Desk research
The following websites were searched:
DFAT www.dfat.govt.au
3iE www.3ieimpact.org
SciDevNet www.scidev.net
Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) https://www.itu.int
Digital Review of Asia Pacific http://www.digital-review.org/
GMSA http://www.gsma.com/connectedwomen/
Pacific Telecommunications Council www.ptc.org
Pacific Island Chapter of the Internet Society http://www.picisoc.org
Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development Initiative (Australian Government) http://www.pacificwomen.org/
Association for Progressive Communications http://www.apc.org/
Asia and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development http://www.unapcict.org/
Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls http://www.endvawnow.org
ICT update from the Technical Centre for Rural and Agricultural Cooperation http://ictupdate.cta.int/
Emails soliciting information were sent to:
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Pasifika Nexus
Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association
World Bank
Vanuatu National Council of Women
Fiji Women’s Rights Movement
Online calls for information were posted on the following list serves:
FemLINKPacific
Pacific Women’s Information Network (Pacwin)
Search strings
‘Mobile’ or ‘m’ or ‘e’ or ‘mobile app*’ or ‘digital’
Government
‘Banking’ or ‘financ*’ or ‘money’ or ‘commerce’ or business’
Health
‘Education’ or ’learning’
Participation
Vanuatu or PNG or Solomon Islands or Samoa
‘Women’ or ‘gender’
Interview guide – Key Informant Interviews
Introductions
Introduce self
Research purpose and how UNESCAP will use findings to identify examples of good practice and develop an e-government and gender equality toolkit for policy makers/implementers
Informed consent explain consent process, invite questions and sign form
Personal background
Please tell me a little about yourself and your current role
E-government in Fiji
How has your organisation been involved in the Fiji Government’s E-government Programme?
Probe: what other government departments/ministries has your organisation cooperated with on E-government? On what projects? What has worked well and what could be improved?
Does your organisation use any E-government applications/ ICT for online service delivery? This could include mobile phones for example.
Probe: What are these online service delivery applications?
Are any of these online service delivery applications directed at women?
Is there any data on citizen uptake?
What does the connectivity architecture look like in Fiji? Connectivity architecture includes mobile broadband, fixed broadband, wired/ wireless, services/speed/capacity (servers, apps, platforms)/user-cost and human capacity – what is the digital literacy picture in Fiji?
How do Fijian women access the Internet? Do they face barriers when trying to get online?
Does Fiji have a national ICT/e-Government strategy? What other relevant policy/strategy documents are there?
Gender in Fiji
In your view, what are the key gender equality and women’s empowerment priorities in Fiji?
Thinking about your knowledge of e-government applications/ ICT, to what extent do you think they currently consider gender in design and implementation? For example, the ‘digital divide’ whereby men and women have different access to Internet, ICTs, mobile phones
Key questions for any E-government applications/examples (e.g. mWomen) that emerge:
What is the history of the initiative?
Who was involved? (i.e. which organisations)
Who in the Department/Ministry has responsibility for the initiative? Name/s of key people
What worked well in the collaboration (e.g. between Ministry and Vodafone) What worked less well?
Who is the initiative aimed at?
Were women involved as a particular audience?
Where and how has the initiative been implemented? What offline strategies accompany online strategies?
Do you think the initiative has made any difference? Why/why not? What impact has the initiative had? (at individual level, family/household level, socio-cultural level, economic level) Is there monitoring data?
What has been the uptake? What has been the uptake by women?
Regulatory environment
Do legislative frameworks exist for governing the connectivity infrastructure? For example, are you aware of any of the following instruments in Fiji:
- Legal and policy frameworks regulating delivery of e-government services
- Citizens charters for responsive and accountable e-government services
- Data security and privacy legislation
- Availability of e-government governance information in the public domain
- Service level and data protection agreements in PPP delivery models.
Finally, is there anyone you would recommend the Review should speak to?
Thank you for your time and contribution.
Interview consent form
United Nations Economic Social Commission for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) Review of e-government for Women’s Empowerment.
I (insert name) of (insert organisation) agree to participate in this interview for the UNESCAP Review of e-government for Women’s Empowerment, as outlined in the information provided to me by Roshika Deo.
I understand that:
My participation is voluntary and I can withdraw at any time.
Whether or not I participate will not affect any current or future relationships with UNESCAP or any other organisation/agency.
With my permission, the researcher will list my name and role as a contributor to the research in an appendix.
The researcher will seek to keep my information strictly confidential. No information in the report will be attributed to individuals.
I can request any information collected from me to be withdrawn at any time up until the analysis stage.
If I withdraw, I can request that any information collected from me be returned or destroyed.
With my permission, the interview may be taped, and may be transcribed.
Digital recordings, notes, and summaries will be stored securely by the researcher and will not identify me.
I understand the aims of the UNESCAP Review of E-government for Women’s Empowerment, have read this consent form, and been given the opportunity to ask questions. I give my consent to participate in this interview.