Beyond the United Nations ICT Task Force: An evolution in Multi-stakeholder partnerships for ICT for Development

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has highlighted the extraordinary potential and necessity of multi-stakeholder engagement in tackling the challenges that must be overcome to achieve the vision of the Information Society foreseen in the Summit outcome documents.

Since November 2004, at the request of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force has been engaged in extensive, open consultations on a proposal to create an open, transparent, multi-stakeholder platform to facilitate dialogue on the focused role of ICT in development. Rather than “reinventing the wheel,” this effort capitalizes on the cumulative experience and knowledge that reside with members of the information and communication technologies-for-development (ICT4D) community and draws upon best practices from similar models in other fields, such as the successful Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) and the United Nations Global Compact.

For years, many entities have successfully brought together a variety of actors around ICT4D issues, utilizing different mechanisms and with different degrees of formality. Among them are the Development Gateway of the World Bank; the Digital Divide Task Force of the World Economic Forum; the Commission on e-Commerce, IT and Telecoms of the International Chamber of Commerce; and the Global Knowledge Partnership, to name just a few.

The first government-founded multi-stakeholder partnership in ICT4D was the G8 Digital Opportunity Task Force (G8 DOT Force), established following the adoption of the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society at the Japan 2000 G8 Summit. Its mandate was to identify concrete ways to bridge the digital divide between industrialized countries and developing countries, and to ensure that developing countries could fully participate in the global information society. The DOT Force encouraged cooperation among representatives from G8 governments, several developing nations, international organizations, and the non-profit and private sectors. During two years of work, the DOT Force created action-oriented implementation teams to design and carry forward initiatives addressing the priorities of the nine-point Genoa Plan of Action.

By the late 1990s, the United Nations General Assembly had formally recognized the promise of the burgeoning Internet to affect economic, social and human development. In the 2000 High-level Segment, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) addressed the theme “Development and international cooperation in the twenty-first century: The role of information technology in the context of a knowledge-based global economy,” concluding that ICT should be leveraged to promote economic and social welfare. The ICT Task Force was subsequently established by the Secretary-General in November 2001 at the request of ECOSOC. This decision was particularly significant because the Task Force was the first multi-stakeholder body created by an intergovernmental decision of the United Nations in which all members, government and non-government, were to participate on equal footing.

The UN ICT Task Force was one of the bodies recognized as having the ability to play a leadership role in promoting ICT4D in the international community. Operating in a complementary manner to and actively collaborating with the DOT Force for over a year, the Task Force was already active in the ICT4D arena. Having been created by one of the primary organs of the United Nations, it had unquestionable legitimacy, provided wider representation, and enjoyed a great reach and influence through its relationship to the UN system and the patronage of the Secretary-General.

The ICT Task Force shares many of the DOT Force’s principles as well as some of its members, yet has a distinct character and working methods. The Task Force is not an operational entity, but rather focuses on supporting policy formulation, stimulating partnerships, forming networks, facilitating cooperation within the United Nations system and between the UN system and outside actors, and catalyzing action to be executed by operational partners.

In the past four years, the ICT Task Force, through its core activities, working groups and regional networks, has successfully contributed to advancing the multi-stakeholder discussion on such critical matters as Internet governance, the enabling environment, education and other high-profile policy issues; contributed to progress in measuring, monitoring and analyzing the impact of information and communications technologies on the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals; supported and promoted collaborative initiatives at the regional, subregional and national levels; and provided significant input to the formation of a comprehensive United Nations information and communications technologies strategy. The Task Force has worked in the spirit of the ongoing WSIS process and has contributed substantively to its preparation and implementation process, helping to place the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the centre of the Summit agenda.

The ICT Task Force will complete its term in December 2005, and its members and partners are looking for the best way to continue advancing the ICT-for-development agenda. Recent discussions, including those within the context of the WSIS, have reiterated the need to sustain and strengthen substantive dialogue on ICT4D-related issues in a global, multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral, open, inclusive and transparent manner.

At the Eighth Meeting of the ICT Task Force, Task Force members reflected upon lessons learned in a discussion analyzing the effectiveness of the body based both on their own observations and on an evaluation conducted by experts at Syracuse University. The Task Force was identified as having, among other things, a unique legitimacy; a global reach; convening power; a light, flexible and cost-effective support structure; a definitive impact on national and global policy formulation; and a proven ability to facilitate inter-agency cooperation within the UN system. Yet, opportunities for further improvement of the model were identified. Members noted the potential benefits of expanding the membership, especially to include representatives of academia and media; setting measurable objectives and undergoing regular evaluation; clarifying the locus of decision-making, the allocation of responsibility to members, and policies on the formation of partnerships; improving outreach and awareness-raising efforts; and assuring an adequate resource base.

Even after years of activity by actors around the globe and the efforts of the WSIS, Task Force members agreed that there is still work to be done on integrating ICT into the broader development agenda and in the implementation and follow up of United Nations meetings and summits. The wind-up of the Task Force was seen as an opportunity to innovate and improve on the model at a favourable time; namely, while there is momentum from the September 2005 World Summit and the WSIS, and when the discussion on United Nations reform is at a critical point. Surely, achieving both Summits’ ambitious objectives will require multi-stakeholder cooperation and the deployment of all available resources in a coherent and collaborative manner.

While an intergovernmental follow-up process to the WSIS is indispensable, there is a need for complementary multi-stakeholder processes that support and add value to intergovernmental efforts. We believe that some space or platform for policy dialogue — as a global, inclusive, multi-stakeholder undertaking under the umbrella of the United Nations — is needed to link the ICT agenda with the broader United Nations development agenda and follow-up to the Millennium Declaration.

A proposal prepared on the basis of extensive consultation for submission to the United Nations Secretary-General recommended that any new network or forum should build on the experience and advance the work of initiatives such as the G8 DOT Force, the UN ICT Task Force, the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) and WSIS process. It should provide a platform for cross-sectoral policy and partnership dialogue with the full and equal engagement and collaboration of all stakeholders representing all relevant constituencies from all parts of the world. It should make full use of and cooperate with existing institutions and networks and their forums, and complement and contribute to the WSIS follow-up and implementation. Its principal task should be to serve as a “think tank” and promote dialogue and exchange of experience on global ICT4D and Information Society issues, thus contributing to the effectiveness and development impact of these entities and initiatives. These general principles enjoy strong, broad support.

Continuity, strengthening of momentum and retention of institutional memory are all important elements when considering the structure and composition of such a platform. The active participation of members that recall the successes and challenges of past initiatives could vastly accelerate the start-up period. A carefully planned transition could ensure that networks established by the ICT Task Force remain active and initiatives-in-progress are not interrupted or shut down.

The WSIS has provided a highly visible forum for discussing and advancing the critical role of ICT in achieving the MDGs and putting ICT4D issues on the “radar screens” of policy makers at the national, regional and international levels. Over the two phases greater numbers and varieties of stakeholders have joined the discussion and are becoming deeply engaged in finding solutions to many of issues that have been identified. The WSIS Preparatory Committee has recognized that its goals can be accomplished through the involvement and cooperation of all Information Society stakeholders. Negotiations have encouraged continuing co-operation between and among stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the Geneva and Tunis decisions, particularly through the promotion of multi-stakeholder partnerships, emphasizing that it is a joint effort requiring dialogue between developing countries, donors and actors in the ICT sector.

We all now have a responsibility to ensure that the energy generated by the World Summit on the Information Society does not dissipate, that the issues do not recede from the policy agenda, and that the vision and action plan do not go unfulfilled. To the extent possible, we must work in collaboration with one another and with the larger development community. To maximize the impact of our efforts, we should ensure that they are complementary to the outcome of the 2005 World Summit, helping to deliver “Freedom from Want” through the effective use of science and technology, especially ICT, for empowering people everywhere and advancing their well-being.