strengthening the strategic cooperation between the eu and western balkan region in the field of ict...

Strengthening the Strategic Cooperation

between the EU and Western Balkan Region

in the field of ICT Research

The ICT environment in the Western Balkans Prof Đuro KUTLAČA, PhD

"Mihajlo Pupin" Institute, Science and Technology Policy Research Centre

11000 Belgrade, Volgina 15, Serbia, [email protected]

Conference “Towards an Information Society for the Western Balkans”, Belgrade, 11-12 December 2008

2Conference, Belgrade, 11-12 December 2008

THE ICT environment in the Western Balkans

1. R&D investment in ICT sector – IPTS;

2. WBC in the Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008;

3. WBC in the Global Information Technology Report, World Economic Forum;

4. ICT research environment in WBC – Results of the SCORE and WBC-INCO.NET projects


1. R&D investment in ICT sector – IPTS


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008

Total population (millions) GDP (US$ billions) GDP per capita (US$)Albania 3.2 10.6 USD 3,353.70B & H 4 14.8 USD 3,712.10Croatia 4.6 51.4 USD 11,576.00Macedonia FYR 2 7.5 USD 3,659.00Montenegro 0.7 3 USD 4,085.30Serbia 7.4 41.7 USD 5,595.90

Source: The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009, World Economic Forum 2008



Global Competitiveness

IndexGCI 2008

(out of 134)GCI 2007 (out

of 131)GCI 2006

(out of 122)Albania Rank 108 109 98

Score 3.6 3.5 3.6

B & H Rank 107 106 82Score 3.6 3.6 3.8

Croatia Rank 61 57 56Score 4.2 4.2 4.2

Macedonia FYR Rank 89 94 84Score 3.9 3.7 3.8

Montenegro Rank 65 82 naScore 4.1 3.9

Serbia Rank 85 91 naScore 3.9 3.8


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia1st pillar: Institutions 109 123 74 90 59 108

1.01 Property rights 126 121 84 96 64 1081.02 Intellectual property protection 124 125 58 107 99 1051.03 Diversion of public funds 90 75 59 47 54 811.04 Public trust of politicians 105 125 79 83 56 1091.05 Judicial independence 121 116 94 113 85 1061.06 Favoritism in decisions of government officials 108 124 86 74 48 1091.07 Wastefulness of government spending 89 123 85 71 50 871.08 Burden of government regulation 67 129 107 68 83 1321.09 Efficiency of legal framework 117 128 88 113 68 102

1.1 Transparency of government policymaking 122 130 90 79 59 821.11 Business costs of terrorism 87 23 39 96 14 901.12 Business costs of crime and violence 77 70 49 76 40 641.13 Organized crime 101 87 77 113 60 971.14 Reliability of police services 81 111 53 79 58 671.15 Ethical behavior of firms 84 130 77 104 76 961.16 Strength of auditing and reporting standards 109 121 69 95 73 961.17 Efficacy of corporate boards 95 129 103 110 70 1191.18 Protection of minority shareholders’ interests 101 130 99 105 88 132



Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia2nd pillar: Infrastructure 121 123 51 89 100 102

2.01 Quality of overall infrastructure 120 127 53 93 102 1192.02 Quality of roads 114 131 44 83 119 1152.03 Quality of railroad infrastructure 109 104 45 70 78 882.04 Quality of port infrastructure 124 134 90 85 75 842.05 Quality of air transport infrastructure 76 132 81 121 73 982.06 Available seat kilometers 117 130 92 125 123 952.07 Quality of electricity supply 128 60 42 77 110 752.08 Telephone lines 85 54 32 58 48 33



Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia3rd pillar: Macroeconomic stability 96 57 61 31 35 86

3.01 Government surplus/deficit 113 79 92 52 28 543.02 National savings rate 110 130 55 83 105 1253.03 Inflation 47 10 46 28 52 843.04 Interest rate spread 105 38 89 67 53 903.05 Government debt 94 59 69 44 56 71


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia4th pillar: Health and primary education 69 82 41 55 42 46

4.01 Business impact of malaria 62 63 6 82 18 394.02 Malaria incidence 1 1 1 1 1 14.03 Business impact of tuberculosis 44 68 11 82 14 704.04 Tuberculosis incidence 37 66 57 48 52 484.05 Business impact of HIV/AIDS 56 26 6 77 15 554.06 HIV prevalence 23 1 1 1 1 234.07 Infant mortality 64 56 31 63 45 394.08 Life expectancy 76 42 40 55 49 554.09 Quality of primary education 74 57 33 59 40 484.10 Primary enrollment 65 na 82 73 30 344.11 Education expenditure 99 na 53 43 93 82


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia5th pillar: Higher education and training 97 109 48 73 55 70

5.01 Secondary enrollment 88 110 55 77 39 645.02 Tertiary enrollment 83 73 49 69 40 565.03 Quality of the educational system 80 92 66 65 57 495.04 Quality of math and science education 62 45 30 52 34 315.05 Quality of management schools 113 107 77 92 67 875.06 Internet access in schools 101 89 46 84 74 795.07 Local availability of research and training services 124 126 47 99 78 745.08 Extent of staff training 71 126 64 83 84 121


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia6th pillar: Goods market efficiency 119 123 76 98 69 115

6.01 Intensity of local competition 127 98 68 107 91 1286.02 Extent of market dominance 126 106 90 117 82 1316.03 Effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy 125 134 86 107 85 1296.04 Extent and effect of taxation 68 112 97 47 30 736.05 Total tax rate 77 66 25 86 22 396.06 No. of procedures required to start a business 75 103 44 58 120 916.07 Time required to start a business 86 108 92 30 51 486.08 Agricultural policy costs 114 121 112 35 60 896.09 Prevalence of trade barriers 63 53 64 79 56 966.10 Trade-weighted tariff rate 65 94 35 96 39 556.11 Prevalence of foreign ownership 111 100 82 113 65 1096.12 Business impact of rules on FDI 116 128 117 106 37 1126.13 Burden of customs procedures 103 92 57 70 81 966.14 Degree of customer orientation 107 110 80 97 94 1056.15 Buyer sophistication 109 119 82 104 63 102


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia7th pillar: Labor market efficiency 67 85 68 113 53 66

7.01 Cooperation in labor-employer relations 46 102 117 101 105 1117.02 Flexibility of wage determination 45 33 57 22 78 477.03 Non-wage labor costs 94 60 69 117 75 757.04 Rigidity of employment 61 93 106 106 70 937.05 Hiring and firing practices 27 20 68 78 88 327.06 Firing costs 85 53 70 45 70 447.07 Pay and productivity 10 129 62 79 58 937.08 Reliance on professional management 103 133 78 110 81 1187.09 Brain drain 104 119 75 126 65 1317.10 Female participation in labor force 76 17 50 94 48 3


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia8th pillar: Financial market sophistication 103 86 63 83 35 89

8.01 Financial market sophistication 126 120 65 99 67 1228.02 Financing through local equity market 132 99 64 82 30 858.03 Ease of access to loans 71 96 72 113 29 938.04 Venture capital availability 101 113 83 62 44 858.05 Restriction on capital flows 103 85 77 96 26 1098.06 Strength of investor protection 123 67 98 67 19 508.07 Soundness of banks 104 96 56 102 54 1108.08 Regulation of securities exchanges 134 97 75 82 49 1058.09 Legal rights index 3 16 29 29 16 16



Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia9th pillar: Technological readiness 92 109 47 83 43 61

9.01 Availability of latest technologies 104 123 70 112 79 1209.02 Firm-level technology absorption 110 133 100 131 91 1269.03 Laws relating to ICT 103 118 51 84 66 749.04 FDI and technology transfer 97 133 117 109 87 149.05 Mobile telephone subscribers 74 85 33 63 43 589.06 Internet users 73 54 36 77 59 649.07 Personal computers 92 78 43 36 28 359.08 Broadband Internet subscribers 117 70 41 61 na 37


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia10th pillar: Market size 106 92 66 104 125 65

10.01 Domestic market size 99 86 66 103 125 6110.02 Foreign market size 115 103 70 101 130 84


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia11th pillar: Business sophistication 123 125 72 107 90 100

11.01 Local supplier quantity 121 93 90 96 94 9111.02 Local supplier quality 120 113 73 94 85 10911.03 State of cluster development 126 133 114 123 128 10411.04 Nature of competitive advantage 125 116 42 132 77 11011.05 Value chain breadth 123 113 63 90 99 9611.06 Control of international distribution 91 130 64 78 88 10211.07 Production process sophistication 93 123 60 105 83 11411.08 Extent of marketing 92 100 61 104 80 9911.09 Willingness to delegate authority 117 119 48 118 52 94


2. The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2008Rank / 134 Albania B & H Croatia Macedonia FYR Montenegro Serbia12th pillar: Innovation 132 128 50 99 88 70

12.01 Capacity for innovation 134 126 42 83 120 9212.02 Quality of scientific research institutions 133 128 50 95 92 4912.03 Company spending on R&D 133 119 45 98 76 9712.04 University-industry research collaboration 134 125 43 89 68 6212.05 Gov’t procurement of advanced tech products 119 131 69 111 67 9212.06 Availability of scientists and engineers 115 100 58 70 71 5012.07 Utility patents 88 88 35 88 88 49


WEF: “The Lisbon Review 2008 - Measuring Europe’s Progress in Reform” [Note: score range from 1 to 7]



3. The Global Information Technology Report, World Economic Forum

Network Readiness Index 2006-2007 vs. 2005-2006 (out of 122) (out of 115)

Country Rank 2006-2007 Rank 2005-2006

Croatia 49 57

Serbia and Montenegro 74 80

Macedonia, FYR 81 82

Bosnia and Herzegovina 89 97

Albania 107 106

Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007, World Economic Forum 2007



Environment Component Index 2006-2007

Country Rank 2006-2007 ScoreCroatia 49 3.57Macedonia, FYR 78 3.13Serbia and Montenegro 84 3.09Bosnia and Herzegovina 102 2.8Albania 107 2.69



Market environment Index 2006-2007




Political and regulatory environment Index 2006-2007




Infrastructure environment Index 2006-2007




Readiness component Index 2006-2007

Country Rank 2006-2007 ScoreCroatia 39 4.65Serbia and Montenegro 69 4.11Macedonia, FYR 71 4.05Bosnia and Herzegovina 84 3.77Albania 97 3.34



Individual Readiness Index 2006-2007




Business Readiness Index 2006-2007




Government Readiness Index 2006-2007




Usage Component Index 2006-2007

Country Rank 2006-2007 ScoreCroatia 47 3.79Serbia and Montenegro 77 3.25Bosnia and Herzegovina 88 3.04Macedonia, FYR 89 3.03Albania 112 2.58



Individual Usage Index 2006-2007




Business Usage Index 2006-2007




Government Usage Index 2006-2007



Network Readiness Index 2007-2008 (out of 127) (out of 122)

Country Rank 2007-2008 Rank 2006-2007Croatia 49 49Macedonia, FYR 83 81Bosnia and Herzegovina 95 89Albania 108 107

Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008, World Economic Forum 2008




4.1. Albania

The Albanian National ICT Strategy was created from a project co-financed by the Open Society Institute, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and UNDP Albania in 2006.

Besides all efforts, Albania still lacks an official organizational structure for the implementation of the ICT strategy.

One of the measures taken recently from the Albanian Council of Ministers is the creation of the "National Agency of Information Society and Electronic Government" (AKSHI), which will prepare a strategic policy, coordinate and supervise the implementation of the programs and projects for Information Society. Its structure and organics will be approved by the Prime Minister.



Main tasks of the Agency are:

● Compilation and implementation of the policies, strategies, official law acts for the development of the Information Society sector.

● Coordination of the policies and programs in the Information Society field.

● Promotion of investment in the field of Information Society.

● Promotion of new technologies in the field of Information Society.

● Education and fostering ICT use from the public.


4. ICT research environment in WBC – Results of the SCORE and WBC-INCO.NET projectsICT research projects:

ICT Research Area

National-funded Projects

International-funded Projects

Approximate level of funding in given area (national & international projects)

e-goverment • To build the LAN infrastructure in the High School of Police in Tirana, and their use in updating administrative information, didactic- scientific and library based information.

• .SWEB • Gov Net • Support to pilot e-Government services for Government of Albania

181,215 Euro (excluding Gov Net and Support to pilo e-Government services)

e-health • Development of information system and the administration of databases in Public health sector.

75,585 Euro



ICT Research Area




e-learning e-science e-infrastructure

• Establishment of infrastructure network for the Sport Education Academia in Tirana and its use in circulation of didactic and scientific information based on the hyper textual technologies.

• SEEREN 2 75,618 Euro

e-Infrastructure e-science

• A computerisation application for the school secretary activity and the administration of information in the teaching process.

• SEE-GRID, • SEE-GRID2

180,220 Euro



ICT Research Area




e-Procurement • ELLECTRA-WeB e-Custom • RAC-WEB 71,160 Euro ICT research policy formulation

• SCORE 100,000 Euro

ICT research awareness and training

•SEEFIRE in 2006 •IS2WEB, •SEE-Innovation

149, 650 Euro

Promoting environmental protection and resource management.

• ISOTEIA http://www.isoteia.org /

n/a

e-learning for • ELISA continuing n/a improving access to Information Society for SMEs in the SEE Area

http://www.elisaproject.net/


4. ICT research environment in WBC – Results of the SCORE and WBC-INCO.NET projectsKey competencies in ICT research fields:

Classification of ICT research capacities No of R&D org. in sample

ICT supporting businesses and industry: business processes, work organization 18 ICT meeting societal challenges for governments 16 Software, grids, security and dependability 12 Personal environments 10 ICT for content, creativity and personal development: new media 10 ICT for content, creativity and personal development: technology enhanced learning

9

Home environments 8 ICT meeting societal challenges for health 7 ICT meeting societal challenges for mobility 7 Embedded systems, computing and control 6 Knowledge, cognitive and learning systems 6 ICT for content, creativity and personal development: cultural resources 6 ICT supporting businesses and industry: manufacturing 6 ICT meeting societal challenges to improve inclusion 5 ICT meeting societal challenges in support of environement 5 Simulation, visualisation, interaction and mixed realities 4 New perspectives in ICT drawing on other S&T disciplines 4 Intelligent infrastructure 4 ICT for trust and confidence 4 Future and emerging Technologies 4 Robotics systems 1


4. ICT research environment in WBC – Results of the SCORE and WBC-INCO.NET projectsKey Drivers of ICT research:



4.2. Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted the Policy, Strategy and Action Plan for Information Society Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Strategy covers the period 2004-2010, with a focus on the “key period” between 2004-2007. The owner of the document is the Council of Ministers BiH. Final document was delivered 24 September 2004. The final draft of the BiH Policy for Development of Information Society was produced 05 January 2004 and the document has been accepted by the Steering Committee 22 June 2004. The aforementioned documents have been prepared by working groups made of experts from different fields coordinated by UNDP mission in BiH.



However, although the above-mentioned documents precisely define the project which

should be implemented, not much was realised up to day. This especially refers to the aforementioned “key period” (2004 - 2007) – a number of important projects were planned, but most of them did not start or do not have funding secured.



ICT research projects:



Key competencies in ICT research fields:



Key Drivers of ICT research:



4.3. FYR of Macedonia

Implementation of ICT in the FYR of Macedonia has been discussed and supported through three main documents: e-Declaration. The National Strategy for Information Society and the National strategy for development of electronic communications with the information technologies. An additional relevant document is the Program of the Government of Republic of Macedonia for 2006 -2010 period.

The e-Declaration was brought in 2002 and its goal was to give recommendations for rapid development of an information society and digital economy in the FYR of Macedonia as a national priority. Recommendations are given to the following stakeholders: the Government of the FYR of Macedonia, all business entities, the IT companies, the Universities, the units of local self-government and the government.



As a result of this declaration in 2005 the National strategy for Information Society and the National policy for Information society were developed. The strategy was accepted by the Assembly of FYR of Macedonia on the 21st of September 2005. The mission of these documents is to create a supportive environment for the Information Society in the FYR of Macedonia.


● The strategic objectives envisaged to be achieved by 2007 are:o Fully liberalized market of the electronic communication services;

o Significantly increased number of Internet users;

o Established electronic public services:

o Implemented priorities for sustainability of the strategy and the action plans related to the Information Society.

● These objectives will be achieved through seven pillars: infrastructure, e-business, e-government, e-education, e-health, e-citizens and legislation.



Key (technological) in progress activities of the ICT sector:

Center of Excellence (CoE) An initiation of MASIT. In the moment a Business Plan of the idea is in a phase of construction and over 20 ICT companies are involved, 2 MNCs, over 4 stakeholders, Academia and Financial Institutions. The CoE is foreseen to function as a tool for promoting and implementing the transfer of knowledge and technologies generated by individuals, Universities and also by existing enterprises to the business sector, by establishing innovative and high-tech Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); this, in order to create business opportunities for skilled professionals and also graduated students to personally advance and succeed in the country, and an environment for attempting to revert the ongoing brain-drain situation.



According to an OECD study presented in The Economist, July 27, 2005, FYR of Macedonia was, already in 2003, one of the five markets with fastest growth of IT in a global scale.

Vardar Silicone Valley is an initiation of the Government for the creation of a place where incentives for investments will be raised, all connected and devoted to ICT development. One of the first initiations, that can become part of the Silicone Valley is the Center of Excellence, which will certainly need the facilities provided by the Vardar Silicone Valley, such as free trade zone, VAT free zone etc. The new Government has already created similar free trade zones for other industries, which implies that soon the Vardar Silicone Valley will be created as well.



The following are the objectives of the Silicone valley:

● Assisted by foreign consulting offices, Government will offer the biggest companies in the field of software development, digital techniques, and research (Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco) to establish, free of charge, their own laboratories in Vardar Silicone Valley or to outsource part of their operations.

● The Government will provide the infrastructure and significant tax privileges for the companies located in the Vardar Silicone Valley.

● Vardar Silicone Valley is a Governmental Action plan (2006 – 2010) activity. However the Centre of Excellence is planned to become one of the first initiatives in the Vardar Silicone Valley. Additionally, it should be clear that this valley will contain special conditions attractive for investments, conditions such as free economic zone, tax – free, etc.



Moreover, in order to enhance the skills of IT professionals, a new project for the re-qualification of IT resources is being implemented by the Agency for Employment and MASIT. This project is in the interest of development of the IT sector and was performed based on the results of IT Workforce Demand Survey, where it has been confirmed, that there is lack of IT professionals and that there is a need for professionals with technical skills to be educated in order to become IT professionals. During the next year (2008), the project will organise the re-qualification of 120 individuals. It is planned that this project is one of the first projects within the ICT Centre of Excellence.



4.4. Serbia

The main document which defines the ICT policy framework is the Strategy for Development of an Information Society of the Republic of Serbia. The Strategy was adopted by the Government of Serbia in October 2006 (Official Gazette of Serbia, no. 87/2006). The process of defining and writing the Strategy started in April 2005. Many interested parties (local and international, e.g. UNDP) and stakeholders took part in broad public discussion.

The Strategy for Development of an Information Society of Serbia is a framework document which gives developmental directions and identifies key areas and activities in the Information Society domain reflecting a vision and linking local/ national developmental aspirations and global IS streams.



● To re-orient the national innovation system to meet the substantial and cumulative technological learning requirements of ICT (as a general-purpose technology)

● To address coordination failures, exploit network effects, and secure complementary investments to use ICT as empowerment and service delivery infrastructure.



The main objectives of the Strategy for Development of an Information Society of Serbia are:

•To improve the situation in the broad field of Information and Communication technologies

•To clarify roles, build public-private partnerships, and facilitate participation by all stakeholders, including NGOs

•To focus scarce resources on exploiting ICT for national priorities, help sequence, and phase complementary investments

•To address the special needs and dynamics of promising segments of the ICT industry for export and economy-wide competitiveness



Key Drivers of ICT research:According to the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency,

there are 1,408 IT companies.Main segments of ICT sector are: Telecommunication companies,

software and hardware development companies and media companies.



Telecom segment:

● In Serbia, there are currently 3 major mobile providers and one fixed service provider. The greatest investment has been made, over the last 5 years in the telecommunication sector and sums up to over 1 billion Euro. Telekom Srbija (fixed service provider) itself, invested over 800 million Euros in its infrastructure. Optical infrastructure has been built and it covers all major cities in Serbia.

● The Republic Agency for Telecommunications has been formed and is expected to contribute to the regulation and development of this sector.



Software technology segment:This industry had significant improvement during the last 3 years.

Microsoft Regional development centre had been opened (one of 6 of such kind in the world), CISCO’s regional development centre has also been opened in Belgrade. In the software sector, most dominant are corporative applicative solutions (applications), especially software for banking services, which are implemented in over 40 banks. There are also numerous domestic software solutions in the field of e-Government and Municipality IS which are implemented in more than 100 Municipalities and several Ministries.



835 Serbian IT companies are engaged in software development. They have highly-skilled engineers which are competent in a broad range of methodologies, technologies and tools supporting efficient development of high quality software and systems integration. They have expertise in developing front-end, back-end and middle-ware components but also are very proficient at understanding client requirements due to their extensive business knowledge and creating tailored software and systems.



Hardware technology segment:In this segment numerous development activities have been

realized in the field of high speed data transfer as well as great number of systems with specific needs in various industries. Development activities as well as basic technology research in this sector are being carried out mainly in institutes and at Universities. During past 2-3 years, infrastructure in education and research institution has been developed (national academic network). This network currently has 1500 km of optical fibber which connects all key R&D institutions.



Also, In Serbia, there are 573 hardware manufacturers. The industry focus to date has been on the development of customized products for specific industry applications for the local market with the larger companies offering a wider systems integration and full technical service approach. Nowadays, modern hardware (LCD monitors, memory modules, toners cartridges for printers, etc) are made in Serbia.



Media segment:Media companies have developed a great number of web portals and

TV signal distribution.Republic agency for radio diffusion has been formed and is expected

to contribute to the regulation and development of this sector.Key ICT sector developments have been achieved especially in

Telecommunication infrastructure and the national academic network. Over last 5 years investments in telecommunication sector adds up to over 1 billion euro. Two more mobile service providers entered Serbian market and their investments are yet to be determined.



● Key technological needs of the ICT sector are:● Investment in ICT sector, significant investments in SW

development● Greater level of cooperation between international environment

and domestic companies● Joint projects of research sector and industry● With excess budget money from privatization, Serbia created

NIP (National Investment Plan) to be spent on industry development projects and support to local economy. Over 40 million Euros are intended for e-Government. Finally, the trends of ICT usage have been improving in the past years. The following table reveals some recent statistics.



4.5. Croatia

In 2002 Croatian government adopted a national ICT strategy “Information and Communication Technology – Croatia in the 21st Century”. The strategy was based on wide consultation process involving all the stakeholders. It identified 17 recommendations encompassing research in and application of ICTs. In 2004 Programme e-Croatia 2007 was adopted. Building on the implementation of the 2002 Strategy, this programme further aligned activities of the Croatian government with the EU eEurope Initiative, focusing on e-Government, e-Justice, e-Health, e-Learning and e-Business. Within the framework of the e-Croatia Programme several sectoral programmes and strategies were adopted.



In 2004 “One Stop Shop (HITRO.hr) Strategy” was adopted. It aimed to provide common architectural and interoperability guidelines for information systems of central administration and establish a network of offices where citizens and business can obtain information and services of public administration in one place. As a result of these initiatives, the on-line availability of government services in Croatia raised from less than 3% in 2003 to above 50% in 2006. In 2007 the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia launched a central portal of e-government services Moja uprava (in engl. My administration at Mojauprava.hr)



In 2005 “National Programme on Information Security in the Republic of Croatia” was adopted. The programme identified legislative, organizational, educational and awareness raising measures needed to establish information security management procedures based on the international best practices and standards in Croatian public administration and public institutions. In 2007 a new Law on information security (Official Gazette 79/2007) was adopted, Information Systems Security Bureau (www.zsis.hr) was established as a INFOSEC, and the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT – www.cert.hr) of the Croatian Academic and Research Network CARNet expanded its scope from academic community to the national level. Following the Programme the Joint Technical Committee J1 of the Croatian Standards Institute adopted 13 international standards in the area of information security techniques and management of IT security.



● In 2006 Croatian Government adopted the “Open Source Policy”. Standard ISO/IEC 263000:2006 Information technology -- Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) v1.0 was adopted as Croatian national standard HRN ISO/IEC 26300:2008.

● In 2006 “Broadband Development Strategy in the Republic of Croatia until the year 2008” was adopted. At the end of 2005 there were 116,000 broadband users in Croatia and by June 2008 their number increased to 451,7501. These numbers correspond to 7.9% of households in December 2005 and 30.6% of households in June 2008. In June 2008 the total number of internet users in Croatia was 2,074,050, or 47.0% of population.



In 2006 “National Programme for the Digitisation of Archival, Library and Museum Holdings” was adopted. The Croatian Cultural Heritage portal (www.kultura.net/eng) was established in 2007 as a central access point for collecting and presenting digital collections of Croatian cultural heritage.

In 2007 “Strategy for the Development of Electronic Business in the Republic of Croatia for the Period 2007 – 2010” was adopted. It aims at removing the remaining legal and institutional obstacles to more rapid implementation of e-Business in Croatia, establishing a favourable environment for e-Business and initiating projects of national e-Business infrastructure.

In 2008 Strategy for Digital TV Switchover in the Republic of Croatia was adopted. By the end of 2010 Croatia intends to finalize digital TV switchover. Digital broadcasting will enable better service quality, access to wider variety of content and new interactive services.



Fund allocations from the national budget for 2008 for overall research and specific national ICT projects:



ICT research projects:In 2008 Ministry of Science, Education and Sports funds more

than 100 research projects in ICT. More than 70% of these projects are carried on in top 8 institutions: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (www.fer.hr), Faculty of Organization and Informatics (www.foi.hr) and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (www.ffzg.hr) of the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Split (www.fesb.hr), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb (www.fsb.hr), Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek (www.etfos.hr), Faculty of Arts and Sciences University of Rijeka (www.ffri.hr) and Institute Ruđer Bošković Zagreb (www.irb.hr).



Croatian researchers participated in 23 projects within FP6 IST. In addition to the institutions listed above, Faculty of Maritime Studies of the University of Rijeka (www.pfri.hr), Faculty of Sciences of the University of Split (www.pmfst.hr) and University Computing Centre of the University of Zagreb (www.srce.hr), among the Croatian institutions of higher educations, took part in these projects. An NGO ZaMirNet (www.zamirnet.hr), and private companies Infodom (www.infodom.hr), Ericsson Nikola Tesla (www.ericsson.com/hr) and Končar (www.koncar.hr) also participated in FP6.



SWOT analysis of the ICT research capacity in Croatia:



ICT research priorities for Croatia:



4.6. Montenegro

Reform in ICT sector started in 2000. From that period Montenegro adopted and implemented all important regulations which now present a solid base for liberalization of telecommunication sector and open market economy in this particular area. In 2001 Montenegro introduced Telecommunication Law which is the most important legislation in this area. This law was innovated in 2008 and adjusted to EU directives as well as changed its name into the Electronic Communications Law.



After 2001 Montenegro adopted several legislations and important legal documents in area of ICT like: E-commerce Law; Intellectual protection Law; Central Register Law as well as Electronic documents Law. All of these regulations are prepared according to EU Directives and international legislation in area of ICT. On that way, Montenegro has created a solid framework for open market, competition in this area and future information society development. In order to achieve these goals two regulatory bodies are established: Agency for telecommunications and postal services and Agency for radio-diffusion which has positively influenced on ICT market in Montenegro.



Strategy for information society development in Montenegro was adopted in 2004 and contains all important goals and planned activities that need to be implemented on the way to highly developed information society. Some of the most important goals presented in the Strategy are:

• Dynamic economic development;• Reform, adoption of standards and democracy;• Establishing better, more transparent public administration;• Removing of business barriers;• The same opportunities for individuals in area of education and

access to Internet;• Better safety for citizens and human rights issue.



The key elements/goals proposed in the newly innovated Strategy for information society developing are specially focused on:

● ICT infrastructure;

● E-education;

● Registers of the population;

● E-business and E-banking;

● E-government;

● Institutional and regulatory framework;

● European goals and standards;

● E-health.



SWOT analysis of the ICT research capacity in Croatia:


QQ&&

AA

The ICT environment in the Western BalkansThe ICT environment in the Western Balkans“Towards an Information Society for the Western Balkans”

WP 2: Priority Setting to Structure Participation in FPT2.4: Organisation of consultation process

December 11-12., 2008; Belgrade, Serbia

strengthening the strategic cooperation between the eu and western balkan region in the field of ict...

Documents

global competitiveness

world economic forum

ict sector ipts slide

ict environment

rd investment

field of ict research

research environment

information society