OAS/DHDEC/CIR.039/2010

1. Study venue: United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), 1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 702, Washington, DC 20036, United States of America

2. Offered by: USTTI and USAID. USTTI is a Regional Training Center of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) and the course information was also disseminated by the OAS Department of State Modernization and Governance, e-mail: [email protected]

3. Coordinator: Brian T. McCloskey, USTTI Curriculum Coordinator, Email: [email protected] Phone: (202) 785-7373, Fax: (202) 785 1930

4. Modality:                         On site

5. Start and end dates:     November 1st, to November 12th, 2010

6. Course duration:             Two-weeks

7. Language: English

8. Objective: - The curriculum is intended to provide country government officials with the tools to best introduce electronic government in central and local governments in a way that is coherent, prioritized, interoperable, secure, efficient, EU- and WTO-compatible (where indicated), of benefit to all stakeholders and realistic in light of economic and institutional realities within a given country. Another important outcome will be to create a global community of e-Government leaders who will continue to share experiences, knowledge, and resources with one another following the seminar for the greater benefit of all.

9. Course Content: e-Government is the systematic incorporation and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) government to promote developmental objectives including: improving efficiency and effectiveness; increasing transparency and responsiveness; and enhancing the delivery of government services and information to citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders. This two-week course will include lectures, panel discussions, and interactive workshops presented by leading e-Government experts from USAID, USTTI Board member corporations, private sector firms, universities, NGO’s, and multinational organizations. The curriculum will include modules that will address the following aspects of e-Government and focus on what goes into building and operating a functional e-government system:

· e-Government Strategies and Solutions;

· Best Practices and Global Case Studies;

· Service and Information Delivery including paying government fees on-line (licenses, taxes), health and education information, and support for ecommerce;

· Security Considerations including authorization, identity and e-authentication, infrastructure protection, and payment system safeguards;

· e-Procurement;

· E-banking services and other electronic payment systems (mobile banking, pre-paid cards);

· Requirements for systems, support, and maintenance;

· Change Management;

· Enabling Policy Environment including;

· Inter-Ministerial Coordination;

· Policy/Legal/Regulatory Reform;

· Project Financing and Public-Private Partnerships;

· Citizen Participation.

10. Requirements:

· Citizenship or permanent residence of an OAS Member State, with the exception of the United States since is the host country.

· Participant profile: Applicants should be senior government planning officers, the implementer or program manager, from Ministries of planning, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), or finance or from the office of the President or Prime Minister.

· Three years of experience in the subject matter.

· Submission of completed application form by the deadline set by the National Liaison Organization (ONE). It is the candidate’s responsibility to ascertain the deadline set by the ONE in his or her country of residence

· In addition to the OAS application, applicants must also submit a formal application through the USTTI. Applications may be filed through USTTI’s web site: http://ustti.org

11. OAS Scholarship Selection Criteria: In accordance with article 4.2 of the Manual of Procedures of the Scholarship and Training Programs of the OAS, OAS scholarships shall be granted based on the following criteria:

· The objectives and priorities established in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development;

· The training priorities of the member states;

· The merits and overall credentials of the candidate, including his/her academic and professional background;

· The financial need of the candidate; and

· An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states and that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

12. Benefits:

For successful candidates:

· OAS/CITEL will cover round trip economy class air tickets from country of origin or residence to Washington, DC, United States of America. Funds for terminal and in-transit expenses are NOT provided.

· USTTI will provide a stipend of $400.00 to offset hotel and living expenses, as well as waiving the $150.00 administrative fee.

13. Responsibilities of the selected candidates:

Based on shared accommodations and on arrival date of Sunday, June 13^th, 2010 and departure date of Saturday, June 26^th, 2010 the additional amount needed for this course is USD$ 1,150.00. (Please be advised that the accommodation that is being provided requires participants to share hotel rooms).
The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance to the OAS General Secretariat Office in their respective countries and through the ONE in order for the OAS to proceed with making the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between their country of origin or residence and the study location or, if the scholarship is refused, to appoint another candidate.

The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to DHDEC their completed “form of acceptance of the scholarship award”; only after this has been done will the OAS proceed with the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between the scholarship recipient’s country of origin and the study location.

Upon selection, candidates must accept the scholarship by confirming their availability to follow the course during the period indicated and their acceptance of the duly provided conditions of study.

Selected scholarship recipients are responsible for obtaining the necessary visa(s) to enter the country of study and the corresponding transit(s). The OAS will not be responsible for any costs related to obtaining visas or transfer documentation.

Each scholarship recipient is responsible for arriving in time for the commencement of activities on the date established by the institution offering the course or program.

If the scholarship recipient fails to travel on the scheduled dates, or change routes, after the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) has purchased his/her travel ticket, he/she will be responsible for paying the difference in ticket costs in order to arrive at the course site in time. The scholarship recipient will furthermore have to reimburse the GS/OAS the total cost of the airfare for his/her travel from his/her country of residence to the site where the Professional Development Course will take place and back if, after the ticket has been purchased, he/she declines the scholarship without written authorization from the Department of Human Development.

The latter includes any additional costs, if any, incurred by the GS/OAS, such as extra costs for accommodation during the scholarship recipient’s travel to and from the country where the course will be held.

If the fellow declines, cancels or terminates the Scholarship after the course or program has started without providing the GS/OAS with a compelling reason, he or she will have to reimburse GS/OAS the total amount of incurred costs/expenses.

14. Certification: The participants will receive a diploma from the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), regional Training Center of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

15. Presentation of candidacies:

Please Notice: If you were awarded an OAS Professional Development Scholarship in the past twelve (12) months or if you currently hold an OAS Scholarship for Academic Studies, you are not eligible to apply for another Professional Development Scholarship.

The online application form must be completed on-line and can be accessed at: http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/onsite.aspx?culture=en&navid=282 here you’ll find the announcements of all the onsite courses, click in the one you are interested in, go though the end of the page, and then you’ll find the Continue button which will direct you to the online application form.

Once the applicant has completed the online application form and submitted it, a copy will be sent automatically to his/her e-mail account. This completed form must be printed, signed and submitted to the National Liaison Office (ONE) with all other forms (http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/formspd.aspx?culture=en&navid=282)

All the additional forms must be completed electronically or in typewritten format.

The following is the list of National Liaison Organizations (ONEs) in the OAS Member states: http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/ones.aspx?culture=en&navid=282

Please note that the official announcement is published in the language of instruction of the course and is available via the Educational Portal of the Americas Web page at: http://www.educoea.org.

Any questions regarding submission of applications for this course should be sent to: [email protected]