The Cebu Innovation Island: The Information and Communication Technology Road Map of Cebu
(Speech delivered during the ICT Congress of the Cebu Business Month InTourPreneur Conference and Exhibits held on June 22, 2006, 1:50-2:10 p.m. at the Mediterranean Room of the Cebu Waterfront Hotel)The recently concluded 2nd Cebu Information and Communication Technology Summit just like the first has the goal of making Cebu an information and communication technology or ICT hub.
We are still working for the same goal.
To recall many issues were put forward and discussed in the first summit held last March 29 to 31, 2001, at the Grand Ballroom of Cebu City Marriott Hotel. In the 2nd Cebu ICT Summit held at the Social Hall of the Cebu Capitol Building on May 24-26, 2006, there were not that many new issues from the participants. The difference was the way we approach the formulation of the program of action.
I was and am the Workshop Manager of both of these Summits.
In the 2nd Cebu ICT Summit we did away with theoretical concepts of solutions and decided to take up only working models or existing programs that are already responding to the many issues we are and will be confronting. The organizers of the summit have also decided in the meetings last 2005 that the Silicon Valley Model was still the most viable model for Cebu. The logic behind this approach is:
- The models are already existing and successful.
- The approach provides models for replication.
- Almost all of them have proven themselves sustainable.
- There are clearly identified program and project managers and stakeholders.
- These programs and projects by themselves are accomplishments.
Pillar 1 - The Innovation Ecosystem
Pillar 2 - The development of the Culture of Technology Entrepreneurship
Pillar 3 - The Provision for a Critical Mass of Professionals and Practitioners
Pillar 4 - Financial and Legal Framework
Because of the issue of how technology can further help Cebuanos at the barangay level, the issue of the digital divide in the province was taken up and was later on referred to as the Digital Inclusion.
Four issues were raised in Pillar 1 (The Innovation Ecosystem) and 22 specific courses of action were agreed upon to confront these issues. In Pillar 2 eight (8) issues were raised and sixteen (16) specific courses of actions were agreed upon. Pillar 3 had ten (10) issues and twenty-nine (29) specific courses of action were proposed. Pillar 4 had six (6) issues discussed and fifteen (15) specific courses of actions were agreed upon. Six (6) major issues were taken up in the Digital Inclusion discussions and seventeen (17) specific courses of action were proposed and agreed upon by the body.
Admittedly, the long list of list of things to do is really a mixture of actions to be accomplished within the short and the long term between now and year 2010. Many of these courses of action were anticipated to address specific issues, deliver the same impact, done the same way or will benefit similar clients or stakeholders so we came up with a logical clustering of similar activities or those that follow a similar process to achieve their goals or objectives. This clustering is now what we call the programs.
The specific courses of action proposed by the body are now grouped into the following programs.
- Information Education & Communication (IEC)
- Innovation & Enterprise Development
- Brand Management & Business Development
- Education & Human Resource Development
- Standards & Best Practices
- Research & Intelligence
- Laws & Incentives
- Structural Support Development
Information Education & Communication (IEC)
Information is the content or the message in campaigns or projects. This should include editorial style, images, forms, fonts, layout, etc. Communication is the technology, media, channel or sets of activities that delivers the message. Education is the set of strategies, projects, tasks or activities that creatively and effectively use information and communication for a desired outcome. The outcome can be a certain course of action, acquisition of knowledge or skill, change of attitude and perspective or a decision in favor or against a certain issue.
Innovation and Enterprise Development
A cluster of programs that develops or enhances the capability and capacity of the business sector of Cebu to develop products and services, sell and deliver these products and services to their chosen market niches, create alliances, build equity or capital, encourage a culture of innovation, and build infrastructure support. The program must also encourage the inflow of investments that enhances local competence and technology transfer in the areas such as that of engineering design or software development.
Brand Management and Business Development
A program to market all products and services from Cebu under a single brand and the development of a unified strategy to market the Cebu brand globally. The initiative shall include establishing alliances with international regional business or trade organizations and setting up Cebu marketing or business centers near diplomatic offices and creating a single point of entry over the Internet.
Education and Human Resource Development
Strategies or cluster of programs to develop or enhance the infrastructure, processes, mechanisms, investments, or capabilities of stakeholders, delivering or using education and managing our human resource. These encompass stakeholders like the academe, human resource development practitioners, independent HR service providers, training or capability enhancement providers, workforce development institutions, etc. Institutional partnerships and collaboration shall also be encouraged in this program whether formal or informal.
Standards and Best Practices
A program that gather information, analyze, collate, document, coordinate, develop, and disseminate industry standards and best practices in information and communications technology for whatever applications. These standards cover professional standards, education, infrastructure, information systems, data or information management, security and privacy, communications, e-governance, e-commerce, etc. Also included in the program is the collaboration and cooperation between local and foreign institutions.
Research and Intelligence
Programs that encourage research both basic and advance whether initiated by the government, private sector or academe in the use, development, deployment or application of information and communication technology. These programs emphasizes the development of products and services that meet niche-market needs, solves an adverse human condition or improve the quality of life. Intelligence is the deliberate activities to gather information about markets, technological developments, local environment, foreign, and domestic trade with the objective of aiding our positioning in the global economy. Also included in this program are the collaboration and the alliances to bring research and development from overseas.
Laws and Incentives
A cluster of programs that cover review of existing laws, policies, processes and structure in the context of developing or using information and communications technology. This program also includes drafting a proposed bill, amending an existing law or a local council ordinance or resolution, developing and changing implementing rules and regulations in the context of regulating, encouraging or prescribing incentives.
Structural Support Development
A program to coordinate government and private sector initiated programs that include the creation of organizational vehicles to implement all programs of actions under the ICT agenda, acquiring the competence to manage programs and projects, and developing and managing logistical support for these programs.
Each of the course of action in each of the programs have already a specific proponent or organization already doing work of accomplishing the goals of the program. The next step is the meeting of the stakeholders in each of the Program and mapping out the following:
- Presentation of the Summit Output
- Confirmation of Stakeholders Commitment
- Identification of Programs/Projects for Integration
- Defining General Framework for Planning
- Creation of Workgroup for Planning
- Defining the Structure of the Workgroup
- Inventory of the Projects being implemented under the Program and the organization implementing them and the community/location where it is implemented.
- The project schedules of existing programs
- Presentation of Programs/Projects
- Rationalization and Integration of Programs/Projects
- Identification of Project Leaders
- Creation of the Integration Workgroup
Integration Planning (July-August 2006)
- Publication of the Proposed Integration Plan over the Web
- Social Preparation Meetings
- Creation of A Portal for Project Management and Collaboration
- Publication of the Planning Templates for Communities
To get updates of what the different stakeholders are doing, please log on to:
posted by Virgilio Paralisan @ 6:37 PM
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