Expert survey on priorities for the information society in the Caribbean

Williams, Robert Crane

2016-06

LC/CAR/L.491

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Abstract. -- I. Background to the survey. -- II. Complete survey results. -- III. Analysis. -- A. Topic area: Social inclusion. -- B. Topic area: ICT in education. -- C. Topic area: Gender perspectives. -- D. Topic area: ICT support for economic activity. -- E. Topic area: Development of the ICT industry. -- F. Topic area: Promoting investment in the digital ecosystem. -- G. Topic area: Selected additional comments from survey participants. -- IV. Conclusion. -- Bibliography.

An on-line survey of experts was conducted to solicit their views on policy priorities in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Caribbean. The experts considered the goal to “promote teacher training in the use of ICTs in the classroom” to be the highest priority, followed by goals to “reduce the cost of broadband services” and “promote the use of ICT in emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and response.” Goals in the areas of cybercrime, e-commerce, egovernment, universal service funds, consumer protection, and on-line privacy rounded out the top 10. Some of the lowest ranked goals were those related to coordinating the management of infrastructure changes. These included the switchover for digital terrestrial television (DTT) and digital FM radio, cloud computing for government ICT, the introduction of satellite-based internet services, and the installation of content distribution networks (CDNs). Initiatives aimed at using ICT to promote specific industries, or specific means of promoting the digital economy, tended toward the centre of the rankings. Thus, a general pattern emerged which elevated the importance of focusing on how ICT is integrated into the broader society, with economic issues a lower priority, and concerns about coordination on infrastructure issues lower still.

SOCIEDAD DE LA INFORMACION; TECNOLOGIA DE LA INFORMACION; TECNOLOGIA DE LAS COMUNICACIONES; INTERNET; ENCUESTAS; COOPERACION REGIONAL; DESARROLLO REGIONAL; CARICOM; ECONOMIA BASADA EN EL CONOCIMIENTO; ELABORACION DE POLITICAS; ESTRATEGIAS DEL DESARROLLO; EDUCACION; GENERO; ASPECTOS SOCIALES; ASPECTOS ECONOMICOS; PREPARACION PARA CASOS DE DESASTRES; PREVENCION DE DESASTRES; INFORMATION SOCIETY; INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY; INTERNET; SURVEYS; REGIONAL COOPERATION; REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT; CARICOM; KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY; POLICY-MAKING; DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES; EDUCATION; GENDER; SOCIAL ASPECTS; ECONOMIC ASPECTS; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER PREVENTION;