UAE and WEF to create 'Future of Government Smart Toolbox'

In partnership with the Government Summit, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government has launched a “Future of Government Smart Toolbox” report to help governments use technology to build better trust and deliver more efficient public services.

The Smart Toolbox, which reflects the cooperation between the government of the UAE and the WEF, aims to improve government performance in key areas such as trust, leadership, security, innovation, anti-corruption, bureaucracy and delivery of services.

“The UAE government has embraced innovation and set high benchmarks in government efficiency and trust. We are happy that the Government Summit partnership with WEF has led to a tangible and positive outcome as the Smart Toolbox, which takes trust in government as a unifying theme. It also highlights the role of the Government Summit as an international platform to enhance the future of government administration around the world,” said Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs.

“The partnership between the World Economic Forum and the Government Summit come from the joint vision for offering services which lead to stability and prosperity for all,” added Al Gergawi.

He clarified that the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform the Government Summit as annual event aim to develop government actions and to be a platform to exchange experiences, develop studies and build the talent of leaders in the modern government administration throughout the year.

Al Gergawi stressed that the world is changing constantly and rapidly and the governments need to review the plans and strategies to reach to the customer’s expectations especially with the current massive technical developments.

Pointing out that governments have the largest base of customers in the world, offering their services to seven billion customers, Al Gergawi stated that governments have to be constantly innovative in delivering services and look for creative solutions to meet the needs of customers in all circumstances and areas.

Al Gergawi asserted that the UAE has also achieved major steps incorporating advanced technology within government service delivery, becoming the first country in the region to focus on the importance of technology in enhancing government services.

“The UAE launched the e-Government initiative in 1998 and established the Dubai Internet City in the year 1999. With the launch of the Government Summit, the UAE has also announced the Mobile Government initiative,” said Al Gergawi.

“The UAE government has launched during the second Government Summit the UAE ‘Drones for Good’ Award which highlights the real use of technology to help humanity. The UAE has been ranked number one in the Middle East and Africa region and second in the world in the ‘Government Usage of ICT’ index in the Global Information Technology Report for 2014, released by the World Economic Forum,” he added. 

The priority of the “Future of Government Smart Toolbox” report is to consider ways in which information technology can improve governance and reduce the feelings of alienation among the governed, identifying the trends that will change the future of government.

The report will help leaders envision the future they want for their countries and map it out in the context of uncertainty. The most effective initiatives, the Council observed, often arise from partnerships between government and the private sector.

The Smart Toolbox shares insights on how technology can strengthen good government – for example, by enabling greater transparency of government actions through open data, empowering citizens to have faster and more accurate access to online services, and helping to strengthen responses to aid civilians.

The Smart Toolbox also explores the risks and challenges of an increasingly digital era, including the often expensive and complex need to keep pace with changing tools and technology, the divides that can expand between user groups that have less ease of use, and the security and protection of data and information.

The report explains that the public sector leaders around the world face a daunting challenge to deliver good government in the 21st century. They are under increasing pressure to deliver more and better services to a growing urban population, and to manage complex issues, from macroeconomic uncertainty to international conflicts, in an environment of diminishing trust in government, increasing bureaucratic complexity and natural resource constraints.
 

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