NepalNepal::

China

India

N

Mountain District

Hill District

Terai District

country of Mount Everest and birthplace of Lord Buddha

Rural-Urban Partnership Programme(RUPP)

Ministry of Local Development, HMG/Nepal & UNDPIn Coordination with NPC & MPPW of HMG/Nepal

(NEP/01/020)

Harnessing ICTs for local development: The case of RUPP in Nepal

The Relative Position of Village and Markets in the The Relative Position of Village and Markets in the Urban HierarchyUrban Hierarchy

NepalNepal::

China

India

N

58 municipalities including 12 partner municipalities, 58 municipalities including 12 partner municipalities, 5 replicating municipalities and 33 RMCs5 replicating municipalities and 33 RMCs

MunicipalityPartner MunicipalityReplicating MunicipalityRural Market Centers (RMC)

2 RMC

3 RMC

2 RMC

3 RMC

RMC

2 RMC

2 RMC

5 RMC

2 RMC

4 RMC

3 RMC

2 RMC

3 RMC

RUPP Concept and Strategy

Enterprise Development Concept

Community SavingTole/Lane Organization

Information System

Social Capital &

Empowerment

Enterprise Management

Training

Technology &

Skill Development

Equity Generation Credit

Enterprise Development

Poverty Alleviation

LE FA RLL

Linkage Development

Urban Community Mobilization ProcessUrban Community Mobilization Process

RUPPRUPP’’s Strategy in the Use of ICTs Strategy in the Use of ICT

Facilitate Good Urban Governance

(e-Governance)

Supplement to Poverty Alleviation activities

(e-Commerce – B2B)

E-Governance Project ContextRUPP, while in the process of help strengthen good governance realized that it would be effective to supplement its effort with the application of ICT, which can make a significant contribution to the achievement of good governance goals, where already some strides in the direction of good governance have taken place such as:

Adoption of Participating Planning Process

Establishment of well-maintained Urban Information Center as a data bank and information dissemination center to its citizens

ContinueContinue……………………

E-Governance Project Context

Municipalities fulfilling its statutory obligation of making its annual financial transaction public

Adoption of gender as a cross cutting issue and have been adhering to gender friendly policies and strategies

Publication of Citizen Charter

Upliftment of life of both under-privileged group and urban ultra poor by conducting Entrepreneurship Development Programme

Conceptualization of e-Governance

B2B e-Commerce Project Context

Poverty alleviation is one of the focused

components of RUPP since the initiation of the

Programme

Creation of 4,241 Linkage Enterprises to date to

address poverty reduction

Dissemination of daily Agri price Information of

around 150 agricultural commodities from/in

major markets of Nepal jointly with AEC/FNCCI

and Department of Agriculture ContinueContinue……………………

B2B e-Commerce Project Context

Realizing the importance and power of ICT in

bringing people and business community together

and the borderless concept introduced by ICT in

the country like Nepal where the geographical area

is ranging from Terai to Mountains and to high

Himalayas, RUPP brought the concept of B2B e-

Commerce.

Major Objectives of e-Governance Initiative

To increase citizen participation in urban governance

To increase efficiency and efficacy of services delivered by the municipalities by introducing a range of on-line services

To enhance transparency in the working of local

government outfits – specifically the municipalities

To provide expanded access to information resources to facilitate bottom-up, citizen centric urban planning

Major Objectives of B2B e-Commerce Initiative

To expand market access to enterprises located in

the municipalities and VDCs (Rural Areas) by

creating a virtual trading hub through ICT’s

To enhance the prospects of regional trade linkages

e-Governance Pre Project Activities

RUPP shared the concept with different stake holders (Partner municipalities, CCIs, TLOs, civil societies, NGO/INGOs, MLD/HMGN) to ensure their support

Prepared “Pre Feasibility cum Need Assessment Report” on how the ICT can be used to improve the existing system, urban service delivery and participation of public in planning and decision making process

e-Governance Project Implementation Activities

Finalized the content of e-Governance after a careful review of Government Policies, LSGA, Pre Feasibility cum Need Assessment Report, other supporting documents and suggestions received from different stakeholders

Developed portal and registered a standard domain name www.bharatpurmun.org.np (changes with the name of municipality)

Mobilized University, Institutions and Campuses of Nepal to use IT students for awareness creating activities Continue………Continue………

Incorporated awareness creation on e-Governance in Community Mobilization Process

Hosted draft version of e-Governance Portal to some time to get feedback and suggestions from the public and different stakeholders

Several workshops/orientations organized with municipal staff/authorities, line agencies, NGO/INGOs, TLOs, civil societies, private sectors-CCIs, Cyber Cafes, ISPs, IT companies with the dual objectives of orienting them and also ensuring their comments and suggestions are well addressed

Continue………Continue………

e-Governance Project Implementation Activities

EE--Governance Portal of Bharatpur MunicipalityGovernance Portal of Bharatpur Municipality

Established e-Governance Units in the municipality and some ward offices

Provided training to staffs for the operation, modification, update and maintenance of e-Governance Portal

Approval of e-Governance directive by the Municipal Board

Launching of e-Governance

e-Governance Project Implementation Activities

Monitoring the use and effectiveness

Study for the System Analysis on the

Automation of Internal Process of the municipality

Replication of same e-Governance module in

Hetauda and in process in 6 other municipalities

e-Governance Post Project Activities

B2B e-Commerce Pre Project Activities

RUPP shared the concept with AEC/FNCCI

Jointly organized workshop to share concept with CCIs, other private sectors, partner municipalities, 33 RMCs, LEs, Cyber Cafes and ISPs to ensure their support

Hosting of Agri Price web site www.AgriPriceNepal.com

Agri Price Web Site

B2B e-Commerce Project Implementation Activities

Contents were developed on the basis of suggestions received from the workshop

Prototype was presented to the stakeholders and finalized according to the suggestions received

Developed B2B e-Commerce web site using local expertise

Mobilized University, Institutions and Campuses of Nepal to use IT students for awareness creation activities

Continue…………Continue…………

Mobilized Cyber Cafes on B2B e-Commerce service delivery

Incorporated awareness creation on B2B e-Commerce in Community Mobilization Process

Several orientations provided to CCIs, LEs, other business community, traders, farmers, Cyber Cafes, ISPs, partner municipalities, line agencies, NGO/INGOs, TLOs, civil societies

Continue…………Continue…………

B2B e-Commerce Project Implementation Activities

Provided orientation training on the operation, maintenance, update and dissemination of business/technology information to CCI staffs

Finally, hosted B2B e-Commerce web site www.b2b.com.np to open the door of business community in the cyber world

B2B e-Commerce Project Implementation Activities

B2B e-Commerce Web Site

Increase number of participating CCI

Monitoring the use and effectiveness

Establish Rural Tele Center in RMCs and B2B

Units in CCIs

B2B e-Commerce Post Project Activities

Assessment of performance and key Assessment of performance and key results of the initiativesresults of the initiatives

ee--Governance:Governance:

Local government outfits have woken up to the prospects of augmenting basic tenets of good urban governance specially transparency, participation, equity and accountability through digital means

Provided increased access to information to ensure right to information to public granted by the Constitution of Nepal in municipalities where such initiatives have been implemented

Continue…………Continue…………

Assessment of performance and key Assessment of performance and key results of the initiativesresults of the initiatives

Improvement in urban service delivery within citizen-centric framework by improving efficiency of municipal administration facilitate bottom-up, citizen centric urban planning in line

Promotion of ICT culture among key stakeholders and municipal citizenry

Assessment of performance and key Assessment of performance and key results of the initiativesresults of the initiatives

B2B eB2B e--Commerce:Commerce:

Exposed local entrepreneurs in municipalities and VDCs to the potential of ICTs

Contrary to popular assumptions, the B2B initiative has proved that digitally supported B2B business models can be scaled down to suit small and micro-entrepreneurs

Has provided opportunities for articulating and strengthening regional linkages

Expanded access to market and customer base

Problems EncounteredProblems EncounteredLow penetration ofLow penetration of ICTsICTs – teledensity, PC ownership and

internet/email connectivity is currently extremely low in the municipalities and RMC’s where the programme has been implemented. For example, teledensity is 1/1000 in rural areas

Relative novelty of the conceptRelative novelty of the concept – The concept of ICT based implementation as a means of extending outreach of urban governance services and facilitating trade linkages among various spatial units is relatively new concept for the stakeholders at the local level

Capacity gap of local institutionsCapacity gap of local institutions - Local institutions including municipalities, Village Development Committees and local chapters Chambers of Commerce and Industries lack capacity to see through the successful implementation of the project. This underscored the need to launch capacity development initiative for these institutions

Lessons Learned So Far

Awareness creation is crucial for the success of the Programme

Community participation is possible even though they do not own a PC

The role of cyber-café becomes very important under such situation

Private sector can immensely supplement the efforts

Continue…………Continue…………

Lessons Learned So Far

Availability of local ISP provider reduces the costs while their involvement from the inception of the project helped toward successful implementation

Citizens are very receptive to the Programme

Top Level Management is more receptive to the Programme than lower or middle management

~ Thank You ~