1.1. Report of the Workshop

I. Organization of the Workshop

A. Organization

The Regional Workshop on Implementing e-Government was organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) with the support of the Governments of Australia and France, Microsoft Corporation and International Business Machines (IBM), in recognition that many governments in the Asian and Pacific region were in the process of introducing e-government services.

B. Objectives of the Workshop

The objectives of the Workshop were to highlight the potential of egovernment to improve efficiency and transparency in the public sector, and to enhance quality of life through more inclusive public services for all. The realization of efficient and functioning e-government required more than just the adoption of information and communication technology. It also required the modernization and reorganization of government work and responsibilities.

For all Governments, e-government was a fundamental complement to the successful implementation of a range of other government policy targets. E-government was clearly linked to the international competitiveness of an economy and was a fundamental driver of economic growth along with monetary, fiscal, labour and trade policies. E-government pushed the limits of traditional government, changing the way in which government functioned and fostering a culture that made the customer and citizen central to everything it did. It involved building an integrated, enabling infrastructure that could meet the requirements of today's environment, while being readily adaptable to new and innovative developments.

While the benefits of e-government were growing, there remained a need for a better understanding of the impact and role of e-government. Owing to the tremendous resources required in implementing e-government, the sharing of knowledge and experience could help developing countries in the region to reduce costs and limit unnecessary mistakes. However, there was a need to define an e-government agenda, and give priorities and specific recommendations on how best to move e-government forward. In support of that goal, the specific objectives of the Workshop were as follows:

1. To provide an opportunity to share experiences of implementing e-government in the participating countries;
2. To examine issues in implementing or planning e-government; and
3. To draft an action plan to improve/introduce e-Government.

C. Opening of the Workshop

The workshop was opened on 31 May 2004. In her opening statement, the Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP said the Workshop would address an important topic that affected almost every country in the 21st century. She said e-governance was a central theme in all countries, at all levels. the Deputy Executive Secretary stated that e-government should be a tool, not a goal, and could help to achieve better governance. Further, she said citizens must be placed at the centre of e-governance, and inclusion and provision of access to all was essential.

He also thanked the sponsors and supporters for the Workshop, ESCAP, the Governments of Australia and France, and private sector partners, Microsoft, GIXEL and IBM.

D. Attendance

Participants attended from 18 countries in the region. Resource persons for the Workshop included experts from multinational corporations such as Microsoft, IBM and Toyota, as well as government ministries and regulatory agencies.

E. Election of officers

The Workshop elected the following persons to serve as officers:

Chairperson: Mr. Tauqir Ahmad (Pakistan)
Vice-Chairperson: Ms. Maria Louise Wau (Papua New Guinea)

F. Adoption of the agenda

1. Opening of the workshop.
2. Election of officers.
3. Adoption of the agenda.
4. Report on the current status and trends of implementing egovernment.
5. Presentation of country reports.
6. Presentation on integrating government services.
7. Benefits and issues of implementing e-government.
8. Digital inclusion to foster rural enterprise.
9. Factors and procedures to be considered in improving egovernment.
10. Reinventing (reengineering) government.
11. Turning objectives into actions.
12. Designing e-government for the poor.
13. E-training of government officials and citizens.
14. E-government implementation and private sector participation.
15. Measuring the success of e-government.
16. ICT policies and strategies.
17. Conducive environments for e-government.
18. e-government and e-procurement.
19. Legal aspects of e-government.
20. Drafting and presentation of action plans.
21. Workshop evaluation.
22. Closing of the workshop.

G. Recommendations of the Workshop

The Workshop recommended the following areas for cooperation and action:

1. The Workshop recognized the great potential of e-government to improve the access and quality of government services to citizens and to involve them in public policy-making. To promote the development of egovernment in the Asian and Pacific region and to exchange best practices and lessons learned, the Workshop recommended that ADBI and ESCAP organize a regional workshop on e-government on an annual basis.
2. Although ICT hold great promise for development, access to, and therefore, the benefits of, ICT is not universal. The digital divide threatens to increase the already existing development gap within and among the countries of the Asian and Pacific region. Recognizing that insufficient skilled human resources is one of the major barriers preventing developing countries from applying ICT for socio-economic development, including the development of e-government initiatives, the Workshop recommended the establishment of a regional ICT training centre under the sponsorship of a member country of ADBI and ESCAP.
3. The Workshop recognized the importance of measuring the effectiveness of e-government strategies and success of e-Government programmes, and noted the outcome of the United Nations Global e-Government Survey 2003. In view of the fact that developing countries in the Asian and Pacific region had their own development characteristics, the Workshop requested that ESCAP identify measurable indicators in the Asia-Pacific context to monitor and assess the progress and impact, including social aspects, of egovernment programmes.
4. In view of the fact that over 60 per cent of the population of the Asian and Pacific region lives in rural areas, and is largely excluded from digital opportunities owing to poor telecommunications infrastructure; lack of necessary financial resources; and lack of capacity to develop appropriate technical, institutional and policy opportunities and solutions; the Workshop recommended that more effort be given to providing ICT opportunities to rural communities. Activities in that regard might include the development of ecommunity centres, and organization of a training workshop on e-learning.
5. The Workshop appreciated the participation of the private sector and recommended that continued partnership be maintained in the future joint activities between ADBI and ESCAP.

H. Evaluation of the Workshop

The participants and the resource persons in attendance at the Workshop were satisfied with the Workshop preparations, logistics and organization. The participants acknowledged that resource persons were from varied fields of expertise and their presentations covered issues relevant to them. A common suggestion made in relation to the presentations was that they should be more interactive. Another suggestion was the conduct of a field visit to a government ministry to view actual e-government infrastructure and implementation.

The participants also requested to be informed of the requirements of drafting an action plan prior to commencement of the workshop, as that would have allowed more preparation time. The participants also stated that they wished to further develop the action plan to initiate such projects in their country upon their return.

Lastly, it was suggested that such evaluation be provided online rather than in hardcopy format, to save paper and to promote the use of information technology among participants.