Good Governance for Digital Policies: How to Get the Most Out of ICT
Subtitle: The Case of Spain's Plan Avanza
By: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Paris
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource]:
Number of pages: 220
ISBN-13: 9789264031104
Subjects: Governance; Science and Technology
Description: Plan Avanza, Spain’s national Information Society strategy, has created a strong momentum for furthering information society (IS) policy in Spain, mobilising close to EUR 9 billion over four years from national, sub-national and non&#8209;governmental stakeholders.   But what have these important investments contributed to wider societal goals such as public sector modernisation and increasing citizens’ trust in government; creating job opportunities and preparing a future work force for a competitive, globalised economy; supporting economic reform; improving citizens’ welfare and promoting equity? This report takes inventory of the Plan’s main achievements thus far and its remaining challenges for the future, reflecting on how its next phase (2010-2015) can best serve society.  In particular, the report looks at how Plan Avanza has helped integrate citizens, business and the public administration into the knowledge economy. It identifies areas on which Spain should continue to work: convergence with EU and OECD countries’ levels of access to and use of ICT; growth of the ICT sector; and development of e-government services.   The experiences of Spain and other OECD countries suggest that building a strong policy and governance framework is key for the success of IS policies. Indeed, to increase the impact of IS strategies policy makers must continuously look for ways to improve the performance of these frameworks. This can include identifying potential co&#8209;ordination gaps between stakeholders and leveraging existing institutions; ensuring that policy sequencing contributes to strategic objectives; strengthening funding mechanisms and incentive structures for stakeholders; and improving evaluation and oversight. Using Plan Avanza as a case study, this study highlights the importance of each of these factors in maximizing the impact, and improving cost-effectiveness, of IS strategies in times of growing fiscal constraints.
Table of contents: title: Foreword; title: Acronyms and key terms; title: Core messages of the review; title: Assessments and proposals for action; title: Prólogo; title: Principales mensajes del informe Plan Avanza revisión de pares; title: Principales hallazgos y propuestas de acción; title: Introduction; title: Plan Avanza: an important step forward for information society policy in Spain; title: Governance matters: success factors for the design and implementation of information society strategies; title: Assessing the effectiveness of inter-institutional co-ordination under Plan Avanza: the importance of multi-level governance; title: Delivering benefits to citizens, businesses and the Spanish public administration; title: Conclusions; title: Annex A. Organisations participating in interviews and roundtables; title: Annex B. Survey methodology; title: Bibliography.