On May 31, 2024, EEMI submitted its final report on a research project that developed a National Digitalization Readiness Index. The NDRI is a comprehensive set of metrics designed to evaluate how prepared countries are for the ongoing worldwide transition to a digital economy as related to the global climate change challenge. The United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network funded the project.
Dr. Mukes Kapilashrami, EEMI Director of Programs and Operations served as the Principal Investigator for the project, and Dr. Edward Saltzberg, EEMI Director of Professional Education, served as a co-PI for the project. Other key researchers in the project were Dr. Sucharita Gopal of Chatmine Technologies, and Dr. Jongseok Shin, Dr. Sanghyun Park, Dr. Minkyung Jung, Dr. Yeong-hyeon Choi, Dr. Yongchul Jang, and Dr. Youngseok Song of the Korean National Institute of Green Technology.
As the world grapples with the severe impacts of climate change on society and the environment, it is clear that innovative approaches are needed to integrate policy, investment, and technology solutions for sustainable climate actions and infrastructure. Digitalization offers a promising pathway for economic development and structural transformation, aligning with the global agenda for sustainable development. Utilizing digital tools, particularly in developing countries and Small Island Developing States, has the potential to significantly enhance their capacity to address technology challenges and opportunities for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Despite the numerous benefits of digitalization, there is a considerable need to understand the digital readiness of developing countries. This includes evaluating existing policy frameworks to bridge digital divides, improving climate technology literacy, raising public awareness, and understanding available finance and investment mechanisms.
The project named “Developing a National Digitalization Readiness Index for Developing Countries” established a comprehensive understanding of the digital capacity (or readiness) of developing countries, with a particular focus on energy infrastructure. The NDRI was developed to assess key facets of a country's digital readiness, including social, economic, regulatory, and technological aspects. This Index serves as a foundational tool for evaluating and enhancing a country's potential to adopt digital tools and technologies to strengthen its energy technology capacity.
The new index will serve as a tool for governments, policymakers, businesses, and stakeholders to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the world’s digital landscape. In the project, the EEMI-led team conducted multiple major activities, along with several sub-actions, that were undertaken in developing the new index.
Those activities included a systematic literature review (meta-analysis) to identify the significant variables to be included in the index, the development of pillars for the NDRI based on the identified variables, the investigation of the energy sector to identify relevant characteristics, and collected data required for assessment. The team has targeted two countries, South Korea and Thailand, for application of the NDRI to verify its applicability.
Development of the Index required a comprehensive dataset that captured various dimensions of national economies' preparedness for digital transformation, including data related to factors such as infrastructure and access, digital literacy rate, social inclusion, and government policy.
The final report of the project can be seen at this link: National Digitalization Readiness Index-FINAL REPORT. A companion report that also was developed by the EEMI research team to provide practical guidance for digitalizing the energy sector can be seen at the following link: NDRI Digitalization Options Handbook.