JORDAN NATIONAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY (2013-2017) Integrating Knowledge: Incorporation of knowledge into a product or service design is where value and competitiveness is created. Thus facilitating intersections between ICT and other sectors is important. Moreover, increasing cooperation between ICT companies and universities and research centers can help integrate new knowledge in the form of R&D to develop new products and services. This will require that ICT companies and/or potential users of ICT properly define their R&D requirements (desired outputs/outcomes) before engaging universities and research institutions. The ICT industry, in cooperation with management consultants and process experts will be able to identify opportunities and provide technical insight in any of the non-ICT sectors to develop products and services which will meet a pressing, identified sector need. Having a deep understanding of sector challenges and dynamics is essential to developing a high value added, competitive product and assists ICT to become a sector enabler. Once ICT solutions are developed ICT can more easily diffuse into the sector and improve sector efficiencies and competitiveness. Well-conceived and executed ICT products which address specific sector needs will improve the international competitiveness of the ICT sector because individual companies within the ICT sector will be focused on specific industries/sectors and will incorporate deep vertical knowledge of the sector which they serve. This is particularly true for products and solutions which serve highly specialized and small markets where scale economies are difficult to achieve. It is in these markets that that Jordanian ICT companies can successfully compete. Large international companies avoid these markets because they are either small or the price for their product or service will be uncompetitive and comparatively high. Training and Education: To maintain its international competitiveness, Jordan must address those factors which created its current sector competitiveness. Specifically, Jordan must develop ways to continually fuel sector growth with talented, trained and certified labor. The creation of a national ICT bridging program is being pursued through two separate initiatives. The MoICT in cooperation with the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) has launched a bridging program. INT@J and the private sector (with IFC support in developing a business plan) are also working to provide agile professional development, training and certification for ICT graduates and professionals. It is envisaged that both initiatives will eventually merge or combine at a later stage. It has also been suggested by the private sector that Jordanian universities and private sector ICT companies collaborate to identify model “CVs” for the different ICT roles needed in the market/economy. This can be supported by the ICT specific Qualification Framework intended to be developed as part of IFC support to INT@J. The purpose of a qualification framework is to provide higher education institutes, employers, present and future employees, training institutions, and other stakeholders with a guide as to what skills and competencies are needed in the labor market. Based on identification of the required skills and competencies (model CVs), the private sector would then collaborate with university faculty/ accreditation council in selecting the courses and topics required to develop the required skills and knowledge. The 17