The national policy of the digital Republic: Towards the refoundation of a digital Honduras

The National Policy of the Digital Republic: Towards the Refoundation of a Digital Honduras (2022) is Honduras’ main digital transformation roadmap. It was designed after years of limited progress in government digitalisation and seeks to restructure governance, close connectivity gaps, and build trust through transparency. Below is a detailed overview based on the document you provided,

Background and challenges

Previous efforts, such as the Agenda Digital 2014–2019 and the Master Plan for Digital Government (2015), introduced important ideas like interoperability and connectivity but failed due to weak leadership, duplication of institutions, and lack of funding. By 2020, Honduras ranked very low in global indices on e-government, connectivity, cybersecurity, and innovation. The absence of a coherent institutional framework, poor investment in ICT, and frequent changes in responsibility across ministries left the country with fragile governance structures

Strategic framework

President Castro’s administration repositions digital transformation as central to her Plan de Gobierno 2022–2026, linking it to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the National Transparency and Anticorruption Strategy (ENTAH 2022–2026). The plan defines five strategic pillars:

1. Efficient and transparent management – use of ICT for transparent institutions, citizen services, open data, and secure communication.
2. Connectivity for all – expansion of broadband, resilient infrastructure, and access to high-speed networks.
3. Digital skills and inclusion – bridging the digital divide through education, training, and specialised digital talent.
4. Innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology development – promotion of digital startups, labs, and application of technologies like AI, blockchain, and machine learning.
5. Sectoral digital transformation – applying digital solutions in health, education, agriculture and food security, justice, and finance,

Operational plans

Each pillar is tied to concrete plans:

• Digital Government and Open Government Plan – to modernise public administration, advance transparency, and build open data frameworks.
• National Connectivity and Broadband Plan – to extend internet coverage, manage radio spectrum for 4G/5G, and promote international interconnections.
• National Digital Talent Plan – targeting early education, skills for excluded groups, and advanced digital capacity development.
• National Plan for the Information Society and Innovation – fostering entrepreneurship, creating labs, bootcamps, and clusters, while financing innovative ventures.
• Sectoral Digital Agendas – starting with health, then education, agriculture, justice, and finance.

Governance and legal framework

The plan recognises the absence of a coherent digital legal framework. Honduras lacks laws on open data, personal data protection, and comprehensive cybersecurity. With support from the Inter-American Development Bank, a regulatory roadmap has been designed to modernise legislation. A new governance model will centralise responsibilities under a leading institution (DIGER), coordinating ministries,the private sector, academia, and civil society.

Monitoring and evaluation

The policy includes a follow-up and evaluation system to measure implementation. Progress will be monitored against international benchmarks (UN e-Government Index, ITU connectivity indicators, etc.) and domestic indicators like adoption of digital services, participation rates, and transparency outcomes. This aims to ensure sustainability and accountability, correcting weaknesses observed in earlier strategies