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REGI
 
Introduction
 

The Regional e-Government Institute (REGI) has been officially announced at the WSIS in Tunis in November 2005 and activities are underway to launch its activities in 2006 out of its base in Amman, Jordan. ICTDAR has laid the foundation for the institute by conducting a full study identifying the benefits as well as the feasibility and business plan for it, including the identification of functions, activities, structure, and budgetary requirements.

REGI is envisioned as a policy-oriented forum for e-Government leadership in the MENA region. It will promote regional cooperation to face the challenges of reforms, modernization, and increased international integration, and be an instrument for effective implementation of e-Government in the region by providing access to technology, information and successful experiences.

 
Objectives
 

REGI will:

  • Provide knowledge, advice and counsel on e-Government policies, models, and initiatives; process simulation; test-bed applications; multi-disciplinary training; and e-Government benchmarking standards.
  • Constitute an independent regionally-focused ‘think-tank’ to Arab governments, public institutions as well as private sector end-users and other international stakeholders.
  • Act as the channel and coordination mechanism for e-Government aid & cooperation programs in the Arab region.
  • Serve as a research & documentation centre on e-Government for the Arab States.
  • Monitor and report progress on e-Government implementation in the region.
  • Organize conferences, workshops and seminars.
  • Establish international and regional technical working groups.
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Activities & Outcomes
 

ICTDAR has performed the following activities in order to launch REGI. Additional activities are being conducted to ensure it becomes fully operational in 2006.

- REGI Feasibility study

In January 2004, ICTDAR commissioned a feasibility study with the following objectives:

  • Review of e-government and e-governance efforts to date in the Region .
  • Construct Models
  • Propose a Business case and model of the Regional e-Government Institute,
  • Propose criteria for location (to follow through from sustainability factors)
  • Propose a Budget as well as an Exit strategy for UNDP

A Lebanese firm was contracted (Nasser Saidi and Associates) to conduct the study. A draft report was submitted in July 2004. ICTDAR reviewed the report and requested additional information especially regarding the business model, budget, the structure and the criteria to locate REGI. ICTDAR provided the Consultant with a set of criteria and requested an additional assessment as well as a more substantive business plan.

All issues were addressed and a draft report was completed.

A peer review of the study revealed that the recommended business model was not realistic; and alternatively, a UNDP project document was drafted.

- Advocacy for REGI & e-government

ICTDAR held, during the period of September 2004 to June 2005, several meetings with Arab Ministers, private sector and different stakeholders to advocate the importance of REGI as well as its role in supporting e-governance programs in the Arab Region. A complete list of these meetings, workshops and conferences is included in section 5.11 of this document..

- Request for Proposal to host REGI

A Request for Proposal (RFP) was prepared in March 2005 and sent to Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and UAE as potential host countries for REGI. The RFP addressed the criteria against which the offers would be compared:

  • Physical hosting facilities
  • Overall contribution to initial running cost,
  • Information and experiences to be shared with other countries,
  • Existing running and successful e-government programs,
  • Admin staff availability,
  • Expert professional staff that could be seconded as staff to REGI,
  • Training, workshops and regional meetings facilities,
  • Frequency of flights from and to Arab capitals,
  • Existing collaboration/cooperation on record with other Arab countries in this domain.

The solicitation and evaluation process of host country bids was crucial to underscoring the transparency of the overall process with our counterparts’ government and retaining their collaboration for the next phase. In August, RBAS received proposals from the 6 countries. In September, after analyzing the responses, UAE & Jordan were short listed.

- Complete technical assessment for REGI hosting countries

In October 2005, a team composed by ICTDAR and an International Consultant conducted an additional technical assessment in the short listed countries. The purpose was to evaluate the two short listed countries, Amman in Jordan and Dubai in UAE, as possible hosts for REGI and to make a final selection. The criteria for evaluation was expressed on the qualitative and/or quantitative dimensions of the following: Physical hosting facilities, overall initial running cost, Information policies and experiences to be shared with other countries, existing running and successful e-government programs, administrative staff available and support expected from UNDP.

  • The Consultant submitted in his mission report a very clear comparison of the offerings from each of the short-listed countries as presented to the mission by the respective government representatives.

- Selection of REGI hosting country

Based on the previous assessment, RBAS made the decision in November 2005 to:

  • Establish REGI in Amman, Jordan as there was very clear commitment to contribute financially in cash and for REGI to operate as a UNDP regional program which will ensure efficiency and relevance of REGI services regarding development objectives and e-governance issues in the Region. This UNDP institutional framework and umbrella is crucial for REGI activities to get acceptance and support from all the countries in the Region.
  • As proposed in the Consultant mission report, ICTDAR recommends to conduct a peer/expert review of the consultant’s report “ An Initial Feasibility Study for UNDP/ICTDAR” to identify strengths, weaknesses and changes to the initiative as proposed by the its author, which may affect REGI’s structure, staffing and or offerings.
  • Dubai should be used as test bed and hosts some of the training activities for REGI. This will ensure that it be the first in a series of network of centers of excellence in the region.
  • To draft an MOU to be negotiated along with the regional project document with the host country
  • To establish a core staff team as soon as possible to carry out the initial inception steps. The immediate focus of the core staff will be the preparation of a business and marketing plan, the identification of initial beneficiaries, donors, sponsors, etc.
  • To establish REGI physical premises

- Launching of REGI

REGI was launched in November 2005 during WSIS 2005 in Tunis during a media event in the presence of RBAS, ICTDAR and the Minister of Telecommunication of Jordan.

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