MUSCAT: The annual report on digital transformation for 2023, issued by the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology, revealed key performance metrics.
The overall performance of the ‘Tahwaul’ government digital transformation programme reached 53 per cent in 2023. Government Entities achieved an average performance of 72 per cent in digital transformation during the same period.
Additionally, the governorates attained an average performance of 54 per cent out of 56 Government Entities, and the governorates participated in evaluating excellence in government digital transformation for 2023.
The report elaborated that 48 per cent of Government Entities achieved above-average performance (green level) out of the total number assessed for excellence in government digital transformation in 2023.
The Entities that excelled in digital transformation performance for 2023 include the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Muscat Governorate, Royal Oman Police, Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones, Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit, National Centre for Statistics and Information, public Authority for Social Insurance, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Labour.
Furthermore, 48 per cent of Entities achieved an average performance level (yellow), while 4 per cent of the assessed Entities performed below average (red level).
The report also discussed the efforts made by governorates to achieve digital transformation.
These efforts included launching the first set of digital services for the governorates of Musandam, Al Dhahirah, and Al Dakhiliyah, as well as completing consultancy studies projects about digital transformation in the Al Batinah South, Al Wusta, and Al Buraimi governorates. Furthermore, it highlighted the introduction of digital channels for several other governorates.
Dr Ali Amer Al Shidhani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology for Communications and Information Technology, and Chairman of the Technical Committee for the Government Digital Transformation Programme 2021-2025, explained the significant factors driving Oman's strategic shift towards digital transformation.
He pointed to improved governance, policy development, national guidance frameworks, and dedicated controls and standards for digital transformation.
He emphasised the readiness of targeted Government Entities to embrace digital environments, leadership awareness of the importance of digital transformation and institutional change management, and the Ministry's role in providing oversight, support, and guidance across various areas such as planning, tendering processes, empowerment for digital transformation project management and implementation, and financial support to accelerate project delivery.
Dr Ali further emphasised that the advancements can also be attributed to readiness assessment, measuring digital transformation progress, and the maturity of digital services within Government Entities based on best practices. Supporting and empowering Entities to develop digital services and solutions and proposing innovative approaches are also critical factors.
Furthermore, dedicated digital transformation teams within Government Entities tasked with implementing and expediting digital transformation plans play a pivotal role. The ministry oversees these efforts, providing supervision, support, and consultation to ensure the application of best practices, thereby accelerating the achievement of programme objectives.
The Undersecretary of Communications and Information Technology, highlighted the importance of several shared digital platforms and supportive digital service systems, illustrating the efforts of Government Entities to meet digital transformation requirements. These platforms demonstrate a strong commitment to staying abreast of global technological developments and serving beneficiaries effectively.
These platforms have significantly reduced costs and time and enhanced work efficiency, productivity, and organisational planning. They offer comprehensive digital services to beneficiaries, including the Social Protection Services Management Portal, the Electronic Voting System (Intekhab), the Work Permits System, the Electronic Customs Data System (Bayan), National Records System and Traffic Services Management Platform, the Digital Authentication System, the Electronic Payment Portal, Healthcare Entities Management Platform (Al-Shifa) the Real Estate Development Digital Platform, the National Digital Integration Platform, Human Resource Management System (Mawrid), Electronic Document and Records Management System (Wosool), and digital services for Endowments and Religious Affairs, encompassing Zakat, Hajj, Waqf, and more.
Simplification of procedures:
Regarding simplifying government procedures, Dr Ali underlined the importance of documenting, streamlining, and enhancing work processes to expedite service delivery and improve efficiency before transitioning to automation or digitisation. The ministry has adopted two approaches to simplification: firstly, some Government Entities have independently simplified their procedures through consultancy studies. Secondly, the ministry has centrally simplified government service procedures through the ‘Manjam’ labs initiative, focusing on streamlining and engineering government service processes.
This initiative involves reviewing and optimising service procedures according to best practices and relevant standards to enhance service quality while considering social, economic, and financial impacts.
He further explained that ‘Manjam’ labs for simplifying government procedures aim to enhance the user journey in accessing government services. This involves a comprehensive approach tailored to different beneficiary needs, ensuring an improved and streamlined experience from initial engagement to final service delivery.
He highlighted that procedures for 2,199 services were simplified between 2021 and 2023 out of 2,869 services targeted for simplification by 2025. This includes simplifying 578 services during the past year of 2023.
Approximately 41 per cent of these procedures were simplified through the ‘Manjam’ labs for simplifying government services procedures, recognising the efforts of all participating Entities for their dedication to achieving advanced completion rates in their tasks.
Regarding foreign investment, he said that one of the objectives of the ‘Manjam’ labs for simplifying government services procedures is to enhance the investor experience across all touchpoints. This includes starting from visiting Oman via instant electronic visas to digitally obtaining all required licenses from anywhere in the world and obtaining work permits through electronic platforms.
He added that the Oman Business Platform provides an integrated digital infrastructure to offer all services to investors. It serves as the primary reference for investors to complete all procedures and requirements for digitally establishing, operating, and terminating their investments in Oman. Investors can also digitally access information about projects and investment opportunities in Oman without a physical presence.
Furthermore, the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones' digital platform offers a distinctive digital experience for investors, allowing them to explore opportunities, select investment locations, submit and approve applications, and provide a wide range of incentives and benefits to attract investments to Oman, all available digitally.
He noted that the Unified National Portal for Electronic Services will soon further enhance this direction by providing all government services under one advanced umbrella once fully operational.
On his turn, Eng Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al Khuraisi, Director General of Digital Transformation at the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology, emphasised the ministry's dedication to continuous improvement within the Government Digital Transformation Programme 2021-2025.
This commitment is upheld by activating governance frameworks for quality performance management, ensuring ongoing enhancements following the programme's halfway mark.
The ministry conducts reviews and assessments of the programme and its adopted methodologies, engaging the Oman Vision 2040 Monitoring Unit as a critical part of governance and a neutral performance evaluator. Proposals are solicited to facilitate development and improvements aligned with global best practices.
Furthermore, the ministry has organised various discussion sessions with heads of digital transformation teams in targeted Government Entities under the programme, seeking feedback and recommendations for areas of development and improvement.
The report indicates that digitisation efforts have completed 1545 services, including activities for automatic licensing, from January 2021 to December 2023, achieving 61 per cent of the total 80 per cent target for digitising core government services by 2025.
In 2023, 207 services were digitalised, alongside the launch of several new digital platforms that offer a distinct user experience, such as the Social Protection Services Portal, Jood platform for donations, and Tawtheeq system for notary public services, among others.
The report highlighted examples of services that were digitalised in 2023, including updating initial approval for work permits, updating investor data, correcting second/third names along with tribal affiliations in official documents, terminating contracts for Omani workers, requesting aid in cases of damage, death grants, first-time vehicle registration, transferring vehicle ownership for individuals/Entities, transferring non-Omani workforce services, requesting assistance in furnishing a residence for individuals or families, registering/modifying employment contracts for non-Omani workers, registering/modifying lease agreements, updating commercial agencies, requesting legal opinions, seeking artisan support, and renewing/ Termination usufruct contracts (Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning).
The annual report highlighted initiatives to enhance national competencies and capacities in specialised areas of government digital transformation implemented throughout 2023. This included organising six workshops to empower national capabilities in ‘Manjam’ labs for simplifying government procedures, with participation from over 150 representatives across various governmental Entities.
A four-day workshop was conducted to empower governmental Entities and governorates with national unified solutions and systems, engaging more than 150 participants from both governmental Entities and governorates. Moreover, four training courses were held using simulation games to develop decision-making skills and team management capabilities.
Furthermore, a comprehensive study on digital innovation was conducted in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to analyse both the current landscape and future aspirations of the digital innovation environment in the Sultanate of Oman. This study identified critical challenges and opportunities for advancing digital innovation.
In addition, the second edition of the Digital Transformation Project Management Camp was successfully organised. This event focused on empowering national capabilities in digital transformation and saw active participation from 17 governmental Entities.
Moreover, efforts were exerted to foster community engagement in ‘Manjam’ labs for simplifying government procedures. These workshops attracted over 100 community participants, while more than 300 participants from key target Entities actively contributed to these initiatives.
The report discussed the key targets of the Government Digital Transformation Programme for the year 2024, which include completing the implementation of the first package for targeted Entities under the Electronic Government Integration Acceleration Project according to the execution plan.
It also involves launching a system to measure the readiness and maturity of digital services in the government sector, completing the design and launch of the first stage of the National Open Data Platform, issuing the guidance manual for digital participation, completing the organisation of ‘Manjam’ labs for simplifying government procedures in phases three and four, in addition to launching the first phase of the Government Unified National Portal for e-Services and launching the national framework for data governance.
It is important to note that performance in government digital transformation is assessed biannually (in April and October) using a five-level scale: Advanced, Above Average, Average, Below Average, and Low. This evaluation spans five key dimensions: User Experience, Innovation and Development, Enterprise Strategy and Culture, Digital Empowerment, and Operational Efficiency. - ONA
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