Policy Coherence in ICT towards Development of Knowledge Society for Ghana; Theory and Practice

Abstract

Ghana's development agenda has ICT as its spearhead based primarily on the ICT4D policy spanning into the main 14 pillars. A coherent ICT policy is one which has both horizontal and vertical coherence. The study adopts methods of future studies, namely, PEST analysis and futures technique Delphi tools. PEST analysis revealed signals and trends that were projected10 years into a futures wheel, assessing the primary and secondary impact on the political, economic, social and technology sectors of Ghana. A Delphi Real Time questionnaire was used to gather responses from actors in four scenarios for ICT in Future Governance and Policy drawn from the Institute of Prospective Technological Studies. With regards to coherence in ICT policy in Ghana, a probable future, given present opportunities and issues will be Open Governance. However, the preferable scenario will be Leviathan governance where decisions are based on researched, analyzed and critical information and not based on favoritism, nepotism and corruption.