Dear Colleagues, Walu did a good job in getting us to talk about PPPs in ICT for Development. I would like to invite you to go slightly deeper to a specific area of interest which is e-Government - PPPs in e-Government. Private sector participation in e-Government can range from conventional procurement (an example would be purchasing software for an e-Government application) to full privatization of a particular service or product. For those who've visited India, eSeva would be a good example. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) fall in between these two extremes of the continuum of private sector participation. Whereas in conventional procurement, the responsibility for operations and risks fall entirely on the Government, public-private partnerships involve public ownership of assets and the delivery of services through various contractual arrangements with the private sector involving varying levels of risk transfer to the private sector. These contractual arrangements can include service contracts, management contracts, DBO (Design, Build, Operate) contracts, BTO (Build, Transfer, Operate) and full concession contracts. The key benefits of these diverse PPP models are that they transfer risk to the private sector, which is generally better equipped to handle risk, they enhance government accountability, they support entrepreneurship and local enterprise development, and they leverage private finance. The result is often faster deployment of better services. It is from this background that African eDevelopment Resource Centre together with the e-Development Thematic Group of the World Bank are hosting a Video Conference on PPPs in e-Government on June 25th 2008 from 4.30pm at the World Bank offices in Nairobi. The Video Conference will involve about 10 countries with speakers from both developing and developed countries. Using case studies, the speakers will draw out key lessons from PPPs in e-Government, discussing the challenges faced, solutions developed, as well as general recommendations for designing and implementing successful PPPs. Some of the key issues that the speakers will address include: 1) Is private sector delivery in conflict with public interest? 2) Are there any limits to outsourcing service delivery to the private sector? 3) What are the most successful examples of PPPs in e-Government? Is there a solid evidence of positive impact? 4) Can these be easily replicated in other countries? 5) What should governments do to ensure success of PPP approaches in e-Government? 6) What kind of procurement system reforms may be necessary? 7) What changes to legal framework may be necessary? 8) Which business models have proven most successful to motivate both parties and produce best results? Participation to the VC is free, but you will need to register to participate. Should you want to participate, please send your request to joyce@africanedevelopment.org not later than mid-day Monday 23rd June 2008. Space is limited and shall be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Kindest Regards Harry Hare African eDevelopment Resource Centre eDevelopment House 604 Limuru Road, Old Muthaiga PO Box 49475 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cel +254 725 650044 Land +254 20 3741646/7 <http://www.africanedevelopment.org> www.africanedevelopment.org June/July 2008 Training Opportunities VSAT Feild Eng. 18-20 June Supply Chain Management 24-27 June Fibre Optic Technician 1-4 July Knowledge Management 8-11July Space is limited Book Now! P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail