e-ASEAN Initiative Peru Telecoms Investment Fund
3 1
Development Aims
A SEA N co untr i es b eli eve they must emb r a ce ICT, i ts d evelop ment a nd use, i f
they a r e to susta i n economi c gr ow th a nd r ema i n comp eti ti ve i n the glob a l ma r ket
p la ce. A SEA N lea d er s thus a gr eed to p r omote collecti ve effor ts to comp lement
na ti ona l d evelop ment str a tegi es i n thi s sector. The e-A SEA N initiative establishes
a r eg i o n- w i d e a p p r o a ch to ma ki ng comp r ehensi ve use of i nfor ma ti on a nd
communication technologies i n b usi ness, society, and the government. In N ovember
2 0 0 0 , A SEA N gover nments si gned the e- A SEA N Fr a mew o r k A g r eement to
faci li tate the establi shment of the A SEA N Information Infrastructure. W hile its stated
objectives include the intention to promote coop er a ti on b etw een the p ub li c a nd
pri vate sectors, there i s no fur ther outli ne of r esp ecti ve r oles i n the d ocument. In
the consulta ti ve p ha se of the i ni ti a ti ve how ever, p r i va te sector i np ut w a s sought
a nd ha d a si gni fi ca nt i nfluence. Ther e w a s how ever li ttle or no i np ut fr om ci vi l
soci ety. The e-A SEA N Ta sk For ce w a s cr ea ted i n
1 9 9 9 to d evelo p a b r o a d a nd comp r ehensi ve a cti on p la n. It i s the only
a d vi so r y b o d y to A SEA N tha t i s comp osed of r ep r esenta ti ves fr om the
p ub li c a nd p r i va te sector s, a nd exp li ci tly sta tes i ts i ntenti on to a llow the p r i va te
a nd p ub li c secto r s to b r i ng thei r r esp ecti ve co mp a r a ti ve a d va nta g es
together. The a cti on p la n i tself i nclud es a numb er of p i lot p r oj ects a cr oss a r a nge
of ena b li ng envi r onment, ha r d w a r e a nd softw a r e i ni ti a ti ves, most w i th str ong
p r i va te sector i nvolvement. Sever a l of these a r e, i n themselves, f o r ma l
multi -sector p a r tner shi p a r r a ngements. A g a i n, ho w ever, the o p p o r tuni ty to
str engthen the p a r tner shi p s w i th ci vi l soci ety i nvolvement seems to ha ve b een
la r gely mi ssed .
Pa r tners
• G over nments of 1 0 A SEA N countr i es • Pr i va te sector r ep r esenta ti ves of e-
A SEA N Ta sk For ce a nd consulta ti ve gr oup s
• Pa r tner s i n i nd i vi d ua l p i lot p r oj ects i nclud i ng na ti ona l g over nment,loca l
a nd i nter na ti ona l comp a ni es
The Pa r tnering Process
Ther e w er e sever a l sta ges to the p r ocess of p a r tner shi p d evelop ment, comp r i si ng
a co nsulta ti ve p ha se a nd o ng o i ng for um, i nter na ti ona l a gr eements, a nd a n
a cti o n p la n. A t the ena b li ng envi r onment level, the gover nments of
A SEA N countr i es ha ve a for ma lly si gned a g r eement g over ni ng i nter connecti vi ty
a nd techni ca l i nter -op er a b i li ty a mong thei r teleco mmuni ca ti o n systems a nd
eq ui p ment, a nd ha ve esta b li shed w or ki ng mecha ni sms a nd a n a cti on p la n
for p r omoti ng ICT4 D a p p li ca ti ons. A t a co nsulta ti ve level, p r i va te secto r
r ep r esenta ti ves of e-A SEA N Ta sk For ce a nd consulta ti ve gr oup s w er e a b le to
i ntr o d uce a str o ng p r i va te secto r p er sp ecti ve i nto the sub seq uent a cti on
p la n. In some ca ses p i lot p r oj ects w i thi n the a cti on p la n ha ve for ma l p a r tner i ng
a gr eements e.g. the “ e-lea r ni ng for li fe” p r oj ect of Coca Cola , UN DP a nd the
G over nment of M a la ysi a .
O utcomes a nd Va lue Added
The fr a mew or k a gr eement, Ta sk For ce a nd a cti o n p la n a r e p r o vi ng to b e
i mp or ta nt ca ta lysts to b oth ha r moni si ng a nd p r omoti ng ICT4 D i ni ti a ti ves i n the
r egi on. The str ong i nvolvement of the p r i va te secto r, w hi ch i s unusua l i n
A SEA N i nter -gover nmenta l for a , i s seen a s si g ni f i ca ntly i mp r o vi ng the
effecti veness of the outcomes. Ther e i s, though, some cr i ti ci sm levelled a t the
o ng o i ng r i g i d i ty o f the A SEA N p r o cesses w i th r esp ect to g enui ne
p a r tner shi p s a nd the a b sence o f mea ni ngful ci vi l soci ety i np ut i n the e-
A SEA N p r ocess.
W hat will be interesting in the future is to see how the GKP Secretariat evolves as a broker of more implementation-orientated partnerships. For example, will it as
we recommend in this paper begin to utilise its membership base and convening power to move beyond information sharing to more actively broker or build the
capacity for others to broker a programme of results-based multi-stakeholder ICT4D partnerships that harness the development potential of the W SIS?