"This report is an outcome evaluation of the UNDP MCO Samoa’s ICT for Development (ICT4D) project operating in the Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa from 2005-8. The consultant Robert Boase of Canada evaluated the project from November 18 to December 20, 2008 with one week missions to each country and writing up the report back in Samoa. General findings in this project are summarized below: ICT is still relatively new in the islands and it faces formidable challenges - ICT4D is both a great challenge and an opportunity; The vulnerability of the Internet hardware in these small island states due to cyclones, power surges and power outages that can damage network hardware such as a server; The limitation of human resources both for developing and servicing the ICT systems on the supply side and for using this technology by public servants and the general public on the other hand; The cost of developing, operating and maintaining these systems on limited government budgets; The sluggishness of the Internet both in connectivity and in data transfer that frustrates more sophisticated users and consumes inordinate amounts of time; The technology has jumped out ahead of many neophytes’ ability to use it. What is needed now is a focus on building computer literacy; It is premature to talk of these projects’ contribution toward the UNDP global objective of poverty reduction. The internet is still the domain of the educated and privileged in these societies; The intended outcomes for these projects are basically irrelevant to the actual situation on the ground; The delays in UNDP quarterly advances has impeded project implementation in all three projects; Project Managers’ accountability in the three projects was lacking. Without accountability projects tend to drift off target and fall behind schedule and this is what happened with all three projects." (Executive summary)