[{"bbox": [158, 153, 1074, 286], "category": "List-item", "text": "2. Reinforced skills and competences in data protection, cybersecurity and cyber defence, including study visits to selected EU countries, to exchange practices and knowledge, building on cooperation initiatives implemented by various donors, as well as developing specific cyber forensic training and capacity building activities with the involvement of national and international academic and civil society organisations active in the field."}, {"bbox": [158, 298, 1074, 379], "category": "List-item", "text": "3. Strengthened capacities in the design and direction of the National Cybercrime Center to be established by the government and the National Police, leveraging on the D4D Hub and emerging initiatives of the EU and Team Europe in the LAC region."}, {"bbox": [147, 418, 383, 451], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [147, 484, 283, 512], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [158, 530, 1074, 717], "category": "Text", "text": "Since 2019, the ‘Digital Ecuador’ strategy of the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society (MINTEL) focuses on promoting a change in the country’s technological development paradigm and fostering innovation. In March 2019, there were around 11,148,222 fixed and mobile internet accounts in the country, 82.1% of which were mobile connections. In the last few years, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by public institutions has accelerated, which has streamlined the management of procedures in the country. Online transactions increased from 20% in 2017 to 75% at the beginning of 2021."}, {"bbox": [158, 728, 1074, 1101], "category": "Text", "text": "According to the United Nations eGovernment Development Index (EGDI), Ecuador improved from 95th in 2010 to 84th in 2018 out of 193 countries evaluated and it ranks 7th in the Americas region. UNDESA’s E-Government 2022 report confirmed Ecuador in the 84th position in the world, showing a fairly high level in terms of human capital development and online service delivery. Nevertheless, the country is held back by relatively low levels of infrastructure development (the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII) value is only 0.5269). To address this limitation, Ecuador has signed an agreement with the ITU to advance plans to expand the 4G network and ensure connectivity to schools and health centres that were previously excluded, including in rural areas. In this regard, the political commitment to reduce inequalities through investment in digital transformation has been further articulated in the 2021-2025 Opportunities Plan. In this plan, special attention is paid to reducing existing gaps in internet access and in February 2021, the country received recognition from the Organisation of American States (OAS) for its level of adoption and development of e-government due to the infrastructure expansion promoted by MINTEL."}, {"bbox": [158, 1111, 1074, 1246], "category": "Text", "text": "A more detailed analysis of Ecuador’s Digital Government context reveals some important areas of weakness that need to be strengthened to enable a real change in the way digital services are provided in an efficient and quality way to the citizens. The *ad hoc* analysis conducted during the Identification Mission in 2022 by an External Expert on behalf of DG INTPA, based on several academic studies, made the following findings:"}, {"bbox": [158, 1256, 1074, 1362], "category": "List-item", "text": "1. The technological infrastructure does not cover the requirements of public entities in their entirety. Despite the infrastructure expansion promoted by MINTEL, the IT systems and platforms are not yet fully adapted to support interoperability processes, which hinders the integration of services within the State."}, {"bbox": [158, 1375, 1074, 1483], "category": "List-item", "text": "2. The legal framework underpinning the application of ICTs in the public sector has not been socialised or implemented in several institutions. It is important that MINTEL disseminates and supervises its compliance and that it promotes the National e-Government Plan and the Digital Transformation Agenda 2022-2025."}, {"bbox": [158, 1494, 1074, 1575], "category": "List-item", "text": "3. Information about institutional services offered by web portals is incomplete. Few entities have downloadable and editable online documents on their websites or have online service platforms, which means that citizens have to carry out their procedures in person."}, {"bbox": [976, 1681, 1081, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 7 of 42"}]