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1. HISTORY AND FOCUS OF THE NETWORKING THE NATION PROGRAM

Networking the Nation (NTN) is the grants program being delivered from the Regional Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (RTIF). The initial $250 million allocation to the RTIF was announced in December 1996 and is being funded from the first partial sale of Telstra. In 1999 the Government announced an increase of $171 million in NTN funding from the Social Bonus resulting from the sale of a further 16 per cent of Telstra.

The objective of the program is to assist the economic and social development of rural Australia by funding projects which:

• enhance telecommunications infrastructure and services;
• increase access to, and promote use of, services available through telecommunications networks; and
• reduce disparities in access to such services and facilities.

The program's initial funding is being rolled out over five years. The $250 million has been allocated so that the share each State receives is in direct relation to the share of that State's population that resides outside the State's capital city.

A small administrative component has been included in the allocations, which is used for the support of the NTN Secretariat, based at the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts in Canberra. The allocations are as follows:

Social Bonus Funding for Networking the Nation

The new $171 million NTN funding initiatives were:

• $70 million for the Building Additional Rural Networks initiative to promote ongoing, sustainable improvements in regional telecommunications services;
• $45 million for the Local Government Fund which will assist local government authorities in regional Australia to provide online access to information and services including the Internet;
• $36 million to stimulate Internet service delivery in regional and rural Australia; and
• $20 million to improve telecommunications access for remote islands communities.

The Board has noted that in the 2001-2002 Budget, the Government announced that it had decided to reallocate a proportion of the funding from the $36 million Internet Access initiative to fund telecommunications and Internet initiatives as part of the Government's response to the Telecommunications Service Inquiry. The Board received advice from the Minister that the Government's view was that the outcome of the Extended Zones Tender together with recent commercial developments, in particular Telstra's BigPond offer from April 2001 of universal untimed Internet access, meets the objective of the NTN Internet Access Fund.

Six million dollars of uncommitted funds from the Internet Access Fund has been allocated towards the establishment of an Internet Assistance Program, a joint venture with Telstra to provide better quality and faster access to dial-up Internet services.

OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRAM

Nine major funding rounds have been conducted to the end of June 2001. To this date the Board approved 615 projects worth $290.3 million.

While most of the funded projects impact on just one State or Territory, 41 multistate projects have also been approved to date. Multistate projects must be able to demonstrate clear impacts in each State and Territory targeted as well as offering economies of scale and other benefits among States and Territories.

In the fourth financial year of the program's operation, the Board approved $91 596 491 million in funding for 206 projects across Australia. A list of projects approved in 1997-1998, 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 and payments made to these projects in 2000-2001 is provided at Annex A. A list of projects approved during 2000-2001 and payments made during 2000-2001 is provided at Annex B; and a table summarising approvals and payments for each Fund administered under the NTN program in 2000-2001 and over the life of the program to end 2000-2001 is provided at Annex C. A table providing information on NTN applications and Board approvals during 2000-2001 by State and Territory, is at Annex D and a table providing information on applications, approvals and payments over the life of the program to the end of 2000-2001 is at Annex E.

Over the life of the program, a total of approximately 97 projects have been acquitted or have not proceeded due to factors such as the applicant's inability to meet the conditions for funding set by the Board. As funding has been withdrawn for some projects and others have achieved their outcomes at a cost that was under the original NTN allocation, returns to the program have totalled approximately $6.7 million to date. These sums will be returned to the funds from which they were allocated.

A number of NTN funded projects have received awards, some of which include:

• Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Association-Prestigious Annual Practitioners: Local Call Internet Access for South West WA;
• Asia Pacific IT&T-Best of IT Regional Community Skills: The BridgIT project;
• Australian Information Industry Association-Health and Medical: Queensland Telemedicine Network;
• The Premier's Award for excellence in Public Sector Management-Services to Rural and Regional Queensland: Women's Justice Network; and
• Outstanding New Business 2001 Lithgow Business Awards: Lithgow Community Technology Centre.

Benefits to communities

While a number of projects are still to be fully implemented, the program is already demonstrating that collaborative projects focusing on meeting the needs identified by regional people can produce very significant benefits for rural communities.

Many project proposals are multi-faceted and contain a number of integrated components and activities designed to maximise benefits to the target communities. Examples of the types of projects that have been approved for funding so far include:

• the provision of infrastructure to regions unlikely to attract a commercial provider in the medium term;
• improvements to the quality of existing telecommunications infrastructure;
• trials or pilots of innovative technology, or innovative uses of existing technology including satellite delivery and video-conferencing;
• projects to facilitate increased use of electronic commerce in regional areas;
• reduction of the high costs faced by many Australians in rural and remote areas in order to gain access to the Internet;
• provision of assistance with the development of telecommunications solutions to the delivery of services such as education, justice or health, to Australians in regional, rural and remote areas;
• the delivery of training and general awareness raising activities to residents of regional, rural and remote areas;
• the provision of public access points to ensure widespread availability of services such as the Internet and videoconferencing;
• the establishment of community telecommunications facilities in a number of broad regional areas has been enabled through the Building Additional Rural Networks initiative;
• significant support for new mobile telephone services in recent funding rounds-following the ninth funding round NTN has allocated $32.2 million to 88 mobile phone projects; and
• local government bodies across Australia are actively pursuing the delivery of their services online under coordinated statewide strategies supported through the Local Government Fund.

Following the last funding round in June 2001 the amount remaining to be allocated in the NTN General Fund is $25 million with 12 months of the program remaining. This figure takes into account deductions for program administrative costs and returns to the fund due to project underspends. As at 30 June 2001 the amount remaining to be allocated across all Funds is approximately $99 million.

The following table shows the amount of funding remaining for each of the key initiatives under the Networking the Nation program.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM

The NTN Board

NTN funding decisions are made by an independent Board appointed by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. The Board is responsible for determining the activities and projects to be funded, and that the level of funding accords with the program guidelines and the overall State and Territory funding limits. The Minister is not involved in decisions on individual projects.

Board Members are: the Rt Hon Doug Anthony (Chair); Professor Gerry Anderson, University of Ballarat; Mrs Lindsay MacDonald, a Queensland wool farmer and telecommunications activist; Ms Johanna Plante, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Communications Industry Forum Limited; and Ms Eleanor Scholz, manager of a regional South Australian telecentre. All Board members and the Chair have been reappointed until 2002.

The Terms of Reference for the Board are at Annex F.

General processes

The NTN program operates under guidelines approved by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. In addition to the guidelines, which remain the primary document for bodies wishing to seek funding, the NTN Board has issued fact sheets describing its funding priorities, determined after the Board's consideration of the program guidelines and based on its experience to date with the program. Applicants are able to access full information about the program online, including program guidelines and fact sheets.

NTN Online is the program's grants application and project management facility. Applicants firstly complete a registration form at http://www.dcita.gov.au/ntn. When this form has been completed and submitted and eligibility has been confirmed by the Secretariat, applicants are provided with a unique identifier and password and have access to the application form online. If applicants do not have Internet access, the Secretariat can provide application forms and other material on floppy disk by request. Applicants without access to a computer are provided with a hard copy application form and hard copies of other material. Enquiries about the program and application process can be directed to the NTN Secretariat on the toll-free telephone number, 1800 674 058 or emailed to ntn.mail@dcita.gov.au.

The NTN Secretariat

A secretariat within the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts provides advice and support services to the Board.

Secretariat staff assist the Board by assessing applications, with the Board making its decisions based on its own consideration and collective discussion of proposals.

Secretariat staff act as case managers, being available to provide information and guidance specific to the needs of each applicant. They provide advice and guidance in the application development stage, administer the deeds of agreement, monitor the progress of funded projects and provide guidance to project managers as appropriate. Secretariat staff promote the program and discuss with interested people the aims and potential benefits of the program to their communities.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the NTN Secretariat before applying for funding.

State Advisory Groups/State contacts

Each State and Territory has established an Advisory Group to assist the Board in its deliberations. These groups meet before each Board meeting and provide information and advice on applications in relation to State policies and priorities for telecommunications and information technology. The State Advisory Groups provide valuable advice to the Board, although final decision making rests with the Board.

In May 2001 each State and Territory Government provided the Board with a presentation on their strategic directions for telecommunications and information technology. The Board anticipates conducting a similar series in 2002.

In addition to the State Advisory Groups, each State/Territory has a NTN Coordinator to provide a point of contact for applicants and prospective applicants within that State/Territory. All prospective applicants are urged to contact their respective State/Territory Coordinator to establish whether their project is consistent with the State Government telecommunications and information technology objectives and priorities. The Coordinator can also provide information regarding similar projects or place applicants in contact with other projects within a specific region.

NTN BOARD ACTIVITIES DURING 2000-2001

Board Meetings

In 2000-2001, the Board held two major funding meetings. The Board also convened two out of session teleconferences and one out of session meeting during the year.

The dates of Board meetings or teleconferences convened during 2000-2001 to discuss applications and/or strategic issues concerning the program, were as follows:

• 12 July 2000 (out of session teleconference);
• 29-30 November 2000;
• 1 May 2001 (State Advisory Group Presentations);
• 2 May 2001 (out of session Board meeting);
• 7 June 2001 (out of session teleconference); and
• 20-21 June 2001.

Board State Visit and Attendance at Conferences

During the year the NTN Board members attended a number of project launches, regional conferences and other events including:

• State Seminar
  Longreach
  10 July 2000
• Institute for International Research Group (IIRG) Conference-Rural and Regional Telecommunications
  Melbourne
  16-18 August 2000
• Board visit to Western Australia
  Peel, Great Southern, Wheatbelt and Mid-West regions
  17-20 October 2000
• Launch of SA Virtual Health Network project
  Port August, SA
  9 February 2001
• ComsWorld/IBC Conference-Rural and Regional Telecommunications
  Sydney, NSW
  12-13 February 2001
• Launch of Computer and Internet Awareness project
  Tambo, QLD
  1 June 2001
• Regional Communications/AccessAbility Forum
  Canberra, ACT
  14-15 May 2001

The NTN Board toured regional Western Australia from 16-20 October 2000. Communities involved in the NTN projects from the Peel, Great Southern, Wheatbelt and Mid-West regions were visited and the Board had an opportunity see many projects in action and talk to locals about the benefits the technology has brought to their communities.

The Board was able to experience the facilities offered through Denmark, Walpole and Wagin Telecentres, participate in a videoconferencing link, and discuss e-commerce services and the training activities associated with Internet access with a range of people from the communities. The Board was particularly interested in the telehealth services operating out of the Norrogin hospital, hearing first hand accounts of ante natal care and speech therapy, and the partnering with telecentres in providing access to equipment and services.

Promoting the Program

During the year NTN was promoted through a range of events and activities including field visits by Board and Secretariat members, presentation to key conferences, media interviews and meetings with stakeholders. The second and third issues of the NTN Newsletter were circulated in September 2000 and March 2001. In addition, information kits containing fact sheets about the various aspects of the program were updated and distributed, the website (www.dcita.gov.au/ntn) was updated, funding decisions were announced, and the toll free 1800 number was available for people interested in the program.

The NTN Board and Secretariat staff are also actively involved in promoting the program during their visits to regional, rural and remote communities.

Monitoring and Review of the Program

The monitoring and review of the program comprises a number of elements.

In September 2000 the NTN Secretariat commenced a sample based program of compliance checks of NTN funded projects. On behalf of the Secretariat consultants will undertake a review covering financial compliance with the funding agreement; quality of documentation; internal control/financial management in the managing organisation; and the continuing (financial) viability of the managing organisation.

All funding recipients have been advised that, as set out in the funding documentation, they may be required to participate in this review. It is intended to check approximately ten projects per year and since September 2000 four funding recipients have participated.

Appropriate funding recipients have been provided with advice on ways to improve the quality of their administrative processes.

In addition, independent consultants have been employed to conduct an ongoing evaluation, both in order to maximise the expertise available to the program as well as to ensure that a degree of research independence is applied to the analytical processes.

A series of evaluation questionnaires have been developed to obtain detailed information on every project funded by the NTN program. Each project will provide regular progress reports, articulating information about project activities and outcomes. Such information will be used for both ongoing project management and evaluative purposes. The evaluation analysis will be available on the NTN website.

At the completion of an NTN project the manager of the project is required to prepare a final report on project outcomes which is in the form of a public document. These reports are intended to provide guidance and assistance to other projects as well as providing more detailed information on program outcomes. They will be posted on the NTN website in the near future, as the Department's re-developed website comes on stream.

Consultancies and Other Sources of Advice

Over the year, a number of consultancies have been commissioned, to assist with various aspects of the program. Details of consultancies are outlined in Annex G. Where necessary, technical and financial consultants are utilised to provide analysis of more complex applications. This analysis forms part of the Board's assessment.

In addition to the role of the State Advisory Groups, other relevant Commonwealth Government departments and agencies are regularly consulted by the Secretariat. They provide a source of advice on the merits of project applications; provisions of financial and technical advice; the merits on project applications and other sources of Commonwealth funding and expertise.

ANNEX A

NTN PROJECTS APPROVED IN 1997-1998, 1998-999 AND 2000-2001