Transforming Government and Building the Information Society: Challenges and Opportunities for the Developing World (Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management)

Information and communication technology (ICT) is central to reforming governance, innovating public services, and building inclusive information societies. Countries are learning to weave ICT into their strategies for transforming government as enterprises have learned to use ICT to innovate and transform their processes and competitive strategies. ICT-enabled transformation offers a new path to digital-era government that is responsive to the challenges of our time. It facilitates innovation, partnering, knowledge sharing, community organizing, local monitoring, accelerated learning, and participatory development.

In Transforming Government and Building the Information Society, Nagy Hanna draws on multi-disciplinary research on ICT in the public sector, and on his rich experience of over 35 years at the World Bank and other aid agencies, to identify the key ingredients for the strategic integration of ICT into governance and poverty reduction strategies. The author showcases promising practices from around the world to outline the strategic options involved in using ICT to maximize developmental impact―transforming government institutions and public services, and empowering communities for inclusion and grassroots innovation.

Despite the ICT promise, Hanna acknowledges that reforming governance and empowering poor communities are difficult long-term undertakings. Hanna moves beyond the imperatives and visions of e-transformation to strategic design and implementation options, and draws practical lessons for policymakers, reformers, innovators, community leaders, ICT specialists and development experts.

Nagy Hanna is an author, international development strategist, and thought leader, with

over 30 years of experience in advising countries and aid agencies on designing and

implementing programs to leverage information and communication technology (ICT) in

support of competitiveness, private sector development, and public sector reform. He has worked with stakeholders cutting across public, private and civil society leadership. From 1975 to 2005 he served in a variety of positions at the World Bank, most recently as senior advisor on e-strategies, where he established a global community of practice on e-development and chaired a seminar series to develop e-government and e-leadership. Currently, he advises countries on developing policies, institutions, and leadership capabilities for coordinating ICT for development programs, and serves as a Visiting Professor at Duke University and Senior Fellow at the University of Maryland. He has lectured and published extensively on e-development, strategic planning, change management,  executive education, and institutional development. He holds a Ph.D. in Socio-Economic Planning from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and Masters degrees in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.