Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei is now ranked No 54 out of over 140 countries in the world in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI).

This was revealed yesterday following a workshop for the NRI, which was hosted by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) of Brunei Darussalam at the Radisson Hotel.

The NRI is an index that measures the degree of preparation of a nation to participate in and benefit from ICT developments, and the ranking is produced annually in the Global Information Technology Report (GITR) by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD with more than 140 participating economies around the world.

According to a press statement from AITI, "Brunei Darussalam's ranking has been constantly improving from 63 (2008/2009) to last year's (2010/2011) 57."

This year (2011/2012) has seen Brunei climb three places to be ranked at 54 with a score of 4.04. Brunei is the third highest ranked country in the region behind Malaysia which is ranked 29 in the NRI with a score of 4.80, and Singapore ranked second in the NRI, scoring 5.86.

Thailand (ranked 77), Indonesia (88), Vietnam (83) and Philippines (86) are some of the other Southeast Asian countries ranked in the NRI.

Topping the list is Sweden, scoring 5.94, followed closely by Singapore, with Finland in third scoring 5.81, while Denmark and Switzerland complete the top five with scores of 5.70 and 5.61 respectively.

The Brunei IT Council (BIT), through the Ministry of Communications and AITI, has embarked on the second phase of an in-depth study in improving Brunei's ranking in the NRI with collaboration from the INSEA e-Lab and D&L, Partners.

According to AITI, the first phase of this study was conducted previously with several recommendations on actions and Strategic Key Performance Indicators (SKPIs) formulated for Brunei in translating higher readiness into higher levels of usage and impact particularly in business and society.

It has also been highlighted that Brunei has shown consistent improvements in the sub-rankings as strong emphasis has already been placed on quality of the education system and math & science education. "This current second phase of study builds on the output form the first phase which entails focus group discussions with representatives of key stakeholders, namely the Government, Business and Society in a series of workshops," said AITI.

One objective of this phase is to engage relevant stakeholders from the government, business and society sectors in the finalisation of the SKPIs identified in Phase 1.

Another is to generate the relevant stakeholders' support in turning relevant indicators into measurable actions and progress in ICT usage, while the final objective is to enable the identification of key "lighthouse" projects, accompanied by their respective metrics (SKPIs) and engagement campaigns.

Yesterday's workshop was held for government stakeholders, and was chaired by Awang Adi Shamsul bin Haji Sabli, Deputy Permanent Secretary (IT & E-Government) at the Prime Minister's Office.

Another is to be held today for business stakeholders and will be chaired by Dayang Hajah Normah Suria Hayati binti Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama (Dr) Haji Awang Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. A third workshop will also be held for the individual and society stakeholders next month and will be chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The outcome of the aforementioned workshops will be presented to the BIT Council and the Final Report is expected to be completed by the end of this year.