Digital Strategy Funding
Investment in ICT is important - technology is an important part of our everyday lives. The government currently has around $400 million invested in ICT related programmes across all sectors.
Specific funding for the 2005 Digital Strategy included:
æ The Community Partnership Fund ($20.7 million) to enable communities to identify and develop initiatives to address their own ICT needs in partnership with business and/or government. The fund supports local partnerships to develop ICT capabilities, address issues of confidence in using ICT, to strengthen community projects through the use of ICT, and create and digitise distinctive and valuable New Zealand content and harness innovation in design and content.
æ The Broadband Challenge ($24.0 million) enables the roll-out of affordable broadband based on open-access principles. The fund promotes high-speed capacity in regional centres and supports innovative ways of making broadband available to remote and under-served communities. We giving seed funding to partnerships with achievable development plans and the ability to make it happen.
æ Diagram showing ICT Funding Areas (click image for a larger version)
This funding is designed to be integrated with a number of other ICT funding initiatives across government to ensure we get the synergies we need.
The Digital Strategy is currently under review. A refreshed Digital Strategy 2.0 is due out mid-2008.