[governance] Sharing - Setting the stage "The People of Pakistan's National ICT Charter & Master Strategy Plan"

[Fouad Bajwa]

Sharing Discussions from the Pakistan ICT Policy Monitor

Setting the stage "The People of Pakistan's National ICT Charter &
Master Strategy Plan"

Human Potential and Innovation is our Future!

As a moderator of the Civil Society led ICT Process under the Pakistan
ICT Policy Monitor, I would like to extend this announcement. This is
a stimulus document.

In continuation of Mr. Salman Ansari's suggestion to pursue the
creation of a People's Charter that will result in an Action Plan for
promotion of an Information and Communication Technology strategy and
culture for both the short-term and long-term, I am opening the floor
for e-discussion on Pakistan ICT Policy Monitor. While initiating this
process, I would also like to confirm Mr. Ammar Jaffri’s “Bawaqar
Pakistan” to be a key driving force within this charter backed by Dr.
Shahida Saleem and Dr. Mushtaq’s (GIKI) inputs. Less not least, the
contributions to the Pakistan ICT Policy Monitor will be the
groundbreaking foundation for the evolution of this document.

We are all witness to the majority of people living in poverty and the
second majority, mostly the middle and upper class has been
participating in the ICT industry and related businesses with only a
handful actually owning ICT businesses in the country. Therefore we
have to rethink both as a country and its government that how much ICT
capacity and culture have we really developed? How can a new action
plan help in further increasing both the capacity and culture for ICT
adoption and usage by the rest of the population to evolve a
competitive and growth oriented Knowledge Economy? Secondly, what can
we do with the current state of ICTs in Pakistan? How can we leverage
the current users of ICT services; how can the domestic and foreign
markets respond to the handful of Pakistani ICT businesses offerings
amidst political instability; the brain drain crisis and now, the
national energy crisis that only large revenue generating companies
can tackle. Our legal environment, how encouraging and supportive will
it be in the near future? The People's ICT Charter will take this into
account.

When defining a People's Charter, one must keep in mind that
dependence on the miracle governance strategy is only a path to
failure. This Charter will only be successful if it follows a
bottom-up process backed by a demand-based market drive instead of the
traditionally adopted top-down red tape driven development activity.
This document will act as the foundation for a Social and Economic
Development Strategy and Campaign that incorporates Technology and
Innovation as its core nucleus.

A possible initial process suggestion is as per the following:

1. The document that will result from this process will be titled:
"The People of Pakistan's National ICT Charter & Master Strategy Plan".
The duration for its successful implementation may be set to either 5
years or 7 years.

2. The process will be initiated by evolving a set of goals (should
not be more than 2 or 3). This will set the ground for our ICT Master
Strategy depending on point # 3 below.

3. The Master Strategy will be required to address at least four
critical success factors to achieve the goals thus each of these
success factors will be supported by strategic directions that must be
achieved in order to accelerate the adoption of the ICT culture in
Pakistan's society and economy enabling growth of Pakistan’s ICT
Industry.

4. Process Evolution:
Stepping ahead from the first IT Policy of Pakistan, we must realize
that we are in the process of taking ahead the following key
developments:

4.1. A national ICT infrastructure already in place despite its
lacking to provide E-Commerce and One Window E-Governance. This
infrastructure is based on the Information Technology Industry Sector,
Telecom Sector, Education Sector and Civil Society and the national
“Smart Infrastructure”.

4.2. A national human resource base that can now be defined as the
Creative Class of Pakistan being extensively drained to the global
knowledge based industrial marketplaces.

4.3. A national basic but widespread understanding and culture of
learning and practice of adoption of ICTs in the areas of social and
economic development.

4.4. Examples of national ICT Production and Consumption processes and
surveying the landscape both inside the country and its impact abroad.

4.5. Our nation's role in the transition from a manufacturing based
economy to the adoption of a knowledge based economy process and
opportunities it may offer in the future if a strategic direction is
successfully achieved to a great degree.

4.6. Recognition of Pakistan to have the basic requirements of a
knowledge based infrastructure, (a SWOT analysis that determines key
requirements to be incorporated in the next process charter,
E-Commerce being the most critical factor today).

4.7. More concrete processes to favour Pakistan with its current depth
of intellectual resources to be more viable in the global marketplace.

4.8. Counter efforts to leverage human capital or creative class while
retain our knowledge assets, opportunities to prevent exporting them.


5. Process Direction:
5.1. Evolve an aggressive local to global niche strategy in opposition
to a broad-based generic strategy as was done in the first National IT
Policy. Focus should be lifted from enablement and low-cost advantage
to the next level of innovation through incubation and acceleration.

5.2. The rural population that comprises of over 67% of the national
population should be at the core of all planning activity. Taking the
infrastructure to the next level of enablement should be directed only
for the rural regions.

5.3. Energy Crisis and effects of Political instability should be
addressed in terms of Urban Region Infrastructure Enhancement.

5.4. Evolve the higher education and research process in Pakistan to
the next level. For example, Centers of virtual Learning and
Universities in particular should be encouraged to accept
transformation into innovative business incubation centres as the
primary criteria for their growth and sustenance.

5.5. Evolve a bottom up process titled "grassroots ICT culture
development", a bottom-up process backed by a demand-based market
drive as an alternative to the traditionally adopted top-down red tape
driven development activity.

5.6. Evolve a systematic enhancement process to encapsulate the smart
creative class of the country, translate their ideas and needs into a
practical and achievable strategy while clustering existing smart
infrastructures.

5.7. Evolve a process to connect in-country “Smart Infrastructures”
with “Smart Infrastructures” in the global marketplace while
increasing the national capacity to be a more innovative, creative,
and attractive environment that is conducive to retaining the
experienced and drawing in to Pakistan new ICT knowledge workers in
response to catering to a more globally competitive ICT sector.

Following the above, will be the Visioning and Goal Setting Process.
More detailed contributions are expected from the members of this
community. Please feel free to suggest possibly anything, after all
this your charter.


--

Regards.
--------------------------
Fouad Bajwa
@skBajwa
Answering all your technology questions
http://www.askbajwa.com
http://twitter.com/fouadbajwa
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