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  2. Digital Government Initiatives in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic must be inclusive
  3. Digital Government Initiatives in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic must be inclusive

Digital Government Initiatives in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic must be inclusive

In a year where people worldwide have had to engage in social distancing, mask wearing and a range of unique behaviors to stop the transmission of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), it is easy to think that we are more divided than ever – physically and socially.

But on the ground, we often see a different picture - there is real cooperation.  Across the world we witness people help each other – including among frontline public servants, such as our healthcare workers, teachers, sanitation workers, transit workers and many others. The response to the crisis has also seen many innovative and adaptive initiatives and actions by all levels of government. Indeed, in many countries, it is governments that are leading the way.

This was clearly set out in DESA’s Compendium of Digital Government Initiatives in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The cases highlighted in the Compendium show the innovative approaches being undertaken, the digital tools being harnessed, to deliver assistance in unprecedented situations. Digital government has stepped up its central role as a necessary element of communication, leadership and collaboration between policy makers and society. Digital tools are connecting healthcare workers and patients, teachers and students, service providers and customers. 

But digital tools have not reached everyone – the older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, for example, are among those yet to be meaningfully connected.

Furthermore, we are not simply in the middle of a pandemic – but also, according to our colleagues at the World Health Organization - an “infodemic”. There has never been a greater need for accurate, verified information. The best way to combat mis- and dis-information is to raise awareness – something that many of the cases in the above-mentioned Compendium are designed to do.

The experience in harnessing digital tools in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic has yielded many lessons, a key one being deploying digital solutions for everyone, not just those who can afford the access.  Looking ahead, peoples’ expectations of governments, having already increased during the pandemic, are bound to grow – they will demand more and better levels of e-services in the post-pandemic era. As policy makers respond to these rising expectations, continuing to innovate and use digital technologies in an inclusive way will help to propel progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no one offline.

Finding and facilitating solutions for the most vulnerable groups must be a priority for policy makers, to enable the delivery of online services and to stop and eliminate further digital divides. Digital technologies are crucial in delivering accessible, reliable and inclusive services, especially for vulnerable groups. They should be harnessed to do good and create value for society as a whole.

For the international community, an urgent priority ahead is to overcome the digital divides. In the least developed countries, only 19 per cent of individuals were online in 2019. We are leaving a large majority behind. We need solutions that help bridge the digital divides so that the benefits of digital technologies can reach those being left behind, unconnected. In a recent blog on digital transformation, also in this space, my colleague Elliott Harris, proposed a digital strategy of ten key elements, which I echo.  I think they provide useful guidance for the way forward and share them again here for easy reference by our readers:

  1. Committed and transformational leadership at the highest level;
  2. Alignment of a country’s digital transformation strategy with mid- and long-term development plans, and more holistic digital strategies and plans at both national and sub-national levels through whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches;
  3. Policy and legislative frameworks for data privacy and cybersecurity;
  4. Flexible and customized policies and services for special areas, such as health, education, employment, social protection, among others;
  5. Data sharing and data integration to overcome data silos across governments and sectors and enhanced interoperability;
  6. Digital social inclusion strategies to ensure that the digital transformation leaves no one behind;
  7. Harnessing frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to provide more effective services, for example in rural areas;
  8. Mid- and long-term investment in ICT infrastructure, including for the so-called “non-contact industries”;
  9. Capacity building of both government and non-governmental stakeholders; and
  10. Creating an enabling digital ecosystem and mobilizing resources for digital government transformation.

by Ms. Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs