerns connected with a certain sector in the society, geographical dispersion, or just to perform a specific function in the planning process. Much of the work in the work groups is based on voluntary work from the participants, but they must also have access to assistance from the paid aides if so needed. It is usually necessary to have a person in each work group responsible for documentation, for arranging and summoning meetings and for keeping the contact with the MU and other WGs.

1.4 The use of Consultants In a small island or region there is often a lack of experience in how to manage planning processes and in project management. The existing administrative bodies are usually fully occupied with the daily routines. Therefore it can be a good idea to bring in consultants to work with the planning process. Consultants will contribute with their expertise, methodological abilities and "good practice" from other regions. External consultants are also independent of the regional actors and look at things with an external, more objective, perspective. An external consultant can contribute with the external perspective and international experiences, while the local consultant already knows a lot about the peculiarities of the region and no time will be wasted on that. The choice of profile for the consultants is a task that also requires a specific competence from the project management, as well as continued management during the process.

Chapter 2: Baseline Audit and Benchmarking 2.1 Baseline audit It is important, at the outset, before beginning the development of The Strategy and Action Plan, to know what is already happening and available within the region. In order to get a view of the regional situation it is necessary to make a baseline inventory to describe where the region stands in relation to other regions, the rest of the country and in a global perspective. This baseline inventory should of course cover all aspects of the leT and IS development in the island or region, such as telecommunications structure and capacity, skills and awareness in the population, enterprises and educational system, but also traditional indicators for regional development. Inventory indicators will be found from several places. In some cases there already exist databases that monitor regional structures and present them in a way that makes it possible to benchmark them against other regions and to observe developrnent over time. In other cases, and this will most probably be the case in the search for indicators on the Information Society, you will have to establish the databases yourself through surveys and other means of collecting data. The basic data material must be analyzed and presented in such a way that it is an aid to the overall analysis of the regional situation. This material should be preserved and sto red so it can be used again as a benchmark platform when repeating the inventory after a few years.

2.2 Benchmarking Benchmarking is used to monitor performance over time and in relation to other units, such as other regions, the national average and the European average, but it is imperative to consider carefully what to benchmark and against whom. There is not yet any universally agreed consistent set of measures with which to conduct inter-regional benchmarking of the Information Society. However, the work for establishing statistical indicators for the Information Society has already begun and will soon emanate in commonly accepted indicators. Moreover, no two regions are the same in terms of their characteristics, so one is rarely comparing like with like. However, despite the difficulties, it is still most important to undertake some benchmarking in order to persuade policy makers (at alllevels) to take the information society seriously. The purpose of benchmarking is to improve competitive performance in your region. It provides a basis for establishing rational performance goals through the search for best practices that willlead to superior performance. The benchmark process in itself requires so me time and must be conducted by persons with analytical and methodological ski lis. It is not advisable to have the working groups do the benchmarking themselves. The same persons should preferably be responsible for both the collection of baseline data and the benchmarking procedure.'

8 9

In terms of a definition we might say that "benchmarking" is the continuous process of measuring your products, services, processes and practices against the toughest competitors (those recognised as world leaders).

Chapter 3: Analysis 3.1 Strategic Gap Analysis Strategic gap analysis is a systematic examination of the current status of the Information society in a region and where the "gaps" are. A gap analysis could focus on different steps in the process. For example, it can be used to identify gaps in the development of the information society in specific sectors (e.g. public administration, health, education, etc.) or even in the strategy itself. When conducting a gap analysis it is very important to define points of reference. The Baseline Audit and Benchmarking process will allow a selection of measurable targets to be used as points of reference. Baseline Audit and Benchmarking will also help to identify the gaps as far as initiatives already undertaken are concerned. Ad-hoc actions and projects usually lack coherence and continuity and do not address integrated needs, as was revealed in the MEDIS research during the examination of islands case studies. Continuous (at set intervals) evaluation is necessary to achieve successfu I results.

3.2 Developing the Regional SWOT A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is important for evaluating the regional context in which Information Society development is shaped and planned. A SWOT analysis must be as objective as possible to provide a context in which possible responses to the threats and opportunities can be generated and subsequently evaluated - and this might include the development of scenarios. To ensure objectivity, external facilitators (i.e. from outside the region) could be employed. The Regional SWOT enables multiple perspectives of different regional actors to be brought together into a single coherent document.

3.3 Regional Situation Analysis This step is actually a synthesis of the above paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 that aims, together with the results emanating from the work described in Chapter 2, to provide a complete picture of the region as far as the context for the development of the Information Society is concerned. This synthetic approach should address issues such as: an individual interpretation of IS that takes local needs into account and enables national and/or regional authorities to establish a coherent strategy; the community's level of familiarization with new technologies; the availability and success rate of existing information Society (IS) applications; the participation and activities of local economic actors. At this point it is useful to address the impact of the geographical nature of the region in the process and more specifically the "insularity". Insular regions often consist of a group of islands, with different levels of development.

Different islands, although

belonging to the same region, have distinct needs and in most cases economies of scale cannot be achieved. This fact, when applicable, should be taken into account in

all steps of the process (e.g. a regional SWOT analysis could be the synthesis of a number of local SWOT analyses), in order to achieve a regional situation analysis that represents the whole region and not only the more advanced islands.

3.4 Identifying Key Issues The interpretation of the IS is more than the introduction of some technological systems in place. The deployment of the IS is affected by a number of factors that the MEDIS team considers as critical factors= tor 15 development in European Insular regions and isolated areas. The regional prerequisites should be analysed in terms of technological development, social cohesion, policy making and local key actors, which are the critical factors affecting IS development. This analysis will help the region at a later stage to optimise policy decisions and actions regarding future initiatives, or benchmarking against current performance.

10 "

' .... need

lar aclion. indicates the issues. the contexl and the way lorward in the areas al regutatory, investment and demand suppoil poIicies. Coherent lar harmanious regional devetopmenr. eohesion and the Information Society. COM (97)7/3, Brossets

progress in these areas wilt be important

Chapter 4: Considering the Options 4.1 Options Paper An Options Paper is one way of providing the starting point for a region-wide public debate regarding the planning process. It is beneficial to keep the options open and thereby encourage innovative ideas and creative thinking. Primarily, the Options Paper is a tool for generating a public debate within a region on information society issues and therefore the target audience should be the citizens and enterprises. An effective Options Paper will also be a tool for bringing about changes in policy. The widespread debate is intended to give legitimacy to subsequent outcomes and conclusions. In general, regions can follow one of two approaches in the development of their Options Papers, both of which are valid. A 'visionary' approach, providing a vision of what technology might do within a region or, a more analytical and 'inward' approach, working up from a baseline assessment and the SWOT analysis of the region's position. In both cases, the Options Paper will assume the character of a consultative document (or "Green Paper"). A key issue is how to engage people who are not familiar with information society issues, or who have a less positive attitude.

4.2 Awareness-Raising and Public Participation The process of raising the awareness about possible impacts of the Information Society plays an important part when the population and the key actors in the region are to be involved. Awareness is also an important factor in building consensus and partnerships. At the same time, other activities, such as the baseline audit and the inventory of the ICT projects in the region are important parts of the process. Essential elements in raising the awareness about the Information Society issues and impacts amongst the regional population include: discussion about the needs and priorities; engagement of a wide range of people; information to all the sectors of the regional community and economy; building networks and identifying potential partners; generating commitment and consensus. Essential issues for an awareness raising campaign: what must be communicated; why it must be communicated; to whom it should be communicated; how and when it should be communicated; who does the communicating. There are many potential audiences: regional work groups and their chairpersons; regional promoters of ICT projects and applications; local and regional politicians, including regional planning authorities; Monitoring Committees for Regional Structural Funds; special interest groups (such as large organizations and unions); press and other media (generally); industry and commerce, especially powerful lobby groups directly related to the information society (e.g. hardware and software vendors, telecom-

munications operators, media content developers, publishers etc.); the general public, especially the citizens and representative organizations in the regions. A variety of tools and techniques can be employed as part of an awareness raising campaign. These include the use of: direct interaction in the form of: meetings, seminars and workshops, conferences, symposia, summer schools and other educational 'events', presentations and demonstrations; traditional (print) media, examples: officiall policy documents, newsletters/leafiets, releases/press articles/supplements,

books/pamphlets,

guidelines/advisory,

press

posters and brochures; other electronic/digital

media, examples: e-mail and file transfer, bulletin boards, www-pages & archive, CD-ROM, TV and radio. Reach out to the widest regional audience possible. Encourage participation. Generate (and listen to) feedback, as well as information.

4.3 Public Debate Regarding Priorities There is nothing deterministic about the shift to the Information Society. The technological, economic and societal changes associated with ICTs and the Information Society are not wholly exogenous but can be infiuenced by societal choices. However, in order to shape the Information Society at the regionallevel, and to ensure that the benefits will be maximized and the risks minimized, it is recommended to engage the region in an explicit planning process, which should be based on a widespread public debate. Regional information society initiatives need to be demand-driven and, therefore, responsive to the needs of the organizations and citizens in the region. The development of such a response should thus be essentially bottom-up. Since the responses to the challenge posed by the Information Society will affect all sectors of the society, the approach needs to be inclusive, engaging the representatives of all the social groups as well as the key economic players. The debate should be maintained throughout the process, as a continuous feedback loop, keeping people informed, inviting their comments and feedback, maintaining the interest

and commitment, and ensuring ongoing relevance of the initiative and its outcomes. Public debate should be the centerpiece of the process - providing opportunities for awareness raising, participation and involvement, networking and exploration. Ownership matters and the process should be based on negotiating a stakeholders' model of regional development. The strategy and strategy development process should propose the content, systems and the structures necessary to bring about a re-orientation in decision making and, with it, a successful change.

4.4 Partnerships 12

Participation, networking and partnership are quite closely related concepts. A network implies the existence of benefits and obligations, whilst participation is a much looser form of social interaction in which there is a potential for benefits but no obligations, and

a partnership implies a closer relationship in which there may be formal and contractual tieso The development of the Information Society at regionallevel will benefit from creation of such partnerships. For partnerships at the initiative level, obligations tend to be informal only and this is why binding large numbers of diverse institutions together is so difficult. The key organizations (key players) rarely share the same vision or the same expectations, and thus do not tend to share equally the sense of social obligation to the collective (regional) good. In partnerships at the project level, partners are bound together around a better and

1 I

more closely defined purpose. The partnership is stronger because of the more realistic expectations on realizable and tangible benefits, as well as due to the smaller number and greater homogeneity of partners. In order to create partnerships it is necessary to identify potential key partners. This is an activity that must be ongoing all the time and many partners will probably find each other spontaneously during the process. The top-down and bottom-up approaches should both be taken into account. In small islands/regions there exists a common complaint that the voice of the region is not heard in the central government. This fact talks strongly for a bottom-up approach; however the best results usually come from the fine balance between the top-down (initial ideas, funding) and the bottom-up (discussion, real needs) approaches. The Regional Steering Committee and the work groups will form a natural basis for the creation of regional partnerships. It is also most important to enhance the creation of public/private partnerships. However, regions sometimes encounter problems in engaging the private sector, beca use the private sector often require that a proposition is commercially attractive, even if the investment is desperately needed for a 'greater common good'. Therefore project partnerships need to be based on ' win-win' situations for the potential partners. Partnerships between public and voluntary sector organizations tend to present fewer problems, since they share the same culture and common commitment to public service.

Regional "public/private" partnerships consist of arrangements between local and regional authorities and private sector bodies aiming at providing public infrastructure, community facilities and related services. Through this agreement, the skills and assets of each sector (public and private) are shared in delivering such services or facilities for use by the general public. Such partnerships are characterized by the sharing of investments, risks, responsibility and benefits between the partners. The reasons for establishing such partnerships can vary depending on the specific subject of agreement, but generally involve the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of public infrastructure and services. The partners have to execute a tight collaboration scheme, like in a "coloured puzzle" in which different pieces exist: each one has its place and individual and specific skills, but all of them have the same goal - that is, making the picture complete.

4.5 Networks Networking as a concept is widely discussed but its popularity tends to be accompanied by a general vagueness about what the idea exactly entails. Fundamentally, we can describe networking as a set of mechanisms for mutual support, exchange of experience and sharing of good practice on the grounds that experience shows that regions learn better and faster by being part of a collaborative learning network. Learning from each other plays an important part in developing competence and in securing achievements. Networking is a new concept for organizations, associations and enterprises to organize themselves with the aimof achieving a greater good, but also a new form of working for individuals, inside an organization as well as between individuals from different organizations. Especially the management of regional, inter-regional and international projects implies networking as a new working culture that is fast becoming more and more frequent. This new concept of work is by nature mostly performed in a virtual mode, location and distance is of no importance, and networking also challenges the structures and hierarchies inside the organizations and in the traditionallabour

market.

Networking is a way of achieving economies of scale in areas common for the participants, whilst retaining the advantages of individual specialization and freedom of action. Networks should be designed so that they generate added value through cooperation at a variety of levels in the belief that we all have something to learn from each other. Regional networks are easier to establish than inter-regional networks, and will probably also be easier to sustain and develop over time since the participants might have previous experience of each other. However there might exist afear for competition and lost business opportunities among those that would be the most appropriate partners in a network. This must be overcome by the creation of win-win situations for all the participants and by the concentration on wider goals than the present situation. Inter-regional networking offers the participants a more global, or at least European, perspective on the information society development. It takes time and effort, commitment, resources, trust and goodwill, a willingness to be open and to learn from others, and a clear view of what you are trying to achieve. But, despite the obstacles, difficulties and challenges, the eventual rewards make it worthwhile.

Chapter 5: Formulating the Strategy & Building Consensus 5.1 The Strategy and Action Plan A strategy often starts with a vision, which is expressed through an overall objective (e.g. "to become a competitive, inclusive and dynamic knowledge-based region"). The strategy is then an elaboration of the vision. The key components of the strategy are the priorities. Each priority is realized through a number of measures - each of which may have specific objectives of its own and in addition to that some targets associated with each objective. The targets of the measures should add up to the targets of the priorities. Finally, the measures of the strategy or in a plan are implemented through specific projects. Each project contributes to the objective(s) of one or more measures and to one or more priorities. In other words, projects seldom map one-to-one with a single measure. For example, large integrated projects may involve some development of the infrastructure, provision of public access, development of some new services as well as some training of leT ski lis. Such a project is likely to contribute to a number of measures and even a number of priorities. A strategy (the vision and the priorities) and an action plan (the specific measures and operational mechanisms) are often adopted without knowing the projects. In the Structural Funds, for example, organizations and consortia/partnerships will be invited to tender in a competitive process. So, projects will be proposed and the manager of the funds will make choices between competing proposals. In other words, the project proposals are a response to the strategy and action plan.

5.2 Developing a Vision

It's useful to develop a vision for the region in terms of the Information Society. In fact, most organisations have a vision statement that defines the overall context for the development of a strategy and action plan. Developing an agreed vision statement is useful beca use it helps to promote the initiative and the strategy development process. Also, the process of agreeing a vision statement brings together the range of perspectives and priorities, and the different ambitions of a potentially disparate group of participants in the region and it tends to emphasize (social) values as well as (economic and technological) ambitions - and therefore sets the tone for the subsequent work. You can usually tell from a vision statement the extent to which a region is more concerned with, say, being inclusive than it is with becoming more competitive.

5.3 From Visions to Objectives Once each work group has agreed on a vision, or once a vision statement for the initiative as a whole has been agreed on, the next step is to define a set of objectives that indicate what must be done to achieve the vision. To develop a coherent set of objectives is perhaps the most important single step in formulating a strategy and action plan. Objectives clarify in a concrete way what needs to be done to develop the regional information society and, by debating objectives, the partners in the process begin to see where their organization could fit in and have a role to play. Debate also brings together organizations which, in other contexts, may be rivals but which in this setting can exploit their common aims and objectives and with the potential synergy to benefit the region as a whole. This process helps to identify all the stakeholders whose interests should be taken into account.

5.4 From Objectives to Priority Actions Once the objectives are clear, each work group should start considering how they could be achieved. However, at this stage it is important to re-consider the Regional SWOT grid so as to be sure that the key issues are being addressed. The aim is to relate each objective to the regional SWOT, identify the key issues arising (in terms of gaps, barriers, impacts and priorities), pro pose a set of possible actions (options), and to determine the priority order for the individual actions proposed. The process is designed to ensure that proposed actions relate to the regional needs (as determined by the SWOT) and that work group members thoroughly consider the rational selection and prioritisation of proposed actions (potential projects).

5.5 From Priorities to Measures and Projects Proposals A small island or region will probably go directly from the priority actions to the project level. In a larger region, or if substantial funds are available, there could be an idea to define a set of measures for each priority. The measures are useful when the effort and the shape of the projects are to be fit in the overall strategy given by the priorities. Strategies can take many different shapes, forms and styles. Thus, for example, a strategy can be structured around: pilot projects and demonstrators; an experimental approach - creating the 'information society laboratory'; a few highly visible (strategic) flagship projects; a list of projects which fit the chosen strategy and inviting tenders to carry them out; a list of priority fields which comprise the strategy but allowing projects to be proposed (within these fields) in a bottom up fashion; the Big Bang! -throwing money at as many projects as possible in the hope that a critical mass will develop and 'take-off' occurs. This may appear as a lack of strategy from a content perspective, but it

may be the best process-based approach to strategy for getting things started!

Chapter 6: Embedding the Strategy & Action Plan 6.1 Final Version of the Strategy & Action Plan After the Strategy and Action Plan (SAP) has been approved by The Regional Steering Committee it should become an official and public document by a decision taken by the proper authority, probably the body that appointed the RSC (for example The Regional Government, The County Council, The Union of Municipalities). However, before the final decision, a draft version of the SAP should be referred back to all key actors for consideration. Comments should be requested from all actors that may be affected by the SAPo Reserve one month time for this consideration. Key actors to be asked for their comments should include at least all those mentioned in1.1and4.2. Comments received from the consideration round will of course have a varied content; some of the comments will probably be opinions that have been rejected earlier. The RSC will have to weigh carefully all comments against the draft of the SAP to see if any changes are necessary before making the decision about the final version of the document. Finally, the SAP should be approved by the body that appointed The Regional Steering Committee, if the RSC did not obtain this authorization from the beginning. After the Strategy and Action Plan has been approved, the plan should immediately be promoted both to the general public, and especially to all actors that will be concerned by the plan. The methods and channels for promotion should at this stage of the planning process be well developed. The promotion of the plan should be performed in the same way as the campaign of awareness raising (described in Chapter 4 items 4.3 and 4.4).

6.2 Identifying and Securing Sources of Development Finance Insular regions vary considerably in their legal and administrative power and competence, as well as in their level of administrative authority. This must be taken into account in order to develop a realistic strategic plan. It is important to locate the initiative within the mainstream of the regional development, and thus ensure that the initiative enjoys the full support and commitment from the regional authority. Sometimes it will be necessary to involve the administration at a higher level, for exampie, when an archipelago or island is part of a region and lacks its own public administration with decision making powers. The potential sources of financing are also closely related to the priorities of regional and national planning as well as by the Structural Funds of the European Community. The Strategy and Action Plan will be put to practice during a time period of several years, which must be considered when the financial estimations and budget are being made. It

should be kept in mind that the vision is based on a long term view and the action plan on a medium term view, while the projects tend to be shorter in their orientation. Most of the regions already have a regional development plan with a set of strategic priorities. In addition, most ofthe European islands are defined as Objective 1 or Objective 2 areas entitling them to support from the EC Structural Funds correspondingly. These regions will be working within the framework of priority measures identified in the Regional Operational Programme under the Community Support Framework (CSF). The Structural Funds are an important catalyst for financing the Information Society strategies. Structural Funds commitment necessitates, first, that information society priorities are consistent with existing priority measures and, second, that the information society measures are defined and introduced in the Programming Document. New instruments made available by the European Commission, such as the Innovative Actions Programme, facilitates the assumption of some additional risks associated with new technologies, and provides a context to validate some innovative solutions before they are massively applied using the mainstream Structural Funds.

6.3 Integration of The Strategy & Action Plan into Regional Development Plan A Strategy and Action Plan Iying on a bookshelf is of no use to anyone. So, it is just as important to have an effective implementation of the strategy, as it is to have a good development and definition of the strategy. Implementing a regional information society strategy and action plan requires significant investment resources. In the rich, core regions, market forces are likely to stimulate sufficient private investments but in islands and less favoured regions (LFR), the public authorities and public funds have a catalytic role to play. The fundamental task for regional information society initiatives is to persuade decision-makers to see that the Information Society cannot be ignored, that it must be planned for, and that its implications must be taken into account in the Regional Development Plan (RDP) and Structural Funds' Single Programming Document (SPD). Mainstreaming the Strategy refers to the optimum outcome in terms of Structural Funds' financial support for information society priorities. Mainstreaming, in this sense, is important in islands and LFRs since the Structural Funds represent a significant element of a region's public investment capacity. It must be kept in mind that the development of the Information Society in itself is only a means for achieving various goals: improved regional competitiveness, enhanced job prospects and job security, greater social cohesion, better quality of life, and so on. Efforts to win Structural Funds' support for information strategies must always focus on this point.

Usually there are also other regional development resources available, some of which may derive from the Member State government. To gain access to such

resources for information society purposes, the Strategy and Action Plan will need to be adopted by the regional authority and incorporated into the Regional Oevelopment Plan and is sometimes referred to as 'embedding'. The mainstreaming of the Strategy should not only be focused on getting full benefit of the Structural Funds. There is a danger of shooting beside the target. It must not be forgotten that the Regional Strategy and Action Plan should primarily use the existing regional and local resources available as the primary asset in the implementation process. The procedure of mainstreaming and embedding the Strategy are essentially exercises in persuasion and inftuence. They can be seen as 'social processes' that connect the results and outputs of the regional initiative to existing and new regional policies. The higher the real commitment and the greater the number of people active in both the regional initiative and in the mainstreaming and embedding efforts, the higher the likelihood of influencing and connecting to the regional policy. In terms of mainstreaming, the aim is to obtain an agreement about the inclusion of specific priorities and/or measures for the development of the Information Society in the region's Single Programming Oocument (SPO), ensuring a clear allocation of funds for implementing information society priorities. In terms of embedding, it is important from the outset to recognize the region's development priorities as laid out in the ROP. Regional information society initiatives should seek to support and reftect these priorities in their Strategy and Action Plan, demonstrating how ICTs could be used to achieve such priorities better, faster or cheaper. At the same time, however, the emerging information society may suggest that aspects of the ROP need to be updated in the light of technological advances and the competitive impacts that the new technology can have.

Chapter 7: Implementing the Strategy & Action Plan 7.1 Programme management arrangements While the strategy covers a longer time perspective, the action plan takes into account what needs to be done in the medium term view. In brief, this requires the establishment of criteria for project selection; the evaluation and selection of the projects themselves, including feasibility studies where appropriate, the design and creation of mechanisms to monitor and evaluate projects, systems to monitor the strategy itself and the provision of guidance and support to project teams and proposers. In parallel with these new activities, the Regional Steering Committee must maintain their existing activities. These include: new surveys to update inventaries and maintenance of databases; promoting the initiative and other 'communications' tasks; ensuring that awareness raising is extended and its content updated; maintaining communication with, and support to, networks; extending participation, improving partnerships and consensus; continuing to participate in the regional development policy process; secure continued financing of the Plan. The implementation of the strategy begins with the action plan, after it has been tested for consistency and coherence, been circulated for consultation and, after any necessary modification. The implementation phase of the Action Plan means an increased workload has to be managed and an increased complexity of operations that requires a broader range of skills. This suggests that a new stage of development has been reached and the time has come to review and evaluate the management systems and operations, the Management Unit in particular. The following questions arise: â&#x20AC;˘ Is the Steering Committee working satisfactorily? â&#x20AC;˘ Are the resources of the Management Unit appropriate to their actual and anticipated workloads? â&#x20AC;˘ Have Working Groups been effective to this date Followed by a review of structures, personnel etc, and any changes necessary, the island/region should stand ready to face the next majar phase of its development in which securing funding is a vital factor. Provided that the Strategy and Action Plan has been successfully mainstreamed and integrated with regional policy, regional funds should be available to finance a range of projects that can give substance to the action plan. On this basis, we might assume that the regional authority would also take responsibility for the initiative and for the maintenance costs.

7.2 Feasibility Studies Prior to project tenders it is sometimes appropriate to conduct feasibility studies to ensure that the project should be done and actually can be done. A feasibility study is

a controlled process for identifying problems, opportunities or mandates. With a feasibility study you can determine objectives, describe current situations and successful outcomes, and assess the range of costs and benefits associated with several alternatives to solve a problem. Normally a feasibility study precedes a conventional application development project, and secondly, demonstrates a case for investment or funding support. The approach in a feasibility study may differ in many respects due to the focus of the proposed project or application, the scope and scale of it, and the likely sources for funding. It will be especially important in cases where grant support is sought to ensure that the feasibility study meets the eligibility and other selection criteria decided by the funding regime. The scale and scope of a feasibility study should be identified and clearly commensurate (in terms of time and cost) with the anticipated scale of the project under investigation. The following could be used when determining the scale and scope of the study. â&#x20AC;˘ Small Scale Pre-Feasibility Study that involves mainly a few days of desk research. â&#x20AC;˘ Larger-Scale Pre-Feasibility Study culminating in a report which enables informed first-stage investment decisions. â&#x20AC;˘ Final Feasibility Study that involves a more in-depth report on the viability of the project and includes a detailed site survey if appropriate for the project. The report produced should be suitable for applying for investment capital, site acquisition or development consent. In practice, these studies should focus on technical feasibility, financial/economic feasibility, operational feasibility and socio-political feasibility.

7.3 Selection of Projects The allocation of funds for actual projects is generally done on the basis of a recom, mendation by a selectian panel appointed by the funding authority. Besides appointing the selection panel, the funding authority must also define the criteria

ior selectian

and design the selectian pracess. The existence of clear criteria and a transparent selection process is important in order for all participants to feel comfortable about the final selection of projects. It is assumed that the project selection panel only has the power of recommendation (project labeling) and is not empowered itself to make the financial allocations. This is important for two reasons. First, according to the particular grant regime, the regulations may not allow such decisions to be formally delegated. Second, this two-stage approach (recommendation followed by formal approval) allows a further check on the validity and propriety of the decision-making. It is recommended that the composition of the project selection panel must be such that it is capable of understanding and embrac-

ing the needs and aspirations of all sectors of the regional community and includes a mix of suitably qualified Management Unit staff and impartial external experts. Given the range of project criteria and the varied judgements of selection panel members, mechanisms/processes need to be developed to combine criteria in order to allow comparison with other projects and against any the project benchmarks developed. The use of a weighted scoring system (since it is highly unlikely that all the criteria would be considered of equal importance) and radar plots can be useful in this context.

7.4 Monitoring and Evaluation Systems The programme needs monitoring and evaluation. While an evaluation is a means to see if the programme reached its proposed objectives, monitoring is an internal process to see that the programme and its activities are conducted in accordance with a term we call 'good governance'. Monitoring is the supervision of the management of the programme. The monitoring process makes sure that the budget is followed, that calls for proposals are made, that proper documentation and other requirements applied in modern governance exists. If the programme is run as a part of the regional authority the proper monitoring system probably already exists inside this authority. If the programme is run as a partnership project, the monitoring process becomes very important and the system of monitoring should be established at an early stage in order to keep the partners confident in each other and in the partnership. Evaluation is an independent and objective examination of the background, objectives, results, activities and means deployed in a project or programme. Furthermore the intention of an evaluation is to draw lessons of what may become more widely applicable. An evaluation tries to determine the quality, value and importance of the project, initiative or programme. Try to plan the evaluation process as an integral part of the programme from the beginning. Do not forget that the evaluation process also needs its own management and financial resources.

7.5 Periodic Revisions of the Strategy and Action Plan In order to meet the changing circumstances and conditions in the region, the Strategy and Action Plan should be revised and amended periodically. It is possible that some of the objectives of the SAP are reached quicker than expected, and it creates the need for a revision of the SAP in order to effectively use the funds available on other objectives. The periodic reviews could be performed at preset intervals decided by the Regional Steering Committee, or the reviews can take place when the situation so requires.

Depending on the estimated size of the revision of the SAP, the work can either be done directly by the Management Unit and approved by the Regional Steering Committee or, if the revision is considerable, the revision of the SAP could be done by a working

group specially established for this task. This work group could, for example, be made up of all the chairpersons from the work groups used during the initial planning process. The revision of the Strategy and Action Plan will more than likely require an evaluation of the analysis conducted during the initial steps of the process. A supplementary benchmarking exercise might also be necessary, taking into account the new situation. This last step described in the planning manual demonstrates clearly that the planning process is not strictly sequential and internal loops between the various steps exists, an important issue always to be kept in mind.

Finally Now you have gone through the Concise Version of the Planning Manual, you should get into the tools mentioned at the end each pertinent section this version. You should also have become sufficiently interested in this sequence of actions so as to embark on the use of the Planning Manual itself. Further to the above although this Information Society Concise Planning Manual and the Information Society Planning Manual itself deal with regions, the reader could also use it for small island states, as the problems and concerns encountered here are easily transposable to the latter. If these are not members of the European Union the recommendations on EU policies and procedures are invalid, though similar instances may be found to operate in other institutional environments. Last but not least all those involved in using this Concise Planning Manual or the Planning Manual itself should remember that:

Planning is a learning process and one gains experience from the planning process itself and from the following stages of embedding and implementation. Then one starts again with a new planning process but now with obtained experience. With the help of this Concise Planning Manual and its big sister Planning Manual, we hope that the accumulation of experience will be faster and more significant. We wish all regional actors good luck in their endeavours towards the Information Society.

The full Planning Manual can be obtainad in CD-ROM from INSULA International Scientific Council for Island Development e/o Unesco 1, rue Miollis 75015 - Paris France Tel.:+331 45684056 Fax: +33 1 45683804 E-mail: insula@unesco.org

•maula SiltaNet

erisw eJES ~ UJ 1-::::: Instituto

•

Tecnológico

y de

Energías Renovables S.A.

.•. Hiiu .•..•. Maavalitsus

mm Models for European Digitallslands. April2002 www.teleinsula.com/medis/

European Commlsslon. 5'" Framework Programme. 1STKA1