ENACT project kicks off

Location

Zoom and UN-House

Contact information

Dr. Nibal Idlebi, Chief of Innovation Section
idlebi@un.org

ESCWA organized the webinar to kick off the ENACT project entitled "Expediting the use of technology and innovation for enhanced operations in Arab public institutions".

The webinar presented the ENACT project, its goals, activities and implementation methodology in line with the priorities of member States. It included a briefing on emerging technologies and their uses in improving operations and services in the public sector, and a call for good practices that can be featured as successful case studies on the innovative use of technology in the public sector through the Arab Open and Innovative Government portal.

Various stakeholders have participated in the webinar, including public officials and experts from international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and academia, specialized in information and communication technologies, digital government, and administrative development.

Outcome document

Meeting outcome

Participants from member states welcomed the ESCWA project on "Expediting the Use of Technology and Innovation to Enhance Operations in Arab Public Institutions" (ENACT), given its importance to the development of digital government in the Arab region. They also expressed willingness to cooperate with ESCWA in the framework of this project.
A number of experts from regional and Arab organizations stressed the importance of the ENACT project and showed interest in cooperating with ESCWA on specific activities, such as the workshop on “Practical Measures to Improve Trust in Digital Public Services” and in collecting good practices related to the use of emerging technologies in public institutions.
Some experts highlighted the importance of the availability of funds and sustainability of the digitization projects, especially in the middle or low-income countries in the Arab region. They pointed out that these aspects should be stressed on within the ESCWA studies of the ENACT project.
Some experts also indicated the need to raise awareness about the culture of digitization and change management, especially because digitization and digital services require fundamental changes in institutional structures and internal processes. They also stressed on the importance of capacity building in public institutions, especially for the use of emerging technologies and their applications in public operations and services.
Some participants pointed to the importance of including transparency and accountability, and access to information, as part of the project focus areas, as they contribute to achieving the SDGs, especially SDG 16. These areas were covered in the initiative on open government, and are part of monitoring progress on open government in the Arab region.ح
Participants requested clarification about the role of the private sector. The ESCWA team indicated that private sector consulting companies can cooperate with ESCWA in the implementation of the project activities. While the private sector at national level has an important role in cooperating with governments to improve and develop digitization of operations in public sector and the digitization of services.
Participants also asked about the integration of women and youth aspects in the project. The ESCWA team explained that one of the focused aspect in the project is inclusiveness, which means the comprehensiveness of all individuals including marginalized groups: women, youth and people with special needs. The project will also stress on participation and engagement of citizens in government decision making. In addition, youth can have an important role, similar to that of the private sector, namely encouraging young entrepreneurs to contribute to the development of services that benefit society and implementing them in cooperation with the public sector.
The working group indicated that ESCWA will start preparing studies soon and will send forms to member states to collect good practices about the use of digital and emerging technology in public sector. At the beginning of April, the ESCWA team will also communicate with regional and international organizations that have expressed their willingness to cooperate with ESCWA to coordinate the implementation of these activities.

Discussion

ENACT project launch: objectives and activities

The presentation included general observations about the status of technologies in the Arab public institutions and the main challenges they face especially in the middle- and low-income countries. It described the main objectives of the project especially for expediting the use of technology and innovation in the Arab public institutes and accelerating the achievement of SDGs in the Arab region: Goal 16 and Goal 17. The presentation indicated that the project will focus on four critical dimensions for the Arab region namely: responsiveness, inclusiveness, trust and effectiveness. It also presented the project's activities and the potential role of member states and regional and international organizations.

Emerging technologies for enhancing operations and services in public sector

The presentation covered how emerging technologies can be used to improve public sector operations and services. Focus was on the enabling ecosystem that includes widespread user connectivity and infrastructure, such as broadband network, data centers and cloud computing; and then on emerging technologies and their potential impact were overviewed:

Big data can be used to analyze vast amounts of information to identify patterns and make predictions;
Artificial intelligence can be used to automate processes and improve decision-making;
Geospatial technologies can be used to map and analyze geographic data;
Immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, can be used to enhance training and visualization; and
Blockchain can be used to improve data security and accountability.

Questions and Answers

Discussants inquired about the needed steps to collaborate with ESCWA for the implementation of the project, and they expressed interest in providing successful initiatives and best practices for adoption. Some speakers asked about the role of private sector, the importance of sustainability, cultural change, and effective change management in Arab countries. Participants also highlighted the challenge of internet access and its affordability. Capacity building, including skilling and reskilling, was also raised as critical for the successful adoption of emerging technologies by Arab governments. Additionally, selected organizations expressed interest in contributing to selected activities especially the workshop on building trust.

Enriching ENACT project: a call for good practices

The presentation launched the call for member States to submit successful case studies on the innovative use of technology in the public sector. It explained the need for case studies and that it will be used to enrich reports planned under the ENACT project and will be published on the Arab Open and Innovative Government Portal. Parts of the form for submissions were highlighted, including the due dates in 2023. The presentation also focused on the Portal and the case studies section and concluded with a summary of the proposed enhancements for 2023.

Participant list

List of participants