Primer on Inclusive eGovernance

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Primer on Inclusive e-Governance
- Strengthening local service delivery for the
MDGs
Community of Practice Meeting on e-Governance
Access to Information 14 16 January
2009 Hyderabad
Lars Bestle Regional Policy Specialist, Access
to Information, e-Governance and Media
Development UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok,
Thailand
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Content

• MDG progress
• Challenges in local service delivery
• Rethinking service delivery
• E-Governance an essential pillar in reforming
  local service delivery
• E-government programs are rarely inclusive or
  pro-poor
• Typology of inclusive e-Governance Applications
• Nine building blocks of pro-poor e-governance

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MDG progress in Asia Pacific
Country groups on and off track for achieving the
MDGs
Source ADB, ESCAP and UNDP MDG progress report
2007
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Challenges in basic service delivery for MDG
progress

• Rural poor have limited access to social services
  and economic opportunities
• Lack of efficient local service delivery
• Lack of budgets for services in rural and remote
  areas
• Lack of information about entitlements to and
  availability of services
• Lack of accountability and transparency in
  service delivery
• Lack of information and effective communication
  channels

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The long route of accountability
Policy makers
Rural Communities
Basic service providers
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Rethinking Service Delivery

• Make services more available
• Raise quality of service
• Broaden the range of service providers
• Make services user driven
• Empower the users of services
• Create better and appropriate access to
  information for rural populations
• Make e-governance a mechanism of inclusive
  pro-poor service delivery

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e-Government programs are usually not pro-poor

• Focused on internal efficiency rather than
  service delivery
• If service delivery they are confined to licenses
  and tax collection
• Mostly urban focused
• Pilots with demonstrated impact on poverty
  reduction are rarely replicated
• The poor or MDG targets are rarely specifically
  targeted
• Lack understanding of the demand for ICTs in
  rural areas
• Needs of vulnerable groups different in terms of
  access points for service, content, and the
  nature of interface.

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An example Bhoomi kiosks in India

• Farmer friendly mechanism to accessing and
  updating land records with ICT
• Basis for ownership
• Basis for access to loans.

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Potential e-Governance services for the MDGs

• Public grievances mechanisms
• electricity, water, sanitation
• Rural e-services
• land records
• Social services
• birth and death certificates, school registration
• Public information
• employment opportunities, hospital services,
  public transportation info
• Public feedback mechanisms
• Employment and welfare services
• Agricultural information
• weather, pesticides, crop diseases, market prices
  
• Health information
• Utility payments
• electricity, water, telephone, etc

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Identifying pro-poor e-governance applications
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Targeted benefits for the poor
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Nine Building Blocks of Inclusive e-Governance
Embed e-governance programmes with local
governance and poverty reduction programmes
Identify needs, problems and opportunities of
communities carefully
Identify high impact e-governance applications to
improve local service delivery
Ensure a pro-poor focus in e-governance and
e-government policy- and strategy-making
Analyse the needs for systems and process
re-engineering of integrated service delivery
Goal Inclusive local service delivery through
e-governance
Develop a system of monitoring, evaluation and
sustainable replication of pro-poor e-governance
Identify the appropriate mix of technologies
Build capacity and promote participation of
stakeholders in designing, implementing and
utilizing pro-poor e-governance services
Build public-private-civil society partnerships
in the delivery of ICT-based local services
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Thank You