Building the Knowledge Society - Department of Communications ...
Building the Knowledge Society - Department of Communications ...
Building the Knowledge Society - Department of Communications ...
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<strong>Building</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Knowledge</strong> <strong>Society</strong> Information <strong>Society</strong> Commission 41Government is clearly progressing a range <strong>of</strong> key initiatives in this area – including, for example,<strong>the</strong> broadband strategy; new levels <strong>of</strong> investment in R&D; <strong>the</strong> Technology Foresight Fund; <strong>the</strong>Digital Hub; <strong>the</strong> eGovernment process; ongoing work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Expert Group on Future SkillsNeeds; <strong>the</strong> report <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Task Force on Lifelong Learning; and <strong>the</strong> ICT in schools programme.However, <strong>the</strong>re is perhaps room for improved cohesion across Government in capturing <strong>the</strong>sense <strong>of</strong> conviction that <strong>the</strong>se objectives are being driven forward in concert towards a sharedover-arching goal – <strong>the</strong> imperative <strong>of</strong> adjusting to <strong>the</strong> demands <strong>of</strong> a new phase <strong>of</strong> national socioeconomicdevelopment.In this context <strong>the</strong> Commission welcomes <strong>the</strong> re-establishment by Government <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> CabinetCommittee on <strong>the</strong> Information <strong>Society</strong>, as well as <strong>the</strong> appointment <strong>of</strong> Ms Mary Hanafin TD asMinister <strong>of</strong> State at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Department</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Taoiseach with special responsibility for <strong>the</strong>Information <strong>Society</strong>.The Commission is confident that a firm focus on policy implementation through <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Cabinet Committee, complemented by strong political leadership through <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> newMinister, can allay any concerns that are held about fragmentation <strong>of</strong> effort, and can driveforward progress with <strong>the</strong> necessary level <strong>of</strong> urgency.3.4\ The Broadband ChallengeWhereas economic progress in <strong>the</strong> 19th and 20th centuries was driven primarily by <strong>the</strong> discoveryand use <strong>of</strong> electric power to drive agricultural and industrial production, it is evident thateconomic productivity in <strong>the</strong> 21st century will depend on enhanced application <strong>of</strong> informationand knowledge to economic activity. Broadband is <strong>the</strong> enabling infrastructure through whichinformation and knowledge will be accessed, used and shared. Future economic development,including our sustained attractiveness to increasingly mobile foreign direct investment, is<strong>the</strong>refore critically dependent on it.The importance <strong>of</strong> broadband investment to <strong>the</strong> knowledge society will be no less significantthan that <strong>of</strong> electricity to 20th century industrial development. Broadband investment must<strong>the</strong>refore be guided by a clear sense <strong>of</strong> its importance as a key 21st century infrastructure,and a key determinant <strong>of</strong> future socio-economic development, both nationally and regionally.3.5\ The Innovation ChallengeIn <strong>the</strong> globalised knowledge society, sources <strong>of</strong> sustainable competitive advantage increasinglydepend on knowledge-based innovation. R&D investment – and attractiveness as a location forR&D investment – has become crucial.Continuous market-driven innovation is <strong>the</strong> key to competitiveness, and thus to economicgrowth – accentuated by <strong>the</strong> erosion <strong>of</strong> our traditional cost advantages. This requires notonly a strong science and technology base, but equally important are <strong>the</strong> capacities to linkfundamental and applied research, to convert <strong>the</strong> results <strong>of</strong> that research to new products,services or processes, and to bring <strong>the</strong>se innovations quickly to <strong>the</strong> market.