ADF Panel Summary No. 6

Strategies for Policy Research: A role for African Think Tanks

14:30 - 16:00, Tuesday 26 October 1999

Chair: Joseph Abbey, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Analysis, Ghana;

Panel: Shola Taylor, African Telecommunications Policy Think Tank, UK; Banji Oyeyinka, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Nigeria; Sarif Kemal, Director, Regional Information Technology Institute, Egypt.

Objective: A panel of leading African policy research and analysis institutions aimed to discuss the emergence of ICTs as they have affected their role in the development process. It also sought to explore key areas for future programme activity.

The panel, convened by the World Bank Institute, highlighted a number of initiatives that have brought together African Think Tanks around the table through e-mail discussions and web dissemination of courses, programmes, tools and models for use by the public and by policy makers. Discussions noted the importance of mainstreaming ICTs in programmes implemented by policy makers. The overwhelming challenge of sifting through the numerous types of technologies and information available on the Internet was noted as well as the need to increase the capacity of researchers and those involved in Think Tanks to use ICTs effectively.

Among the key areas proposed to Think Tanks was to:

• Increase appropriate and timely advise to governments involved in the liberalization process -
• Provide advice to governments on making informed decisions in WTO negotiations.
• Increase interaction among networks across the continent and establish a networking mechanism for information exchange and cooperation among African community telecentre operators and practitioners
• Develop qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure ICT impact on development
• Assess the technological capabilities of countries
• Help open up government to greater participation by using ICTs to alert the public about key policy debates

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The full text of all speeches, statements, press releases and summaries are available on the ADF Home Page at: http://www.un.org/depts/eca They are supported by video and audio clips of keynote addresses and other major moments. This site also includes the programme, list of participants, theme papers and other relevant background documents.

For more information on the Forum or to interview participants, please contact:

Peter da Costa
Senior Communication Adviser
Economic Commission for Africa
P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: +251-1-51 58 26
Fax: +251-1-51 03 65
Cell: +251-9-20 17 94
E-mail: dacosta@un.org  or ecainfo@uneca.org
Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca