Guiding Principles/Objectives

Programmes

USAID seeks to bring the benefits of ICTs to underserved regions and populations, apply ICTs across different socio-economic areas of development, particularly for women, and provide opportunities to increase economic growth.

The USAID ICT strategy comprises five key components:

► Policy and regulatory reform in telecommunications and electronic commerce to foster private investment and competition.
► Access for the underserved, especially women and girls, especially through community ICT centers and innovative technologies to extend networks to rural areas.
► Capacity in the ICT sector for both professional and institutional development.
► Applications tailored to specific sectors, e.g. health, agriculture, and democracy.
► Collaboration with the private sector for essential investments and service delivery.

The Office of Energy and Information Technology in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth and Trade provides overall coordination for ICT activities. 

Additional information can be found at http://www.usaid.gov Keyword: InfoTech.

Areas of Application:

► Access and connectivity
► Regulatory framework
► Education and learning systems
► Private sector partnerships
► Gender
► E-Government
► E-Commerce
► Health
► Economic growth
► Environment
► Natural resource management
► Democracy

USAID’s primary investments in ICTs are made directly through its worldwide network of field missions.  These investments are typically part and parcel of broader programmatic investments in such areas as health, democracy, agriculture, economic growth, and the environment. USAID in Washington plays a supporting role, offering technical advice and promoting ICT implementations in field programs.

The DOT-COM Alliance is USAID’s principal program in Washington for promoting ICTs for development. USAID field missions request support and program implementation through three specific approaches:

► Dot-GOV promotes policy and regulatory reform.
► Dot-ORG fosters access for the underserved.
► Dot-EDU enhances learning systems.

The DOT-COM Alliance is a USAID partnership with a number of commercial firms in the private sector as well as not-for-profit organizations.  For further information visit http://www.dot-com-alliance.org.

USAID’s regional bureau provide specialized technical support from Washington, tailored to the special needs of particular parts of the world.  For further information on some of these regional approaches, visit:
► Africa
► Asia and the Near East

In addition, there are specialized programs of assistance, including:

► The State Department/USAID Telecom Leadership Program provides expertise on telecommunications liberalization and reform.
► The U.S. Telecommunications Training Institute provides private-sector courses to ICT professionals, regulators, legislators, etc.

Participation in Multi-donor Programmes:

Partnerships with ITU and the World Bank as well as other bilateral donors including DFID.

Africa, Asia, Near East, Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, Caribbean

More than US$200 million worldwide on ICT for development in 2003

Dr. Anthony Meyer, ameyer@usaid.gov