Although ICT plays an increasingly important role for enterprises and citizens in Europe, digital gaps continue to exist in infrastructure, regular use of the Internet and digital skills, both across countries and socio-economic groups. While the individual internet usage increases, ICT in enterprises should be deployed even more intensely to increase the capacity of the business sector to generate innovation and technology. To this end, governments have to move beyond providing online services (traditional e-government boundaries), to provide more effective governance as a foundation for innovation policies.

The World Economic Forum’s “Global Information Technology Report” (GITR) includes a benchmark study that reflects national progress and performance in various ICT domains. Out of a total of 68 ICT-related variables assessed in the GITR, eight variables were selected that best encapsulate factors related to national ICT governance. The tables plot the score of each of the eight variables per Danube Region country for the two latest GITR editions (2008 – 9 and 2009 –10).

As can be inferred, the eight EU member countries occupy the best eight positions (Austria and Germany being the clear leaders), with the exception of Romania and Slovakia, which are surpassed by non-EU Danube Region countries Montenegro and Croatia. A divide between the regions of North West and South East Europe is clearly evident, with the countries of Central Europe (with the exception of Slovakia) performing better in comparison with the Danube Region periphery (with the exception of Montenegro).

A colour index which graphically represents each country’s standing is available in the pdf version of the journal (p.13).

Author: Sakis Papakonstantinou.