The development of a national Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy document is an intensive process. Ideally, when a country has prioritised the drafting of such a document, there is comprehensive development and consultation. The various stakeholders involved in this process are equally represented and time is available for consultation and drafting. This process would be typical of many developed nations, who may now be progressing towards the fifth or sixth manifestation of their national ICT policy document. However, in developing nations there is a sense of urgency and perceived need to ‘catch up’ with the rest of the world. The process of drafting ICT policy documents for education is much shorter and more pressurised. Many of these developing nations look to the countries who are further down the path of policy development upon which to model their own document. Often it is the role of higher education institutions and their researchers to lead these processes. This application of expertise is a process that offers both advantages and disadvantages. As much of the policy formulation work in developing countries is sponsored by external agencies, there is an additional pressure to be accountable and produce a document quickly. However, these processes may in fact be undermining the effectiveness of the document being drafted. This paper will present the findings of a Public Sector Linkages Project (PSLP) that was aimed at building capacity for ICT strategic implementation for basic education in the Philippines. This project was undertaken by The Queensland University of Technology, Australia and the Philippine Department of Education. The goal was to produce an ICT for Education Policy document that would assist the Philippines in their implementation of ICTs across the education system. The project was driven by a specially formed committee of educators and bureaucrats from the Philippine Department of Education assisted by educational researchers whose role was to inform and guide the project through the various stages of development. The findings of this project will offer several observations that will help inform methodological approaches to conducting similar projects. Firstly, the differences in the perception of what constitutes a policy document, the processes needed to assist in development of such a document, the effect modelling had on the drafting process and the impact preconceptions and context have on the development process. Finally, it will explore the role higher education may play in policy initiatives in developing nations.

This qualitative project took an epistemological approach that sought to understand the context of the policy initiative that had a number of political, historical, social and cultural imperatives to consider. The project was conducted over three phases and data was collected accordingly. Phase 1, an online community was established, as a tool for members of the committee, who were located in both regional and metro areas in the Philippines, to remain in contact with the educational research team involved in the project. Phase 2, the online survey was delivered to both members of the committee and support staff involved in the project. Phase 3, the final source of data, were interviews with the committee members.

It is anticipated that the outcomes of this project will be both timely and relevant to higher education and to the research partnerships they form. Higher education is playing an increasingly important role in developing countries across all sectors of policy formation and development. Therefore this paper will present a framework, firmly grounded in educational research that can be used by developing nations to develop an ICT policy document. This framework is more suited to the political, historical, social and cultural imperatives commonly found in developing nations than the more commonly used models of developed nations.