World Dialogue on Regulation

Foundation Partners

infoDev's mission is "to help developing countries and their international partners to maximize the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in combating poverty and promoting broad-based sustainable development. Its work is rooted in the conviction that information and communication are indispensable elements of effective institutions, markets and societies, and that empowering people and the institutions and markets that serve them with efficient and effective information and communication tools is a critical element in the fight against poverty and the effort to realize the Millennium Development Goals." 

Created in 1995 with the objective of addressing the obstacles facing developing countries in an increasingly information-driven world economy, infoDev has until recently been primarily a grant facility for pilot projects using information and communication technologies (ICT) to combat poverty and promote development. In the past few years, ICT-for-development initiatives have proliferated and the resources devoted to ICT in development portfolios have expanded. Yet, rigorous field-tested knowledge about "what works and why" in ICT for development, and a deeper understanding of the enabling conditions and success factors in ICT-for-development initiatives, have been relatively scarce. As a result, there is a growing consensus in the development community that ICT will only become an effective and mainstream tool of poverty reduction and sustainable development if the proponents of ICT-for-development can provide more rigorous evidence, strategies, benchmarks, indicators, and good practices that are directly relevant to the core poverty-reduction and development priorities of developing countries and their international partners.

infoDev's new strategy is designed to strengthen the linkages between pilot projects, evidence, analysis and action in harnessing ICTs for development. The principal focus of infoDev's activities in 2004-2005 will be on how ICTs can substantially advance progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). infoDev will launch an intensive program of support for research, analysis, and evaluation, impact monitoring, and toolkit development focused on distilling the lessons of experience from the past ten years on the impact of ICT on poverty, with a particular focus on mainstreaming and scaling up successful ICT approaches and applications.

For further information, see www.infodev.org.

Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies (LIRNE.NET)

LIRNE.NET was founded as a strategic collaboration between the Center for Tele-Information (CTI), Technical University of Denmark and the Economics of Infrastructures Section, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. It is registered as non-profit Association in Denmark. In 2002 two new research partners joined LIRNE.NET: the Media and Communications Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science (Media@LSE), and the LINK Centre at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. LIRNEasia was founded in September 2004 as an autonomous regional affiliate.

LIRNE.NET’s Mission:

• to facilitate telecom reform and information infrastructure development throughout the world – through research, training, dialogue, policy & regulation advice; and

• to build human capital in the area as the foundation for development, effective regulation and governance for new network economies.

LIRNE.NET’s Major Activities:

• research and publications

• external training initiatives (short courses for government, industry and NGOs)

• expert analysis, commentary, advice and assistance on current issues

• World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (WDR).

The LIRNE.NET Management Team

William H. Melody, Managing Director LIRNE.NET; Guest Professor, Center for ICT (CICT), Technical University of Denmark, University of Witswatersrand and London School of Economics and Political Science

Knud Erik Skouby, Director of University Networks, LIRNE.NET; Director, Center for Tele-Information (CTI), Technical University of Denmark

Rohan Samarajiva, Director of External Programs, LIRNE.NET; Executive Director, LIRNEasia

Contact:

LIRNE.NET

Center for Tele-Information, Building 371

Technical University of Denmark

2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

Phone: +45 4525 5178;  Fax: +45 4596 3171

For further information, see www.lirne.net or contact LIRNE.NET Coordinator Merete Aagaard Henriksen

IDRC - The International Development Research Centre

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a public corporation created in 1970 to help developing countries find long-term solutions to the social, economic, and environmental problems they face.

IDRC's mandate is to initiate, encourage, support, and conduct research into the problems of the developing regions of the world and into the means for applying and adapting scientific, technical, and other knowledge to the economic and social advancement of those regions.

The Acacia initiative is an international program to empower sub-Saharan communities with the ability to apply information and communication technologies (ICTs) to their own social and economic development.This initiative is designed as an integrated program of research and development and demonstration projects to address issues of applications, technology, infrastructure, policy and governance. Conceived and led by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Acacia supports Canada's contribution to the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) which was endorsed by African governments as an action framework to build Africa's information and communication infrastructure. Support of ICT policy research in Africa is a key component of Acacia's work.

Research Partners 

TU Delft Interfaculty Research Program, Design and Management of Infrastructures (DIOC)

The TU Delft Research Program on Design and Management of Infrastructures is one of ten interdisciplinary research programs at Delft University of Technology. It examines the interrelations between technical, economic and policy factors in the design and ongoing management of a wide variety of infrastructures. 

The program aims to perform comparative analyses of the technological, economic and administrative developments in different infrastructure sectors, in particular the traditional public utilities of water, waste, energy, telecommunication and transport, with a view to identifying common features and interrelationships. These common features and interrelationships then serve as the basis for the development of generic approaches, methods and tools for users and policy makers to support the future design and management of infrastructures and the policy making on infrastructure development and management.

The Program's director, Margot Weijnen notes "the synergies and common interest between the DIOC program and the WDR are substantial. The DIOC is delighted to be a research partner as the research will provide additional benefit for both the DIOC and WDR."