The role of information and communications technology (ICT) as a key barometer of global development has been increasingly recognized, particularly in the developing world. For example, the latest Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report noted that use of ICT continues to grow worldwide, witnessed by the steady growth in global Internet use and mobile telephony – both technologies which play a crucial role in boosting development efforts through mobile banking, disaster management, and the like.1 |
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At the forefront of documenting ICT progress and its impact on development and competitiveness has been the World Economic Forum, which for the past ten years has been publishing The Global Information Technology Report (GITR). With an extensive coverage of 138 economies, the 2010-2011 GITR remains the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations, using the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) as the framework of analysis.
“Since the beginning of the report ten years ago, the sheer amount of information generated by today’s digital society has increased at an astounding rate,” notes Alan Marcus, Senior Director and Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications, World Economic Forum. |
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To better disseminate ICT data and make it available for wider use, the World Economic Forum recently chose to launch a new data-sharing platform built on DevInfo technology. This interactive dashboard provides users with a set of tools to explore the impact of information and data technology on a range of socio-economic areas. Through the site, users can compare NRI data with data from other key World Economic Forum competitiveness reports, MDG indicators, and selected indicators from other sources. A range of visualization tools allows users to explore and gain new insights into the relationships between technology and other domains. |
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| Using DevInfo technology, readers of the GITR can generate their own data queries and create customized tables, maps and charts. By making data available in such an interactive way, the international community can more easily track ICT progress across the globe – with the aim of strengthening gaps to support more equitable development. |
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Data making a difference. |
For more information, please contact Derek O’Halloran, Global Leadership Fellow, at Derek.OHalloran@weforum.org.
1 The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, United Nations, New York, 2010, pp. 71-72.
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