Definition of Data

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Main Focus of Document

This is a strategy and action plan pertaining to the development and facilitation of ICTs in the country

Target Beneficiaries or Sector

citizens

Key Elements

This ensures a collaborative approach between the public and private sector to ensure that ICTs are developed and utilised for the benefit of Grenadians, and to ensure that they have access to global information electronically.

Through the Strategy and Action Plan, the Government will create an enabling environment to attract local and foreign investors through appropriate policies, legislation and improved public sector efficiency. 

The following Principles underpin the strategy that the Government will pursue in the achievement of this Mission:  
• All Grenadians will have the opportunity and the means to participate in the information society and the information economy irrespective of their financial, social or educational circumstances. 
• The government will actively promote the creation of the information society and the information economy via the provision of transactional on-line e-government services. 
• The government will provide the necessary policy, institutional and regulatory framework that is required for the successful proliferation of electronic commerce. 
• Businesses will be encouraged to adopt electronic commerce. 
• The achievement of computer literacy by all sectors of the population will be actively pursued. 
• The necessary measures will be taken to build up a critical mass of information technology specialists that will be required to sustain the growth of the information society and the information economy.

Education will be Universal. The Education and Training system will:
• Address the formation of a knowledge society trained to take full advantage of the benefits of Information and Communication Technology. 
• Produce a crop of IT professionals of the highest calibre, and in the numbers required to achieve the transition to an e-society and a knowledge economy. 
• Promote lifelong education initiatives by the government in partnership with the private sector, voluntary organizations and other bodies. 
• All citizens from all walks of life will have the opportunity to participate in the information society and knowledge economy.

The Economy will thrive
Grenada businesses will thrive as opportunities are opened to them by way of access to a global market and a reduction in internal process costs that result from the adoption of e-commerce solutions. The widespread demand for comprehensive e-commerce solutions and web development will boost the local IT industry. The leap in demand by businesses for e-commerce solutions and the implementation of e-government services will, in turn, generate a sizeable demand for highly skilled IT professionals.  This situation will produce a significant amount of high value-added jobs for Grenada's youths. The government will effect all its business-to-business (B2B) transactions electronically, not only in order to optimize its resource utilization, but also to encourage corresponding businesses to take up e-commerce. 

The main strategic thrusts will be the following: 
 • The undertaking of a national capacity-building exercise in collaboration with the private sector, aimed at the attainment of an information society and an information economy in Grenada. 
 • Development of a legal framework that will regulate and, more significantly, facilitate all forms of electronic interaction. 
• Promotion of the widespread use of the internet in Grenada. 
• Promotion of widespread utilization of e-commerce in Grenadian businesses, and developing the information industry in Grenada.  
• Provision of IT and internet education and training to all sectors of Grenadian society. 
• Provision of mail and free access to e-government services to everyone as the means to accelerate internet uptake. 
• Establishment of kiosks in selected sites to allow citizens access to egovernment services.
 • Development of high quality and affordable telecommunications infrastructure. 
 • The establishment of a permanent National Commission that will act as a catalyst for the ongoing development of an information society and an information economy in Grenada. 

In addressing the need for appropriate and reliable physical infrastructure, the government commits to the following principles: 
 • Conform with all internationally accepted standards 
 • Review all options of interconnectivity for all national and international access 
 • Develop an appropriate infrastructure framework and access to meet the stated objectives consistent with the socio-economic environment 
 • Secure fast and reliable connectivity and value for money by driving through the deregulation process
 • Framework will ensure that Grenada is not locked into a single supplier mode 
 • Provide ease of access through the provision of convenient access points nationally 
 • Strive to deliver affordable access consistent with Grenada's socio-economic environment 
 • Facilitate the development of national infrastructure with the capacity to support the delivery of integrated voice, data and video 
 • Continuously track and adapt developments in ICT in line with changing requirements 
 • Seek strategic partners to facilitate the creation of the various components of the information society  
 • Build capacity to ensure the delivery of integrated voice, data and video 
 • The infrastructure will have capacity to support distance and on-line teaching and learning 
 • Deploy scaleable technology which will accommodate new requirements as and when needed 
• The infrastructure will be deployed in such a manner as to possess full e-commerce capabilities, reflecting the need to provide for: ICT Infrastructure, ICT Industry Development, Modernizing Government, Education and training, Regulation and Legal Infrastructure 
 
Mindful of the weaknesses in the current infrastructure, government will undertake action aimed at the following:  
- Filling gaps in infrastructure  
- Reconciling speed with due diligence and transparency of process in licensing new carriers
- Ensuring the availability of wholesale pricing from the incumbent carrier for the new carriers
- Developing local online payment facilities for e-commerce
- Reclassification where necessary of the import duties on hardware and software to facilitate the development of ICT related business
  
Developing high quality and affordable telecommunications infrastructure  
The maximization of existing telecommunications infrastructure and the opening up of competition in the field are important steps in the context of the attainment of the information society and knowledge economy 
Allowing the local cable TV services provider to expand into data services to the public is a logical step both insofar as it concerns the maximization of the national telecommunications infrastructure as well as the opening up of competition in the field.  Open competition in the telecommunications field, which is a stated policy direction of government, will bring prices down and improve the service, thereby making the internet an affordable and attractive proposition to the wider population. The liberalization of the telecommunications industry in Grenada is therefore critical for the expansion of e-commerce.  This area will now be addressed by the private sector, with the government providing the regulatory environment that is necessary for the effective functioning of the sector. 
Government recognizes the need to both widen and deepen this process, and therefore undertakes to pursue the following:  
• Provide an enabling environment to facilitate ICT literacy for all citizens 
• As a priority, develop programmes to ensure that all Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and other Senior Officers are ICT competent 
• Develop and implement an ICT public awareness program to promote the value of the use of ICT in Grenadians' daily lives. 
• Train the government’s workforce in the basic competencies of ICTs 
• Train large numbers of persons in the labor force with relevant information technology skills that will contribute to new revenue streams that are ICT enabled 
• Provide incentives for businesses to train their workforce with relevant information technology skills that will contribute to new revenue streams that are ICT enabled 
• Train all teachers in the use of ICT, and in its integration in the curriculum for teaching and learning 
• Ensure that all teachers are provided with a personal computer and access to the internet 
• Encourage the emergence and development of private sector training institutions 
• Provide suitable programs to upgrade the functional literacy of all our citizens so that they are able to participate fully in the new economy 
• Provide an enabling environment to ensure lifelong learning for all citizens 
• Provide all Grenadian citizens with basic competencies in the use of ICT 
• Train all teachers in the use of ICT, and ensure its integration into the curriculum for teaching and learning 
• Ensure that all teachers are provided with a personal computer and access to the internet. The objective is to facilitate teachers having a PC in their homes to develop competencies which will enhance teaching and learning of students in the classroom. 
• Establish a Technology Education Task Force to complete the development of a holistic ICT Plan for education and commence its implementation without delay. 
• Implement e-government that will enable the provision of all public services online. 

Policy/Regulation Mirrors

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