e-Readiness
Why is it important to assess e-readiness?
The first step in any approach to introduce ICTs is to consider a country, economy, organisation or schools’ ability or "readiness" to integrate ICT’s. This will provide baseline information that can be used for planning and also for making comparisons across regions, countries, education departments, schools etc.
It is important to understand what it means to be "e-ready", whatever level one is working at, e.g. regional, country or school level. An evaluation based on objective criteria (indicators) to establish basic ICT benchmarks is one way of assessing e-readiness. This involves considering whether the necessary infrastructure is in place, but also looking beyond that to whether ICT is accessible to those who need to use it and whether there is an appropriate policy, legal and regulatory framework to support its use. E-readiness assessment processes can also be used as an information-gathering mechanism to assist when planning strategies for ICT integration.
E-readiness tools
A variety of assessment tools have been developed to measure e-readiness, and assessments have been conducted in many countries. However, few of these tools are targeted specifically at the use of ICTs in education, and even fewer at the school level. We have included a range of tools here that you might find helpful, even though they are not specifically focused at the school level.
Each of these tools uses a slightly different definition of e-readiness and different means for measurement. As a result, the assessments are diverse in their goals, strategies and results. Choosing the right tool depends on your goal. As a user you should choose a tool that measures what you are looking for, and does it against a standard that fits your view of what being 'e-ready' means. Adapted from Bridges.org – www.bridges.org/ereadiness.html
A country ICT survey for Rwanda: final report
This document forms one of a series of country ICT studies. It begins with background information on the trends and status of ICTs in sub-Saharan Africa, socio-economic conditions in Rwanda and ICT policy and legislation in the country, Rwanda. [780]
rwanda.pdf
A Country ICT Survey for Zambia
This document forms one of a series of country ICT studies. It begins with background information on the trends and status of ICTs in sub-Saharan Africa, socio-economic conditions in Zambia and ICT policy and legislation in the country. [779]
zambia.pdf
NGOs and ICTs use in Republic of Congo
This paper assesses the usefulness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programmes in terms of economic and social development in the Republic of the Congo. It evaluates the problems associated with implementing ICT programmes and offers a list of potential solutions. [778]
niombo.pdf
Mozambique's soft ICT infrastructure - a pilot study
The present study is an effort to get a more detailed picture of Mozambique’s present and future resources of digitised information, to broaden the perspective of the country’s readiness to enter into the Information Society and establish methods to cover information and services in future surveys. [777]
Moz_soft_infra_reportFIN.pdf
The ICT Maps of Africa
These maps provide a visual outline of ICT access and usage in Africa. Each one provides a country by country outline of the status of infrastructure and users [775]
http://www.uneca.org/disd/ictmaps.htm
Comparison of E-Readiness Assessment Models
This report starts with methods formally presented as assessment tools, and then goes on to look at assessment methods which can be garnered from other resources. [774]
http://www.bridges.org/ereadiness/report.html
SADC e-Readiness Review and Strategy
Recommendations of the SADC e-Readiness Task Force [773]
SADC_report.pdf
Accelerating E- Government…
This document seeks to explain what e-readiness means to African countries. [765]
What_is_the_E-_Readiness_in_Africa.pdf
World Economic Forum-NEPAD E-Africa Commission E-Readiness Policy Programme
The countries of Africa face a diverse range of challenges and obstacles as they strive to develop their economies, decrease their dependence on the developed world, and ready themselves for participation in the global economy. Achieving e-readiness, and the effective use of information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for social and economic development, are key elements in these processes. [764]
NEPAD_ereadiness_programme.pdf