eGovernance-Africa.net

Since the early 1990s, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been promoting the use of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD) in developing countries though global, regional and national programmes. UNDP has thus developed critical and innovative policy and programme expertise on ICTD. UNDP sees the benefit of ICT as a tool that can enhance development outcomes and outputs, and not just a productive sector or a goal in itself.

In this context, UNDP has mainstreamed ICTD into both the Poverty Group and Democratic Governance practice areas. This has brought forward realignment and prioritization of ongoing and planned ICTD activities as reflected in the new Multi-year Funding Framework (MYFF) for 2004 to 2007 and a sharpening and refocusing of the Bureau for Development Policy’s (BDP) Service Lines. The Democratic Governance Group (DGG) now has responsibility for the e-governance sub-practice as part of the new Service Line 2.5.

Although e-Governance is a new dedicated sub-practice area of UNDP, the organization's support for e-governance related services predates the creation of the dedicated sub-practice and builds upon the pioneering work that UNDP has done since 1992. The bulk of this work has focused on providing support to governments and civil society organizations (CSOs) in using ICT to deliver better public services and enhance the participation and involvement on citizens through networking in the various governance-related processes and issues.

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