Dear GKD Members, I fully agree with Roland.
Technology for technology's sake is no good for anyone, except those who promote them for narrow ends. In most developing countries, (I can speak for India, Asia and Latin America where I have lived), computers are more for display and being a box that can be visibly seen, that impresses people to say they have introduced e-Governance. But they are hardly put to right use, as they don't mean business. They are bought to serve the narrow ends of politicians and bureaucrats. Instead, there should be a real business-like approach in technology. This includes providing ICT applications to Developing Country Governments that will allow them to work with the private sector more efficiently and reduce the amount of time companies have to invest in communicating with government. This type of software will help both local businesses and international companies invest in developing countries. We have introduced such a solution which has been replicated and adopted by some local Governments in India. The following provides more details: I am an ICT Specialist with over 25 years experience in India and North / South America. My organization Life Line to Business (LL2B.COM) has implemented "e-Administration", a web enabled, platform independent, paperless office tool, developed using open source, for the benefit of Governments, corporations and NGOs. It helps to monitor all activities and projects of any organization in an electronic environment. Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), a Govt. of Tamil Nadu Undertaking in India has installed e-Administration, for transparency and accountability. The tool has been designed, developed and implemented by Life Line to Business (LL2B.COM Pvt Ltd), an ICT organization specializing in e-Governance, having specialists with over a quarter of a century experience in e-Governance in India and North / South America. ELCOT is the nodal organization, vested with the responsibility for introducing e-Governance in the State. It has utilized "e-Administration", a paper-less office initiative, for the last year, and has found it to be extremely rewarding and successful. ELCOT has entered into a marketing agreement with LL2B.COM to market e-Administration to various Government Departments and Undertakings. Seeing the success of implementation of "e-Administration", the Govt. of Pondicherry, placed an order with ELCOT / LL2B.COM, for implementing an "e-Platform", for the computerization of the Industrial Guidance Bureau activities of the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, by customizing "e-Administration", within a period of 3 weeks. This is an unique initiative, being done for the first time in India, connecting 21 Departments, including Local Governments such as Municipalities / Commune Panchayats, on a simple LAN / dial-up, for on-line and off-line working, with the central repository server at the District Industries Centre, Pondicherry. This initiative should help the government work more smoothly with the private sector. The details can be seen in the Budget 2004-2005 address of the Lt. Governor of Pondicherry to the State Assembly http://pondicherry.nic.in and http://www.pon.nic.in/open/depts/finance/lgspeech2004.pdf Item 7 of the speech reads as follows: "..Removal of poverty may not be practically possible without focusing special attention on creation of gainful job opportunities. The Tenth plan at the national level envisages creation of 50 million new employment opportunities over a period of five years. Therefore, focused attention will be given to few critical sectors such as Industries, Information Technology, .. etc. which have very high employment potential. Item 20 of the speech, reads as follows: "Industrial Guidance Bureau with integrated e-Platform has been established by substituting single window clearance system to speed up the process of industrial clearance / permission for setting up of new industrial units. A total of 21 Departments including Municipalities / Commune Panchayats have been integrated with a dedcated electronic network for granting permission to set up an industry and also to commence production". This saves a lot of time, effort and cost to industrialists and citizens as well as officials of various Departments. As against submitting 10 copies of documents in the manual system, in the electronic system, only one signed copy needs to be submitted, thereby saving 90% of paper, resulting in conserving of natural forest resources. Being a Linux platform, local language content can be easily added. This tool can be used by any community of users such as agricultarists, agriculture scientists, rural health and hygiene experts, etc. to deal with multiple agencies, for simultaneous review and action. It can also help in knowledge management and integration in NGOs, self assessment, decentralised field updating and centralised review and monitoring. More details can be viewed at: http://ll2b.blogspot.com and http://eadministration.blogspot.com and http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do~1010854 I just thought I shall bring this to your notice, for any opportunities that may arise by way of mutual support and cooperation. I am prepared to send a Powerpoint presentation on the tool and its benefits in introducing transparency and accountability in organizations. Kris Dev (Krishhnan V D G) ICT Specialist [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL2B.COM Pvt Ltd B4, Ashok Suparna, 27/12, 3rd Main Road, Kasturiba Nagar, Adyar, Chennai-600020. Tamil Nadu, India 91-44-5211 5995 / 5698. On Mon, 25 Oct 2004, Roland H. Alden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Can technology and a business approach make globalization work for > the poor? > > This is a great first question because it does challenge some > fundamental ideas about what technocrats and business people have to > offer the "less developed" and "least developed" countries of the world. > > I am sure there are many "failed" projects and case studies that will > demonstrate how little technology has to offer. I believe that, in > isolation, technology offers very little; it is a tool but the tool must > be applied in a meaningful context. ..snip... > There are other contexts where resources are either abundant or at least > non-zero, but where the absence of "business" fundamentals creates waste > (often sponsored by corruption) or missed opportunity. In these > situations a sound "business approach" to development, and a "business" > relationship with the world, is a very realistic possibility, if only > the opposing forces can be dealt with. ..snip... ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by USAID's dot-ORG Cooperative Agreement with AED, in partnership with World Resources Institute's Digital Dividend Project, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org and http://www.digitaldividend.org provide more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. 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