Abstract
The start-up of the global alliance network on ICT for development (GAID) was qualitatively analyzed to derive recommendations for the improvement of PPPs. The evaluation covered web contents, publications, interviews, emails, and blog responses. Since the inception in 2006, GAID has successfully leveraged its position as a UN-related organization that keeps ICT for development on the global agenda. GAID has brought together constituents on ICT for development comprising governmental officials, corporate executives, academia, and civil society. The accessibility and harmonization of ICT best practices standards have been advanced. GAID has secured funding, launched conferences, and extended its network in flagship initiatives, regional networks, and communities of expertise. Some of the partnerships initiatives have successfully linked with the GAID network and facilitated information exchange in conferences, trainings, and workshops. Others had difficulties in integrating with GAID mainly due to resource limitations and a lack of expertise. The current situation of the GAID network implies areas for improvement regarding additional resource mobilization, network establishment and maintenance, as well as business planning, goal achievement strategies, and measurement.
TopUngc
The UNGC sets basic and transparent principles for the engagement of the private sector in global governance. In a multi-stakeholder approach, the UNGC distinguishes CSR principles of action for the corporate world. In the interaction between the UN and the private sector, the UNGC initiatives help moving towards a universal consensus on the minimum standards of corporate social conduct in the areas of labor standards, human rights, poverty reduction, health and workplace safety, education and community engagement. The participation of corporations in the UNGC is foremost ensured through PPPs. Multi-stakeholder partnerships target at leveraging the quality of corporate commitment to UN principles.
An example of the implementation of the UNGC in PPP practice is GAID. As a newly emerging partnership initiative, GAID fosters future positive outcomes of PPPs in ICT. The following part will shed light on the set-up of the GAID partnerships with a special attention to positive impacts and multi-stakeholder endeavors on ICT for development.
GAID: PPP Implementation Analysis
The following section presents an analysis of the Global Alliance network on ICT for development (GAID). The analysis is based on data on networking GAID partners and their activities in the set-up process. The qualitative analysis of the network structure and outcomes of partnerships during the start-up phase will retrieve recommendations for the improvement of the effectiveness of PPPs. Outlining strengths and challenges of PPPs allows generalizations of best practices for the future implementation of multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Research Questions
The purpose of the evaluation was to identify the initial results obtained by GAID during the set-up in order to generalize recommendations for the future improvement of PPPs. Concretely, the evaluation was targeted at depicting the extent to which GAID initiatives and partners have:
- 1.
Begun their activities on ICT for development.
- 2.
Created partnerships and leveraged a think tank network on ICT for development.
- 3.
Brought together key constituents involved in ICT for development to enhance UN goals.
- 4.
Mainstreamed the global ICT agenda in sync with the UN development goals.
- 5.
Become an advisory group to the Secretary General of the UN.
- 6.
Facilitated an identification of technological solutions for development.
- 7.
Raised public awareness for ICT for development as a policy issue.
- 8.
Enabled environments and innovative business models for the growth of ICT for development.
This procedure was aimed at analyzing success factors that have contributed to the raise of GAID. Lessons learned by the partners in the start-up phase serve as a basis for recommendations and the planning of future PPPs.
Data Collection
A total of ten partnerships were selected for the analysis including four flagship initiatives, two regional networks and four communities of expertise. Qualitative data on GAID was collected during February to April 2008 by the author and assistants. The analysis focused on the global activities of GAID with a special attention to the endeavors outlined in the 2006 business report. At the global level, events during 2007-2008 were screened. Information was retrieved from web pages, featuring workshop reports and handbook material. Additional knowledge was sought by emails and individual expert interviews with executives who implement GAID. With regard to the ‘think tank’ function of ICT for development, a question on the success of GAID was posed onto the GAID internet discussion list to which considerable responses were received.