This report sets out an ambitious agenda for countries, cities and companies which they can use to create an outsourcing model that is genuinely sustainable. It concerns the crucial role of Information Technology Enabled Services: that is, all the services that can be provided remotely through cables, phones and computers.

In the past decade, Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-enabled services, or ITES) have missed two opportunities to play a proactive role in sustainable development worldwide. They now have a third chance. The report calls this agenda for sustainable ITES "Outsourcing 3.0". The outlines of this agenda emerge from the report's critical review of the past decade's experience of ITES and its close look at the next decade's likely trends.

The study—supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)—uses new research from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and AccountAbility, which is based on the best available data and in-depth interviews with thought-leaders and practitioners.