To spread the culture of digital government more widely, In partnership with local authorities and the best developers in the target countries, A coalition of leading countries in the technology sector, Including Estonia and Germany, On making digital services serve as building stones that can be used many times to suit different needs.
In this era, Digitalization has become inevitable, The private sector around the world has raised the bar for customer experience, They now expect the same service from governments, many of which have embarked on digital transformation journeys. Journeys that may be smooth for some, And daunting for others.
When a country starts digitizing public services, Many challenges will await him, of creating, collecting, analysing and managing databases, To program the sites that people will resort to and design user interfaces that suit their needs and take into account their technical knowledge, Amending regulations and regulations to create legal frameworks that support this shift, To reach the culture of the target communities and prepare them to receive new concepts and different work patterns. More importantly, It is to find the optimal point at which all these aspects meet to establish a successful experience.
Because major challenges require comprehensive solutions, The GovStack initiative was launched, bringing together Estonia, Germany, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Digital Impact Alliance, along with several working groups in Europe, Asia, America, Africa, the Middle East and the private sector. The initiative seeks to transform digital services into building blocks that can be designed, implemented and used multiple times and in different ways across sectors.
To put it simpler, The initiative aims to provide e-government with sustainable and cost-effective tools to develop its services, But the idea is that these tools should be malleable, so that each government can use it in a manner that suits its specificity, It is like a game of colored cubes that can be formed within any structure that the user wants.
In this case, The structure is e-government, To build it, authorities will use identical cubes or components for registration, interoperability and approval processes. Instead of making each program or product separately, You will develop the specifications and functional requirements for each cube. This is known as open source, Where the user – and let's say it's a European government – can choose a complete pre-made structure, Or use parts of it to build its own structure.
These cubes represent software data such as codes, platforms, or applications that are interoperable and interoperable, may relate to centrally managed databases, which represent records of individuals, organizations, processes, products or locations. It also includes financial transactions such as payment, accrual, audit, etc. Security transactions related to access to resources, services, databases and applications.
The initiative is based on 3 main pillars, Government standards, development and improvement form its first pillar, Protection is its second pillar, That is, the proposed software solutions are tested within a secure environment and using fictitious data, In order to know the required databases and the challenges that may hinder work, Where it is rare for any government to establish its electronic services within a complete package, It starts from a specific and narrow experience, And expand from it. Finally, The third pillar comes, These are the best practices that have been collected in a reference book that governments can use in their digital transformation journey, You will find in it standard procedures for the various stages of work, From team formation to service design, It is also implementable at various levels, Communal, local and national.
The initiative provides essential digital services at scale and in multiple contexts, This does not mean that it will develop this software itself, Rather, it will lay its foundations, It provides support to a group of experts who will develop its technical specifications or operational requirements, They will evaluate existing products to ensure they meet the initiative's digital solutions standards and modify them if they do not meet this requirement.
The initiative never operates independently of the target country and its authorities, Rather, it uses volunteer local experts who wish to participate in this work, And who can subscribe through the official website of the initiative. On these grounds, Cooperation is divided into 3 main areas, It is a digital government strategy that is concerned with identifying the most urgent needs and achieving technical and organizational requirements. Hence the technical design of electronic services and prototypes, This means monitoring promising experiments based on pre-set technical specifications. As for the third area, It is directed to capacity development, This is a must for both the public and private sectors. Therefore, The initiative provides support to local governments to develop the skills of their cadres and invite them to participate in relevant events, Internationally and regionally, By organizing forums for what you call "changemakers", They are technical experts and chief executives, To meet and share experiences.
Because the initiative seeks to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, It is working with the Government of Rwanda on an e-waste management project. Based on the "Extended Product Responsibility" law, Which means that product manufacturers and importers bear great responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products.
But this mechanism of action is not without challenges, Reconciling the views of all actors can be a daunting matter. Developing solutions may require lengthy and intense discussions before finding common ground. They also require strict political and regulatory frameworks, user-centric design, and the maximum possible security and privacy protections. It can be said that this initiative takes the hand of governments in the journey of digital transformation to make it simpler, faster, more reliable, less expensive and resource-consuming. It will also help create a broad and open marketplace for digital government services, High-quality product purchases are carried out in an atmosphere of transparency, Transforming the pioneers of the digital transformation journey into part of a global gathering that supports each other in continuously improving its services.
References:
- https://www.bmz-digital.global/en/overview-of-initiatives/govstack/
- https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252523354/Estonia-is-building-AI-Gov-Stack#:~:text=Estonia%20is%20developing 20the 20artificial,and 20private 20sector%20organisations%%20the%%20private%.
- https://www.govstack.global/faq/
- https://www.govstack.global/our-offerings/#country-engagement
- https://e-estonia.com/govstack-creates-building-blocks-for-e-government/
- https://www.bmz-digital.global/en/digitalizing-administration-with-govstack-and-digital-public-goods/
