APRIL 2014 This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report were prepared by IBI International under contract number 669-C-00-11-00050. The views expressed hereinare the sole responsibility of IBI International and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. e-Government Strategy 2014 – 2018 DRAFT Government of Liberia 2 Executive Summary This document presents a strategy for development and implementation of electronic government “e-Government” in Liberia for the period between Q2/2014 to 2018.The Strategy reaffirms e-Government to the goal of delivering high-quality customer-centric and performancedriven services to e-Government customers. e-Government is a key enabler for accelerating work processes, delivering services to citizens and businesses, and increasing transparency and accountability, while also lowering costs of operation. An e-Government strategy is a guide to show us ‘where we are at present’; ‘where we want to be'; and ‘what we are supposed to do to reach there’. By closely aligning with the National Agenda for Transformation, e-Government will contribute to Liberia’s economic and social development, as well as the transformation into a competitive, innovative knowledge society. This document represents an important milestone in the evolution of e-Government in Liberia. Using lessons learned from Liberia’s initial phase of e-Government, and leveraging global good practices, this Strategy will guide the government and other key stakeholders whose ownership and leadership are vital to delivering e-Government services in Liberia. Liberia’s National Telecommunication &ICT Policy of 2010 - 2015 was promulgated by the Government to address the need for Liberia to become a knowledge-based society, as well as the need to harmonize independent ICT related initiatives that aimed at improving service delivery in all sectors. e-Government Vision e-Government in Liberia is dedicated to delivering services to people cross society, irrespective of location, economic status, education or ICT ability. With its commitment to a customer-centric approach, e-Government will transform government and contribute to the nation’s economic and social development. With this in view and in consultation with key stakeholders the following vision was calved for the Liberian e-Government strategy: "Harness the potential of ICT to bring the government closer to the people through effective governance, improved service delivery and socio-economic growth". From this vision five (5) key vision elements are identified. The key elements are: 3 Figure 1.1: Key Elements of the Vision Citizen Centered Efficiency Productivity Infrastructure Governance This e-Government strategy aims to provide a clear road map to accelerate Liberia Government’s effort toward delivering quality and responsive services to the public. In addition, it shall facilitate greater coordination within the public sector and guide the modernization of the Government’s complex administration. e-Government Outcomes The Strategy: crystallizes these key vision elements into outcomes; it presents priority e-Government initiatives and projects; it identifies outcomes and targets to facilitate performance control and raises accountability by clearly defining the responsibilities of key stakeholders. Ten key outcomes identified to enable the realization of the vision are: Outcome 1: Online Government Services Outcome 2: Diversified Civil Service Channels Outcome 3: Standardized Government Administration Process Outcome 4: Connected Government Outcome 5: Growth of ICT Entrepreneurship Outcome 6: Increase Private Sector Participation in e-Government Outcome 7: Expand Nationwide ICT Infrastructure Outcome 8: Digitalized Community Outcome 9: Established e-Government Governance Structure 4 Outcome 10: Established e-Government Regulatory and Legal Framework Figure 1.2 Summary of Strategy components Twenty Targets One "Harness Visionthe potential of ICT to bring the government closer to the Five Key Eleme Citizennts Efficienc Producti Ten Strategi cOnline Gov. Diversified Outcom Standardized es Connected ICT Increased Infrastr Nationwide Governa Digitalized Develop -Government Enable e-Services (20 60% reduction in 50% Gov. Services Develop 2 National Develop Mobile Develop Enterprise Develop e-Gov Develop Centralized Develop Human Establish an ICT Develop a Business Develop e- Established National Broadband Gov. Wide Area Shared Service Center E-Gov. Legal Build Community Establish e-Liberia Establish e-Gov. Develop e- e-Government Projects The strategy envisage the implementation of 22 projects leading over a five year period. It also proposes service delivery through four channels (Portal, Call Center, Mobile devices and Citizen Computer Centers). The delivery of the services will be strengthened through core projects including the Integrated Financial Management Information System, e-Government Portal, Centralized Email Management System, Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), e-Procurement, Electronic and Mobile Payment System, e-Office and e-Identification. Table 1.1: Identified Projects from the Targets No. Project Description Principal MACs involve Expected Start Date 1. The Government Portal is a single window lined with egovernment, information providing system, and operation infrastructure in order to maximize efficiency/productivity Ministry of Post & Q4 2014 eGovernment Portal 5 2. Call Center 3. Mobile Gateway 4. e-Agriculture 5. e-Transport and provide rapid/high quality administration services to citizens. One website helps to reduce the cost (money/human resource/space) compared to operating separate websites. In addition, it helps the customers easily find administration services through just one website. Telecommunica tions The Call Center will essentially provide support for all government services. It shall serve as a first point of contact for most customers exploring alternate delivery channels. The call centre would also provide information on all government services with certain value added services like status checking, and grievance redresser for all services. The call centre is expected to provide multilingual support. Mobiles are used worldwide for providing Government service due to their high penetration. Some of the advantages of the mobile Gateway as a service delivery channel are: A mobile gateway helps in providing services to customers on the move. Reduction in cost of delivering and availing services. Anytime, anywhere access to information and select public services It reduces the need for the citizens to visit the Government office for information, thereby helping in reduction of the load on the physical infrastructure of the government departments. To provide information & services to all stakeholders in the Agriculture sector (farmers, importers, exporters, investors, Government/regulatory agencies, research & support institutions) efficiently using ICT, and enable all stakeholders to contribute & participate in the development of the Agriculture Sector. This will provide: Improvement in Agriculture services provided by Government Provide access & improve access to informational & transactional services to all stakeholders across the country Improve Government administration and supervision of the Agriculture sector by using ICT Provisioning of major informational and transactional services related to transport ministry through electronic channels thereby improving the service delivery’s quality and efficiency. This will provide: Convenience to the general public, business community, other ministries for informational and transactional services Improvement in the service levels of transport ministry’s services leading to efficient delivery of licenses, information and other services Ministry of Post & Telecommunica tions and Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism LIBTELCO Q2 2015 Ministry of Agriculture Q3 2015 Ministry of Transport Q4 2015 6 Q3 2015 6. 7. e-Land e-Health 8. e-Labor 9. e-Trade Uniform and transparent licensing process leading to efficient service deliveryConvenient and accurate monitoring of certification and licenses and other vehicle registration information Real property registration system is a management system that allows a registration officer (public official) to register real properties and legal relationship in an official registry in accordance to the law and to keep maintenance of the registry. Unlike movable properties, it is rather difficult to keep track of the ownership or occupants of real properties. For this reason, the government makes public notice of real property information and its legal relationship through the registry. Provisioning of major informational and transactional services related to Health through electronic channels thereby improving the service delivery’s quality and efficiency. This should provide: Convenience to the general public , healthcare institutions( hospitals and pharmacies) for informational and transactional services Improvement in the service levels of health ministry’s services leading to timely medical aid to the citizens thereby improving the overall health scenario in the country Uniform and transparent licensing process leading to efficient health care service delivery Convenient and accurate monitoring of certification and license status of health care institutions Provisioning of major informational and transactional services related to Employment to the ministry of Labor through electronic channels thereby improving the service delivery’s quality and efficiency. This should provide: Management of Unemployment in the country Issuance and certification for unemployment Integration and licensing of the Agencies Issuance and renewal of work permit Provisioning of major informational and transactional services related to Trade and Industry through electronic 7 Ministry of Lands, Mines & Energy Q4 2015 and Lands Commission Ministry of Health Q1 2015 Some aspects are ongoing Ministry of Labor Q3 2015 Ministry of Commerce Q2 2015 Some aspects have already started 10. e-Justice 11. e-Education channels thereby improving the service delivery’s quality and efficiency. This should provide: Convenience to the Industries, Businesses ,Large, Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises, Investors and the general public for informational and transactional services Improvement in the service levels of Trade and Industry ministry’s services leading to timely Business aid to the citizens thereby improving the overall Economic scenario in the country Uniform and transparent licensing process leading to efficient Trade and Industrial service delivery Convenient and accurate monitoring of certification and license status of Business institutions Provisioning of major informational and transactional services related to Court to Ministry of justice, Supreme Court and Regional Courts, County Courts through electronic channels thereby improving the service delivery’s quality, tracking and efficiency. This will provide: Better awareness about functioning and processes of the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court. Digitized copy of the Law, Acts and case Documents. Applications for the Case filling, Property Details etc. Key Components include: E-Court Portal Property and Land management system Case Management Application The e-Educational Administration System seeks to provide people with educational administration service via the Internet and enhance citizens’ conveniences with on-line issuance of educational certificates available in every educational institution. The system also takes the lead in standardizing and improving service procedures and developing required laws and regulations to increase efficiency. Thereby, it enables teachers to focus fully on their job of teaching. This should provide: Improvement in education services provided by Government Provide access to education across the country Improve teaching standards by providing on-line access to latest teaching aids, material, techniques Improve Government administration and supervision of the education sector by using ICT Improve overall quality of education in the country through distance learning, E-learning, computer based training (CBT) 8 Ministry of Justice Q2 2015 Ministry of Education Q1 2015 Some aspects of eEducation implementa tions have already started 12. e-Passport & Visa 13. Centralized Email System 14. Human Resource Management Information System 15. National Payment System e-County 17. Automation of services provided with respect to issue, renewal of passports and visa services of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This should provide: Better functioning and processes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Faster & more efficient issue and management of applications and documents Reduction in opportunities for fraudulent applications Key Components include: Passport & Visa Management Application Status check facility on channels (Portal, call centre, etc) Email can be used as a very effective medium for the interoffice and intra-office communication. Though some of the MACs use the commonly used web-based mailing services, it is limited by internet access. The email-ids must be created for the important functionaries in the department. Since the email system will be common across the departments, the common system can be used across with the standardization in email addresses. The efficient management of government resource personnel is imperative to bring in efficiency and improve productivity. A government wide Human Resource Management System is a compelling tool for this purpose. It is recommended that Government wide HRMS solution is commissioned across all government agencies under the leadership of Civil Services Agency. As per the assessment study, some work has already been undertaken in this regard. Following benefits are envisaged from this project: Employee empowerment Enhancement of computer usage skills of employees as they are likely to use the system for availing services Efficient and effective management of the government workforce e- Provisioning of the e-services to ensure a safe and clean environment for a healthy and productive society with 9 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Q2 2015 Ministry of Post & Telecommunica tions Q4 2014 Civil Services Agency Q2 2015 Ministry of Finance / MoPT Q4 2015 Ministry of Internal Affair Q3 2015 16. Business Portal 17. ICT Business Incubator 18. eProcurement 19. National Broadband Network 20. Government Wide Area Network (GovNet) improved access to social services and physical infrastructure. This will provide: Institute good governance with efficiency, transparency and accountability to the residents. Overall citizen satisfaction by providing convenience and improved service delivery. Improve the quality of Citizen Service Delivery System and offer these services with optimal effectiveness and transparency. Allow data sharing across different departments, thus bringing about the efficiency in administration functioning. Help different departments to improve their revenue collection efficiency. Providing the Single Gateway to support business competitiveness from establishment of companies to operation, it provides one-stop administration service in portal. The Business Portal is aimed at supporting business with convenience and enhancing the country's international confidence by supporting high quality business configuration of service. The focus of the Incubation centers is to create strong companies that can sustain themselves after a period of initial assistance. Government provides policy and financial support, but does not run the incubator directly. Given the high percentage of government procurement as a percentage of total procurement in the economy, a comprehensive e-Procurement solution can substantially improve efficiency and cost effectiveness of government procurement and brings transparency for businesses dealing with government. E-Procurement system will provide businesses and ministries with a common platform to transact. With features such as demand aggregation, catalogue based procurement, dynamic pricing engine, etc; the system is expected to cut down the transaction costs for not only the government, but also suppliers. To enable ICT applications and services that are highly integrated into everyday life – used pervasively for work, study, play and entertainment, there need for a high-speed broadband connectivity anytime, anywhere. Such a broadband is no longer a luxury, but a source of national competitive advantage. The availability of a national broadband network, irrespective of the type of technology used (fiber optics, Wimax etc) is a mandatory requirement for gaining access to citizens and businesses throughout Liberia. The GovNet project embodies the concept of internetworking, where multiple Local Area Networks (LANs) of varying protocols from several ministries and public sector agencies are connected to the GovNet. It is the development of a government backbone network that connects all MACs. 10 Ministry of Commerce Q4 2015 Ministry of Posts & Telecommunica tions PPCC and Ministry of Finance Q1 2016 Ministry of Post & Telecommunica tions / LTA Q3 2015 Q1 2015 and LIBTELCO MoPT, Ministry of Finance and LIBTELCO Q1 2015 Some aspects of this project 21. Government Shared Service Center 22. Community Computer Centers 23. IFMIS A number of MACs are connected through the IFMIS project. More Services should be implemented on the infrastructure This would provide a single facility to house the hardware, software and staff. It would be physically secure (guarded premises with controlled physical access) and protected against natural disasters (fire, floods, etc.) and malicious attack. It would provide 24 X 7 X 365 service levels (adequate monitoring staff, backup hardware, etc.) and should be equipped with redundant environmental controls (duplicate sources of electrical power, air conditioning, etc.) The CCCs are where services like Information dissemination, acceptance of service requests and delivery of services is provided to the customers at a single point of service delivery. CCC includes self-service kiosks, utility bill payment centers, ICT community centers etc has already started. Ministry of Post & Telecommunica tions and Q3 2014 Ministry of Finance Ministry of Internal Affairs Q1 2016 Ministry of Finance Ongoing e-Government Stakeholders e-Government users, Government entities, the e-Government Program, the to-be-established National e-Government Steering Committee, Private sector and non-governmental partners, Political leaders, are all stakeholders of e-Government. In a customer-centric world, eGovernment starts with customers (citizens, businesses, government entities and government employees), who are the primary stakeholders of e-Government. As the providers and users of e-Government services, Government entities and the e-Government Program are also major stakeholders. Increasingly, private sector partners are becoming more involved in services delivery to and in providing operational control and infrastructure maintenance services. As representatives of citizens, Liberia’s political leaders are in many ways the ultimate owners of e-Government. Commitment, engagement and active ownership at the highest political levels are vital drivers for accountability of government entities for e-Government progress; public investment in core e-government efforts; policy making needed for e-Government; and public sector reform that is essential for service delivery. Political determination and steady financial commitment should not be underestimated; e-Government, as in every country, requires initial investment that pays-off in the long term. Conclusions 11 All the above strategies revolve around the role of the private sector, be it business, academic or civil society, as partners with government in developing the country in all the elements of ICT. Consistent with this, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are an essential ingredient at government's disposal to implement programs in e-Governance, broadband deployment, and ICT training. It is important for both government officials and the public to recognize that this is a national strategy which impacts the overall development of the country and as such will be adopted as part of this administration’s agenda. This involves the personal leadership of the President to ensure that all departments of government play their role in implementing programs affecting their respective constituents which will support the strategies identified by the e-Government Strategy. Only then can we ensure that we keep up with the pace which many other countries around us have set in their national development. 12 Contents 1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 3 2. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 15 3. 4. 5. 2.1. How this strategy was developed ............................................................................................... 15 2.2. Strategic Planning Model ............................................................................................................ 15 The e-Government Strategy for Liberia .............................................................................................. 17 3.1. e-Government Objectives ........................................................................................................... 18 3.2. The Vision .................................................................................................................................... 19 3.3. Outcomes & Targets ................................................................................................................... 24 3.3.1. Strategic Outcome 1: Online Government Services(e-Services)......................................... 24 3.3.2. Strategic Outcome 2: Diversified Civil Service Channels .................................................... 25 3.3.3. Strategic Outcome 3: Standardized Government Administration Process......................... 25 3.3.4. Strategic Outcome 4: Connected Government................................................................... 25 3.3.5. Strategic Outcome 5: Growth of ICT Entrepreneurship/Industry ....................................... 26 3.3.6. Strategic Outcome 6: Increased Private Sector Participation in e-Government ................ 26 3.3.7. Strategic Outcome 7: Nationwide ICT Infrastructure ......................................................... 26 3.3.8. Strategic Outcome 8: Digitally enabled Communities ........................................................ 27 3.3.9. Strategic Outcome 9: Established e-Government Governance Structure .......................... 27 3.3.10. Strategic Outcome 10: Established e-government legal framework .................................. 27 Governance Structure ......................................................................................................................... 28 4.1. Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 28 4.2. Drivers for the Governance Structure......................................................................................... 29 4.3. Governance Structure: Options and Recommendations ............................................................ 30 4.4. Recommended e-Government Governance Structure ............................................................... 34 e-Government Implementation Plan .................................................................................................. 37 5.1. Prioritization................................................................................................................................ 37 6. Overall Implementation Plan .............................................................................................................. 39 7. Critical Success Factors and Risks ....................................................................................................... 42 7.1. Risk in E-Government Strategy Implementation ........................................................................ 43 7.1.1. Program level Risks ............................................................................................................. 43 7.1.2. Project level Risks................................................................................................................ 44 7.2. Change Management .................................................................................................................. 45 13 8. e-Government Performance Indicators .............................................................................................. 46 9. Challenges and Limitations ................................................................................................................. 48 9.1. The Challenges ............................................................................................................................ 48 9.2. The Limitations............................................................................................................................ 49 10. Mobilizing Support & Managing Expectations................................................................................ 50 Appendix A: e-Government Projects ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 14 1. Introduction The purpose of this Liberian e-Government Strategy is to: Harness the potential and power of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to support the attainment of the Government’s agenda and objectives contained in the Agenda for Transformation 2030; and Respond to the global trend towards a digital economy and knowledge societies and ensure that the country’s economy and society is prepared to participate and compete in this digital economy and take advantage of its opportunities. 1.1. How this strategy was developed The development of this strategy was a collaborative and consultative process, led by a MoPT consultant. This approach engaged the following stakeholders through meetings and workshops organized by MoPT: Technical Working Groups comprised of government officials, industry representatives and civil society to provide expert and stakeholder input and vision on the key strategic elements; A series of Focus Group Discussions and workshops with various key stakeholders. Government officials were divided into groups of four to present their views on what should be the e-Government vision for Liberia. Consolidation meetings were carried out with key stakeholders at the Ministry of Post & Telecommunications (MoPT) before finalizing the vision and its key elements. This document was subjected to a process which is aimed at securing the participation and support of the key sector interests, to enable and energize Liberia developing into a fully competitive digital economy. 1.2. Strategic Planning Model The four major stages of the Strategic Planning Model Process were followed, as illustrated in the diagram below. As shown, critical elements of the strategy were developed at each stage, including the performance management and review process. 15 Where We Where We How We Environme ntal Scan Situational Analysis SWOT Vision Identified Projects Prioritizati on Implement ation Plan Key Elements Strategic Outcomes 16 How Are Performan ce Review Progress Critical Success 2. The e-Government Strategy for Liberia The e-Government Strategy for Liberia is focused on ensuring effective delivery of Government Services to citizens and businesses. The strategy outlines an approach to enable transformation of the delivery of public services by providing citizens and business with more convenient, affordable and effective access to trusted government information and services. It aims to improve the availability and quality of government services and to provide greater opportunities for participation in democratic institutions and processes. The view of the e-Government Strategy can be summed up as: "Delivering efficient, effective and trusted government services in a convenient manner to Citizens as Customers" The strategy sees opportunity to improve the traditional delivery of services by the public sector. Recipients of the services are seen as "customers" and not beneficiaries i.e. looking at citizens and businesses as customers with 'unique needs and requirements'. There are three key implications to this view: 1. Improving Service Delivery: the current government service delivery, in its traditional process, is time consuming, lacks transparency, and leads to citizen and business dissatisfaction. By putting government services online, e-Government reduces bureaucracy and enhances the quality of services in terms of time, content and accessibility. 2. Customers have 'choices' and demand 'services': Citizens, like customers have different needs and differing requirements in terms of how the needs are to be serviced. Fundamental to this fact is the expectation of better service and service levels. Customers increasingly want to know how long it will take to solve a problem or remedy a situation. The concept of choices and service is especially true for delivery of government services, as a government cannot chose its customers and yet it needs to serve all. 3. Customers demand efficiency: as customers, citizens willingness to patronize government services will be driven by value for money. This necessitates government to be efficient. The public sector will need to continuously seek ways to reduce cost for availing government services. 17 2.1. e-Government Objectives The prime objective of the e-Government strategy is to formulate policies, which would aim at improving effectiveness and efficiency of Ministries, Agencies and Commissions, with emphasis on improving productivity, quality and service delivery. This can be sub-divided into the following specific objectives: create effective and efficient integrated service delivery models; realize new value from government information assets; strengthen assurance systems to manage risk and quality; To have an appropriate institutional structure to spearhead e-Government implementation partner with the private sector and non-governmental organizations; and To enhance e-Government infrastructure across government institutions 18 2.2. The Vision Modern ICT alone cannot transform government but transformation also cannot happen without it. Thus, the e-Government Strategic vision aims at achieving the Liberia National Vision of becoming a middle-income state by 2030. The vision of the Liberia e-Government strategy is: "Harness the potential of ICT to bring the government closer to the people through effective governance, improved service delivery and socioeconomic growth". The vision of the e-Government strategy has five key elements. Citizen Centered Efficiency Productivity 19 Infrastructure Governance 20 Citizen Centered To develop and deliver citizen centered government services to Liberians: Transforming public service delivery through e-Government requires a significant shift in the way that services are designed and delivered. Shifting from the agency-centric approach within the public sector to one of citizen-centricity is a fundamental step toward achieving e-Government. By this, the customer (citizens, businesses, government employees and other agents) are placed at the center of government service delivery. This includes, delivering Government information and services through channels that are convenient and accessible to citizens and building confidence in public services. The e-Government strategy aims to increase the awareness levels of the people regarding the services offered by the Government and their rights as customers and also make it easier for the customers to influence and participate in design of Government policies and schemes. This participation is expected to create a sense of ownership and a culture of higher compliance leading to closer ties between the government and the people. Efficiency Create effective and efficient integrated service delivery models: The implementation of the e-Government strategy will lead to backend automation and adherence to a common set of policies and standards leading to better integration and information sharing amongst them and resulting in making the government organizations more effective and efficient in discharging their services and duties. Furthermore, capacity building to impart training to public servants on skills that will enable them to serve the customers in a mo re effective manner is an integral part of the overall e-Government strategy. The product of the e-Government Strategy is the electronic enablement of government services to be delivered through alternate channels such as the internet, mobile, call center and the citizen facilitation centers. The introduction of these alternate channels will empower the people with the choice of how, when and where they interact with the government to further improve the customer satisfaction levels with the government services. It is also envisaged that electronically enabled services would be not only faster, and easier to demand and avail but will 21 also have pre-defined and published service levels thereby leading to a visible enhancement in quality of service delivery. Productivity Increase productivity through collaborating with the private sector businesses and nongovernmental organizations: The implementation of the e-Government program will benefit the Liberian economy through participation of the private sector and deployment of its resources, entrepreneurship and competence. At the same time, the private sector would also benefit through the e-Government program as government services will be delivered faster and at a lower cost to the customers thereby resulting in lower cost of doing business. This is likely to foster a symbiotic environment that would promote economic growth and sustainability of the e-Government initiatives. Infrastructure Improve Government Communications and reduce barriers to government transactions through ICT Infrastructural Development: Infrastructure development is identified by the Agenda for Transformation 2030 as an essential element in Liberia's strives to achieve sustainable socio economic development. Similarly, services, the heart of e-Government in Liberia, rely upon ICT infrastructure to enable their delivery to users. Reliable ICT infrastructure is a prerequisite to e-Government. In other words, a need for a nation-wide robust, secure and reliable connections and community computer centers are paramount to successful implementation of the e-government strategy. The key components of these connections will be the: National Broadband Network Government Integrated Data Center Government Wide Area Network (GovNet) Elements of these sets infrastructure are at different levels of implementation depending on the Ministry, Agency or Commission. E-Government infrastructure is not a one-time expense; it is a long-term investment. In particular, the investment needed to build or upgrade the technology base needed for e22 Government is substantial. Yet, building out Liberia’s ICT infrastructure is critical to eGovernment services and the country’s long-term development. In addition, e-Government is an economical project that will pay back in the long-term in terms of enhanced productivity, economies of scale, lesser duplication of investments. Governance To establish an appropriate institutional structure and Legal Framework to spearhead implementation of e-Government in Liberia: The establishment of an institutional mechanism responsible for coordinating and monitoring of the implementation of ICT in government and ensuring benefit realization is paramount to the eGovernment Vision meeting the socio-economic growth vision of the country. Part four of the document is dedicated to the governance structure of e-Government, describing the roles and responsibilities of its key stakeholders. 23 2.3. Outcomes & Targets Progress towards achieving the vision should be measured and monitored. The strategy defines outcomes whose achievement can be measured. The outcomes are organized around the key elements of the vision. Outcome 1: Online Government Services. Outcome 3: Standardized Government Administration Outcome 5: Strengthen ICT Education in Liberia Outcome 7: Expand nationwide ICT Infrastructure Outcome 9: Establish eGovernment Governance Outcome 2: Diversified Civil Service channels Outcome 4: Connected Government Outcome 6: Increase Private Sector Participation in Outcome 8: Digitalized Community Outcome 10: Establish eGovernment Regulatory & 2.3.1. Strategic Outcome 1: Online Government Services(e-Services) The heart of all e-Government programs worldwide is services, and the Liberia e-Government is no exception. By orienting e-Government around the seamless, integrated delivery of services to citizens, businesses and other government agents, e-Government will transform how government works. As a result, service-oriented e-Government will transform relationships among citizens, businesses, and government employees as well as among government MACs. The delivery of Online Government Services in Liberia will be: service oriented; customer centric; results driven; enabled by component-based enterprise architecture and interoperability framework; and accessible 24 2.3.2. Strategic Outcome 2: Diversified Civil Service Channels It is expected that services will be accessed and delivered using diverse electronic channels in order to enhance customer experience, increase efficiency and reduce operational costs. Indeed, electronic channels can be the most efficient and cost-effective way for service delivery, provided they are affordable. An initial channel identification exercise has been undertaken to enhance the quality and attractiveness of services (focusing on e-services), and to boost their utilization. The implementation of diversified Channels to government services will: improve the services provided to the customer reduce the cost of providing the services and make them more accessible 2.3.3. Strategic Outcome 3: Standardized Government Administration Process Although MACs provide different government services based on their given mandate, the administrative processes and structures that are required in the provision of these services are similar but currently different MACs apply individual policies and standards in accomplishing these administrative efforts. Where multiple agencies are required to deliver a particular service to citizens, these disparate standards, policies and architectures make the collaboration difficult. For example, personal information recorded for a given application varies from one agency to the other. However, the implementation of e-Government require government agencies to deliver integrated services that are citizen centric. This requires seamless information across government/Ministries Agencies and Commissions. To, the e-Government Strategy mandates the implementation of: common applications, standards and policies to improve government efficiency and costs through facilitation of better coordination amongst the government MACs. 2.3.4. Strategic Outcome 4: Connected Government The e-Government Strategy mandates the implementation of common applications, standards and policies to improve government efficiency and costs through facilitation of better coordination amongst the government departments. Towards this end, two key imperatives would be: Core projects which include, Government Portal, Government Network, Payment Gateway, Enterprise Architecture and National Identification systems would be implemented to provide the requisite foundational infrastructure to enable e-services 25 Along with the core infrastructure, shared applications need to be made available across the Ministries and Agencies to enable smooth functioning and provide focus on implementation of the priority projects by reducing the effort required. The common applications would also facilitate collaboration and consistency across common processes such as procurement, HR management, Financial Management etc. 2.3.5. Strategic Outcome 5: Growth of ICT Entrepreneurship/Industry Experience of other countries illustrates that a number of industries such as Banking, Education, Information Technology and Telecommunications are positively impacted by large-scale e Government implementations. The existence of a well-defined e-Government strategy will encourage foreign investment in ICT and open up areas previously reserved for public sector. Over the course of implementing this strategy the ICT industry, including hardware, software products, software services and related business services is expected to develop as government engages their services to implement aspects of the strategy. The players in these sectors invest not only as service providers and as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives but also to create goodwill and awareness regarding their products through advertisement and association with the e-Government program. 2.3.6. Strategic Outcome 6: Increased Private Sector Participation in e-Government Government will never have sufficient capabilities and resources, both in terms of quantity and quality, to implement and operate all identified e-Government initiatives. It will require the participation of the private sector to implement efficiently and effectively. The implementation of e-Government should lead to increased private sector participation in the provision of government services. Through Public, Private Partnership (PPP) in the form outsourcing, co-sourcing and partnering the Government of Liberia will be able to: Implement core services quickly Provide access to new technologies Furthermore, private sector organizations participate in e-Government's implementation by undertaking Build Operate and Transfer (BOT); Build Operate and Own(BOO); and Build Transfer and Operate (BTO) arrangements. 2.3.7. Strategic Outcome 7: Nationwide ICT Infrastructure One of the key elements of the Liberia e-Government strategy is to achieve sustainable socio economic development through various aspects of ICT, one of which is to promote growth of IT 26 and IT enabled sector for revenue and employment generation. Reliable nationwide ICT infrastructures including telecom redundancy, broadband backbone with risk management arrangement are paramount to attracting ICT investment and taking the sector forward. The provision of the ICT infrastructure and bridging the digital divide is the main agenda to establish knowledgeable society. Therefore, it is our responsibility for the planning, managing and facilitating the development of a secured national ICT Infrastructure. 2.3.8. Strategic Outcome 8: Digitally enabled Communities Governments can build a solid e-government foundation and a complete service network, but citizens still will not use online services if they do not know how to access them or are unaware of their existence. Marketing e-government is important but a new business model also needs to be deployed to attract people to use the services. Primarily, governments must ensure Internet accessibility across all social groups. Secondly, quality content is needed to convince people to connect and use the online services available. 2.3.9. Strategic Outcome 9: Established e-Government Governance Structure One of the critical success factors to the successful implementation of any e-Government Strategy is in having an effective governance structure. Such a governance structure will have a strong oversight of ICT spending, shared systems, cross-agency initiatives across the whole of government and an institutionalized monitoring and control of ongoing projects. The establishment of the governance structure is a mandatory requirement for the implementation of the e-Government strategy. 2.3.10. Strategic Outcome 10: Established e-government legal framework A legal framework sets the basic rules and authority needed to implement e-Government. The legal drafting process must involve all relevant stakeholders—including relevant ministries and the e-Government Program—in order to produce regulations that are well understood and widely implemented. Table 1.1 below summarizes the outcomes and targets for the period of 2014-2018 to be achieved by Liberia as part of this e-Government strategy. Table 1.1 Outcomes and Targets No. Strategic Outcomes Online Government 1. Targets 2018 1. Develop a Government Portal by 2015 Services 27 2. Diversified Civil Service Channels 3. Standardized Government Administration Process 4. Connected Government 5. Growth of ICT Entrepreneurship Increase Private Sector Participation in eGovernment National ICT Infrastructure 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Digitally enabled Communities Established e-Government Governance Structure Established e-Government Legal Framework 2. Enable e-Services - 20 most commonly used services should be available online by 2016 3. 60% reduction in turnaround 4. 50% services delivered through other than agency counters 5. 2 National Contact Centers 6. Mobile Gateway 7. Develop an e-Government Interoperability Framework by 2014 8. Establish an Enterprise Architecture Framework by 2015 9. Develop a Centralized Email System by 2015 10. Develop a Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) 11. Develop an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) 12. Develop an ICT Business Incubator 13. Develop a Business Portal by 2016 14. Electronic Procurement (e-Procurement) System by 2017 15. 16. 17. 18. National Broadband Network Establish a Government Wide Area Network (GovNet) Government Integrated Data Center Build Community Computer Centers in all Districts 19. Establish the e-Liberia Office (PMO) by 2015 20. Establish the e-Government Steering Committee by 2015 21. e-Government Laws by 2017 Detailed Target descriptions are provided as projects in Appendix B. 3. Governance Structure 3.1. Overview One of the critical success factors in implementing an e-Government Strategy is the existence of an effective governance structure. E-Government is about fundamental change in the way organizations and processes work to take advantage of the opportunities that technology offers. To succeed will require an 28 effective governance structure to overcome the barriers and implement the changes necessary. This includes substantial, long-term commitment by senior management. Such a governance structure will have a strong oversight of ICT spending, shared systems, cross-agency initiatives across the whole of government and an institutionalized monitoring and control of ongoing projects. This section describes the Governance Structure that should be established to oversee and facilitate the Liberian e-Government Strategy implementation process. Some of the key factors that have been considered while drafting the governance structure are: Ownership and Accountability for success of implementation of the e-Government program needs to be established; Focus on realization of the strategic dimensions identified in the strategy needs to be maintained; Liberian e-Government Strategy is a Government wide strategy that cuts across all Ministries Agencies and Commissions, it is not meant for any specific Ministry/Agency or sector. Therefore, a forum needs to be established to facilitate coordination amongst all stakeholders; and Government priorities, frameworks, processes and organization structures. The National Telecommunications and ICT Policy called for an e-Government Program Management Office under the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication to facilitate the implementation of e-Government Projects. Based on the completed assessment done the following gaps have been identified: Lack of a holistic coordination and cooperation across the Government for properly developing and utilizing IT; IT organization structures, roles, and responsibilities are not properly defined nor approved IT organizations in the Government Entity are at varying levels of maturity in terms of design and resourcing; Lack of a clear programs project management framework and tools to ensure all e-Government initiatives apply the same technical standards and proper planning is in place for IT development; Lack of knowledge sharing and resources sharing which can speed and improve the process of IT implementations in common domains; and In addition, there is no allocation of a central fund to support central IT projects implementation. Skills and resource constraints availability and distribution of skill sets among MACs 3.2. Drivers for the Governance Structure To guide the program towards achieving its objectives, the development of the program governance should take into consideration the nature of the program and the surrounding circumstances and factors that will influence and drive the program in the long and short terms. The Liberia e-Government Strategy Governance Structure drivers include the following: The e-Government Strategy is for the Government as a whole; 29 A large program with many projects needs to be coordinated and managed; A high number of stakeholders in different locations to be engaged; A proper level of trust and confidence around the program need to be established; Standardization of approach and use of standards need to be enforced; Interdependency and conflicts need to be managed; Continuous monitoring and course correction is required; Ongoing alignment to business objectives is mandatory; Funding and spending critical decisions need to be tackled timely and properly; 3.3. Governance Structure: Options and Recommendations For the successful implementation of e-Government Strategy, the owners of various functions, as well as their relationship with each other needs to be defined clearly. The various roles envisaged and the options available are analyzed in this section. The formation of the appropriate governance structure is seen in the light of the following factors: Overall sponsorship of program Need for High Committee Need for the Technical Committee PMO as part of Ministry of Post and Telecommunication Ownership of initiatives in entities Inter-Agency Working Groups Overall sponsorship of program Considering the scope of e-Government Strategy and its impact, it is imperative that the ultimate ownership of the program rests with a high-level authority. The sponsor of the program will own the functions related to funding and strategic directions. In the table below the options of having the President's Office, Council of Ministers and Ministry of Post and Telecommunication as program sponsor has been analyzed. Options President's Office Advantages Disadvantages Quick Decision Making Difficulty in monitoring Establishment of the identity and importance of the program Quicker conflict resolution Over dependence on other committees to make decision Sustainability of program will be ensured Well Defined Ownership 30 Council of Ministers and Key Executives of Agencies and Commissions Ministry of Post and Telecommunication Easy coordination between Ministries/Agencies Multiple stakeholders with different roles Quick Decision Making No ownership at Individual level Decisions may be delayed No proven capacity Limited authority Insufficient level of support In line with Statutory Mandate Need for a e-Government Steering Committee Good governance practices globally recommend the formation of a High Committee for large scale IT Strategy implementation. The role of this committee will be focused on providing guidance for the strategic directions and coordinating at the highest level. The available options for constituting the High Committee are analyzed in the table provided below: Options Steering Committee chaired by Minister of Post and Telecommunication Advantages No High Committee Disadvantages High visibility of program Co-ordination and conflict resolution mechanism amongst Ministries Program could become a part of high priority agenda of the Council of Ministers The legal and policy level issues can be managed Members may not be available to meet too often which may result in delays in decision making process Availability of Members to meet and discuss Authority to enforce decisions across the Government is weak Decisions on Ministry level have to go through a higher level (the Minister)Decisions may be delayed PMO as part of Ministry of Post and Telecommunication In the proposed e-Government governance structure, the role of the Project Management Office (PMO) National e-Government Office is focused on implementing the central e-government projects as well as supporting entity level initiatives. The PMO will ultimately be staffed with professionals with proven capacities in various ICT and telecom disciplines such as E-Services, E-Health, E-Learning, M&E specialists, 31 and various other citizen services. PMO will also be playing a critical role in the capacity building and knowledge management across various Ministries/Agencies. The options of having the PMO as a separate directorate of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication and the PMO as an independent Entity under independent implementation agency was evaluated, considering the scope of the PMO defined by the National Telecommunication and ICT Policy. Options PMO as a Separate Directorate of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication Advantages Office infrastructure is in place Dedicated team to implement the e-Government Strategy All conflicts related to IT implementation can be resolved easily Disadvantages PMO as an independent agency under MoPT (e.g. LTA) PMO will be Entityindependent Dedicated team to implement e-Government Strategy Independent Budget Allocation Autonomous - not being hindered by the existing organizational culture of MoPT Recruitment of all the officials of the Directorate needs to be done Coordination with the eGovernment Directorate with conflicting roles Reporting structure can bring confusion with existing departments within the Ministry Inheriting existing public service culture of MoPT A new Entity that will need to undergo different levels of maturity to reach the right shape May assume a mandate that that may conflict with existing departments under MoPT (e.g. CIO Office) Requires appropriate but length legislation process to set up Ownership of IT initiatives in entity Implementation of all the central initiatives will be owned by the PMO but the ownership of initiatives at the Ministries’ level needs to be clearly defined to avoid any conflict in scope and responsibilities.The options available in this area are analyzed below: Options Implementation Agency owns the implementation of MACs initiatives Advantages Central control on the implementation Easy to enforce standards and procedure 32 Disadvantages Lack of ownership by Ministries/Agencies No domain expertise, as a result providing direction MACs owns the implementation Faster implementation and better control Scope of project can be defined considering the requirements of the entity Sustainability resulting from ownership will be difficult Funding will be done by entity so ownership can be questioned May be difficult to enforcement of common standards and procedures Individual MACs own interest may override the need of interoperability and collaborations Need for a Technical Committee - CIO Council Good practices globally recommend the formation of a Technical Committee for Strategy implementation. The role of this committee will be to coordinate and monitor the progress of the various projects and to establish standards for implementation. The CIO Council shall be made up of CIOs from the various Ministries, Agencies and Commissions. The Government of Liberia's Chief CIO will chair the activities of the council. In line with the NTIP, the office of the Chief CIO shall be at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication (MoPT). Where necessary, the office shall be staffed with technical expertise to assist the Chief CIO. The CIO Council - Terms of Reference Establish and oversee enforcement of the Government of Liberia Standards and Policies incorporated in the Interoperability Framework Serve as the GoL's National Information Technology Review Board as part of IT Capital planning process Determination and ongoing monitoring and adjustments of e-Government strategic direction Analyze e-Government project alternatives and risks To spearhead ICT-enabled public sector collaborations and partnerships To influence the development of ICT infrastructure and service standards to accelerate the joining-up of public services at national level To work collaboratively to remove barriers in effectively exploiting technology to increase service quality and improve service efficiency. The advantages and disadvantages of constituting a Technical Committee are placed in the table below: 33 Options Technical Committee CIO Council chaired by the Government's Chief CIO Advantages Co-ordination between Ministries Regular monitoring of the project progress Faster resolution of technical issues Disadvantages The organization structure may have too many committees and delays in decision making process The Technical Committee is not empowered to undertake policy decisions Inter-Agency Working Groups It is a global practice and expected that functional, inter-agency working groups will be established through the CIO Council to assist the Council in formulating strategies and coordinating work on national policies, cross-agency initiatives and individual projects. The Working Groups assist in updating the key technical policies and standards by working closely with the technical specialists under the PMO. Initially, Working Groups on key national initiatives, for example, Information Security will be formed. New Working Groups are formed as need arises. 3.4. Recommended e-Government Governance Structure The recommendations based on analysis of the various options are as follows: The President's Office should be the Program sponsor Steering Committee under the chairmanship of the Minister of Post and Telecommunication The CIO Council is established reporting to the chairman of the Steering Committee PMO (e-Liberia Office) will be a Directorate under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Ministry/Agency initiatives will be owned by the respective MACs and will be supported by the PMO while central infrastructure based initiatives will be owned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and implemented by the PMO Inter-Agency Working Groups will be established through the CIO Council as and when needed The envisaged governance structure is illustrated below: 34 President e-Gov Steering CIO Council MoPT Consult ations Working Groups e-Liberia Office Technical Specialists Implementation Monitoring & 1. Agre e Prior ities 2. Projec Appr 1. tove Legis Additi latio on/ n Deleti 3. on Avail Budg Appro ets val 2. Fund Alloca tion/ Admin istrati on 3. Policy Settin g 4. Overal l Monit oring of Projec ts Program Sponsor 1. Imple menti ng Stand ards 2. Imple ment Share d Servi ces 3. Techn ical Assist ance to MACs 4. Supp ort CIO The framework establishes that political ownership should continue to rest with the President who will champion the implementation of the e-Government at a national level as well as within the Cabinet and public administration. The President will be assisted by an inter-agency e-Government Steering Committee for monitoring and coordinating. The steering committee will perform its duties through the CIO Council, which will be directly involved in following up the execution of IT initiatives. 35 In addition, Ministries, Agencies and Commissions are responsible for developing their individual ICT Strategies and implementation plans in coordination and under the direct supervision of the CIO Council, in line with the e-Government Strategy and are responsible for deploying their Ministry/Agencies specific ICT projects. 36 4. e-Government Implementation Plan The ICT initiatives and projects described in Part 4 of the e-Government Strategy will be delivered over a period of 5 years from 2014 to 2018. The e-Government Implementation Roadmap presents these ICT initiatives and projects by desired outcomes against a 5-year timeline. Details reflected include the Initiative and Project Names, Target Development / Review / Completion Timeframe and Estimated Implementation Cost. 4.1. Prioritization The e-Government Strategy presents a comprehensive program of parallel focus and projects as well as sub-tasks. The implementation process, therefore, must be managed over the five-year period. This demands a sequencing process based on prioritization. Priority e-Government applications and services have to be implemented in a scientific manner so that it is repeatable. The list of services to be electronically enabled should be prioritized using the criticality-feasibility model. This model facilitates the prioritization and phasing of services and initiatives based on their importance (criticality) and the ease of implementing them through electronic channels (feasibility). Criticality should be evaluated though an assessment of: Strategic Fit – Does this service fit into Liberian e-Government strategy? Visibility - Will creating this service promote a positive image of Government of Liberia to constituents and businesses? Cost Savings - Does providing this service over the alternate channels generate cost savings for Liberia? Revenue generation - Could electronically enabling this service potentially provide a new revenue source for the Government? To determine feasibility, following would be assessed: Market Readiness – What is the number of customers that use the service? Are customers demanding this service? Operational Readiness – Are the ministries and agencies ready from a technology and capability standpoint, to undertake this project? Development Cost - Are development costs relatively low or high? 37 Leveragability – Can the service leverage an existing application? If a new application must be built, will other applications be able to leverage it? The criticality and feasibility framework will allow the Government of Liberia to determine the phasing and prioritization of the initiatives in the following manner: Defer – If there is low criticality and low feasibility, the application should not be undertaken. Low criticality implies little gain and low feasibility implies relatively high risk. So such services should be taken up in the end. Permit – If there is low criticality but high feasibility: Government of Liberia should allow the development of the application as long as it follows the Standards and Guidelines and uses the overall infrastructure. Low criticality implies little gain, but high feasibility implies relatively few risks. This type of project should be allowed. Pursue – If there is high criticality but low feasibility: Government of Liberia should allow the application to be built. High criticality implies that there is customer demand for such a service or that significant benefits could be realized from this application, but low feasibility implies that there may be significant risks. Target – If there is high criticality and high feasibility: Liberia should build this application. High criticality implies customer demand and benefits to the organization and high feasibility implies relatively few risks in pursuing this application. Such services should be taken up at the earliest as they would provide maximum gains with least amount of effort. 38 5. Overall Implementation Plan Key Elements Governance Outcomes Projects Lead 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Outcome 9: Establish eGovernment Governance Structure Establish eGovernment Steering Committee Establish the eLiberia Office (PMO) Strenghten the CIO Program Establish CIOs in other ministries MoPT e-Government Laws MoPT & MoJ e-Service Enablement ALL MoPT CIO CIO Outcome 10: Establish eGovernment Legal Framework Citizen Centered Outcome 1: Online Government Services Outcome 2: Diversified Civil Service Channel 39 Government PMO Portal Call MoPT Centers Mobile Gateway MoPT Efficiency Outcome 3: Standardized Government Operations e-Government Interoperability Standards Enterprise Architecture CIO CIO Outcome 4: Connected Government Centralized PMO Email System Document PMO Tracking and Workflow Mgnt. System HR Mgnt. CSA/PMO Information System Productivity Outcome 5: Growth in ICT entrepreneurship ICT Business Incubator Business Portal MoPT PMO 40 Outcome 6: Increase Private Sector Partnership e-Procurement PMO/GSA Capacity Building CIO Infrastructure Outcome 7: Expand Nationwide ICT Infrastructure National Broadband Network Government Wide Area Network Government Integrated Data Center MoPT Community Computer Centers PMO PMO PMO Output 8: Digitally enabled Communities 41 6. Critical Success Factors and Risks In every country, the success of any e-Government effort is never assured. E-Government success requires high levels of inter-governmental coordination, a constant demand for tangible results, leadership and active management. There are always a number of critical success factors (CSFs) and risks associated with e-Government. This section highlights some of the key ones. The following definitions distinguish CSFs and risks: Critical Success Factor: an external factor outside the control or responsibility of anyone e-Government stakeholder but which nonetheless directly affects the success of that stakeholder’s e-Government efforts. Risk: an identifiable, potential issue that may negatively affect the result of an eGovernment initiative or project, and for which the stakeholder can exercise some measure of control. Risk management with respect to activities of the e-Government Program, for example, and other matters over which it has some ability to mitigate, is the responsibility of the Program. Critical Success Factors Impact Availability of Resources High Requires Commitment by the Liberian Government Building Capacity - Provide learning Availability of local skills to Ongoing opportunities locally at all levels to re-skill implement and use e-Government people Availability of Laws and regulations Active coordination among concerned that agencies to develop and enforce coherent High support the implementation of eand effective legal Government framework Appoint and activate the National eGovernment Steering Committee Cooperation and harmony among Strengthen the Chief Information Officer government entities in decision High Council and its working groups with clear making for e-Government initiatives authority over defined e-Government initiatives Ability and willingness of Active coordination among MACs at senior government entities to document level to document and share information and share their business Medium necessary for e-Government initiatives requirements, processes, services, data and strategies Appoint and activate the National eHigh Government Steering Committee 42 Engagement by political leaders and MoPT; empowerment of e-Government Program Cabinet level support Activation of the Universal Access Policy and the Universal Access Fund Regulatory Framework to promote competition in the telecommunication sector Appoint and activate the e-Government Steering Committee Political commitment to ensure “buy in” by government entities across government Internet Channel Penetration to intended beneficiaries Sustainability of e-Government implementation despite political changes and reshuffle of government officials High e-Government projects are provided for in the National Budget and Expenditure Framework Passage of e-Government legislations and Regulations to secure endorsement from the top levels of government Development of "e-champions" at key ministries; High 6.1. Risk in E-Government Strategy Implementation Implementation of such a large program such as the National E-Government Strategy will naturally involve many risks and it is important to identify and manage the different kinds of risk, which will arise in the implementation of the Program. The risks may be categorized broadly under two heads i.e. Program Level and Project Level 6.1.1. Program level Risks Risks arise in the implementation of a large program. It is important that the required Governance structure to oversee and monitor the program is created and that standard practices and processes are followed to successfully manage these risks. These risks include: Change in Government commitment and priorities or requirements due to unexpected circumstances Budgetary constraints Change in Leadership at top levels leading to disruption or modifications 43 Issues in Program Governance structure, such as of lack of PMO or inadequate coordination between stakeholders, etc 6.1.2. Project level Risks At the project level, the risks would include: Shortage of required human resources Lack of required skill sets for implementation Poor project management processes and practices Inadequate project processes, such as detailed documentation (RFP etc), which will lead to delays and problems in implementation Inadequate capacity of selected vendors and vendor management issues It is important that a risk identification and management strategy is created at start of adoption of the strategy and is continuously tracked and updated. Risk Management will be one of the important activities of the e-Liberia office. Below is a risk assessment and mitigation table from the program perspective: Risk Probability Impact Cost of e-Government is too high for the GOL High High Conflicting decisions among government departments High High Resources within GOL do not have the skills to implement e-Gov Strategy High High 44 Mitigation / Contingency Realistic, pragmatic and well-sequenced phases for e-Government roadmap Develop pilot projects that can be scaled later based on demand and business case Encourage use of innovative commercial arrangements (PPPs) attractive to private sector for investment in e-Government Encourage strategic partnerships and dor communities with specialized international vendors to invest in e-Government Use of inter-agency working groups from the CIO council with clear authority to supervise and enforce e-Government Standards and Policies Support to government entities for IT training and other necessary skills Recruit and retain staff with relevant skills Incentives for government entities to invest in developing ICT expertise internally Resistance to change High High Expectations are overly high High Mediu m Outsourcing certain functions when business case supports it Create links with local universities to give onthe-job-training to students Promote retention of skilled professionals in cooperation with other programs Develop core group of well-skilled project managers, system architects etc. And enable capacity balancing across GoL. Manage change, including increase awareness among stakeholders, raise accountability, good communications, benefit realization etc. Increase awareness of e-Government Strategy among stakeholders and manage expectations 6.2. Change Management Considering the magnitude and diversity of change required to make the e-Government implementation a success, it will be necessary to embark on a comprehensive change management exercise at Program level, as well as for each project, which entails: clearly and powerfully defining a comprehensive change vision and making it operational, building a quantifiable and sustainable business case for e-Government, assessing the change readiness of the MACs, businesses and citizens and selecting the best change configuration, building the necessary level of stakeholder commitment through ongoing strategic communication and public education, defining leadership roles and responsibilities, and building leadership skills, developing the right culture with the appropriate mindset, values, and behavior, and designing the right organizational structures at all levels (national, regional, district, and town) with appropriate reporting structures. 45 7. e-Government Performance Indicators It is essential for the Government of Liberia to be accountable for their e-Government investment and efforts. The e-Government steering committee must measure on an ongoing basis, the performance of the e-Government initiatives. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are tools that will be used to measure both progress and effectiveness of e-Government implementation. e-Government requires an evaluation of both quantitative and qualitative factors. The KPIs used in measuring performance are likely to evolve as lessons are learned and specific initiatives are planned. There should be KPIs for all levels of e-Government from strategic objectives to national initiatives and individual e-Government projects. The appropriate government entities will be responsible for establishing and applying KPIs to initiatives and services over which they have (or share) ownership with respect to services. Below are some of the Key Performance Indicators and their respective measurements: Indicator Description Measurement Number of e-Service Available Assess the progress of eGovernment service delivery, taking into consideration the achieved level of automation This is a benchmark of the time it takes users to get non-e vs. e service Will be calculated from the eservices available in the “eServices Implementation Progress” report, with distinction according to level of automation achieved (partial, full) Service Delivery Time Availability of non-e vs. e services Measure the % or total services offered that are now e-delivered Perceived accessibility of government This is the perception of customers as measured in any form of survey 46 Average of answers to the question: ‘How long did it take you to get service A and how long does it take you now with eGovernment’? ‘ Will be calculated from the number of government services and number of e-Services as per the “e-Services Implementation Progress” report Average of the answer to the question ‘How do you rate the overall accessibility of government services? Perceived quality of G2G service This is the perception of the G2G service users as measured in any form of survey Perceived quality of G2B service This is the perception of the G2B service users as measured in any form of survey This is the perception of the G2C service users as measured in any form of survey This is the adoption of eservices as measured in any form of survey Perceived quality of G2C service Usage of e vs. non-e services % of Ministries active in e-Government # of Ministries contributing to online information Assess the level of engagement of government entities in eGovernment This indicates the level of communication within Government 47 Average of the answer to the question ‘How do you rate the eservices you use?’ A minimum sample of 100 users is recommended. Same as previous question. Can be further developed in consultation with user groups as needed to develop effective surveying. Same as previous question. Can be further developed in consultation with user groups as needed to develop effective surveying Average of the answer to the question ‘How many electronic services do you use, and how many traditional government services do you use?’ The number of government entities active in e-governance divided by the number of government entities. A government entity is considered active if the entity offers e-services or has planned (at least budgeted) to offer e-services. Can be measured directly from the e-Government Portal 8. Challenges and Limitations As expected from such a pervasive effort as the implementation of e-Government in Liberia, there will be some challenges. Furthermore, e-Government ought not to be perceived as a panacea to all public administration and governance challenges. This section therefore concerns itself with anticipated challenges and limitations of the e-Government initiatives as discussed. 8.1. The Challenges Sustainable Electrical Power - Correct Institutional Arrangements need to be developed (PMO, Shared Service Center, Pooling Arrangements etc). Inadequate bandwidth and accessibility -The lack of nationwide broadband connectivity and its attendant problem of rural people not being able to access information on the Internet is a major challenge. Funding - Finding out how much funding will be required for e-Government activities, and how this requirement will be met will be a major challenge. Building capability in MACs- e-Government demands that all MACs, supported by the EGovernment Management Structure, develop new and diverse capabilities. In addition, the technical, managerial, and political capacity will need to be built in the Chief Information Officers who will spearhead the implementation of e- Government at the MAC level. Building capacity in the citizenry - Citizens will have to learn how to reach government on the Internet. Using e-mails as a means of communication challenges formal notions of how government correspondence should be dealt with (communicating certain matters by email is inappropriate - for example, using e-mail to dismiss an employee would be considered insensitive). The digital divide - The full benefits of e-Government will be realized when as many Liberians as possible have access to the Internet, and the attitudes and skills to make effective use of it. e-Government may exacerbate inequities among citizens (especially the marginalized or underserved – women, illiterate citizens, senior citizens, and the poor.) Ensuring that laws are updated to recognize electronic documents and transactions by taking proactive steps to ensure that policies support rather than impede e-Government. 48 Protecting E-Government sites from attack from viruses, denial-of-service, etc., and misuse requires resources, including expertise and finance. Ensuring that MACs do not use ICT to just automate existing processes without any reengineering or transformation of the business processes. 8.2. The Limitations E-Government will not: solve all problems of corruption and inefficiency (technology savvy officials can find new opportunities for corruption), overcome all barriers to civic engagement, be a quick nor simple process because it requires participation of a large range of stakeholders, including the citizenry and institutions with different needs, attitudes and skills. happen effectively just because MACs buy more computers and develop website. render automatic cost savings even though online service delivery could be more efficient and less costly than other channels. 49 9. Mobilizing Support & Managing Expectations A communications strategy is necessary throughout the various stages of the e-Government implementation process. The purpose of the post drafting consultation process would be to continue to: Develop a Communication Strategic Plan that is aimed at all stakeholders (Cabinet, legislative, civil service, private sector, civil society etc) Engender public awareness as to the existence of e-services and electronic channels as the means to access such services, including Government services. Further understand public perceptions and expectations relative to e-Government service delivery. Build the propensity by the public to use e-services once these would be on-line and related reasons. Understand the preferences relative to eventual delivery channels that could be provided. Understand the conditions under which usage of electronic delivery channels would be taken up by the public. During the implementation stage, that is when the e-Government services will start to be rolled out, it will become necessary for the public to be made aware of their existence and of the potential benefits that can be obtained from the utilization of such services. Research should be carried out in order to ascertain the most appropriate communications strategies to be designed and embarked upon relative to target audiences. Additionally, citizens and enterprise should continuously be made aware of the advantages in utilizing e-services as against traditional modes of service. The communication strategy should emphasize those aspects that are likely to influence the public and determine whether or not eservices will be utilized. Such aspects as the respect of privacy and the security level afforded by the e-Government platform in effecting on-line transactions, especially those involving money transfers, need to be emphasized. A mix of direct marketing and poster, audio-visual, electronic and print media as well as on-line advertising should be used for promoting the new e-services that will be made available. It is strongly recommended that the communication strategy should allow for different marketing approaches to different clients mainly on such parameters as age, ICT literacy and level of education. The communications strategy campaign should not raise expectations unduly and should maintain a constant tempo over an appreciable period of time. It should intensify when a critical mass of e-Government services will have gone on-line. The campaign should also factor: Promoting the use of the Internet and mobile telephones and other established service 50 the use of multiple delivery channels to ensure that all stakeholders are included. Sensitization of the public to the fact that these new service delivery options are available. Promoting a customer-focused service by the Government, thereby enhancing its image. Raising public awareness as to the training facilities that will be provided in terms of Internet usage. The Strategy recommends that the Government of Liberia: Establishes a corporate identity for the e-Government brand. Designs and implements a communications strategy to manage expectations and mobilizes support for the e-Government implementation program. Carries out workshops, focus groups, surveys to obtain intelligence of type of e-services citizens and industry seek, quality of the e-service experience, etc. Undertakes a continuous campaign promulgating and promoting e-services, carrying out of public awareness, carrying out of training sessions in communities and villages, etc. 51
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