A2i fact sheet copy

Page 1

Transforming service delivery

Access to Information (a2i)

A fundamental government responsibility is providing information and services aimed at improving the social and economic welfare of citizens. In Bangladesh, as in many developing countries, widespread manual processes, resistance to change by civil service and over-centralisation frustrate citizens in their attempts to avail of government information and services. Opaqueness in service delivery increases the scope for rent-seeking. In this backdrop, the Access to Information (a2i) is a programme being implemented by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bangladesh with technical assistance from UNDP and USAID, which primarily focuses on:

Innovation in Service Delivery

a) making government services cheaper, hassle-free and responsive to the citizenry; and, b) bringing services ‘at the door-step’ through increasing efficiency, accountability, transparency and predictability by leveraging the flexibility and ubiquity of indigenous information and communication technologies (ICTs).This umbrella service delivery transformation initiates plans, coordinates and facilitates across various ministries, divisions and agencies of the government. In a matter of six years (2006-2013) with facilitation from a2i, hundreds of e-services have mushroomed throughout the country, through a Service Simplification Process (SPS) exercise under the “Quick-Wins” auspices which simplified many public service delivery processes. Some of the successes achieved by a2i are presented below. Citizens can now pay their electricity, gas and phone bills and conduct banking transactions through mobile phones, download English lessons on these phones and can consult with a doctor from remote rural areas. Application for land records through the internet, university admissions through SMS, online tax submission, e-notification services for farmers and patients, are some examples of how efficiency gain has been introduced in government service delivery, making it responsive in accommodating citizen’s needs for information and services.

www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd

Empowered lives. Resilient nations.

Moreover, 4,500+ ICT-empowered service delivery outlets are operating in rural local government institutions (LGIs) with financing from the government, private

sector and local entrepreneurs. A typical citizen walks 3 km to the nearby Union and Information Service Centre (UISC) saving time, money and harassment of going to the district HQ 35 km away. With a2i’s support, many ministries of the government have redesigned their services to make them ‘e-deliverable’ through these centres. The UISCs are today working as self-independent micro-enterprises paving a gateway for the traditionally excluded from participating in market opportunities to availing of healthcare and other livelihood related information and services. The government has set up similar centres in all 64 Deputy Commissioners’ (DC) offices (district headquarters), which is the focal point in public administration. These one-stop district e-service centres (DESCs) have consolidated a slogan that has driven a lot of the SPS work in recent times: “Citizens need NOT go to the services because services will come to them.”

Nurturing a culture of innovation in civil service The a2i embarked on a non-traditional Quick-Wins approach to encourage innovation within bureaucracy. Quick-Wins are small service delivery process improvement prototypes, led by a government officer with technical support from a2i. Several Quick-Wins have become successful and sustainable and are replicated nationwide. Other Quick-Wins have ‘failed’ but not before leaving important and useful lessons for the government, UNDP Bangladesh and a2i. The most remarkable aspect of Quick-Wins is their non-threatening approach to service reform with the assurance “Failure is acceptable!” Through a grass-roots social networking platform and departmental blogs, the traditional hierarchy within the government bureaucracy is diffusing with new, efficient and open communication across departments and chain of command.

The approach has been institutionalised through an official Innovation Team gazette, instructing all ministries and their subordinate agencies, all districts and their subordinate sub-districts, to form Innovation Teams to be led by Chief Innovation Officers (CIOs). The a2i has launched a multi-donor Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to spread the seeds for cultivating a culture of innovation within the government and fostering public private partnerships (PPPs).The fund tries to address two disincentives inherent in the government: one, discouragement of risk-taking for innovation, and two, acute absence of financing mechanisms to support innovation from proof-of-concept to a stage where the product or service will be able to make a difference in the lives of the citizens. Innovation Fairs, held at the national level and in each district, recognition and awards are being rewarded to public service innovations by civil servants, private sector, NGOs and social innovators.

Scaling up through inclusive partnerships

a2i’s Intervention Framework ObjecƟve Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified and reengineered public administraƟon services

e-Services Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified public administraƟve services through electronic means

Capacity and awareness

Policy reform

InsƟtuƟonalisaƟon

Aware and empower civil servants, service providers and ciƟzens to facilitate easy access to transparent and responsive services

Enable legal and policy framework and partnerships to facilitate responsive and transparent service delivery

Establish insƟtuƟonal and incenƟve frameworks to promote innovaƟve service delivery mechanism

The a2i started in 2006 as UNDP-funded initiative with a meagre budget of USD 1.2 million. In later years, it increased in both fund size and work scope especially to support the Digital Bangladesh vision of the government declared in 2009. The vision envisages a socioeconomic transformation process, improvement of service delivery to the underserved citizens including the poor, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and very importantly, women. To materialise this vision, a2i used service innovation as an entry point and ICTs as an enabler to ignite major improvements in public service delivery, both in terms of its management and delivery. The a2i entered a new phase in 2012 with a funding of USD 4 million from UNDP and USD 19 million from the government and donors like USAID. Beyond the direct funds, the a2i mobilised well over USD 100 million in parallel funding in the first phase and expects to mobilise over USD 1 billion in the ongoing (second) phase. Since its birth, a2i’s driving philosophy has always been to strike the right balance between equity and growth in the transformation it effects. ICTs can make ke the strong even stronger and disempower er the already weak: a nation must make the right choices in policy formulation, stakeholder holder engagement and choice of technologies. s. The a2i actively promotes this philosophy in its policy advocacy and capacity development pment

work with members of the Cabinet, Parliament Secretaries, Innovators and Teams, district and sub-district administrative heads and local government institutions ’representatives, and UISC entrepreneurs. That is precisely why the focus is first on the rural underserved and then the urban underserved. The massive scaling-up on multiple fronts of field-level service delivery was the accumulation of a2i’s policy drafting on advocacy efforts towards significant reform of local government policies, ICT Policy, Right to Information Act, PPP Policy, 6th National 5-yearPlan, e-Agriculture Policy, Education Policy, and Guidelines on Utility Bill Payments and Mobile Banking.

The a2i deliberately remains a catalyst in all initiatives and actively nurtures ownership among change champions and institutions. Most of the impact has been created through public-private-people partnerships or PPPPs (4 Ps) with public organisations, private sector players, development partners and citizens. The latter is the conceived as a key partner in each of the initiatives undertaken by a2i which has proven to be an innovative approach that combines PPP with crowd-sourcing helps micro-enterprises draw investment from communities and small entrepreneurs. Unlike the conventional PPPs generally geared towards building large-scale infrastructure projects, 4Ps aspire to initiate small projects including the local residents.

23

million utility bill payments were made over mobile phones saving citizens time, money and hassle

The a2i’s intervention can be summarised in a six-prong generic framework. The first is of increasing access to public and private information and services, which is followed by identification of the process to be simplified and the scope of reforms in the policy context. Following, the a2i firms up the existing comparative advantages of its potential partners by building capacity of stakeholders, which is more than a one-time exercise. Capacity building exercises are carried out within a partnership ambit so that ex-post, those who are able to make an impact in transforming the service delivery process to the citizenry, are publicly recognised and rewarded for their innovations (e.g the annual digital innovation nnovation fair).

million underserved beneficiaries receiving livelihood and financial inclusion services like birth registration, land records, mobile banking, life insurance, vital information on agriculture, health, education, human rights and employment from over 4,500 UISCs every month

23,661 primary and secondary school teachers create and share multimedia content through a teachers’ portal

Looking Ahead In order to continue with the service process simplification momentum, capitalise on the excitement of an innovation culture within the civil service and help the country move towards the vision of middle-income economy, a new service innovation centre is going to be established. The a2i is also working closely with the newly formed statistics and informatics division (SID) under the ministry of planning to ensure that the milestones reached by Bangladesh, are accurately reported to the development partners engaged in measuring the level of e-governance development. In addition, through mutual cooperation and collaboration the a2i will contribute towards the development of sid’s work plans into socially meaningful analysis for accurate policymaking decisions.

4.5

Public Innovation Fairs have been held nationally and in each of the 64 districts since 2010 showcasing innovation in service delivery and creating further demand for service process simplification

From January to June 2013, 63 million results of public exams have been published through the internet and 38 million over SMS.1.4 million high school graduates applied for admission to 32 public universities, 400 colleges and 70 medical colleges by sending text messages

Online registration for more than 1.4 million potential migrant workers seeking foreign employment in 2013 through UISCs saving them from extortion by intermediaries

All 300+ textbooks for primary, secondary and madrasa (religious) education are available online

E-purchase orders for sugarcane farmers replaced the traditional paper based public sugarcane procurement system, saving 200,000 farmers from market intermediates.

Mobile banking: BDT 1.21 billion (USD 1.51 million) transacted daily, with 5.2 million subscribers


Transforming service delivery

Access to Information (a2i)

A fundamental government responsibility is providing information and services aimed at improving the social and economic welfare of citizens. In Bangladesh, as in many developing countries, widespread manual processes, resistance to change by civil service and over-centralisation frustrate citizens in their attempts to avail of government information and services. Opaqueness in service delivery increases the scope for rent-seeking. In this backdrop, the Access to Information (a2i) is a programme being implemented by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bangladesh with technical assistance from UNDP and USAID, which primarily focuses on:

Innovation in Service Delivery

a) making government services cheaper, hassle-free and responsive to the citizenry; and, b) bringing services ‘at the door-step’ through increasing efficiency, accountability, transparency and predictability by leveraging the flexibility and ubiquity of indigenous information and communication technologies (ICTs).This umbrella service delivery transformation initiates plans, coordinates and facilitates across various ministries, divisions and agencies of the government. In a matter of six years (2006-2013) with facilitation from a2i, hundreds of e-services have mushroomed throughout the country, through a Service Simplification Process (SPS) exercise under the “Quick-Wins” auspices which simplified many public service delivery processes. Some of the successes achieved by a2i are presented below. Citizens can now pay their electricity, gas and phone bills and conduct banking transactions through mobile phones, download English lessons on these phones and can consult with a doctor from remote rural areas. Application for land records through the internet, university admissions through SMS, online tax submission, e-notification services for farmers and patients, are some examples of how efficiency gain has been introduced in government service delivery, making it responsive in accommodating citizen’s needs for information and services.

www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd

Empowered lives. Resilient nations.

Moreover, 4,500+ ICT-empowered service delivery outlets are operating in rural local government institutions (LGIs) with financing from the government, private

sector and local entrepreneurs. A typical citizen walks 3 km to the nearby Union and Information Service Centre (UISC) saving time, money and harassment of going to the district HQ 35 km away. With a2i’s support, many ministries of the government have redesigned their services to make them ‘e-deliverable’ through these centres. The UISCs are today working as self-independent micro-enterprises paving a gateway for the traditionally excluded from participating in market opportunities to availing of healthcare and other livelihood related information and services. The government has set up similar centres in all 64 Deputy Commissioners’ (DC) offices (district headquarters), which is the focal point in public administration. These one-stop district e-service centres (DESCs) have consolidated a slogan that has driven a lot of the SPS work in recent times: “Citizens need NOT go to the services because services will come to them.”

Nurturing a culture of innovation in civil service The a2i embarked on a non-traditional Quick-Wins approach to encourage innovation within bureaucracy. Quick-Wins are small service delivery process improvement prototypes, led by a government officer with technical support from a2i. Several Quick-Wins have become successful and sustainable and are replicated nationwide. Other Quick-Wins have ‘failed’ but not before leaving important and useful lessons for the government, UNDP Bangladesh and a2i. The most remarkable aspect of Quick-Wins is their non-threatening approach to service reform with the assurance “Failure is acceptable!” Through a grass-roots social networking platform and departmental blogs, the traditional hierarchy within the government bureaucracy is diffusing with new, efficient and open communication across departments and chain of command.

The approach has been institutionalised through an official Innovation Team gazette, instructing all ministries and their subordinate agencies, all districts and their subordinate sub-districts, to form Innovation Teams to be led by Chief Innovation Officers (CIOs). The a2i has launched a multi-donor Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to spread the seeds for cultivating a culture of innovation within the government and fostering public private partnerships (PPPs).The fund tries to address two disincentives inherent in the government: one, discouragement of risk-taking for innovation, and two, acute absence of financing mechanisms to support innovation from proof-of-concept to a stage where the product or service will be able to make a difference in the lives of the citizens. Innovation Fairs, held at the national level and in each district, recognition and awards are being rewarded to public service innovations by civil servants, private sector, NGOs and social innovators.

Scaling up through inclusive partnerships

a2i’s Intervention Framework ObjecƟve Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified and reengineered public administraƟon services

e-Services Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified public administraƟve services through electronic means

Capacity and awareness

Policy reform

InsƟtuƟonalisaƟon

Aware and empower civil servants, service providers and ciƟzens to facilitate easy access to transparent and responsive services

Enable legal and policy framework and partnerships to facilitate responsive and transparent service delivery

Establish insƟtuƟonal and incenƟve frameworks to promote innovaƟve service delivery mechanism

The a2i started in 2006 as UNDP-funded initiative with a meagre budget of USD 1.2 million. In later years, it increased in both fund size and work scope especially to support the Digital Bangladesh vision of the government declared in 2009. The vision envisages a socioeconomic transformation process, improvement of service delivery to the underserved citizens including the poor, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and very importantly, women. To materialise this vision, a2i used service innovation as an entry point and ICTs as an enabler to ignite major improvements in public service delivery, both in terms of its management and delivery. The a2i entered a new phase in 2012 with a funding of USD 4 million from UNDP and USD 19 million from the government and donors like USAID. Beyond the direct funds, the a2i mobilised well over USD 100 million in parallel funding in the first phase and expects to mobilise over USD 1 billion in the ongoing (second) phase. Since its birth, a2i’s driving philosophy has always been to strike the right balance between equity and growth in the transformation it effects. ICTs can make ke the strong even stronger and disempower er the already weak: a nation must make the right choices in policy formulation, stakeholder holder engagement and choice of technologies. s. The a2i actively promotes this philosophy in its policy advocacy and capacity development pment

work with members of the Cabinet, Parliament Secretaries, Innovators and Teams, district and sub-district administrative heads and local government institutions ’representatives, and UISC entrepreneurs. That is precisely why the focus is first on the rural underserved and then the urban underserved. The massive scaling-up on multiple fronts of field-level service delivery was the accumulation of a2i’s policy drafting on advocacy efforts towards significant reform of local government policies, ICT Policy, Right to Information Act, PPP Policy, 6th National 5-yearPlan, e-Agriculture Policy, Education Policy, and Guidelines on Utility Bill Payments and Mobile Banking.

The a2i deliberately remains a catalyst in all initiatives and actively nurtures ownership among change champions and institutions. Most of the impact has been created through public-private-people partnerships or PPPPs (4 Ps) with public organisations, private sector players, development partners and citizens. The latter is the conceived as a key partner in each of the initiatives undertaken by a2i which has proven to be an innovative approach that combines PPP with crowd-sourcing helps micro-enterprises draw investment from communities and small entrepreneurs. Unlike the conventional PPPs generally geared towards building large-scale infrastructure projects, 4Ps aspire to initiate small projects including the local residents.

23

million utility bill payments were made over mobile phones saving citizens time, money and hassle

The a2i’s intervention can be summarised in a six-prong generic framework. The first is of increasing access to public and private information and services, which is followed by identification of the process to be simplified and the scope of reforms in the policy context. Following, the a2i firms up the existing comparative advantages of its potential partners by building capacity of stakeholders, which is more than a one-time exercise. Capacity building exercises are carried out within a partnership ambit so that ex-post, those who are able to make an impact in transforming the service delivery process to the citizenry, are publicly recognised and rewarded for their innovations (e.g the annual digital innovation nnovation fair).

million underserved beneficiaries receiving livelihood and financial inclusion services like birth registration, land records, mobile banking, life insurance, vital information on agriculture, health, education, human rights and employment from over 4,500 UISCs every month

23,661 primary and secondary school teachers create and share multimedia content through a teachers’ portal

Looking Ahead In order to continue with the service process simplification momentum, capitalise on the excitement of an innovation culture within the civil service and help the country move towards the vision of middle-income economy, a new service innovation centre is going to be established. The a2i is also working closely with the newly formed statistics and informatics division (SID) under the ministry of planning to ensure that the milestones reached by Bangladesh, are accurately reported to the development partners engaged in measuring the level of e-governance development. In addition, through mutual cooperation and collaboration the a2i will contribute towards the development of sid’s work plans into socially meaningful analysis for accurate policymaking decisions.

4.5

Public Innovation Fairs have been held nationally and in each of the 64 districts since 2010 showcasing innovation in service delivery and creating further demand for service process simplification

From January to June 2013, 63 million results of public exams have been published through the internet and 38 million over SMS.1.4 million high school graduates applied for admission to 32 public universities, 400 colleges and 70 medical colleges by sending text messages

Online registration for more than 1.4 million potential migrant workers seeking foreign employment in 2013 through UISCs saving them from extortion by intermediaries

All 300+ textbooks for primary, secondary and madrasa (religious) education are available online

E-purchase orders for sugarcane farmers replaced the traditional paper based public sugarcane procurement system, saving 200,000 farmers from market intermediates.

Mobile banking: BDT 1.21 billion (USD 1.51 million) transacted daily, with 5.2 million subscribers


Transforming service delivery

Access to Information (a2i)

A fundamental government responsibility is providing information and services aimed at improving the social and economic welfare of citizens. In Bangladesh, as in many developing countries, widespread manual processes, resistance to change by civil service and over-centralisation frustrate citizens in their attempts to avail of government information and services. Opaqueness in service delivery increases the scope for rent-seeking. In this backdrop, the Access to Information (a2i) is a programme being implemented by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bangladesh with technical assistance from UNDP and USAID, which primarily focuses on:

Innovation in Service Delivery

a) making government services cheaper, hassle-free and responsive to the citizenry; and, b) bringing services ‘at the door-step’ through increasing efficiency, accountability, transparency and predictability by leveraging the flexibility and ubiquity of indigenous information and communication technologies (ICTs).This umbrella service delivery transformation initiates plans, coordinates and facilitates across various ministries, divisions and agencies of the government. In a matter of six years (2006-2013) with facilitation from a2i, hundreds of e-services have mushroomed throughout the country, through a Service Simplification Process (SPS) exercise under the “Quick-Wins” auspices which simplified many public service delivery processes. Some of the successes achieved by a2i are presented below. Citizens can now pay their electricity, gas and phone bills and conduct banking transactions through mobile phones, download English lessons on these phones and can consult with a doctor from remote rural areas. Application for land records through the internet, university admissions through SMS, online tax submission, e-notification services for farmers and patients, are some examples of how efficiency gain has been introduced in government service delivery, making it responsive in accommodating citizen’s needs for information and services.

www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd

Empowered lives. Resilient nations.

Moreover, 4,500+ ICT-empowered service delivery outlets are operating in rural local government institutions (LGIs) with financing from the government, private

sector and local entrepreneurs. A typical citizen walks 3 km to the nearby Union and Information Service Centre (UISC) saving time, money and harassment of going to the district HQ 35 km away. With a2i’s support, many ministries of the government have redesigned their services to make them ‘e-deliverable’ through these centres. The UISCs are today working as self-independent micro-enterprises paving a gateway for the traditionally excluded from participating in market opportunities to availing of healthcare and other livelihood related information and services. The government has set up similar centres in all 64 Deputy Commissioners’ (DC) offices (district headquarters), which is the focal point in public administration. These one-stop district e-service centres (DESCs) have consolidated a slogan that has driven a lot of the SPS work in recent times: “Citizens need NOT go to the services because services will come to them.”

Nurturing a culture of innovation in civil service The a2i embarked on a non-traditional Quick-Wins approach to encourage innovation within bureaucracy. Quick-Wins are small service delivery process improvement prototypes, led by a government officer with technical support from a2i. Several Quick-Wins have become successful and sustainable and are replicated nationwide. Other Quick-Wins have ‘failed’ but not before leaving important and useful lessons for the government, UNDP Bangladesh and a2i. The most remarkable aspect of Quick-Wins is their non-threatening approach to service reform with the assurance “Failure is acceptable!” Through a grass-roots social networking platform and departmental blogs, the traditional hierarchy within the government bureaucracy is diffusing with new, efficient and open communication across departments and chain of command.

The approach has been institutionalised through an official Innovation Team gazette, instructing all ministries and their subordinate agencies, all districts and their subordinate sub-districts, to form Innovation Teams to be led by Chief Innovation Officers (CIOs). The a2i has launched a multi-donor Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to spread the seeds for cultivating a culture of innovation within the government and fostering public private partnerships (PPPs).The fund tries to address two disincentives inherent in the government: one, discouragement of risk-taking for innovation, and two, acute absence of financing mechanisms to support innovation from proof-of-concept to a stage where the product or service will be able to make a difference in the lives of the citizens. Innovation Fairs, held at the national level and in each district, recognition and awards are being rewarded to public service innovations by civil servants, private sector, NGOs and social innovators.

Scaling up through inclusive partnerships

a2i’s Intervention Framework ObjecƟve Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified and reengineered public administraƟon services

e-Services Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified public administraƟve services through electronic means

Capacity and awareness

Policy reform

InsƟtuƟonalisaƟon

Aware and empower civil servants, service providers and ciƟzens to facilitate easy access to transparent and responsive services

Enable legal and policy framework and partnerships to facilitate responsive and transparent service delivery

Establish insƟtuƟonal and incenƟve frameworks to promote innovaƟve service delivery mechanism

The a2i started in 2006 as UNDP-funded initiative with a meagre budget of USD 1.2 million. In later years, it increased in both fund size and work scope especially to support the Digital Bangladesh vision of the government declared in 2009. The vision envisages a socioeconomic transformation process, improvement of service delivery to the underserved citizens including the poor, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and very importantly, women. To materialise this vision, a2i used service innovation as an entry point and ICTs as an enabler to ignite major improvements in public service delivery, both in terms of its management and delivery. The a2i entered a new phase in 2012 with a funding of USD 4 million from UNDP and USD 19 million from the government and donors like USAID. Beyond the direct funds, the a2i mobilised well over USD 100 million in parallel funding in the first phase and expects to mobilise over USD 1 billion in the ongoing (second) phase. Since its birth, a2i’s driving philosophy has always been to strike the right balance between equity and growth in the transformation it effects. ICTs can make ke the strong even stronger and disempower er the already weak: a nation must make the right choices in policy formulation, stakeholder holder engagement and choice of technologies. s. The a2i actively promotes this philosophy in its policy advocacy and capacity development pment

work with members of the Cabinet, Parliament Secretaries, Innovators and Teams, district and sub-district administrative heads and local government institutions ’representatives, and UISC entrepreneurs. That is precisely why the focus is first on the rural underserved and then the urban underserved. The massive scaling-up on multiple fronts of field-level service delivery was the accumulation of a2i’s policy drafting on advocacy efforts towards significant reform of local government policies, ICT Policy, Right to Information Act, PPP Policy, 6th National 5-yearPlan, e-Agriculture Policy, Education Policy, and Guidelines on Utility Bill Payments and Mobile Banking.

The a2i deliberately remains a catalyst in all initiatives and actively nurtures ownership among change champions and institutions. Most of the impact has been created through public-private-people partnerships or PPPPs (4 Ps) with public organisations, private sector players, development partners and citizens. The latter is the conceived as a key partner in each of the initiatives undertaken by a2i which has proven to be an innovative approach that combines PPP with crowd-sourcing helps micro-enterprises draw investment from communities and small entrepreneurs. Unlike the conventional PPPs generally geared towards building large-scale infrastructure projects, 4Ps aspire to initiate small projects including the local residents.

23

million utility bill payments were made over mobile phones saving citizens time, money and hassle

The a2i’s intervention can be summarised in a six-prong generic framework. The first is of increasing access to public and private information and services, which is followed by identification of the process to be simplified and the scope of reforms in the policy context. Following, the a2i firms up the existing comparative advantages of its potential partners by building capacity of stakeholders, which is more than a one-time exercise. Capacity building exercises are carried out within a partnership ambit so that ex-post, those who are able to make an impact in transforming the service delivery process to the citizenry, are publicly recognised and rewarded for their innovations (e.g the annual digital innovation nnovation fair).

million underserved beneficiaries receiving livelihood and financial inclusion services like birth registration, land records, mobile banking, life insurance, vital information on agriculture, health, education, human rights and employment from over 4,500 UISCs every month

23,661 primary and secondary school teachers create and share multimedia content through a teachers’ portal

Looking Ahead In order to continue with the service process simplification momentum, capitalise on the excitement of an innovation culture within the civil service and help the country move towards the vision of middle-income economy, a new service innovation centre is going to be established. The a2i is also working closely with the newly formed statistics and informatics division (SID) under the ministry of planning to ensure that the milestones reached by Bangladesh, are accurately reported to the development partners engaged in measuring the level of e-governance development. In addition, through mutual cooperation and collaboration the a2i will contribute towards the development of sid’s work plans into socially meaningful analysis for accurate policymaking decisions.

4.5

Public Innovation Fairs have been held nationally and in each of the 64 districts since 2010 showcasing innovation in service delivery and creating further demand for service process simplification

From January to June 2013, 63 million results of public exams have been published through the internet and 38 million over SMS.1.4 million high school graduates applied for admission to 32 public universities, 400 colleges and 70 medical colleges by sending text messages

Online registration for more than 1.4 million potential migrant workers seeking foreign employment in 2013 through UISCs saving them from extortion by intermediaries

All 300+ textbooks for primary, secondary and madrasa (religious) education are available online

E-purchase orders for sugarcane farmers replaced the traditional paper based public sugarcane procurement system, saving 200,000 farmers from market intermediates.

Mobile banking: BDT 1.21 billion (USD 1.51 million) transacted daily, with 5.2 million subscribers


Transforming service delivery

Access to Information (a2i)

A fundamental government responsibility is providing information and services aimed at improving the social and economic welfare of citizens. In Bangladesh, as in many developing countries, widespread manual processes, resistance to change by civil service and over-centralisation frustrate citizens in their attempts to avail of government information and services. Opaqueness in service delivery increases the scope for rent-seeking. In this backdrop, the Access to Information (a2i) is a programme being implemented by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bangladesh with technical assistance from UNDP and USAID, which primarily focuses on:

Innovation in Service Delivery

a) making government services cheaper, hassle-free and responsive to the citizenry; and, b) bringing services ‘at the door-step’ through increasing efficiency, accountability, transparency and predictability by leveraging the flexibility and ubiquity of indigenous information and communication technologies (ICTs).This umbrella service delivery transformation initiates plans, coordinates and facilitates across various ministries, divisions and agencies of the government. In a matter of six years (2006-2013) with facilitation from a2i, hundreds of e-services have mushroomed throughout the country, through a Service Simplification Process (SPS) exercise under the “Quick-Wins” auspices which simplified many public service delivery processes. Some of the successes achieved by a2i are presented below. Citizens can now pay their electricity, gas and phone bills and conduct banking transactions through mobile phones, download English lessons on these phones and can consult with a doctor from remote rural areas. Application for land records through the internet, university admissions through SMS, online tax submission, e-notification services for farmers and patients, are some examples of how efficiency gain has been introduced in government service delivery, making it responsive in accommodating citizen’s needs for information and services.

www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd

Empowered lives. Resilient nations.

Moreover, 4,500+ ICT-empowered service delivery outlets are operating in rural local government institutions (LGIs) with financing from the government, private

sector and local entrepreneurs. A typical citizen walks 3 km to the nearby Union and Information Service Centre (UISC) saving time, money and harassment of going to the district HQ 35 km away. With a2i’s support, many ministries of the government have redesigned their services to make them ‘e-deliverable’ through these centres. The UISCs are today working as self-independent micro-enterprises paving a gateway for the traditionally excluded from participating in market opportunities to availing of healthcare and other livelihood related information and services. The government has set up similar centres in all 64 Deputy Commissioners’ (DC) offices (district headquarters), which is the focal point in public administration. These one-stop district e-service centres (DESCs) have consolidated a slogan that has driven a lot of the SPS work in recent times: “Citizens need NOT go to the services because services will come to them.”

Nurturing a culture of innovation in civil service The a2i embarked on a non-traditional Quick-Wins approach to encourage innovation within bureaucracy. Quick-Wins are small service delivery process improvement prototypes, led by a government officer with technical support from a2i. Several Quick-Wins have become successful and sustainable and are replicated nationwide. Other Quick-Wins have ‘failed’ but not before leaving important and useful lessons for the government, UNDP Bangladesh and a2i. The most remarkable aspect of Quick-Wins is their non-threatening approach to service reform with the assurance “Failure is acceptable!” Through a grass-roots social networking platform and departmental blogs, the traditional hierarchy within the government bureaucracy is diffusing with new, efficient and open communication across departments and chain of command.

The approach has been institutionalised through an official Innovation Team gazette, instructing all ministries and their subordinate agencies, all districts and their subordinate sub-districts, to form Innovation Teams to be led by Chief Innovation Officers (CIOs). The a2i has launched a multi-donor Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to spread the seeds for cultivating a culture of innovation within the government and fostering public private partnerships (PPPs).The fund tries to address two disincentives inherent in the government: one, discouragement of risk-taking for innovation, and two, acute absence of financing mechanisms to support innovation from proof-of-concept to a stage where the product or service will be able to make a difference in the lives of the citizens. Innovation Fairs, held at the national level and in each district, recognition and awards are being rewarded to public service innovations by civil servants, private sector, NGOs and social innovators.

Scaling up through inclusive partnerships

a2i’s Intervention Framework ObjecƟve Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified and reengineered public administraƟon services

e-Services Provide underserved communiƟes with easy access to simplified public administraƟve services through electronic means

Capacity and awareness

Policy reform

InsƟtuƟonalisaƟon

Aware and empower civil servants, service providers and ciƟzens to facilitate easy access to transparent and responsive services

Enable legal and policy framework and partnerships to facilitate responsive and transparent service delivery

Establish insƟtuƟonal and incenƟve frameworks to promote innovaƟve service delivery mechanism

The a2i started in 2006 as UNDP-funded initiative with a meagre budget of USD 1.2 million. In later years, it increased in both fund size and work scope especially to support the Digital Bangladesh vision of the government declared in 2009. The vision envisages a socioeconomic transformation process, improvement of service delivery to the underserved citizens including the poor, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and very importantly, women. To materialise this vision, a2i used service innovation as an entry point and ICTs as an enabler to ignite major improvements in public service delivery, both in terms of its management and delivery. The a2i entered a new phase in 2012 with a funding of USD 4 million from UNDP and USD 19 million from the government and donors like USAID. Beyond the direct funds, the a2i mobilised well over USD 100 million in parallel funding in the first phase and expects to mobilise over USD 1 billion in the ongoing (second) phase. Since its birth, a2i’s driving philosophy has always been to strike the right balance between equity and growth in the transformation it effects. ICTs can make ke the strong even stronger and disempower er the already weak: a nation must make the right choices in policy formulation, stakeholder holder engagement and choice of technologies. s. The a2i actively promotes this philosophy in its policy advocacy and capacity development pment

work with members of the Cabinet, Parliament Secretaries, Innovators and Teams, district and sub-district administrative heads and local government institutions ’representatives, and UISC entrepreneurs. That is precisely why the focus is first on the rural underserved and then the urban underserved. The massive scaling-up on multiple fronts of field-level service delivery was the accumulation of a2i’s policy drafting on advocacy efforts towards significant reform of local government policies, ICT Policy, Right to Information Act, PPP Policy, 6th National 5-yearPlan, e-Agriculture Policy, Education Policy, and Guidelines on Utility Bill Payments and Mobile Banking.

The a2i deliberately remains a catalyst in all initiatives and actively nurtures ownership among change champions and institutions. Most of the impact has been created through public-private-people partnerships or PPPPs (4 Ps) with public organisations, private sector players, development partners and citizens. The latter is the conceived as a key partner in each of the initiatives undertaken by a2i which has proven to be an innovative approach that combines PPP with crowd-sourcing helps micro-enterprises draw investment from communities and small entrepreneurs. Unlike the conventional PPPs generally geared towards building large-scale infrastructure projects, 4Ps aspire to initiate small projects including the local residents.

23

million utility bill payments were made over mobile phones saving citizens time, money and hassle

The a2i’s intervention can be summarised in a six-prong generic framework. The first is of increasing access to public and private information and services, which is followed by identification of the process to be simplified and the scope of reforms in the policy context. Following, the a2i firms up the existing comparative advantages of its potential partners by building capacity of stakeholders, which is more than a one-time exercise. Capacity building exercises are carried out within a partnership ambit so that ex-post, those who are able to make an impact in transforming the service delivery process to the citizenry, are publicly recognised and rewarded for their innovations (e.g the annual digital innovation nnovation fair).

million underserved beneficiaries receiving livelihood and financial inclusion services like birth registration, land records, mobile banking, life insurance, vital information on agriculture, health, education, human rights and employment from over 4,500 UISCs every month

23,661 primary and secondary school teachers create and share multimedia content through a teachers’ portal

Looking Ahead In order to continue with the service process simplification momentum, capitalise on the excitement of an innovation culture within the civil service and help the country move towards the vision of middle-income economy, a new service innovation centre is going to be established. The a2i is also working closely with the newly formed statistics and informatics division (SID) under the ministry of planning to ensure that the milestones reached by Bangladesh, are accurately reported to the development partners engaged in measuring the level of e-governance development. In addition, through mutual cooperation and collaboration the a2i will contribute towards the development of sid’s work plans into socially meaningful analysis for accurate policymaking decisions.

4.5

Public Innovation Fairs have been held nationally and in each of the 64 districts since 2010 showcasing innovation in service delivery and creating further demand for service process simplification

From January to June 2013, 63 million results of public exams have been published through the internet and 38 million over SMS.1.4 million high school graduates applied for admission to 32 public universities, 400 colleges and 70 medical colleges by sending text messages

Online registration for more than 1.4 million potential migrant workers seeking foreign employment in 2013 through UISCs saving them from extortion by intermediaries

All 300+ textbooks for primary, secondary and madrasa (religious) education are available online

E-purchase orders for sugarcane farmers replaced the traditional paper based public sugarcane procurement system, saving 200,000 farmers from market intermediates.

Mobile banking: BDT 1.21 billion (USD 1.51 million) transacted daily, with 5.2 million subscribers


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