CapacityBuilding for eGovernment

Subhash Bhatnagar

As part of the Capacity Building Workshop under the Joint Economic Research Program (JERP)

This session will focus on capacity building. Critical tasks in implementing an e-government program at the strategic as well as project implementation level will be identified. Using the example of India, areas where capacity is normally weak within the Government, private sector and civil society will be discussed. Different types of training and capacity building initiatives for strengthening key roles in eGovernment would be discussed. The need for collaboration between Government and educational institutions would be emphasized. A training program designed for Chief Information Officers-a key role in an eGovernment project will be discussed in detail.

Presentation Structure

• Critical Tasks in e-Government• Why capacity building is important at the

National and Project level• Building capacity for different tasks at a

various levels• How is India building capacity for its National

Program on eGovernment• Experience of a program for CIOs for the

Government of Andhra Pradesh by IIM Ahmedabad

Taken from Piyush Gupta

Ingredients for Readiness

• Hard Infrastructure: hardware, networks, databases, telephone services,etc..

• Soft Infrastructure: policy and regulatory environment, cyber laws, intellectual property rights.

• Talents base: technological and management skills within and outside Government-- from education to attracting talent pool.

• Leadership: at the highest political and administrative levels of economy.

• Societal Readiness: All of the above plus societal acceptance and IT literacy and a service orientation within the civil service.

Why Capacity Building?

• Nearly two- third of all eGovernment projects are considered failures. Key reason is the lack of capacity to manage change. e-government is more about government than about “e”

• The transformational nature and large scale of e-government makes the task complex. Inadequate numbers of trained personnel.

• People are trained in narrow fields: IT/IS and public administration. Requires a multi-disciplinary approach, coordination skills

• There is diversity in local laws, rules for transacting government business. Need for overall direction, standardization and consistency across initiatives require new skills.

• Capacity Building helps to maintain continuity of approach despite changes of key incumbent officials.

Key eGovernment Tasks Need New Skills

• Clarity in objective setting• Need to ensure focus on client (citizens, business)

needs in service delivery• Leveraging Private Partnership• Need for Government Process Reengineering• Standardization: implications for designing effective

integrated applications avoiding long-term costs• Institutional mechanism for independent Impact

Assessment• Project Management: project development & design,

bid process management, Contractual Frameworks, Service Level Agreements, project monitoring.

Levels of Capacity• Policy Formulation• Committing Resources• Taking hard decisions

• Preparing Roadmaps• Prioritization• Frameworks, Guidelines

• Monitoring Progress• Inter-agency Collaboration• Funds Management• Capacity Management

• Conceptualization• Architecture • Definition (RFP, SLA…)

• Bid Process Management• Project Monitoring• Quality Assurance

Leadership & Vision

Program Development

Program Management

Project Development

Project Management

Training Programs for Different Roles

• E-Gov Champions Programme: For political and administrative heads of departments. Not concerned with project details, but provide leadership and an enabling environment.

• Chief Information Officers: Comprehensive skills to implement eGgovernment project from conceptualization to complete rollout.

• Chief Technology Officers: Advanced topics in security, architecture, standards to supplement their skill set appropriately.

• Users of IT Systems in Government Departments: Trained specifically on the application package as part of the project implementation. Large numbers to be trained per project.

• External Users: Company Secretaries and Chartered Accountants acting on behalf of companies.

• General IT Awareness and Training

Capacity Building: Role of Different Institutions

Public Administra

tionIIPA

Industry Associatio

n and Media

Technology & R&D

Labs

Technology &

Management

IIITs

Private IT Training

NIIT, Telecenters

Specialized Institutions

NISG

Management

IIMs

Effort within Government to harness

the available pool of

knowledge

E-Gov Champions

CIOCTOUsersCitizen Awareness

Process Re-

engineering

Technical Innovation

Project Manageme

nt

Linkage between

institutions to build various

capacitiesholistically

E-Gov Champions

CIO

CTO

Users

Citizen Awareness

Process Re-engineering

Technical Innovation

Project Management

Different Types of Training Programs

Long duration in class residentialprograms with practical work

Workshop and seminars

Multi-country experienced sharingVideo Conference based workshops on specific topics

Small number of specialistsIntensive interdisciplinary learningCIOs, CTOs, Systems Analyst

Agency Heads and eChampions

eChampions and CIOsPolicy Makers

eLearning with periodic face-to facecontact-with test for certification

Large number, middle level staffMaintenance of SW/HW

Study tours

Hands-on skill development in specific applications and software

CIOs for specific projects

Users and Operators

Break up of Activities Proposed in the National eGovernment Program

Core Projects

9,000 (73%)

Integrated Services 300 (2%)

Core Policies

100 (1%)

Core Infrastructure1,200 (10%)

Support Infra600 (5%)

R & D100(1%)

Awareness &

Assessment280 (2%)

Amounts in Rs. 10 million

TOTAL OUTLAY12,400

Capacity Building-HRD

& Training550 (4%)

Organization

Structures100 (1%)

Technical Assistance100 (1%)

Andhra Pradesh Program for Chief Information Officers (CIO)• Program designed by Indian Institute of

management Ahmedabad• Six residential programs of 12 week duration have

trained 160 officers from 25 departments in the last 5 years. Participation from other states and countries

• Senior line officers with an aptitude for ICTs are selected from different agencies

• Provides inputs (knowledge, attitudes and skills) to transform participants into CIOs to lead large e-Government projects from conceptualization to implementation.

• CIOs have played significant leadership role in AP eGovernment program and projects

CIO Program Develops Ability to:

• Understand the client perspective on delivery of the service.

• Define project goals which are shared by political leadership and employees.

• Define scale/scope of project to balance benefits and costs

• Reengineer business processes; enact/revise regulations for efficiency, transparency and reduced corruption.

• Procure cost-effective technology, and to acquire a variety of skills for handling techno-commercial decisions.

• Interact meaningfully with agencies that are awarded contracts.

CIO Program Develops Ability to:

• Design an optimal solution architecture by evaluating different options.

• Estimate investments, operating expenses and economic benefits.

• Develop a phased implementation plan with key tasks and milestones. Monitor projects thru different phases of life cycle.

• Appreciate the importance of managing organizational change and acquire the skills for change management. Put in place an organization for implementing change.

• Use political skills for inter-agency collaboration, a new role for CIOs.

Build capacities to make eGovernance a

reality…

Thank you