Date:Fri, 17 Mar 2000 12:51:32 -0400 >
From: Irene PLAZ <[email protected]>

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS A NON-EDITED AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL IN SPANISH

This message replies to Kemly Camacho, A concern?, 10/03/2000

Hello:

In relation to the concerns it has more than enough projects, financing, development gets me the attention that my concern the last years it has been exactly the opposed one. And I want to share those why of this opposition.

Regarding 1) desprioriza the development proposals that don't bear this component and that they are also pertinent,

I believe that the financing tendency in this topic is minimum regarding the organizational structures and work teams that exist in other high-priority topics. A lot of time will pass before this pressure can generate a desbalance as for all that it is necessary to make and to study. I don't believe that the cooperation entities will only finance since projects in this topic their budgets they have a dynamics that neither will so radically modify.

I believe that there is in Latin America an exponential penetration of the ICT in commercial fields and almost anything in fields associated to the problems of the development: I believe that from some side it is necessary to press so that the investment is not neglected regarding the use of the ICT in strategic sectors, as a means to improve the creation processes and diffusion of information, or as a means of organizational communication. If the cooperation entities press in this address that incorporates in the topics of education health production, judicature, Pymes; maybe you ends up balancing this imbalance as for the penetration pattern. The actors of decision in this sector don't consider the investment in ICT priority in most of the occasions. In fact the institutional agents delay in achieving support.

It seemed that there are few local entities willing to finance projects to foment technological changes in the non commercial organizations. In general the budget of these sectors leaves in operative and reproductive operation. I take years observing that only with external financing you restimula to that the involved actors come to an agreement to change the ways to make of the strategic sectors. Necessary changes if we want to contribute to diminish the causes of the regional problems.

As for 2) the proposers (the organizations) to find forms of relating (sometimes fictionally) their proposals with the NICT.

I believe that I impact of these financings in the fact that the development projects are forced to contemplate this variable although at the beginning it is artificial I find brilliant because there is a strong resistance to have present the presence of these technologies in key areas and to study in that can contribute to the solution of the diagnosed problems.

Per years I have seen that the work teams go for parallel roads and they don't converge in any field of the society. In almost any topic is a group working the ICT in that sector and another studying problems of the sector. And until they are avoided. It is already hour of gathering experiences and efforts and of being possible multidisciplinarios.. To create stimuli to form teams with complementary focuses I believe that it would help to that the few resources that are used in incorporating the ICT to strategic sectors took advantage better. And maybe until projects they were created in collaboration in that the introduction of these topics is less artificial and more pertinent in the solution of the problems.

In this aspect there is also a great desbalance that hinders a lot to obtain local financing to investigate the ICT in a sector, The local entities that grant financing in groups of high-priority topics they have their calendar, their actors and to invite them to study these thematic ones is not so simple because it requires of a minimum of understanding of the present complexity in these technological platforms. To be more than users. And they are not always interested to supplement their formation; on the other hand also the specialists from the technological focus are pressed to obtain financing as for looking for him utility to the application that they want to introduce in a sector; and many times they ignore the I diagnose that they have been made from a lot before an application existed for a sector. If they are forced or stimulated to work in collaboration we will save resources and time in elaborating efficient solutions.

"And finally, what is the most serious thing to my approach, 3) it incentivates the idea that the development of our communities and countries rest in the use of the NICT.)

I believe just the opposite while more projects and studies are awarded in these better problems we will know that it is happening and which are our opportunities. I believe that a bigger one practices, experience in these projects d helps us as region to desmitificar what is attributed as perverse or positive effects of the technologies. And maybe until it is lerant how to guide the investment in these projects in a social address wanted by the actors that want to take place and to diffuse information. Making, we will learn how to guide the processes in the address that we want.

A greeting

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Last modified: 20/03/2000