| Background, Mission & Activities |
|
|
| Written by WDR | |
| Thursday, 23 September 2004 | |
|
The World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (WDR) project was initiated by infoDev, Global Information and Technologies Department, World Bank. This is a flagship project that also falls within two infoDev core programs, telecom reform and information infrastructure development. LIRNE.NET was chosen in a competitive selection in response to an infoDev RFP. The project began on 1 July 2000 on a three year contract. The project builds on an earlier regulatory colloquium and accompanying web site by focusing on frontier issues of telecom reform and information infrastructure development with an emphasis on web-based information and international dialogue.
The objective is to attract a diversified set of partners to the project, so the project has put considerable effort into becoming an independent entity. The foundation partners are infoDev, the LIRNE.NET Universities (Technical University of Denmark and Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands) and The International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU/BDT), Media@LSE, London School of Economics, Learning Information Networking Knowledge Centre (LINK), Wits University, Johannesburg and LIRNEasia, based in Sri Lanka. Background research on the WDR and the initial dialogue theme began immediately. Preparatory discussions, seminars and workshops were held in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The project was formally launched at the infoDev Symposium in Washington, D.C., 5-6 December 2001 and the website was launched on January 30, 2002. Since then, WDR has completed two research cycles, each one lasting 12-18 months. Each cycle focuses research efforts of the network on a single theme. For the first cycle, in 2002, the theme was The Next Step in Telecom Reform: ICT Convergence Regulation or Multisector Utility Regulation. The final report, Designing Next Generation Telecom Regulation: ICT Convergence or Multisector Utility, was published in January 2003. The final report was published and made available electronically and was based on both theoretical work and case studies primarily led by universities in Denmark and the Netherlands. For the second research cycle, the WDR research network examined the role of the regulator in stimulating investment in network development. This time the research network was much more international and the final report was Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for Regulators, a 380 page book with contributions from twenty authors from Africa, Asia and Europe. The research was also greatly enriched by the discussions at three WDR Expert Meetings, one each in Africa, Asia and Europe. During the third research cycle, which examined the theme Diversifying Participation in Network Development, the network continues to grow with the addition of Research ICT Africa! -RIA!- and the Regional Dialogue on the Information Society - DIRSI- a group of Latin American researchers. The report from that cycle, another book of more than 350 pages, is currently in production. As WDR continues its mandate to inform and promote dialogue on ICT regulation, supported by the LIRNE network centres, we have become increasingly concerned with the centrality of indicators. Indeed, all regulatory research depends on indicators, deriving from a variety of sources: national governments, international agencies, the private sector, advocacy groups – all of whom have their own motivations for collecting this information. Thus the theme for the World Dialogue on Regulation Fourth Research Cycle is: Indicators and Benchmarks of Performance in ICT Development. Cross-cutting research and analysis will be achieved by considering this area from a variety of perspectives. These include projects that devise, collect and apply ICT indicators as well as research that considers indicators as an object of analysis per se, and will reflect on the historical, political and strategic issues surrounding the field of indicator use and development. The WDR mission is to facilitate an international dialogue that generates and disseminates new knowledge on frontier issues in regulation and governance to support the development of network economies. The WDR core activities are:
WDR Research & Dialogue Cycle WDR began in 2001 with an annual research and dialogue cycle. However, the reality of collaborative international research requires longer cycles. The current cycle for 2004/2005 contemplates the following activities:
For more information contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text34830 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
