See www.iiea.com/digital/
- What are the current policy (or other) opportunities & challenges that Ireland faces in the digital sector?
- Which emerging trends are potentially dominant in the digital sector?
- In which niches can Ireland become a world leader?
- What is the most important strategic investment of relevance to the digital sector that Ireland could make at this point to enhance its competitiveness in the next 10 years?
- What are the next three steps that Government could take?
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE TECH VOX POP OF BUSINESSES, RESEARCH CENTRES, EDUCATORS, PUBLIC SECTOR BODIES, DIGITAL INNOVATORS, AND GURUS…
Contribute responses of any length by E-mail to JOHNNY.RYAN@IIEA.COM
Deadline for input 14 July 2008. For an overview of the project and its context see [PDF] [GoogleDoc slideshow].
We’ve initiated the Digital Future project at the IIEA. Click below to see my intro presentation, outlining 5 strategic questions for Ireland and The Digital Future: Read the rest of this entry »
I interviewed Toomas Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia, on 15 April 2008, about digital infrastructure, the DDOS attacks, and the future of digital competitiveness.
New project: The Digital Competitiveness Report
9 April 2008
On 1 May, I will be starting a round of high-level stakeholder consultations on behalf of the Institute of International & European Affairs on means to maintain Ireland’s competitive edge and the implications of change in the Digital Future. I anticipate the report being delivered to Government in September. Here below Peter Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs and of BP takes part in an initial consultation with me as part of the project. For information about this project, visit WWW.IIEA.COM/DIGITAL or contact me.
I’m putting together a document at work that will define the scope of our Digital Future group. The question is, what issues should be included and why if the group is to examine digital competitiveness in Ireland in the coming years?
In 1999 the Government’s Action Plan to Implement the Information Society noted that: “we are at the early stages of a new industrial revolution - one which will have more dramatic implications than any other single industrial development in the history of the State”. Today, the information and communication technology sector accounts for about one third of Irish exports and directly employs 93,000 people in more than 4,000 enterprises. Larger still is the digital sector, which could be far more broadly defined to include sub-sectors of the financial services, medical research, foreign development initiatives etc.
An important contributor to Ireland’s future competitiveness will be the government’s capacity to produce foreword looking policy that enables it to adapt to, and leverage the benefits of, the digital revolution that is currently underway. This means foreseeing not only the benefits of digital convergence and user-driven innovation, but also the vulnerabilities inherent in an increasing dependence on vulnerable - but indispensable - communications technologies. This is particularly true if Ireland is to remain attractive to the forward looking, innovative companies that can enhance our competitive edge and maintain Ireland’s E-ready, knowledge-rich economy in the decades to come. Read the rest of this entry »
