Interview with Dr. Theresa Pardo
Bimal Shah
http://newdigitalsouth.org/digital/node/425
As Deputy Director, Theresa works with a variety of government, corporate and university partners to conduct applied research projects on the policy, management, and technology issues surrounding information use in the public sector.
Theresa is Deputy Director of the Center for Technology in Government located at the University at Albany. She is also an Associate Research Professor of Public Administration and Policy at the University at Albany and an affiliate faculty member in Informatics. She is one of the developers of UAlbany's top ranked Government Information Strategy and Management curriculum. Theresa has written extensively on a number of topics related to IT innovation in government including cross-boundary information sharing, trust and knowledge sharing, and preservation of government records in digital form. She has received research funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Library of Congress, among others.
Theresa is co-chair of the North American Digital Government Working Group and serves on various editorial and advisory boards including Government Information Quarterly, the International Advisory Board for Mobile Technologies for the United Nations, the Financial Market Regulation Program at the University at Albany, and the Expert Working Group for the EUReGov project. She is currently an elected member of the board of the Digital Government Society of North America. Theresa is also serving as program co-chair for the International Conference on Electronic Governance (ICEGOV)to be held this year in Cairo and she co-chairs the Emerging Topics Mini-Track for the Hawaiian International Conference on System Sciences. She was recently appointed as a senior adviser to the Informatization Research Institution, State Information Center, P.R. China. Theresa holds a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University at Albany, State University of New York.
http://newdigitalsouth.org/digital/node/425Question 12. Any words of wisdom for governments of developing countries
Use idealism to set the direction but realism to make decisions about technology innovation and organizational change. This requires attention to two interdependent tracks; creating the capability for successful innovation and engaging in innovative efforts. To do this you must know about your country, including your government, and use that knowledge combined with expert knowledge about technology and organizations and what makes them work well together, to develop a strategy of ICT innovation that makes sense within the context of your country. Be a critical consumer of technology by having expert knowledge about the capabilities and conditions that exist in your country and prepare yourself with an understanding that ICT innovation does not work the same in all places and at all times. Examine in depth why something did or didn't work elsewhere and use this information to help you determine the extent to which that particular innovation will work in your situation. For example, if a particular interoperability initiative works in one country, critically examine the policy, management and technology capabilities of that environment and understand the extent to which those capabilities exist or can be created in your country and plan with this knowledge. Investigate the capabilities that existed and how those capabilities made it possible for the technology innovation to be successful. Systematically assess whether your government has the capabilities necessary to be successful in that same way. If not, then focus on building those capabilities through investments in areas such as infrastructure enhancements, workforce developments, and policy frameworks. If so, then consider those innovations from an explicit understanding of how the capabilities in your country will interact with the requirements for success of any particular innovation. Be as clear as possible about what you can do today. Start slow and build from a place of knowledge and awareness of the complex interactions between technology, organizations, innovation, and capability; keep one eye on what is possible today within a given context, given current capabilities, and the other eye on the future
Regards
Bimal Pratap Shah
New Digital South