National Strategies to Harness Information Technology

Nagy K. Hanna is an author, international development strategist, and thought leader, with over 30 years of experience in advising countries and aid agencies on designing and implementing programs to leverage information and communication technology (ICT) in support of competitiveness, private sector development, and public sector reform. He has worked with stakeholders cutting across public, private and civil society leadership. From 1975 to 2005 he served in a variety of positions at the World Bank, most recently as senior advisor on e-strategies, where he established a global community of practice on e-development and chaired a seminar series to develop e-government and e-leadership. Currently, he advises countries on developing policies, institutions, and leadership capabilities for coordinating ICT for development programs, and has served as a Visiting Professor at Duke University and Senior Fellow at the University of Maryland. He has lectured and published extensively on e-development, strategic planning, change management, executive education, and institutional development. He holds a Ph.D. in Socio-Economic Planning from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and Masters degrees in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. Peter T. Knight is an economist, training strategist, and information age change agent with broad international experience in distance education, training strategy/evaluation, e-government, electronic media, telecomunications reform, international banking, foundation work, teaching, and research. He has worked extensively in Africa (especially South Africa), Latin America (especially Brazil), and Eastern Europe and Asia (especially Russia). He is a partner in Knight, Moore and President of Telematica e Desenvolvimento Ltda, advising such clients as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, SRI International/National Science Foundation, US Department of State, United Nations Development Programme, Pakistan, and Rio de Janeiro State Research Foundation (FAPERJ). From 1976 to 1997 he served in a variety of positions at the World Bank. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

• Why National e-Transformation Strategies?.- The e-Transformation Journey of Singapore.- Information Society and Consensus Formation in Finland.- A Decade of e-Development in South Africa: Sufficient for a “Services (R)evolution”?.- The Philippines: The Quest for Genuine e-Development.- Comparative Experience and Lessons in e-Transformation.- Index.

From the reviews: "This work examines the highly individual paths of development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Singapore, Finland, South Africa, and the Philippines during the last two decades. The result is a valuable resource for all stakeholders ... ranging from academic researchers and policy analysts to policy makers, such as local politicians or transnational agencies, and industry leaders and lobbyists. ... this work enriches the research, learning, and development communities striving to help countries on their individual e-transformation journeys." (Christoph F. Strnadl, ACM Computing Reviews, July, 2012)