ICT Needs Assessment Baseline Report

Guyana is a country rich in natural resources like gold and oil, as well as rich in nature and wildlife . This abundance has enabled Guyana to thrive in the previous years and to keep up and accelerate the growth momentum, Information and Communic ation Technologies (ICT) has been identified as a major corner stone of future economic development.

A vision for the upcoming years needs to be elaborated to define a strong “ICT foundation” for Guyana, which takes all the needs and requirements of the different stakeholders into account . Special focus needs to lie on bridging the digital divide between stakeholders in the coastal and in the interior regions of Guyana. It is furthermore essential to not only limit this vision to activities for buildi ng up the technology infrastructure itself, but also find sustainable operating models, define a suitable regulatory framework, provide tailored services and enable effective capacity building among all communities.

The e – Government Agency is responsible for elaborating this ICT vision and the execution of the related program . The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as the partner entity under the GRIF Framework, is responsible for program quality assurance and for providing and incorporating soci al, fiduciary, and environmental safeguards and best practices into the design and implementation of this program .

The Government of Guyana and UNDP have contracted “Detecon Consulting” to help define and elaborate this vision as a first step