10 YEARS OF LOCAL E-GOVERNMENT IN EGYPT: LESSONS LEARNED

10 YEARS OF LOCAL E-GOVERNMENT

IN EGYPT: LESSONS LEARNED

LogIn2EGYPT is a research project funded by

Canada's International Development Research Centre www.idrc.ca

Hisham Abdelsalam, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Director

Decision Support and Future Studies Center Cairo University

Agenda



Context



Citizens’ Usage of Different Government

Services’ Channels



Perceived Effectiveness



Websites’ Content Analysis



Success and Failure of e-Gov Systems

What is next?

Context: Egypt

Local Government

 Area: total: 1,001,450 sq km

 Population: 85 Million

 Languages: Arabic (official),

(English and French)

 Capital: Cairo

 Administrative divisions:

26 governorates

ICT Strategy

Egyptian Information Society

Initiative (EISI) E-Learning Nurturing Human Capital E-Government Government Now Delivers E-Business A New Way of Doing Business E-Health Increasing Health Services Availability E-Culture Promoting Egyptian Culture ICT Export Initiative Industry Development E-Readiness: Equal Access for All

Egyptian eGov Program

 Egypt has established its ICT strategy in 2001 in what

has been known as the Egyptian Information Society Initiative (EISI).

 EISI was built on seven pillars – one of them was

e-Government.

 Started and managed by the Ministry of Communication

and Information Technology (MCIT).

 In 2004, program ownership was transferred to the

Ministry of State for Administrative Development

(MSAD).

Major Axes

Two major streams:



providing services

through new and

easy channels, and



updating the systems

of governmental

work.

Egyptian EISI Government Program: Objectives Basic Infrastructur e Project Service Delivery Project Back office Automation Project Economic Databases and Decision Support Project Enha ncing Eg yptian go vernmen t read iness to accep t a strong lo cal prog

ram and to smoothly in tegrate in the gl obal community . Provid ing timel y, _customi zed and qua lity measure d governm ent service s t o the citizen s and inve stors thro ugh conv enie nt del ivery chan nel s. Increasi ng efficien cy a nd reduci ng expe nditure . Provid ing acc urate and upd

ated

inform at ion to serve inves

tors an d to suppo rt the deci sion maki ng proce ss . 7

City Council Organization Structure

Internal Services

MIS / ERP

External Services

Development of web portals for the governorates Citizen relationship management (CRM) Service enhancement in municipalities

Egypt Local Government

Development Program (ELGDP)

Investment Department

International Recognition

Research Problem

E-Government: 3 Dimensions

Processes

Systems

People

Citizens

Employees



Managers (decision makers)

Citizens’ Usage of Different

Government Services’ Channels

Sample

For services

your connection with this government entity was by…..?*

To solve a problem or to file a

complaint

Your connection with the government entity to solve a problem or filing a complaint was by …..?*

For information

Your connection with the government entity to obtain or inquire information was by …..?*

Do you use the internet?

Did you visit one of the following

entities’ websites before

What problems did you

experience?

Do you agree with that the

government websites ……?

To what extent……..on

e-government websites is important?

Do you prefer to be notified

immediately with….?

Telecom Usage

July 2012



90.2 millions mobile line (19% increase from 2011)

8.65 millions landlines (decreasing)



31.03. millions internet users (decreasing)

Perceived Effectiveness

Sample



Survey targeted the

top management

of the

Egyptian governorates.

 City Mayor

 City General Secretary (Manager)

 Information Center Manager

 Citizen Service Center Manager



200 administrative officials which were sent a

survey, of which

65

responded, which is a response

rate of 32.5%.



Demand for E-Government

Frequency Percent Citizens' Demand for E-Government

(Administrators Perception) Strongest 5 7 11.3 4 21 33.9 3 25 40.3 2 8 12.9 Weakest 1 1 1.6 27

Perceived effectiveness of e-government

Effectiveness of the following service channels for citizens’ ability to access information

Website 23.8 42.9 15.9 12.7 4.8

Email 21.0 41.9 17.7 14.5 4.8

Telephone 21.0 50.0 24.2 3.2 1.6

In Person 32.3 40.3 27.4 0 0

Effectiveness of the following service channels for citizens’ ability to solve a problem

Website 24.2 30.6 25.8 14.5 4.8

Email 19.7 34.4 24.6 16.4 4.9

Telephone 11.5 59.0 24.6 3.3 1.6

In Person 30.6 46.8 22.6 0 0

Effectiveness of the following service channels for citizens’ ability to access services

Website 27.0 38.1 19.0 11.1 4.8

Email 19.4 40.3 21.0 14.5 4.8

Telephone 4.8 56.5 25.8 11.3 1.6

In Person 28.6 48.2 23.2 0 0

Perceived Effectiveness of Local

E-Government Systems on…..

Security and privacy 29

Perceived Effectiveness of Local

E-Government Systems on…..

Management capacity 30

Perceived Effectiveness of Local

E-Government Systems on…..

Collaboration 31

Websites’ Content Analysis

Phased Maturity Model(s)

Model Used

Quirk’s Model

Citizen and community

E-Decision Making: Better

informed public interest decisions

E-government E-Service: Interface with customers E-Commerce : Transactions & payments



MeGap-3

Local Experts

No. Space Features Source Q M R 01 E-Management Basic information √

02 Web site navigation √

03 Contact details for the governorate √ 04 News and coming events √

05 Hierarchy √

06 Ownership of Content √

07 New features in the website √

08 Searchable Directory √

09 Directions to Offices/Facilities √

10 Emergency Management √

11 Multiple languages √

12 E-Service Service details √

13 GIS maps √

14 Transportation Schedule √

15 Education √

16 Information for Businesses and investment √

17 Tourism √

18 Service support/tracking √

19 FAQs √

20 Online support √

21 Tenders and auctions

22 Information Requests √

23 Housing √

24 Building Permit Process √

25 Business License √

26 Vital Records √

27 Job application √

28 Job opportunities and training √ 29 E-Commerce Transaction handling √

30 Online payments √ 31 Ordering facility √ √ 32 Email payment/ordering √ 33 E-Decision-making Community information √ 34 Links to other organizations/businesses √

35 Bulletin boards √

36 Economic indicators √

37 Budget Report √

38 Strategic Plan √

39 Streaming Audio of Meetings & Hearings √ 40 Streaming Video of Meetings/Hearings √ 41 E-Democracy Sense of community √ √

42 Forums √

43 Scheduled E-meetings √

44 Council minutes √

Score Comparisons 0 20 40 60 80 100 Mat ro uh M en ou fi a C ai ro Is m ai lia Po rt Sa id So ut h Si nai D ak ah li a A sw an B eh er a M en ia Sh ar kay a A lex A ss iu t Fay ou m R ed S ea Su ez D am iet ta B en i Su ef Su hag L ux or N ew V al ley Q en a Sc ore Governorate 36

Score vs. population

e-management

Spaces Comparison

Spaces Comparison e-services

Spaces Comparison e-commerce

Spaces Comparison e-decision making

Spaces Comparison e-democracy

Most Common Features

Features’ Frequencies among Governorates

Feature Space N %

Basic information E management 22 100.0 Tourism E Service 22 100.0 Website navigation E management 21 95.5 Information for Businesses and investment E Service 21 95.5 News and coming events E management 20 90.9 Hierarchy E management 19 86.4 Ownership of Content E management 19 86.4 Contact details for the governorate E management 18 81.8 Links to other organizations/businesses E Decision making 18 81.8 Emergency Management E management 17 77.3 GIS maps E Service 15 68.2 Searchable Directory E management 15 68.2 Sense of community E Democracy 15 68.2 Job opportunities and training E Service 14 63.6 Community information E Decision making 14 63.6

Most Uncommon Features

Features’ Frequencies among Governorates

Feature Space N %

FAQs E Service 0 0

Online payments E commerce 0 0 Email payment/ordering E commerce 0 0 Economic indicators E Decision making 0 0 Budget Report E Decision making 0 0 Council minutes E Democracy 1 4.5 Online support E Service 2 9.1 Information Requests E Service 2 9.1 Job application E Service 3 13.6 Service tracking E Service 4 18.2 Transaction handling E commerce 5 22.7 Strategic Plan E Decision making 6 27.3

Forums E Democracy 6 27.3

Success and Failure of e-Gov Systems

Introduction and Background



E-government programs

are being carried out in a

large number of developed and developing

countries.



in developing countries only 15% successful,

(35%) total failure, (50%) partial failure.



few studies, especially in developing countries, focus

on the impacts, long term sustainability, and their

success and failure factors.

Egypt Local Government -

Investment Departments

 Exist at the governorate level.  Functions are:

 preparing studies to promote investment in the

governorate,

 ensuring that investments projects are in the proper

development track for the community

 approving investment projects proposed by investors,

 allocating the required lands to projects,

 tracking ongoing projects to ensure they abide by their

original set targets and rules.

Case Governorates Features

 Matrouh and South Sinai (AL-Tor)

 Sparse governorates, vast desert lands

 Frontier-line /extended coasts.

 The main investments are in tourism,

local and international

 Informal land appropriation by local

Bedouins (nomads).

 Primitive IT infrastructure

 Main authorities concern:

 develop the basic region infrastructure,

including roads, water, sewage,

 health and educational services.

Matrouh South Sinai Population (thousands) 323,381 150,088

Area (1000km2) 166,563 31,272

No. of phone centrals 20 20

No. of post offices 37 94

Illiteracy % 26.2 10.1

Investors Centers

 Re-designed service environment

 Layout

 Procedures  Timing

 Computerized system to assist the local authorities

plan, assign, and manage different investment projects on the governorate level:

 GIS

 Workflow (service and project tracking)

 DSS

Partnership/Intervention Model



Governorate management and staff:

ownership and operation



IT contractor:

outsourced, S/W development, and deployment;



Ministry of State for Administrative Development

(MSAD):

Initiator, ICT and management expert, funding

Preliminary Findings

Matrouh Al-Tor

 Originally functional and

remained so for several months.

 System went out of operation

until new officials of Matrouh collaborated with MSAD to bring it back to life.

 can be classified as a ‘user

failure’.

 technology is not the immediate

reason of the setback: the staff and top management can be the main reason.

 Successful as it is, after more than

one year,

 Still running under the same

management that requested and established it

 Driving force still exists and

drives the staff to properly manage the system to avoid failures.

Adopted Model



7 Dimension ITPOSMO [Heeks]

Information;

Technology;

Processes;

Objectives, Values, and Motivation;

Staffing and Skills;

Management and Structures;

Other Resources (money and time).

Findings:

Information

Information content quality:

 Input availability, accuracy, and quality of data to be fed to the system  Output nature and quality



Inputs:

 Geographic: Maps available

 Administration (Lands Allocated and tracking): Available



Outputs

 accurate and up-to-date information to all users and

beneficiaries; administrative staff, decision makers, and citizens (investors). The developed system supports different involved stakeholders.



Al-Tor

, Matrouh

!

Findings:

Technology

 Sufficient hardware and software

 Completely provided by MSAD

 Al-Tor Hardware and Software well maintained

 Matrouh, hardware and software deteriorated with the lack

of maintenance and the equipment being vulnerable to malicious media as well as the lack of technology

management software

 Success factor in Al-Tor, as it was originally in Matrouh.

 the technology factors can be considered as a failure factor

in Matrouh.

Findings:

Processes

 Alignment and integration between the system and

existing/new processes

 The developed information system was designed to

organize the investment process and make it faster, more accurate, and transparent.

 The system allows the staff and decision makers to be

properly and instantaneously informed about the investment projects

 the process factor is considered a success factor in both

sites

Findings:

Objectives, Values, and Motivation

 The values of the local community might be in

contradiction with project objectives.

 In Local Bedouins tradition, the government is not an

owner of the land generating friction with government and investors on the other.

 So community values are considered a failure factor.  Staff have individual interests in concealing information

so as to acquire personal benefits and/or power (corruption).

 The discrepancy between staff values and organization

values is considered to be a failure factor.

Findings:

Staffing and Skills

 MSAD initially provided employees with the sufficient

training

 Staff believed ICT would loose them their jobs  Lack of real IT professionals to provide support

 Trained staff was transferred to other functions without

actually relaying the knowledge to the following teams

 The people factor in Matrouh is considered a failure factor

Findings:

Management and Structures

 Top municipal officials are appointed by the central

government.

 Usually, in border-governorates, the officials are

ex-military personnel whose main concern is to maintain

order and to settle any conflict with the tribal traditions

 The change of top management involves lack of

hand-over of the administration and also involves a change of vision.

 The new top management is usually interested in

demonstrating his “own deeds”.

 the improper hand-over between managements is

definitely the key failure factor

Findings:

Other Resources



Unfortunately, in less educated communities,

community representatives perceive their role as

providing individual services to their supporters,

irrespective of the legitimacy of these services or its

impact on the entire community.



The lack of community education and enlightenment

is definitely a

failure factor

What is next?



Citizens want e-Government



Citizens use e-Government services

Managers want e-Government



Managers use e-Government services

What is wrong?

So…..?



It is not about projects…it is about

sustainability

…

National ICT strategy to be revised and

integrated

and strategic plans to be established….



Citizens

involvement in planning is a must…



Users

involvement in design is a must…



ICT solutions must be

integrated

within the work of

employees in a way that makes it inevitable to

complete their work without using the systems.

What is next?



Web 2.0 and Social Media…



Moving to m-government….



Open Government Data…