Publication: Sri Lanka: Innovation, ICT and Competitiveness
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2015-02-15
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2015-11-03
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Recent history around the world has revealed that ICT can play a crucial role in economic and social development of societies at all levels of development. ICT improves communication and the exchange of knowledge and information necessary for development processes. In other words, ICT has revolutionized the way the society, businesses, and the government interacts, working procedures and processes, as well as product innovations. ‘As an accelerator, driver, multiplier, and innovator, ICT is a powerful if not indispensable tool in the massive scaling up and inter-linkages of development interventions and outcomes.’ Policy makers in Sri Lanka, like those around the world, are concerned with ensuring that the new drivers of competitiveness are a part of the development strategy. However, Sri Lanka’s first mover advantage in opening and transforming its economy has placed it in a fortuitous position of having the luxury to take a holistic and comprehensive approach to ICT development. Such a strategic approach can at once build on past strengths, apply lessons from Sri Lanka and around the world, and enable any course-corrections based on these lessons. The Government’s role in this process, therefore, is to ensure: good network infrastructure (discussed in chapter two), a good business environment (discussed in chapter three), and public and semi-public services (discussed in chapter four).
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“World Bank. 2015. Sri Lanka: Innovation, ICT and Competitiveness. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22813 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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