Information and Communications Technology (ICT) could become the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN's) most useful tool for achieving its goal of “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”. More specifically, ASEAN's success in regional integration and community building is also dependent on its ability to use ICT in the areas of: (1) coordinating policies, (2) deepening participation of ASEAN stakeholders, and (3) creating a regional identity, particularly among its youth.

ICT and Policy Coordination

The ASEAN Charter created new regional bodies to enhance the organization's policy-making and coordination efforts. These newly formed groups include the ASEAN Coordinating Council, three ASEAN Community Councils, the ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies, and the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR).

However, creating more committees does not necessarily lead to greater policy coordination — only to more complex processes and increased transaction costs. A more intensive use of ICT by these new ASEAN bodies, including the ASEAN Secretariat, could facilitate better policy coordination at reduced costs.

At present, ICT use in the ASEAN organization is limited to office productivity tools (email, word processing, and spreadsheets) and a web browser. ASEAN should examine new software-based conferencing solutions for audio and web-conferencing to complement existing face-to-face ASEAN meetings. Private sector companies that use these capabilities have achieved increased efficiencies, total cost savings, and environmental footprint reductions. Similar outcomes can be expected if ASEAN use conferencing tools.

Another ICT application that ASEAN can use to respond to the challenges of horizontal and vertical policy coordination is collaborative software. Collaborative software enables teamwork by transforming the way documents and “rich media” are used in an organization. Web-based collaborative software, which includes scheduling, project management, online chats and meetings, allows various individuals in multiple locations to work jointly on a single document. Like conferencing, collaborative software can make ASEAN more efficient and even reduce the length and/or frequency of ASEAN working groups and senior officials and ministerial meetings. Collaborative software would also enable the ASEAN Secretariat to discharge its mandated functions more effectively and efficiently.