National ICT/education agencies (andtheir functional equivalents) play important roles in theimplementation and oversight of large scale initiativesrelated to the use of information and communicationtechnologies in education in many countries. That said,little is known at a global level about the way theseorganizations operate, how they are structured, and how theytypically evolve over time. Through an examination oflessons from the development and history of a set ofrepresentative ICT/education agencies in East Asia, and, tobetter understand East Asian experience, other countriesaround the work, this paper seeks to identify commonchallenges and issues and potential relevance to leaders ofsuch institutions.