What is clear from the world’s e‑government pioneers is that responsibility for digitalization cannot be siloed in a single department or division. Instead, a country’s digital transition needs to sit at the heart of political decision-making, and preferably overseen by a digital minister with a senior position.
New Zealand is an exemplar of digital governance. Ranked fourth in the UN’s E-Government Development Index, it has a minister for government digital services, a chief digital officer, a chief data steward and a chief information security officer.
Pooling resources is good for everyone
New Zealand aside, over two-thirds (70%) of the top digital governments are in Europe, notes Aquaro. Why? “Because they all work together under a broader framework; policy, institutional and legal,” he says.
The Middle East is showing evidence of following suit, Aquaro adds. While there is an element of “positive competition” between the region’s leading players, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, he also identifies a spirit of “strong collaboration.”
A similar picture is emerging in the Americas, he says: “Before, you only had the US and Canada. Now, you have Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil that are very close to the level of those two.”
Regional leadership and collaboration have a growing role to play in closing the digital divide, according to the UN’s global study: “Joint initiatives such as Smart Africa, the ESCWA e-leaders initiative, eLAC2020/Red GEALC, and the Digital Agenda for Europe are manifestations of a growing understanding that the challenges and opportunities associated with digital transformation are best addressed through interregional and intraregional cooperation.”
Cooperation should also include the public
Vital as it is to cooperate regionally and establish a national strategy and central decision-making structure, digitalization also needs citizen participation. According to the UN’s survey, the public wants to know that their views are heard and to what extent they have been acted upon: “Two decades of experience … have shown the critical importance of linking e-participation initiatives with formal institutional processes, in order for people to see that participation has an impact.”
When we analyze any failed attempt at e-government, a narrow, top-down approach is usually to blame. Successful examples, on the other hand, involve the public throughout the process. Estonia, for instance, has an open-access portal (rahvaalgatus.ee) through which any citizen can submit a policy proposal, hold a discussion or send a collective address to parliament.
Another good example is Madrid. Through its Decide Madrid web platform, the municipal government of the Spanish capital invites the public to propose improvements to the city. Through the same website, residents can vote for the ideas they like most. The initiative also contains an element of participatory budgeting, whereby the city council earmarks a specified amount of money for projects proposed and voted on by residents.
Trust in digital government is crucial to participation
Public administrators can provide a sophisticated e-service system, but it will go unused if citizens feel disengaged or distrust the architects behind it. Ideally, governments will not just listen to their end users — they will also draw on their active participation to co-create services that resonate with their opinions and meet their needs.
In his recent Our Common Agenda report (pdf), UN Secretary General, António Guterres, comments on the mistrust that still surrounds technology and the digital space. In light of this, he suggests, “Institutions could establish better ways of listening to people whom they are meant to serve and taking their views into account.” When it comes to e-government, the evidence from the sector’s leading lights suggests that the “could” in Guterres’s phrase is really a “should.”
Partners in transformation
To date, multilateral development banks and development finance institutions have been instrumental in providing a significant amount of the capital required. This investment is spread across a range of areas, from emerging technologies and e-participation through to technology infrastructure and service delivery. But the majority – 75% according to our analysis – is directed toward digital transformation: the articulation of relevant standards and policies, the development of data governance, and capacity building, among other activities.
“Investment in digitalization of federal public services was an accelerator for Brazil’s improvement in the UN Digital Government Index,” says Roberto Silva, Executive Director at Ernst & Young Assessoria Empresarial Ltda. “Brazil has other digital transformation programs in place, such as Brasil +Digital, which is worth R$1b to be invested over the next 10 years.”
It’s clear that governments in developing countries can learn many lessons from other countries that would accelerate their progress to a more digital-enabled government and economy, closing the digital divide. Leaders must make decisive steps if they are to meet the needs of their citizens, prevent getting left behind more developed markets and embrace the new digital world.