Opening the Black Box: Contextual Drivers of Social Accountability

Published in 2015

In 2014, the World Bank Group adopted the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in WBG Operations. The framework offers a roadmap for the ways we as an institution mainstream and scale up citizen engagement across our operations to improve results. Central to this commitment is achieving the target of beneficiary feedback from 100 percent of World Bank Group projects with clearly identifiable beneficiaries. When governments engage with their citizens it provides opportunities to meet the World Bank s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in a sustainable way. With this spirit in mind, Bank experts…

Read »

Trust Voice & Incentives: Learning from Local Success Stories in Service Delivery in the Middle East and North Africa

Published in 2015

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is in a state of volatile change. This period of change is imposing hardships on the people of the region, and the outbreaks of conflict and violence represent a clear danger not only regionally, but globally as well. Under the circumstances, it is essential to focus on the welfare of the region’s youth and its economic and institutional health in order to build the foundation for lasting stability and shared prosperity. Public institutions and services are central to this effort. In particular, it is crucial to harness the ability of public institutions to…

Read »

Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2015

Published in 2015

We are now entering a new era of communications. The future of the digital world is happening now. ITU stands fully prepared to support its membership to lead and open the door to a wealth of possibilities. I am pleased to present the 15th annual edition of Trends in Telecommunication Reform. This year s Trends report seeks to advance the global discussion of ICTs by focusing on how the benefits of an increasingly digital world can best be made available to users around the world in a way that gives users access to the most advanced services, provides businesses with…

Read »

Technologies de I’Information et de la Communication, Langues Vernaculaires et Stimlation du Haut Debit au Gabon [French]

Published in 2014

Read »

A Decade of Development in Sub-Saharan African: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Research

Published in 2014

This report uses the Scopus abstract and citation database to evaluate trends in research growth in SSA. While the re- port recognizes that indicators on peer-reviewed research outputs do not fully capture all research activity in SSA, this is the most systematic and objective foundation for analysis currently available. Although previous studies have also analyzed research output trends in SSA, this is the first report that provides comprehensive policy analysis and recommendations at a regional level and builds an analyti- cal foundation for stakeholder dialogue in driving the STEM agenda. Key Findings and Policy Recommendations This report presents four main…

Read »

Information and communications in the Chinese countryside : a study of three provinces

Published in 2014

China is set to become one of the East Asia and Pacific region s most connected countries and plans to upgrade its connectivity radically over the next few years. The government s Broadband China Strategy, approved by the State Council in August, 2013, characterizes high-speed or broadband Internet as strategic public infrastructure for the economic and social development of China in a new era. Investments in broadband Internet are intended to stimulate new opportunities through connectivity, particularly in more rural and remote areas of the country in order to reduce the digital divide. Key targets include provision of broadband Internet…

Read »

ICT Regulation Toolkit

Published in 2014

The ICT Regulation Toolkit, produced by the Information for Development Program (infoDev) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is a practical, web-based tool intended for ICT policymakers and regulators around the world. Module 1 provides an overview of the Toolkit while Modules 2-7 cover a number of specific topics including competition and pricing; authorization; universal access; radio spectrum management; legal and institutional frameworks; and new technologies. The Toolkit also contains extensive practice notes and reference materials. Under each Module abstract below are links to the full text of the module, the executive summary, and a clickable table of contents. Translated…

Read »

Using regulatory impact analysis to improve decision making in the ICT sector

Published in 2014

Regulatory impact analysis (RIA) is defined as a systematic, structured, evidence-based analysis of the prospective impacts of a proposed policy measure against possible alternatives. First launched in the US in 1981, it has been heavily promoted by international organizations such as the OECD and the World Bank in the past three decades, and has seen successful implementation in a number of developed and also developing economies. The adoption and implementation of RIA can promote the efficiency, transparency and accountability of government action. However, implementing RIA is also challenging from a procedural and methodological viewpoint, and many countries have failed to…

Read »

Morocco 2040 Emerging by Intangible Capital

Published in 2013

The new World Bank Country Economic Memorandum on Morocco, Emerging by Investing in Intangible Capital, is remarkable for at least three reasons: It is primarily a prospective report. Considering, like Fernand Braudel, that the future cannot be predicted, but has to be prepared, this Memorandum proposes ways to build Morocco in 2040, and favors convergence with the countries of Southern Europe, a scenario dear to IPEMED since its project Mediterranean 2030. And the stakes are high, since the per capita GDP of Morocco could reach 45 percent of that of Southern Europeans in 2040, versus 22 percent currently. It is…

Read »

Broadband Strategies Handbook

Published in 2012

The world is shifting from narrowband to broadband. Services that were only available in the form of static, text-based websites 10 years ago are now offered in full-motion, high-definition video. Usage-based transmission prices that were once prohibitive are now bundled into an affordable monthly “all you can eat” charge. A decade after the dot.com bubble burst because network realities had not yet caught up with user aspirations, a whole new generation of Internet entrepreneurs is ready to take their ideas to the stock market. Nevertheless, a gap remains between the developed and the developing world when it comes to broadband.…

Read »