UAE Federal e-Government: Governing strategy and evolution landmarks Khaled Ali Al Bustani

UAE Federal e-Government: Governing strategy and evolution landmarks Khaled Ali Al Bustani Assistant Undersecretary for Budget and Revenue Ministry of Finance & Industry (MOFI) November 2004

UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry and e-Government… MOFI is a leading agent of change in the sphere of e-Government. Its goal is to use the power of the Internet and remote communications to enable citizens and residents to communicate with government agencies with minimum time and bureaucracy

e-Government is a tool for achieving significant transformation within the UAE Federal Government • e-Government will be a tollimprove efficiency and effectiveness by: Providing a single integrated online interface to customers; Reducing duplication and inefficiencies within Government by re-engineering processes and using technology; Using technology to integrate with the Federal Government’s suppliers; Providing employees with online tools and information to support their work

UAE Federal e-Government: • Vision and keys objectives • Goals • Facts • Strategy • Progress

Vision and objectives Vision • Enabling integrated policy formulation to facilitate a knowledge-based world-class government Key Objectives • Focus on achieving measurable improvements rather than just automate • Focus on only core Federal Government activities • Focus on using e-Government to integrate across different Ministries and Agencies as required • Focus on activities that will have a positive impact on customers

UAE Federal e-Government: • Vision • Goals • Facts • Strategy • Implementation progress

Policy Policy Regulation Regulation Operations Operations e-Government facilitates the transformation from focus on operations to a focus on policy and regulation

Core 44% Non Core 56% We have used international standards and best practice criteria to identify “core” Government areas • Is the service or activity critical to Government? • Are there legislative constraints that limits outsourcing options? • Is there a private sector supply market available to deliver the service? • Can the quality of the service delivery be measured and controlled?

To maximize the benefits from e-Goverment • Focus on core Government services; • Re-structure as necessary to enable and support our various improvement initiatives; • Focus on how IT can reshape work rather than automate existing work; • Form partnerships with private sector to deliver services wherever possible

Facts • The e-Government strategy will cover Federal Government (18 ministries and 17 authorities) • e-Government allows for the sharing and exchanging of information within government, businesses, and citizens...G2G, G2B and G2C • e-Government allows the government to improve its focus on the development of policy

Facts.. • e-Government provides the government with the means to accurately monitor and measure the performance and implementation of policy • e-Government introduces a thorough change in information and services delivery using e-Government channels and tools..such as the e-Dirham and the e-Portal

Facts.. • e-Government allows for a consistent, secure and reliable way to access information and services • All e-Government users are able to use a personalized access point through a portal • An internal working team of 18 senior government officials at the Under-Secretary level oversees the project

Strategy • Use information technology as a catalyst of enhancing procedures not just automation of existing procedures • Build citizen centred applications • Provide a single point of contact to the customer • Build partnership with private sector to deliver services where and when possible

Impact of opportunity selection Implementation Selection criteria Phase 2 Phase..n Phase 1 Phase 3 Strategy Long-term (transformational) Opportunities Quick wins Foundation (prerequisites) CSFs

Evolution landmarks… The e-Government project has been designed in such a way to be implemented in a structured ‘wave’ stages whereby each wave has its own milestones and benchmarks…

The Way Forward High Level View –project wave Across project Project Management

Milestones…e-Dirham • The e-Dirham was introduced in 2001 to replace traditional methods of fees collection for government services … • e-Dirham provides real time information and allows Ministries to more effectively undertake and record payment transactions, in addition to providing a modern and secure payment system for customers

…e-Dirham • More than 30,000 daily transactions are processed using the e-Dirham payment option • e-Dirham payment systems use state-of-the-art 128 bit encryption technology for complete safety • e-Dirham Smart Cards are rechargeable and can be remotely managed 24 hours/7 days • Remote management uses Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR)

….e-Registration • e-Registration allows the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to process and issue an electronic request for a bank guarantee • The request is received electronically and processed by the bank through the e-Registration system • After verification the bank registers the value of the guarantee and related information • The bank electronically issues a bank guarantee letter that is also received electronically and instantly by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs at the final stage of processing transactions.

…e-System • The e-System enables clients to register and pay online for certificates of origin through the e-Dirham system • Clients can cancel applications through this system

…e-Tender • Businesses who wish to supply their products and services to government register online • Once accepted, the supplier appears in the supplier directory on the e-Tender system. • Ministries seeking to procure products/services browse pre-defined categories of suppliers and release tenders or choose suppliers based on supplier evaluation forms that outline specific criteria such as delivery, services, guarantees etc..

…e-Procurement • e-Procurement is a comprehensive and systemic process in which government either establishes agreements for the acquisition or the purchase of products/services using IT systems. • e-Procurement is applied through different channels such as electronic ordering; purchasing cards, reverse auctions, and automatic accounting systems

…e-Sinaee • Allows online application for industrial licenses • Registering in the supplier’s record • Purchasing online Tenders

...e-Financial Management Information System e-FMIS • Provides government accounting for UAE federal government including general ledger, prepayment, review and audit, cash management, etc… • Provides government budgeting and forecasting • Establishes a uniform performance tracking methods • Streamlines the government financial process • Increasing the efficiency and accountability in government • Enhances financial reporting

The e-Portal is the UAE government’s electronic gateway that serves to: …e-Portal • Be as a convenient first-stop portal for users to locate the latest Government information such as news and policies • Conduct a wide range of transactions online with government agencies • Create a pro-enterprise ecosystem for businesses which will transform the way in which the UAE public interacts with the Government

Other milestone projects in implementing the e-Government phases include … e-Human Resources Management System, e-Project, e-Expat, e-Citizen, e-Tawasul-Document Management, e-Access, e-Diplomat…

Thank you

UAE Federal e-Government: Governing strategy and evolution landmarks Khaled Ali Al Bustani