[RTC List] Digital Prosperity Report

[CrawfordCA at aol.com]

Greetings fellow tech-sters and economic development  enthusiasts !!
 
And organization called the Information Technology and  Innovation Foundation 
just issued a VERY informative report on how technology  and communications 
are the major drivers of economic growth, and suggests  five key policy 
strategies to promote digital prosperity:
 
1) Give the Digital Economy Its Due: Economic  policymakers need to view IT 
issues not just as narrow IT policy, but as the  centerpiece of economic 
policy. This means putting issues of digital  transformation at the front and center 
of economic policy.

2) Actively Encourage Digital Innovation and Transformation  of Economic 
Sectors: The private sector will drive much of digital  transformation, but 
government can play a supportive role. Government should  support research in 
emerging IT areas. IT should also use a wide array of policy  levers, including tax, 
regulatory, and procurement policies, to spur greater IT  innovation and 
transformation, particularly in key sectors like health care,  education, 
transportation, and others influenced by public policy. Moreover,  government should 
lead by example by leveraging their own IT efforts to achieve  more effective 
and productive public sector management and administration.

3) Use the Tax Code to Spur IT Investment: Investment  is how IT innovations 
are diffused throughout the economy. Because IT seems have  a much larger 
impact on productivity, tax policies should focus on spurring  additional 
investment in newer generations of IT.

4) Encourage Universal Digital Literacy and Digital  Technology Adoption: 
Ensuring that societies take full advantage of the IT  revolution will require 
that the large majority of citizens participate in the  digital economy. 
National governments need to work in partnership with the  for-profit, non-profit, 
and state and local government sectors to help citizens  use and access  
technology.

5) Do No Harm: Making digital transformation the center of economic  policy 
means not just supporting IT, just as importantly it means avoiding  harming 
the digital engine of growth. All too often well-intentioned  policymakers 
consider laws and regulations that would slow digital  transformation.
 
A full PDF version of the 78 page report is available  at:
 
_http://www.itif.org/files/digital_prosperity.pdf_ 
(http://www.itif.org/files/digital_prosperity.pdf) 
 
...  and a short blurb is provided below from  Government Technology 
Magazine. 
 
Would this be a good time to review our local economic  development efforts 
against this backdrop?? A local redundant fiber connection  is an essential of 
our economic growth, but this report recommends we go much  further.
 
Chris Crawford
_www.justiceserved.com_ (http://www.justiceserved.com) 
707-443-1944
 
 
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Direct link:
_http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104394&utm_source=gten_070315&utm_med
ium=enews&utm_content=story_ 
(http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104394&utm_source=gten_070315&utm_medium=enews&utm_content=story) 
 
 
Digital Prosperity Report Cites IT as Primary Engine of  Economic Growth
Government  Technology Magazine <> March 14, 2007  News Release 
The Information Technology and  Innovation Foundation yesterday released a 
report that finds that information  and communications technologies (IT) have 
been the primary engine of economic  growth. 

The report, entitled "_Digital  Prosperity_ 
(http://www.itif.org/files/digital_prosperity.pdf) ," examines the impact of IT in five key  areas: 
 
    *   Productivity  
    *   Employment  
    *   More efficient markets  
    *   Higher quality goods and services  
    *   Innovation and new products and services. 

According to the study, the integration of  IT into virtually all aspects of 
the economy and society is creating a digitally  enabled economy that is 
responsible for generating the lion's share of economic  growth and prosperity, 
both here and abroad, including in developing nations.  The "IT engine" does not 
appear likely to run out of gas anytime soon, and  should power robust growth 
for at least the next decade, provided that policy  makers take the right 
steps. Toward that end, the report outlines five key  public-policy principles for 
driving digital  prosperity.


The ITIF is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy think  tank committed to 
articulating and advancing a pro-productivity, pro-innovation  and 
pro-technology public policy agenda internationally, in Washington DC and  the states. 
Recognizing the vital role of technology in ensuring American  prosperity, ITIF 
focuses on innovation, productivity, and digital economy  issues.
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