Countries that are not taking advantage of the digital revolution need to act now. There is no time for marginal adjustments – economy-wide plans are needed to help countries ride the tide of change; harnessing the opportunities technology brings and mitigating the risks.
About the Digital Economy Kit
The Digital Economy Kit is a toolkit which translates research undertaken by the Pathways to Prosperity Commission – now Digital Pathways - into a cross-cutting framework and process that coordinates a country’s actions in the digital space into a cohesive, comprehensive strategy for inclusive economic growth.
The process focuses on national government policies and programmes and also seeks to facilitate the development of dialogue and partnerships between governments, civil society and the private sector. It involves three steps: an assessment phase to diagnose the level of digital readiness in the country in question; a dialogues phase, which involves bringing together experts and key players from government, the private sector and civil society; and a strategy primer phase, where, building on the previous two phases, a plan for national digital transformation is developed.
The outcome of the Kit process is distinct from a narrow ICT strategy and should set out a plan for countries to leverage connectivity and digital technology for job creation, inclusive development and economic growth in addition to delivering government services. However, the framework is flexible and it can be tailored to the particular needs and goals of the country in question.
Kit processes have been completed in: Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, Indonesia (strategy primer here and diagnostic report here), Lesotho, Malawi, Mongolia, and South Africa.
After two public drafts, Digital Pathways has published a full version of the Digital Economy Kit.
Some additional guidance related to writing up Assessment and Strategy Primer documents can be found here.
Join our global digital community:
You can reach us at digitalpathways@bsg.ox.ac.uk to share your comments on the Toolkit or if you would like advice on getting your country digital-ready.