Step 8: Does an appropriate enabling environment exist?

The enabling environment for the use of ICT refers to the regulatory framework. It also refers to government practice such as a whole-of-government strategy to improve service delivery.

The sorts of issues that may be important are: national telecom policy and legislation, availability and reliability of infrastructure such as electrical power sources, availability of local training in ICT literacy and maintenance skills, and agreed changes to education and health delivery to make use of ICT.

One way to locate the gaps in the enabling environment is to bring together a group of stakeholders and use a brainstorming methodology to identify the issues or problems and what needs to be done to change the situation.

Case study: Identifying what is missing in the enabling environment

A workshop of interested parties in the Solomon Islands to identify key issues related to the development of ICT came up with 54 issues or barriers. These issues were arranged into a 'problem tree' to show cause and effect relationships.

This problem tree was then turned into an 'objective tree' by the workshop participants to identify the priorities for ICT development. This objective tree was then formulated into clusters of interrelated objectives, from which project ideas were suggested and recommendations made.

The workshop identified the barriers to the development of an ICT strategy as: absence of national policy, lack of affordable access, need for networking and awareness, better access to equipment and more education and training. The three most basic problem clusters identified were: affordable access, networking/awareness, and equipment/access.

Source: Solomon Islands ICT Strategy Workshop Report. February 10-11, 2003 United Nations Development Programme sub office, Honiara, Solomon Islands

• Published: Jan 2004
• Source: Curtain Consulting (http:// www.curtain-consulting.net.au)
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