GOVERNANCE E Q U I TA B L E G R O W T H , F I N A N C E & I N S T I T U T I O N S N OT E S GovTech Maturity Index 2022 Update Regional Brief: Europe and Central Asia March 2023 © 2023 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the data included in this work and does not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepancies in the information, or liability with respect to the use of or failure to use the information, methods, processes, or conclusions set forth. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed or considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Attribution: Please cite this brief as follows: World Bank. 2023. “GovTech Maturity Index, 2022 Update — Regional Brief: Europe and Central Asia.” Equitable Growth, Finance & Institutions Notes. Washington, DC: World Bank. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522- 2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. >>> Contents Acknowledgements iii GovTech Maturity Index Regional Briefs 1 Regional Overview 3 Country-Level Overview 6 GovTech Focus Areas 7 Core Government Systems 7 Public Service Delivery 11 Digital Citizen Engagement 13 GovTech Enablers 15 Digital Governance/GovTech Projects 18 Future Directions 20 Resources 22 >>> Acknowledgements This brief was prepared by the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) team led by Cem Dener (Task Team Leader, Lead Governance Specialist) and composed of Kimberly Johns (Co-Task Team Leader, Senior Public Sector Specialist), Hubert Nii-Aponsah (Consultant), Charles Victor Blanco (Senior Public Sector Specialist), Hunt La Cascia (Senior Procurement Specialist), Çağla Giray (Consultant), Till Hartmann (Junior Professional Officer), Youngseok Kim (Senior Governance Specialist), Asami Okahashi (Governance Specialist), Freida Siregar (E.T. Consultant), and João Ricardo Vasconcelos (Senior Governance Specialist). Overall guidance for the 2022 GTMI regional briefs was provided by Roby Senderowitsch (Practice Manager), and Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez (Global Director). The team benefited from the comments and contributions of the World Bank Governance and Digital Development Global Practice regional units, as well as the Identification for Development (ID4D) and the Digitizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px) initiatives (EECG1, EECG2, EECRU, IDD01, and IDD03). The team is also thankful to Liudmila Uvarova and Sandra Valdivia Teixeira for their support on dissemination activities. Cyrel Crisologo San Gabriel provided editorial services, and Maria Lopez provided graphic design services. This report was made possible by the World Bank’s GovTech Initiative and the GovTech Global Partnership trust fund. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< iii 1. >>> GovTech Maturity Index Regional Briefs GovTech is a whole-of-government approach to public sector modernization that promotes a simple, efficient, and transparent government with the citizen at the center of reforms.1 The GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) measures the key aspects of four GovTech focus areas in 198 economies—supporting core government systems, enhancing service delivery, mainstreaming citizen engagement, and fostering enablers—and assists government officials, World Bank teams, and practitioners in the design of new projects. Several indexes are available in the public domain for measuring the specific aspects of digital government, including the United Nations (UN) eGovernment Development Index (EGDI) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Digital Government Index. Although these indexes are useful for monitoring the progress of digital government initiatives and good practices in general, none of them fully capture the critical dimensions of digital transformation in the public sector. The GTMI is a comprehensive composite index that comprises 48 key indicators—40 of them are updated or expanded GovTech indicators and eight are highly relevant external indicators, including the UN EGDI. The key indicators measure the relatively less-known aspects of GovTech focus areas across 198 economies. The GTMI is the simple average of the normalized scores of four components: the Core Government Systems Index (CGSI), based on 17 indicators; the Public Service Delivery Index (PSDI), based on nine composite indicators; the Digital Citizen Engagement Index (DCEI), based on six indicators; and the GovTech Enablers Index (GTEI), based on 16 indicators.2 The similarities and differences of the GTMI findings compared with other global indexes are discussed in the GTMI 2020 and 2022 Update reports, which present the GTMI methodology in detail. The GTMI is neither intended to create a ranking, nor capture the extent of GovTech implementation, or assess a country’s readiness for GovTech. Rather, it provides a snapshot of the GovTech maturity and helps in identifying gaps that represent opportunities for improvement. Countries are grouped into four categories, A to D.3 Group A comprises the GovTech leaders demonstrating substantial progress and good practices in all four focus areas. Group B economies have significant GovTech investments and good practices in most of the focus areas. Group C economies have ongoing activities to improve some of the GovTech focus areas. Group D includes economies with minimal focus on GovTech initiatives. 1. The World Bank launched the GovTech Global Partnership (GTGP) Initiative in 2019 to support client countries in their efforts to harness the opportunities of digitalization for public sector modernization. The GovTech approach represents the current frontier of digital government transformation. Please visit the GovTech website for details. 2. The meaning of enablers in this context may be different from the use of enablers and foundations in other World Bank reports or tools, including World Development Reports and the Digital Government Readiness Assessment, and elsewhere within the GovTech context. The GovTech Enablers Index measures the presence of several crosscutting enablers relevant to advancing GovTech; however, it does not quantify their effectiveness or performance. 3. All economies were grouped into four categories, A to D, based on the normalized GTMI scores reflecting the key aspects of four focus areas (A = Very high >=0.75 and <=1; B = High >=0.50 and <0.75; C = Medium >=0.25 and <0.50; D = Low <0.25). EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 1 The GTMI is not comparable to the UN EGDI, since it measures different aspects using different indicators based on the information and evidence provided by government officials or available in government websites. Although similarities exist in about 80 percent of the economies, the GTMI may present a different view than the UN EGDI in some countries (see Appendix C of the GTMI reports for further explanation). Hence, ranking or comparison of countries based on their GTMI component scores may lead to misleading conclusions. Instead, the change in the GTMI group of an economy can be used as an indicator of the progress to avoid any misperception. The GTMI is intended to present the state of play in digital government. When using the GTMI, readers are encouraged to examine the initial pointers presented in the GovTech Dataset and collect further evidence to understand the level of implementation, effectiveness, and reception of GovTech solutions and their enablers in each economy. For a comprehensive diagnostic, the updated Digital Government Readiness Assessment (DGRA) toolkit developed by the Digital Development Global Practice can be used to validate degrees of implementation, expand on all areas, and provide country-specific recommendations. The 2020 edition of the GTMI was based on remote data collection (mainly due to the pandemic). The 2022 GTMI update is essentially based on the World Bank’s GovTech Dataset (October 2022 version), which is publicly available in the World Bank Data Catalog. The dataset captures the online survey responses of formally designated public officials to 48 key indicators and 303 sub-indicators (153 of which are used in the GTMI calculations and the remaining 150 are informative). Additional evidence was gathered in the form of functional URLs and public documents to support the reported progress. The GTMI findings presented in this brief are based on the GovTech dataset to minimize subjectivity biases, which may not be consistent with the available evidence. The dataset will be updated every two years to reflect progress in the four GovTech focus areas. The new GTMI Data Dashboard was launched in November 2022 (together with the 2022 GovTech Dataset) to enable users visualize and explore the data collected on 48 key indicators and related sub-indicators. The GovTech Projects Database (October 2022 version) presents the details of more than 1,440 investments funded by the World Bank in 147 countries since 1995. The projects included in the database cover a broad spectrum of solutions funded by all related global practices of the World Bank.4 As a part of the dissemination activities, a series of regional GTMI briefs were prepared in consultation with the World Bank regional units and country teams to complement the 2022 GTMI Update report, which was released in December 2022. The regional briefs will cover the East and South Africa (AFE), the West and Central Africa (AFW), the East Asia and Pacific (EAP), the Europe and Central Asia (ECA), the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the Middle East and North Africa (MNA), and the South Asia (SAR) regions of the World Bank. Each regional brief presents an overview of the progress within the last two years, together with good practices, gaps, and opportunities identified in public sector digital transformation based on the 2022 GTMI findings, to inform policy decisions and the design of new projects. So far, the GTMI findings have been used in the design of more than 15 new investment lending projects since 2021. Some of the World Bank projects supporting various reforms are also included to complement the presentation of country cases. Please reach out to the GTMI team (gtmi@worldbank.org) for your questions, clarifications, and suggestions on the GTMI update report, datasets, dashboard, or regional briefs. 4. In addition to the projects led by the Governance Global Practice, the database also includes a core part of Digital Development Global Practice’s business lines of data infrastructure and digital public infrastructure and the cross-global-practice initiatives of Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px), together with the activities of other global practices. The new projects initiated after the October 2022 update of the database may not be captured in this brief. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 2 2. >>> GovTech Maturity Index Regional Brief Europe and Central Asia Regional Overview According to the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) 2022 update for the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, 26 countries are in groups A and B demonstrating significant focus on GovTech initiatives and the remaining four countries are in groups C and D (Figure 1). The GovTech initiatives are significantly related to enhancing the delivery of public services and strengthening shared digital platforms and core systems, and there is also some focus on improving digital citizen engagement and enablers. The regional average GTMI score of 0.689 is higher than the global average of 0.552, reflecting the progress made in the last two years. However, there are some country-specific gaps that represent significant opportunities for improvement in public sector digital transformation, as indicated in the subsequent sections of this brief. >>> Figure 1: 2022 GTMI Regional Outlook, Europe and Central Asia Estonia Latvia Lithuania Russian Federation A GovTech Leaders B Significant Focus C Some Focus Total GTMI D Minimal Focus # of Economies 16 10 30 3 1 Belarus Poland Czech Republic Slovak Republic Ukraine Average GTMI Scores Kazakhstan Hungary Moldova Slovenia Croatia Romania GTMI 0.689 Bosnia Serbia & Herzegovina CGSI 0.684 Montenegro Kosovo Bulgaria Georgia Uzbekistan Kyrgyz Albania North Republic PSDI 0.810 Armenia Azerbaijan Macedona Türkiye Turkmenistan Tajikistan DCEI 0.600 GTEI 0.660 0.0 0.5 1.0 Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Please refer to the 2022 GTMI Update report for details. Note: The regional average GTMI scores in each GovTech focus area and the number of economies in each GTMI group are presented together with the map. GTMI = GovTech Maturity Index, CGSI = Core Government Systems Index, PSDI = Public Service Delivery Index, DCEI = Digital Citizen Engagement Index, GTEI = GovTech Enablers Index. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 3 The 2022 Digital Governance/GovTech projects database indicates that 280 digital government projects have been funded by the World Bank since 1995 in the region. Of these projects, 224 investments have been completed. As of December 2022, there were also 46 active and 10 pipeline projects supporting various digital solutions. Total commitments are about $14.8 billion, $3.6 billion of which is on DG/GovTech solutions (Table 2). Existing diagnostic reports (Digital Government Readiness Assessment), the 2022 GTMI update, global datasets, and regional briefs can be used to monitor progress in the adoption of digital technologies and to identify priority engagements while designing new activities to address country-specific challenges in the upcoming years. >>> Figure 2: Average GTMI Scores, by GTMI Group, ECA The difference between the average of GTMI scores of groups 1.00 1.00 A and D in ECA widened in the last two years (Figure 2). While 0.81 2020 0.831 2022 the region generally experienced progress (as indicated by 0.75 0.649 0.75 0.689 0.629 0.625 the increase in the GTMI regional average from 0.629 in 2020 0.50 0.50 to 0.689 in 2022), the digital divide has also increased, since 0.365 0.329 progress was not widely distributed across the region. 0.25 0.25 0.125 0.099 0.00 0.00 A B C D A B C D # Econ: 5 21 3 1 # Econ: 16 10 3 1 >>> Figure 3: Average GTMI Scores, by Income Level, ECA Advancements in GovTech maturity were noted across higher- 1.00 1.00 income groups within the last two years (Figure 3). Progress 2020 2022 0.731 0.78 in ECA was not evenly distributed, since lower-income 0.75 0.75 0.649 0.689 0.617 0.585 0.63 0.629 countries experienced difficulties (confirming such trend as 0.50 0.50 shown in Figure 2). This pattern emphasizes the need to 0.262 allocate adequate resources for critical GovTech investments 0.25 0.25 to strengthen digital transformation in the public sector. 0.00 0.00 H UM LM L H UM LM L # Econ: 10 15 4 1 # Econ: 10 16 4 0 Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Note: ECA = Europe and Central Asia, GTMI = GovTech Maturity Index, H = high-income economies, UM = upper-middle-income economies, LM = lower-middle-income economies, L = low-income economies. Most of the economies in the ECA region are in groups A and B (26 out of 30, or 86.7 percent) and only four economies are in groups C and D (Figure 4). These maturity levels are higher than all other regions, demonstrating a substantial focus on the GovTech agenda from a global viewpoint, especially in public service delivery platforms and core government systems. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for further improvement in all countries regarding digital citizen engagement, open-source software policies, and most of the enablers, including digital skills and innovation strategies and programs. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 4 >>> Figure 4: GovTech Maturity in the World Bank Regions, by GTMI Group, 2022 AFE 4 14 5 3 AFW 11 5 5 1 EAP 7 7 5 6 ECA 1 3 10 16 LAC 3 11 7 11 MNA 3 4 5 8 SAR 3 3 2 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Economies D C B A Source: World Bank data (163 economies). Note: AFE = East and Southern Africa, AFW = West and Central Africa, EAP = East Asia and Pacific, ECA = Europe and Central Asia, LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean, MNA = Middle East and North Africa, SAR = South Asia. Compared with other regions, economies in the ECA region have made relatively stronger progress in GovTech initiatives, especially on public service delivery improvement. Some emphasis has also been placed on the modernization and interoperability of core government systems, as well as the broader GovTech enabling environment (Figure 5). However, like other regions, there was slower progress in improving citizen engagement. This signifies a need to allocate more resources to address existing gaps in CivicTech and other focus areas. >>> Figure 5: Average GTMI Scores, by Region, 2022 1.00 0.75 0.50 0.25 0.00 AFE AFW EAP ECA LAC MNA SAR Avg CGSI Avg PSDI Avg DCEI Avg GTEI Source: World Bank data (covering 163 economies in all regions). Note: AFE = East and Southern Africa, AFW = West and Central Africa, EAP = East Asia and Pacific, ECA = Europe and Central Asia, LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean, MNA = Middle East and North Africa, SAR = South Asia, CGSI = Core Government Systems Index, PSDI = Public Service Delivery Index, DCEI = Digital Citizen Engagement Index, GTEI = GovTech Enablers Index. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 5 3. >>> Country-Level Overview Most of the countries in the region (23 out of 30, or 77 percent) participated in the 2022 Central Government GTMI online survey and provided useful information about their digital transformation initiatives. For the seven non-participating countries, the GTMI team collected relevant data remotely from government websites (except new performance-related sub-indicators). Compared with the 2020 GTMI data, 12 economies (Albania, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) advanced to a higher GTMI group, and one country moved one level down (Belarus) (Table 1). The remaining 17 countries maintained their positions. The ECA region has the highest number of economies advancing to a higher level. The progress in all groups indicates that there was substantial progress in several focus areas within the last two years despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. >>> Table 1: Overview of the GTMI Groups, ECA, 2022 Group A B C D Turkmenistan* GTMI Very High Serbia, Slovenia, Türkiye, Ukraine¯, Uzbekistan High Medium Belarus*, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tajikistan* Low Economies in group GovTech leaders Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation, Significant focus on GovTech Economies 16 10 Armenia, Bulgaria*, Georgia, Kosovo¯, Kyrgyz Republic*, Montenegro*, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic* Some focus on GovTech Minimal focus on GovTech Total 3 1 30 %E 54% 33% 10% 3% Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Note: Blue represents a movement to a higher GTMI group and red indicates a drop from a higher GTMI group compared with the 2020 GTMI data. Black implies no change in the GTMI group. % E means percentage of the economies included in the relevant group. Economies highlighted with (*) did not participate in the 2022 Central Government GTMI online survey. Fragile and conflict-affected economies are shown with (¯). EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 6 4. >>> GovTech Focus Areas The GTMI data collected encompasses 40 key indicators (35 existing, 5 new) as explained in detail in the GTMI report. They are presented below to reflect the state of four GovTech focus areas, together with selected good practices and possible improvements. Eight external indicators used in the calculation of the GTMI groups are not included in Figures 6 to 9 and their indicator numbers are not displayed. Please refer to the GTMI report for a detailed explanation of all 48 GTMI indicators. The progress and good practices in the EU member countries and candidates are being posted annually on the EU’s Joinup website through the Digital Public Administration Factsheets. Therefore, the good practice cases included in this regional brief were mainly selected from other World Bank member countries. Several EU member countries mapped to the ECA region are also included. Core Government Systems Most countries already have core public financial management and other systems in place to support central government operations. Also, 73 percent of the ECA countries have shared digital platforms (e.g., interoperability framework, service bus, and government cloud) based on the 2022 GTMI data. All economies report having a social insurance/pension system, tax, and customs management information system solutions implemented. Almost all countries have e-procurement systems. An open- source software policy has been adopted in 17 countries (mandatory in Slovenia, advisory in other countries). Relatively few countries have public investment management systems (40 percent) and government enterprise architecture (23 percent ) (Figure 6.1). Based on the Core Government Systems Index (CGSI) scores, 11 ECA countries are in group A, 16 are in group B, and three are in Group C and D (Tajikistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkmenistan). There have been improvements on the responses to 13 out of 14 CGSI indicators. The most significant increases (30–33 percent) are among indicators of government cloud, enterprise architecture, service bus, and adoption of national strategy on disruptive technologies (Figure 6.2).5 As economies in the ECA region were already performing well in the 2020 GTMI, the changes in most of the indicators (captured by the 2022 GTMI survey responses) are naturally limited. Two new key indicators (denoted by N) revealed some progress regarding the use of social insurance/pension systems and interoperability frameworks. 5. Percentage increases or decreases indicate that some country responses were switched from “No” (or Planned) to “Yes” or from “Yes” to “No,” respectively. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 7 >>> >>> Figure 6.1: CGSI Indicator-Level Responses, ECA, 2022 Figure 6.2: Changes since 2020 Nat’l Strategy on Disruptive Tech I-17 17 5 8 I-17 3% 30% Open Source Software Policy I-15 1 16 13 I-15 3% 17% Public Investment Mgmt System I-14 12 3 15 I-14 0% 13% Debt Management System I-13 29 1 I-13 3% 0% e-Procurement Portal I-12 29 1 I-12 0% 0% Social Insurance/Pension System I-11 30 I-11 N 0% 3% Payroll System I-10 26 2 2 I-10 7% 10% Human Resources MIS I-9 25 4 1 I-9 7% 17% Customs Mgmt Information System I-8 30 I-8 0% 7% Tax Mgmt Information System I-7 30 I-7 0% 7% Treasury Single Account I-6 26 4 I-6 0% 27% 3% Financial Mgmt Information System I-5 28 2 I-5 0% 3% Government Service Bus I-4 22 2 6 I-4 27% 0% Gov Interoperability Framework I-3 23 4 3 I-3 N 10% 7% Gov Enterprise Architecture I-2 7 8 15 I-2 33% 3% Government Cloud I-1 16 9 5 I-1 33% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes Planned / In progress No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Note: CGSI = Core Government Systems Index, ECA = Europe and Central Asia, MIS = management information system, N = new indicator. While economies report the presence of core systems and shared platforms, there are still opportunities for enhancements and expansion, as well as the reporting of service delivery performance, utilization levels, and efficiency gains. New projects could focus on improving the effective use and interoperability of existing systems, shared digital infrastructure (e.g., government cloud and service bus), and data governance. New initiatives could also promote the use of innovative technologies and open-source solutions to reduce the cost of investments and create more sustainable platforms supporting the whole-of-government approach, service delivery improvements, and digital citizen engagement. Selected good practices and opportunities for improving CGSI are presented below: ● In Bulgaria, the State Agency for EGov (established in 2016) is leading GovTech initiatives for the modernization of core government systems and the interoperability of existing platforms. The Virtual Private Cloud (launched in 2018) is one of the main digital infrastructure components through which cloud computing and other services are provided. Virtual resources are consolidated into resource pools, which are available for shared use. The Architecture of eGovernment, which was approved in 2019, provides a common framework for integrating strategic, business, and technology management as an integral part of public sector modernization. Relatedly, the Bulgarian National Interoperability Framework (BNIF) defines the set of common elements, such as a glossary, concepts, principles, standards, and guidelines, that inform the design of GovTech solutions and shape related procurement tenders. ● Croatia’s Central State Office for Development of Digital Society (established in 2018) is the key entity promoting the use of technologies for modernizing and strengthening core government systems. The government cloud (State Cloud) was launched in 2019 to connect the state information infrastructure and provide access to shared applications. Through the use of the Government Service Bus for secure data exchange, significant savings have been achieved on the technical maintenance of connections, as well as the creation of communication tools. The open-source policy (advisory) is also intended to encourage the use of open-source software. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 8 Croatia’s Integrated Land Administration System Project (P122219) is an example of a successful modernization of land administration and management system that aims to improve the efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness of government services. The project team has worked with Croatia’s government implementing agencies to increase the percentage of customers lodging online requests, which account for over 55 percent of requests for services. They have also increased the use of shared land data with other entities, from only 5 percent using the data in 2010 to 95 percent employing it as of December 2022. Furthermore, the project team has pushed down transaction times in the Cadaster Offices (COs) and Land Registry Offices (LROs)—from 30 days to 5.4 days for COs and from 46 days to 8.1 days for LROs. Some LROs remain outliers and may require additional service delivery support. ● In 2018, the Czech Republic launched the eGC as a hybrid government cloud platform operated by the Ministry of Interior. Cloud data hosting policy is also hybrid (with some data stored inside the country, and others outside). eGC’s XaaS (Everything as a Service) model provides various tools, technologies, and services to public and private entities, and is the single shared cloud platform for the whole of government, although complete adoption is still underway. The Ministry publishes the registered cloud computing providers, which have been cleared to meet the requirements of related regulations, to ensure a basic level of protection of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. ● Kyrgyz Republic has improved the maturity of its core government component, moving from group C to B in 2022. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) developed the e-Procurement portal with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which was further expanded to cover more methods and stages, such as goods and works. The portal was launched in 2011, and the latest reports that were released during the World-Bank-funded activities highlighted below indicate that it is capable of processing tender notices and contracts; work remains to increase functionalities beyond that, toward online tendering, contracts, and interfaces with other systems. The e-procurement component of the Capacity Building in Public Financial Management 2 (P155148) project supported the extension of the public procurement environment, including consultancy selection module, and the hardware strengthening for e-procurement. The consulting services module was successfully piloted. Staff of the MoF Public Procurement Department, staff of procuring organizations, and trainers of the MoF Training Center received training on the module. Also, the Digital CASA – Kyrgyz Republic (P160230) project is part of the regional program launched in 2019 to increase access to more affordable internet, mobilize private investment in the ICT sector, and improve the government’s capacity to deliver digital services. The project, under original design, was expected to connect 30 government agencies to the G-Cloud shared infrastructure, increase the number of visitors to and transactions made on the state’s e-services portal (up to 1 million), and develop five “Smart” data-driven solutions by end of 2024. As of March 2023, the project is going through a restructuring to focus more on digital connectivity, the government cloud infrastructure or G-Cloud, and the enabling regulatory environment. ● Moldova has made significant strides in developing its government systems, including establishing the e-Governance Agency in 2010. This agency has promoted the use of digital technologies in public administration and facilitated citizens’ access to government services through online channels. The M-Cloud (established in 2013), managed by the Information Technology and Cyber Security Service, is a private government cloud providing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) capabilities and other services. Other important developments include the M-Connect interoperability platform (available since 2016) supporting secure data exchange for 64 entities, and ongoing development of the Government Enterprise Architecture Framework, which aims to improve the overall efficiency of government operations. ● Montenegro has adopted a software-based e-fiscalization system in 2021 with electronic invoices and cash registries to improve revenues, and is acquiring an integrated tax management information system with support from the World Bank. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 9 ● In Serbia, the Office for IT and eGovernment (OITeG) was established in 2017 to lead the GovTech agenda with support from the World Bank’s Enabling Digital Governance Project (EDGE) (see summary below). A private government cloud was launched in December 2020. The State Tax Administration (STA) has implemented an e-fiscalization solution to monitor digital invoices and electronic cash registers, which has increased VAT collection. The STA is adopting an integrated tax management information system with support from the World Bank. The National Interoperability Framework and a list of interoperability standards have been available since 2014. A government service bus has been used by all government entities since 2012 as an information sharing platform, and it will be replaced with a new platform in 2024 with support from the EDGE project. The Enabling Digital Governance Project (P164824) in Serbia seeks to strengthen foundations for digital service delivery, for example, by connecting more agencies to the interoperability platform. It also seeks to transform services for citizens, businesses, and government, in part by developing an administrative services inventory and increasing the number of services accessible online through the e-Gov portal. Another significant component of the project seeks to develop digital skills and support change management. This entails training government officials in digital literacy and measuring citizen satisfaction with 30 reengineered and digitalized services. ● Tajikistan has also demonstrated improvements in the maturity of its core government systems (including financial management information system and human resources management information system), having moved up from group D to C in CGSI within the last two years. A full-fledged e-Procurement system has been developed to (1) make key procurement information available to the public in a timely manner, and (2) ensure that all contracts that exceed the threshold for small purchases are awarded through an open and competitive process. The Public Finance Management Modernization Project 2 (P150381) seeks to improve effectiveness, control, and accountability of public expenditures in Tajikistan until 2025. As of January 2023, most of the project activities have been completed. The public finance management modernization component supports the enhancement of core government systems, including the expansion of TFMIS capabilities, specifically around commitment control, cash management, payment order processing, assets management, and payroll management. The Additional Financing for PFM Modernization Project 2 (P172924) is supporting the enhancement of the e-procurement system. The progress is steady, with a roll-out of the e-procurement system to all procuring entities, both qualified and non-qualified. The World Bank completed an e-procurement system assessment in August 2022, and a report expected to be released in Q1 2023 will address the extent to which the existing system can be accepted for use. Data is being generated for 16 key performance indicators. Currently, five types of reports are publicly available on the e-Procurement (SAPP) portal. ● In Türkiye, the Digital Transformation Office was established in 2018 to lead GovTech initiatives. A government private cloud (Safir Depo; Bulut Kent Bilgi Sistemi/Cloud City Information System) was launched in 2015 to provide Software as a Service (SaaS) capabilities. The Government Enterprise Architecture Framework is being developed. The Public Application Center is the service bus part of e-Government Gateway, a platform where public institutions can share data, provide services to other institutions, and access statistical information about their services since 2010. Kamunet is used for inter-institutional communication as a closed circuit VPN system. Service delivery and system utilization statistics are updated daily. ● Uzbekistan has made significant progress in the modernization of its government systems. The Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications (MITC) leads the country’s public sector digital transformation. In 2016, the Uztelecom cloud platform policy was approved to promote interoperability and secure data sharing across government agencies. The deployment of Uztelecom cloud services and the new government data center launched in August 2022 (having a TIER III certificate issued by the Uptime Institute) are expected to contribute to increased interoperability across government agencies. Although there is no approved enterprise architecture or interoperability framework yet, the establishment of the government service bus (Interdepartmental Integration Platform) in 2016 is a positive development. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 10 Public Service Delivery Economies in the ECA region reported progress through most of the Public Service Delivery Index (PSDI) indicators. Almost all countries in the region have online service portals (24 transactional and 5 informational) as well as the tax, e-filing, e-payment, social insurance, and job portals in place. The lowest performing indicator—customs services/single window portal—still has a 60 percent adoption rate among economies6 (Figure 7.1). >>> >>> Figure 7.1: PSDI Indicator-Level Responses, ECA, 2022 Figure 7.2: Changes since 2020 0% Job Portal I-25 27 3 I-25 N 0% 0% Social Ins/Pension Online Services I-24 27 3 I-24 N 0% 40% Customs Services/Single Window I-23 18 5 7 I-23 0% 0% e-Payment Services I-22 28 2 I-22 23% 0% e-Filing for Tax/Customs I-21 29 1 I-21 0% 9% Tax Online Service Portal I-20 30 I-20 3% 7% Online Public Service Portal I-19 24 5 1 I-19 17% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes Planned / In progress No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Note: ECA = Europe and Central Asia, N = new indicator, PSDI = Public Service Delivery Index. Compared with the 2020 GTMI data, there were substantial decreases in one existing PSDI indicator (customs single window), mainly due to more detailed questions to capture the difference between transactional and informational services and the interconnectivity of existing platforms. Responses to two new key indicators (social insurance/pension and job portals) revealed that the existing platforms were maintained without major improvements within the last two years (Figure 7.2). While the region’s economies have a solid foundation of public service delivery components, new projects could invest more in enhancing the performance and effectiveness of existing portals, while beginning to expand the adoption of solutions across sectors. Effective public service portals not only demonstrate the value to policymakers and constituents but develop knowledge on what works for the local context. Human-centric design of services is a critical component of this process and requires continual upkeep as citizen and business needs evolve. Some of the good practices related to online public service delivery platforms are presented below: ● Albania has made strong commitments and progress in GovTech policy. The National Agency for Information Society (NAIS) was created in 2008 and has led the digital transformation agenda. NAIS launched the e-Albania portal in 2012 which now provides access to services for about 1.8 million registered users and more than 1,200 eservices. The new Albania Digital Agenda Strategy and Action Plan 2022–2026 prioritizes improving services for citizens. The Prime Minister mandated that, as of January 1, 2020, applications to all services had to be done online via e-Albania. Today, users access digital services in two ways: (1) directly, by themselves, through e-Albania, or (2) via a third party—ranging from a family member to a public notary—who may help them access e-Albania and process an application. 6. The Western Balkans Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (Phase 1: P162043 and Phase 2: P173620) is supporting the development of national single window platforms in Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 11 Improving Equitable Access to High Standard Public Services through GovTech (P177845) is a World Bank project supporting the improvements in digital services, specifically the usability, accessibility, and quality of the e-Albania platform and of priority digital services. The project will reengineer the e-Albania portal to improve accessibility and user experience and consolidate efforts around life events, and to invest in interoperability and data exchange across government agencies. The project will also prioritize the development of digital and foundational skills across the population through the establishment of Education Smart Labs. ● Armenia‘s online service portal provides access to mainly informational services and a number of e-services, while sector- specific portals exist for transactional services (tax, e-filing, customs, e-payments, social insurance/pensions). That said, there is still work to be done to improve access and user-friendliness. The Fourth Public Sector Modernization Project (P176803) in Armenia was launched in 2022 to improve the efficiency of public services and their accessibility for businesses and citizens. To do this, the project team works with client agencies to reduce the time needed to obtain central government and local level services (by 50 percent) and increase the proportion of taxpayers accessing electronic tax service systems via mobile app (by 20 percent). They also seek to increase the public services available digitally at the central and local level (by 50 percent), the digital citizens enrolled in digital ID (by 20 percent), and the number of service delivery systems that are made interoperable. These results are expected to be achieved by 2027. ● Austria embraces a mobile-by-default delivery of its public services, building on widespread adoption of mobile phones (more than 70 percent of EU citizens prefer to use mobile phones to access services). To secure uptake, the Austrian government prioritized high-demand services such as passport renewal, birth registration, or address changes. Mobile identity was a key enabler to make possible policy efforts around mobile government, as well as consistent investment in other building blocks such as interoperability, integration of core registries, and availability of e-payments and mobile signature options. A whole-of-government approach was secured through a sound legal and regulatory framework enabling mobile approaches, in addition to strong institutional arrangements guaranteeing a clear leadership and coordination across different sectors and levels of government.7 ● Azerbaijan’s online service portal (e-gov) provides multichannel access to 455 mostly transactional online services, and an electronic signature or a mobile ID (ASAN Imza) can be used to sign in. The number of people registered in the “ASAN Login” Unified Login System, created by the Electronic Government Development Center (EHIM), exceeded 2.5 million in 2022. Several other integrated service portals have been launched by the service ministries. A tax online portal supports registration, e-filing, and payments. The e-payment portal can be used for bank transfers, credit card, or mobile payments. An e-customs portal provides access to 19 transactional services, and statistics about available services are updated daily. The e-sosial portal and mobile app were the most-used service delivery channels (9.7 million service requests in 2022) providing access to social insurance, pension, and job search services. ● In Georgia, the unified portal of electronic services (my.gov.ge) and related mobile app, launched by the Digital Governance Agency (DGA), provide easy access to all available online services. Users can register by using their electronic ID card or by defining a username and password. The portal supports the submission of application forms using an electronic signature, and the users can request public information from more than 100 state agencies. The portal also supports online payments for utility bills, taxes, and financial services. 7. Farooq, Khuram, and Peter Kustor. 2021. “Five Key Takeaways from Austria’s Mobile Government (mGov) Experience.” Governance for Development (blog), January 25, 2021. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 12 ● Moldova has developed an integrated online service portal that is citizen-centric, universally accessible, and available via mobile app. Moldova also has a tax online service portal where users can register and file their taxes, and electronic invoicing has been fully implemented. There is a separate service for e-payment services, mPay, which is used as a centralized shared platform and accepts bank transfers, credit and debit cards, as well as mobile payments. More than 30 million transactions have been processed through mPay within the last nine years. The Modernization of Government Services in the Republic of Moldova (P148537) project works on improving the access, efficiency, and quality of delivery of administrative services. The share of people who accessed e-services increased from 24 percent in 2017 to 50 percent in 2021, representing a significant improvement. The project has also focused on reducing the time needed for citizens to obtain key services, such as drivers’ licenses, unemployment allowances, and determining disability and work capacity (30.5 percent perceived time reduction), although triangulation against administrative and baseline data is still underway. Additionally, the project has automated three services (at Level 3 and/or 4) out of those reengineered within the project, and has conducted 11 module upgrades to digital infrastructure, including MCloud, MConnect/MAccess, MPass, MSign, MPay, MNotify, MDelivery, public services portal, Registry of Authorization, and front office digitization. ● Portugal has adopted an emblematic omnichannel service delivery approach. In 1999, the government started developing a network of Citizen Shops, allowing citizens to access public services from different government entities in one single spot like a shopping center. The concept has evolved significantly since then with the creation of multiservice counters called Citizen Spots. Currently, there is a network of more than 60 citizen shops and some 800 citizen spots across the country. This large face-to-face network of integrated service provision is articulated with a national services portal, ePortugal, and a contact center, allowing citizens to choose the most convenient channel to obtain public services. This omnichannel service approach benefits from a strong inclusion lens, allowing citizens lacking digital literacy to access services online through a broad face- to-face network. This allows Portugal to advance in digitalizing public services, while ensuring that no one is left behind. ● In Uzbekistan, the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services (my.gov) is a single point of access to 380 electronic services provided by public entities (about 53 percent of the 716 services are included in the unified register of public services). In addition to specific focus on life events, the portal provides access to e-participation, open data, procurement, and other platforms. The Modernization of Real Property Registration and Cadastre (P151746) project in Uzbekistan recently completed a massive nationwide operation on the total digitization of all cadastral and registration documentation. This operation has outpaced the initial project objectives by 2.5 times. The project resulted in the establishment of an efficient real property registration and cadaster system, the Integrated Information System for Real Property Registration and Cadaster (UzKAD), which has been deployed and is now effective for all types of transactions in all 206 offices of the Cadastral Agency. UzKAD is connected to the Gosuslugi (state services) portal and is being used for registering all types of transactions. Staff have been trained to operate the system. Digital Citizen Engagement In the ECA region, Estonia, Serbia, Latvia, and Lithuania have relatively high Digital Citizen Engagement Index (DCEI) scores compared with other economies. Broadly, over 70 percent of the countries have national platforms in place to empower citizens to participate in the governance process, as well as open data portals (Figure 8.1). Nearly all countries in the region (90 percent) have open government portals containing government data and informative publications to enhance good governance linked with the principles of transparency and accountability. Some areas require improvement, however. In particular, relatively fewer countries (60 percent) have platforms dedicated to capturing feedback (including complaints and constructive suggestions), and even fewer countries (43 percent) publish citizen engagement statistics to monitor and track the progress made in digital citizen engagement. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 13 >>> >>> Figure 8.1: DCEI Indicator-Level Responses, ECA, 2022 Figure 8.2: Changes since 2020 Citizen Engagement Stats Public I-32 13 17 I-32 0% 30% Gov Platform for Citizen Feedback I-31 I-31 0% 18 12 27% Nat’l Platform for Citizen Particip I-30 0% 22 8 I-30 23% Open Data Portal I-29 0% 26 4 I-29 0% 6% Open Government Portal I-28 27 3 I-28 23% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Note: DCEI = Digital Citizen Engagement Index, ECA = Europe and Central Asia. Within the past two years, about 30 percent of the countries indicated improvements in publishing citizen engagement statistics despite the deficit in the region. Furthermore, 27 percent reported progress in platforms that receive feedback, revealing positive developments in lagging areas (Figure 8.2). Stronger areas, including the availability of national platforms for citizen participation and open government portals, have been driven by progress in 23 percent of the countries since 2020. Although no progress was documented in the advancement of open data portals (most of which reflect the technology frontier anyway), the regional outlook on digital citizen engagement is favorable. Selected good practice cases related to digital citizen engagement are presented below: ● Estonia’s rahvaalgatus.ee offers multiple channels through which individuals can participate effectively in policymaking at both the national and subnational levels, including in developing proposals to improve the standard of living in the country. Citizen engagement statistics are also published to track and enhance public engagement. As a co-chair of the Open Government Partnership, Estonia is committed to the principles of openness, accountability, and integrity, as well as the promotion of public participation in governance embodied within the Open Government Co-Chair Plan. The Estonian open data portal also gives users the opportunity to download and visualize data and includes usage stories to highlight the application possibilities of the data. ● Latvia uses modern technologies to strengthen open governance at both national and subnational levels. Latvia publishes government data, and information about services and initiatives to increase transparency on government actions. Through the Latvija.lv platform, the public can offer feedback to improve government services. Improvements are underway to leverage new technologies and improve the performance of mobile devices. Citizens can also vote to express support or opposition against a proposed or newly introduced policy via open2vote platform. ● In Lithuania, the open government portal publishes current public information and provides clear guidelines for conducting public consultation and analyzing and publishing results at both national and municipal levels. These guidelines and avenues to improve dialogue between public institutions and citizens are intended to build trust and leverage shared knowledge to address public challenges. Based on the shared platforms for citizen participation and citizen feedback, citizens can contribute meaningfully to current issues affecting them through several tools, and help improve public service delivery. The government publishes citizen engagement statistics, and the open data portal publishes current data which is updated daily using automation technology. ● Moldova’s citizen participation portal raises awareness of all citizens on issues of public interest and allows them to express their opinion to shape policy. The goal for creating the platform is to promote a continuous dialogue between citizens and those who are entrusted with the mandate to ensure a better life. A key focus is representation of minority and vulnerable groups. The Public Services portal offers various e-services and further provides opportunities to receive feedback about the use of those services, including through social media channels. The government publishes its citizen engagement statistics and performance regularly. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 14 ● Serbia’s open data portal provides access to reusable data and information in both human-readable and machine-readable forms. Most of the available data are dynamically updated daily through application programming interfaces (APIs). Usage examples specifically linked with the sustainable development goals are captured to promote the application of government- owned data to unlock the potential of data for economic growth. Omnichannel access in digital citizen engagement is also an important feature in Serbia, where social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are leveraged on the ekonsultacije platform. The government also publishes statistics on public engagement with the government and, additionally, has a separate portal for the submission of petitions. GovTech Enablers Advancements in GovTech Enablers Index (GTEI) indicators are highly visible in Uzbekistan, Estonia, and Lithuania. More than 70 percent of the economies have recently updated digital transformation strategies, and dedicated digital government entities exist in most countries to oversee the planning and implementation of GovTech initiatives (Figure 9.1). Fewer countries have operational public sector innovation strategies and digital skills strategies, with their projects still in the planning phase. Additionally, only about half of the economies in the region have institutionalized a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation and established a dedicated data governance entity. Investments are required to bridge these gaps. Within the past two years, countries in the ECA region have focused significantly on GovTech enablers to foster digital transformation in the public sector. Based on the 2022 GTMI survey responses, there are significant increases in countries working toward a whole-of-government (WoG) approach to digital transformation and utilizing a dedicated entity to coordinate these efforts (Figure 9.2). Specifically, progress was noted in 93 percent of the countries that had established an entity dedicated to GovTech, and 63 percent advanced in their pursuit for an institutionalized WoG approach. New and improved digital skills strategies and programs are also visible in about 40 percent of the countries, which is indicative of better preparation for the technology revolution compared with other regions. Other important areas of focus are ensuring a conducive legal and regulatory environment for startups and public sector innovation. >>> >>> Figure 9.1: GTEI Indicator-Level Responses, ECA, 2022 Figure 9.2: Changes since 2020 I-48 N 0% Gov Policy on GovTech Startups I-48 21 9 40% I-47 3% Gov Entity for PS Innovation I-47 23 7 30% I-46 10% Public Sector Innovation Strategy I-46 6 16 8 37% I-45 10% Gov Strategy/Prog on Digital Skills I-45 10 11 9 40% 0% Digital Signature Platform I-42 27 2 1 I-42 10% 0% Data Protection Authority I-39 28 2 I-39 7% 0% Data Protection/Privacy Laws I-38 29 1 I-38 0% 0% Right to Information Laws I-37 28 2 I-37 0% 3% Whole-of-Government Approach I-36 16 9 5 I-36 63% 50% GovTech/Digital Transf Strategy I-35 22 8 I-35 13% 10% Dedicated Data Governance Entity I-34 15 3 12 I-34 37% 0% Dedicated DG/GovTech Entity I-33 26 3 1 I-33 93% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes Planned / In progress No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (30 economies). Note: DG = digital governance, ECA = Europe and Central Asia, GTEI = GovTech Enablers Index, N = new indicator, PS = public sector. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 15 Selected good practices and opportunities for improving the GTEI indicators are summarized below: ● Estonia’s Information System Authority is mandated to oversee the successful implementation of public sector digital transformation agenda via the Digital Society Development Plan 2030, within which a WoG has been institutionalized. Several initiatives have been launched to enhance digital skills at multiple levels. Specifically, the strategy aims to strength digital literacy through education and training by leveraging recent advancements in technologies. The Accelerate Estonia program has also been launched to facilitate public sector innovation by providing the opportunity to share ideas and undertake experiments to test new ideas. ● Slovak Republic established the Digital Transformation Agency in 2018 under the Prime Minister’s Office to lead GovTech initiatives. Its digital government strategy was approved in 2019 and includes an action plan for transition to the whole-of- government approach. Additionally, the Data Management Office was established in 2017 as an autonomous agency, and a data governance strategy was approved in 2018. Digital signature has been in use for service delivery and information exchange needs since 2019. The high score in ITU’s global cybersecurity index (92.36 in 2020) is indicative of a secure GovTech environment. Government strategy and programs also exist to improve digital skills and public sector innovation. For instance, the Digital Coalition Initiative, launched in 2017, and the Digital Transformation Strategy of Slovakia 2030, approved in 2019, include support for startups and SMEs. ● In Uzbekistan, there has been good progress in several GovTech enablers since 2020 (since the adoption of the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy). The State Committee on Statistics (established in 1992) is responsible for data governance among other duties. Its strategy on the national system of statistics outlines five priorities for improvement (some of which are related to data governance): (1) the country’s organizational and legal infrastructure, (2) the statistical infrastructure like classifiers and statistical registers, (3) the relationship between users and providers of statistical information, (4) the information and communication infrastructure for processing statistical information, and (5) the methodology and implementation of individual statistical products (like household surveys and energy statistics). The law on Personal Data Protection was approved in 2019. Electronic digital signature (EDS) is available for signing into the online service portal and other applications. Despite substantial progress, there are several areas for possible improvements such as modernizing the legal and regulatory framework, strengthening digital literacy and capabilities with special focus on cybersecurity and data protection, enhancing the interoperability of state information systems, and ensuring that civil servants acquire the necessary digital skills at all levels. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 16 ● Several relevant projects supporting the enhancement of GovTech enablers are presented below. The Georgia National Innovation Ecosystem (GENIE) Project (P152441) was launched in 2016 to increase the innovation and digital economy participation among firms and individuals with a focus on financing, Internet access, innovation infrastructure, and digital skills. To increase participation in the digital economy, 159 startups have been financed and 1,380 households and firms have been provided access to Internet services. Also, 91 new or improved products and services have been introduced to existing or new markets. In support of this, the project team has catalyzed approximately $75 million in private financing and has raised about $30 million to $35 million through direct investments. To enhance the infrastructure for innovation, the project has supported the establishment of four community innovation centers, in Rukhi, Akhmeta, Kaspi, and Gurjaani, and three regional development hubs in Tbilisi, Telavi, and Batumi. As of December 2022, these centers and hubs have received 37,823 visitors. To tackle the need for digital skills, the project has extended business coaching or e-commerce training to 2,155 beneficiaries. Start-ups that have received financing, coaching, or mentoring have hired 1,840 full-time employees. To date, the project has 42,143 direct project beneficiaries so far, with 3,351 participating in the digital skills training program and 1,551 having completed their training. Lastly, the start-ups that have received financing, coaching, or mentoring through the project have generated revenues of $25.6 million. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 17 5. >>> Digital Governance/GovTech Projects Historically, most of the World-Bank-funded digital governance (DG) projects have supported the establishment or modernization of core government systems, digital infrastructure, connectivity, social safety nets, health, education, and other sector applications within the last two decades. New activities (active and pipeline projects launched within the last five years) are focused on the implementation of new digital transformation programs, online service delivery channels, digital citizen engagement, and other critical components of the GovTech ecosystem. A summary of the 280 DG investments funded by World Bank global practices since 1995 is presented in Table 2.8 This section presents a summary of World-Bank-funded activities, led by related global practices supporting the public sector digital transformation.9 The Governance Global Practice (GGP) is currently leading 13 active and five pipeline GovTech projects in 13 ECA countries to support the modernization and interoperability of core systems (FMIS, tax, HRMIS, etc.), extension of online public services, and other public administration reforms. The Digital Development Global Practice (DD GP) is leading three active and three pipeline projects in six countries10 to support digital foundations, use of digital ID, and digital connectivity solutions.11 Other practices (Education; Health; Social Protection; Poverty; Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land; and Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation) are leading the remaining 30 active and two pipeline projects focused on sector-specific applications such as education and health management information systems, payment systems, statistics, and land administration. About a dozen projects now support digital government investments in 18 ECA countries. The portfolio also includes GovTech projects in 19 countries, and most of these are multisectoral solutions supporting the enhancements in central government systems, public services, and enabling environment. The Building Effective, Transparent and Accountable Public Financial Management Institutions Project (P176366) was launched in January 2023 to improve the efficiency, transparency, and sustainability of public expenditures and increase the effectiveness of revenue administration in North Macedonia. The project will support the implementation of a new integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) and state aid management information system (SAMIS), as well as the enhancement of integrated tax information system (ITIS) within the next three years. Existing government service bus and shared data centers will be used to improve the interoperability of core systems and reduce operational costs. Also, the business continuity model and disaster recovery skills will be enhanced, including considerations of climate-change-associated vulnerabilities, enhancement of cybersecurity capabilities, and acquisition of network security equipment. 8. The Digital Governance/GovTech Projects Database includes most of the WBG investments since 1995. However, some of the recently approved projects or previous projects without a relevant theme code or tagging may not be visible in the dataset. 9. See World Bank. 2022. “An Overview of World Bank Group Digital Governance and GovTech Projects.” Equitable Growth, Finance & Institutions Notes – Governance. Washington DC: World Bank. 10. DD GP projects include an IDA commitment annex that describes contributions to the GovTech agenda. 11. DD GP business lines include (i) Broadband Connectivity, Access, and Use; (ii) Digital Data Infrastructure; (iii) ICT Industry and Digital Jobs; (iv) Digital Safeguards; (v) Digital for Climate; and (vi) Accelerating Digital Use Cases Across Sectors. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 18 Kosovo has been implementing the Kosovo Digital Economy (KODE) (P164188) project since 2018. Across the 266 cadastral zones previously uncovered by telecoms network, the high-speed broadband infrastructure was in place in 2022, which allowed local populations—including those most vulnerable to climate change in rural areas—to access early warning systems during and after natural disasters. The project also supported provision of training for 800 young people (age 18 to 35) in 2022 and another 630 youth in 2023 to strengthen their IT skills for a job opportunity within the ICT sector. Half of the seats were reserved for women to address an employment gender gap in the sector. Additionally, the Strengthening Digital Governance for Service Delivery Project (P178162) was launched in March 2023 to support transition to shared platforms, improve data governance, and extend online services. DD GP teams are leading three active (Georgia, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic) and three pipeline (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) digital transformation projects, in collaboration with other global practices. Governance Global Practice teams are leading four active (Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, Serbia) public sector digital transformation projects mainly focused on the establishment of shared digital platforms, core systems (FMIS, tax), public service delivery, digital citizen engagement, and GovTech enablers in collaboration with DD GP and other global practices. Additionally, the Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) has been supporting the systematic enhancement of monitoring and evaluation, as well as supervision of investments in fragile and conflict-affected countries since 2018. The Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px) initiatives are providing technical assistance and capacity-building support for building identification systems and transition to digital G2P payments in a human-centered, rights-preserving, and trust-fostering manner. ID4D Diagnostic studies have been completed in Georgia and Tajikistan. ID4D is helping the government in designing a digital ID smartphone application to promote remote access to services, including digital financial services for citizens and for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), through the Georgia Relief and Recovery for MSMEs Project (P173975). As part of this engagement, advice is being provided to adopt European Union standards with a view to mutual recognition by EU member states. G2Px supported a deep-dive case study on Türkiye in 2022, demonstrating how interoperability can enable the seamless flow of information or trusted data sharing across different government databases, which is vital to social assistance program delivery. Based on the findings of the 2021 ID4D report and dataset, an estimated 850 million people worldwide (about half of them children), often individuals within the most marginalized and vulnerable groups, lack an officially recognized ID. Many more have IDs that are not suited for the digital age or that put their data privacy at risk. Over half of the people without an ID (56 percent, or over 470 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the ECA region, the estimated population without an ID is 10 million (2.1 percent of the 499 million total population in 30 countries). The region has the lowest rate of unregistered population compared with other regions. Future projects could continue focusing on supporting sustainable identification systems to realize the global commitment to “leave no one behind,” as well as expansion of G2Px platforms. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 19 6. >>> Future Directions New projects could focus more on the adoption of a whole-of-government approach, digital citizen engagement, digital public infrastructure, data governance, cybersecurity, coordination of ongoing activities, monitoring and reporting of digital spending and results, and other key components of the GovTech enabling environment (e.g., leadership, effective regulations, accountable institutions, digital skills, innovation, and incentives for startups) to maximize the benefits of the government’s investments. The following opportunities exist in all countries to address key digital transformation challenges: ● Institutionalization of the whole-of-government approach by allocating the necessary resources, coordinating large-scale digital governance initiatives, and monitoring and reporting the results. ● Digital transformation of local government services, shared local infrastructure, and the intergovernmental fiscal relations. ● Use of technology and geospatial data and climate models to assess and mitigate the risks of climate change on public investments and assets. ● Transition to shared digital platforms (e.g., government private cloud, service bus, digital signature) for cost-effective, reliable, and secure hosting services. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 20 ● Improving the interoperability and interconnectivity of existing government systems and online services through government service bus and application programming interfaces (APIs), ideally based on open-source solutions. ● Building digital public infrastructure (DPI) to enable the provision of essential society-wide functions and services for identification and authentication, data exchange, and payments that are fundamental to social and economic development. ● Daily use of existing PFM information systems (FMIS, tax, e-procurement, HRMIS) to record and report all transactions for decision support, performance monitoring, and timely web publishing of budget results. ● Additional investments on technical/digital skills development and public sector innovation to ensure the sustainability and expansion of digital solutions, with a focus on gender balance. ● Alignment of the development partner support, and agreement on a clear strategic plan for digital transformation to avoid duplication of investments and activities. ● Exploration of the use of artificial intelligence/machine learning in specific public sector applications in collaboration with the private sector and civil society organizations. ● Allocation of adequate government resources for the operation and maintenance of existing systems/platforms to ensure their sustainability. ● Focusing more on improving Internet access, concrete outcomes for the citizens, and digitalization of end-to-end public services in the next generation of digital transformation projects. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 21 >>> Resources ● The GovTech Data Dashboard presents maps and graphs allowing users to digest and explore the findings of the GovTech Dataset and the GovTech projects database. ● The GovTech Dataset presents the GTMI data for 198 economies. ● The GovTech projects database presents the details of more than 1,450 activities funded by the World Bank in 147 countries since 1995. ● DE4A Country Diagnostics, Digital Development, July 2022. ● ID4D Global Dataset, Digital Development, December 2022. ● ID4D Principles, 2021 (2nd Edition). ● ID4D Practitioner’s Guide, October 2019. ● GEMS: Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision12 managed by the Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Group. GovTech publications are classified into five categories: crosscutting, core government systems, public service delivery, citizen engagement, and GovTech enablers. ● GovTech Maturity Index, 2022 Update: Trends in Public Sector Digital Transformation, Equitable Growth, Finance & Institutions (EFI) Insight – Governance, December 2022. ● An Overview of World Bank Group Digital Governance and GovTech Projects, EFI Notes – Governance, December 2022. ● Interoperability: Towards a Data-Driven Public Sector, EFI Insight – Governance, January 2023. ● CivicTech: Transparency, Engagement, and Collaboration for Better Governance, EFI Insight – Governance, July 2022. ● Tech Savvy: Advancing GovTech Reforms in Public Administration, EFI Insight – Governance, April 2022. ● Service Upgrade: The GovTech Approach to Citizen Centered Services, EFI Insight – Governance, March 2022. ● Institutional and Procurement Practice Note on Cloud Computing, EFI Insight – Governance, March 2023. ● Data Classification Matrix and Cloud Assessment Framework, EFI Insight – Governance, March 2023. ● Mobile Government How-To Note, EFI Insight – Governance, March 2023. ● How-To Note on Green GovTech (forthcoming). 12. As of October 2022, GEMS has been implemented in more than 100 countries. More than 900 project teams and 6,500 government staff and partners have benefited from the digital skills and tools provided. GEMS has been used extensively for remote supervision and enhanced monitoring and evaluation of project implementation, risk and safeguards monitoring, beneficiary engagement, and security assessments in Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and several Pacific island states EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 22 >>> Table 2: Digital Governance/GovTech Projects, ECA, 2022 2020 2022 Change GovTech Focus Areas DG/GovTech Projects Funding ($ million) Country Pop (m) % UP Tot Grp GTMI Grp GTMI Grp GTMI CGS PSD DCE GTE Completed Active Pipeline Tot Comm Tot DG Disb Albania B 0.748 A 0.752 £ £ 19 8 2 4 2.855 2.8 17 2 1 353 294 177 Armenia B 0.583 B 0.722 ¥ £ 22 6 1 2 2.791 0.1 17 5 - 423 353 163 Azerbaijan B 0.604 A 0.775 £ £ 11 2 1 - 10.313 2.5 11 1 - 988 968 149 Belarus B 0.540 C 0.407 ¤ ¤ 6 1 1 2 9.578 0.9 3 3 - 547 286 62 Bosnia & Herzegovina C 0.377 C 0.271 ¥ ¤ 8 1 1 1 3.271 2.8 6 2 - 242 151 83 Bulgaria B 0.616 B 0.681 ¥ £ 10 - - - 6.886 0.6 10 - - 348 382 90 Croatia A 0.763 A 0.761 ¥ ¤ 13 1 - 1 4.060 0.3 12 1 - 742 718 107 Czech Republic B 0.699 A 0.790 £ £ - - - - 10.511 0.7 - - - - - - Estonia A 0.967 A 0.956 ¥ ¤ 1 - - - 1.329 1.7 1 - - 18 17 5 Georgia B 0.586 B 0.608 ¥ £ 13 3 - 3 3.758 4.2 11 3 1 342 225 120 Hungary B 0.661 A 0.793 £ £ 3 - - - 9.710 1.0 3 - - 78 46 6 Kazakhstan B 0.739 A 0.817 £ £ 10 2 1 - 19.196 0.9 8 2 1 2,401 2,186 277 Kosovo¯ C 0.455 B 0.633 £ £ 9 5 1 5 1.662 4.1 11 1 1 108 88 88 Kyrgyz Republic B 0.633 B 0.578 ¥ ¤ 10 2 1 2 6.528 4.5 10 2 - 219 133 120 Latvia B 0.648 A 0.856 £ £ 4 - - - 1.874 1.0 4 - - 56 48 58 Lithuania A 0.778 A 0.918 ¥ £ 3 - - - 2.787 6.5 3 - - 49 59 22 Moldova B 0.736 A 0.801 £ £ 15 5 2 2 3.062 1.0 11 4 - 267 226 119 Montenegro B 0.539 B 0.564 ¥ £ 2 1 1 - 0.628 5.2 1 1 - 35 22 16 North Macedonia B 0.666 B 0.570 ¥ ¤ 12 4 1 2 2.103 1.8 10 2 1 239 187 56 Poland B 0.699 B 0.680 ¥ ¤ 2 - - - 38.308 1.4 2 - - 304 316 4 Romania B 0.647 B 0.565 ¥ ¤ 9 4 1 2 19.329 0.6 9 1 - 574 528 248 Russian Federation B 0.717 A 0.897 £ £ 18 3 - 3 145.103 1.1 19 - - 1,164 1,092 624 Serbia B 0.722 A 0.895 £ £ 10 3 1 3 7.297 0.7 6 4 1 884 696 260 EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES Slovak Republic B 0.688 B 0.650 ¥ ¤ 3 - - - 5.448 0.4 3 - - 21 24 9 Slovenia A 0.759 A 0.832 ¥ £ 2 - - - 2.119 3.9 2 - - 18 17 16 <<< 23 Table 2 continued 2020 2022 Change GovTech Focus Areas DG/GovTech Projects Funding ($ million) Country Pop (m) % UP Tot Grp GTMI Grp GTMI Grp GTMI CGS PSD DCE GTE Completed Active Pipeline Tot Comm Tot DG Disb Tajikistan C 0.262 C 0.309 ¥ £ 15 7 2 5 9.750 10.5 11 3 2 168 110 98 Türkiye A 0.785 A 0.873 ¥ £ 10 2 0 1 84.775 3.3 8 2 1 1,838 1,714 247 Turkmenistan D 0.099 D 0.125 ¥ £ 1 - - - 6.342 1.1 1 - - 15 11 2 Ukraine¯ B 0.533 A 0.768 £ £ 11 - - - 43.531 0.9 8 3 - 1,878 1,626 212 Uzbekistan B 0.617 A 0.813 £ £ 9 3 1 2 34.081 5.4 6 4 1 455 318 209 Totals 498.984 2.1 224 46 10 14,772 12,841 3,648 Source: World Bank data (280 digital governance/GovTech investments funded by World Bank since 1995). Note: GovTech Focus Areas present the number of projects supporting the prioritized GovTech pillars including core government systems (CGS), public service delivery (PSD), digital citizen engagement (DCE), and GovTech enablers (GTE). Total commitments and disbursements are shown together with the total investments on digital government/GovTech solutions. DG = digital governance; ECA = Europe and Central Asia; GTMI = GovTech Maturity Index; Pop (m) = Population (in millions), 2021 UN database; % UP = Estimated percentage of unregistered population (using separate metric rates for children and adults without IDs based on ID4D-Findex, administrative data, and voter registration and birth registration rates), 2021 ID4D dataset. Fragile and conflict-affected economies are shown with (¯). EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 24