Information available in Spanish

Information available in Spanish

Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC)
In 2003, the lack of ICT statistics in most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, led to ECLAC and the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA) of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) to create the Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC). The goal was to have a center responsible of improving the availability and quality of internationally comparable ICT statistics in the region.
The main objectives of OSILAC are:
a) To promote statistical harmonization to strengthen the monitoring of ICTs policies in Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
b) To provide statistical information of access and use of ICTs in Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
c) To monitor and analyze the progress of Latin America and the Caribbean countries towards the development of inclusive information societies.
d) To support Latin America and the Caribbean countries to collect statistical data through capacity-building, technical assistance, provision of methodological tools and raise awareness on the importance of ICT statistics.


Activities:
OSILAC has played a relevant role in the ICT measurement process, by:
a) Identifying the stage of ICT statistics data collection at regional level.
b) Supporting the development of a core list of ICT indicators by working in collaboration with the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development and national statistics offices (NSO) of the region.
c) Collecting ICT data through NSO as an input for the analysis of the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean.
d) Providing training and technical assistance to NSO for survey design and implementation.
e) Implementing and maintaining an online ICT statistical information system (http://www.eclac.org/tic/flash/) with data on ICT access and use by households and individuals. The system helped develop comparative socio-economic for policy design (information for 17 countries is available).
Additionally, OSILAC has worked together with the Working Group of ICT measurement of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA) of ECLAC. This work lead to the elaboration of a “Compendium of Practices on Implementation of ICT Questions in Household and Business Surveys in Latin America and the Caribbean“ (now in its 3rd version), and to provide a set of methodological guidelines for the measurement of ICT statistics on households and individuals, businesses, government and education.
In 2011 a 2012 OSILAC supported the work of the “Indicators Commission of the Action Plan on Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2015)“ coordinating NSO and ministries responsible of ICT policies in the region. In 2013 the Indicators Commission of eLAC2015 presented at the IV Ministerial Conference of the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean in Montevideo, Uruguay a “List of indicators for monitoring the Action Plan on Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2015)”.
In July 2012, OSILAC hosted with the Working Group of ICT measurement of the SCEA-ECLAC and UNCTAD a workshop in Rio de Janiero, Brazil for the elaboration of a module for ICT measurement in business surveys. In March 2013, OSILAC helped organize in Panama City a second workshop for reviewing the module for ICT measurement in business surveys.
In April 2013, OSILAC hosted with the Working Group of ICT measurement of the SCEA-ECLAC a workshop in Santiago, Chile for elaboration of a module for ICT measurement in e-health. In March 2014, OSILAC hosted a second workshop in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the reviewing of the module for ICT measurement in e-health.

Beneficiaries:
Latin American and Caribbean organizations responsible for generating ICT related indicators and statistics.

http://www.eclac.cl/tic/flash/

Information available in Spanish

Information available in Spanish

Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC)
The lack of ICT data in most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2003, called for the ECLAC and the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA) of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) to create the Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC). The objective was to have an Observatory in charge of fostering the creation of ICT statistics in the region.
The main objectives of OSILAC are:
a) To promote statistical harmonization in order to strengthen the monitoring of ICT policies and projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
b) To monitor and analyze the progress the LAC countries towards the development of information societies.
c) Support countries in the compilation and analysis of statistical data by developing capabilities or providing technical assistance on survey implementation to NSOs and other government agencies.

Activities:
OSILAC has played a relevant role in the ICT harmonized measurement process at a regional level, in the following areas:
a) Identification and description of the stage of development of the ICT data collection at a regional level and the needs for information in the region.
b) Coordinate work with national statistics offices and other members of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, definition and consolidation of the core indicators in the measurement of ICT and promotion of the methodological discussion concerning the concepts and strategies of ICT data collection.
c) Data, statistics and indicators collection by national statistics offices as an input for analysis and research oriented towards the creation of a regional and sub regional overview of the state of development of the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean.
d) Capacity building and technical assistance to NSOs for survey formulation and implementation.
e) Statistical harmonization. OSILAC’s online ICT Statistical Information System brings together databases on household surveys and socioeconomic indicators to develop comparative socio-economic analyses on ICT access and use for policy design (22 LAC countries collected information on ICT individual internet access and use, and 12 collected ICT indicators for businesses.

Additionally, OSILAC worked together with the Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA) of ECLAC and, concomitantly, they have collected and developed the contents of the Compendium of Practices on Implementation of ICT Questions in Household and Business Surveys in Latin America and the Caribbean, and of the methodological guidelines for the measurement of ICT in households and individuals, businesses, government and the education sector.
During 2011 and 2012, OSILAC supported de definition of a list of indicators for monitoring the eLAC2015 plan by coordinating national statistical offices and the ministries responsible for promoting ICT policies, with the assistance of the working group on ICTs of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC (SCA-ECLAC).

Beneficiarios:
Latin American and Caribbean organizations responsible for generating ICT related indicators and statistics.

Website:
http://www.eclac.cl/tic/flash/