World Bank GovTech Operations in Jordan: A Digital Transformation Case Study JANUARY 2024 Acknowledgments and Disclaimer This case study was initially prepared in 2021-22 under the World Bank’s GovTech: Citizen-Centric Service Delivery, Renewing the Social Contract in MENA (P176940) program of Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) work, which was an effort to advance knowledge and awareness on how to strengthen service delivery, public trust, and renew the social contract through the effective implementation of a GovTech approach in World Bank operations. The core team for the project was led by Stephen Davenport and comprised Saki Kumagai, Dolele Sylla, Emily Kallaur, Tala Khanji, Lina Fares, Geoff Handley, and Nataliya Biletska, under the overall guidance of Jens Kristensen. The Jordan case study was prepared by Emily Kallaur and Tala Khanji with significant inputs from Raya Barghouti (Government Digital Service International: GDSI-UK) and Samer Qubain (World Bank). The case was updated in 2024. The team would like to express its appreciation to staff from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) who provided key information and guidance, including Anoud Al-abidi, Noor Al-haridi, Maram Alsaidi, Ayman Anabtawi, Bilal Bani Hani, Ahlam Jadallah and Ramy Rawashdih. The authors also benefitted from essential information and insightful comments provided by World Bank colleagues including Ali Abukumail, Adele Barzelay, Lina Fares, Ragheb Fayez, Roland Lomme, Jad Mazahreh, and Khalid Moheyddeen. This paper is a product of the staff of the World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this report are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries 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. 2 Acronyms API Application Programming Interface ASA Advisory Services and Analytics CBJ Central Bank of Jordan DLI Disbursement-Linked Indicators DTS Digital Transformation Strategy ERP Enterprise Resource Planning GDS(I) Government Digital Service (International) (UK) GTMI GovTech Maturity Index ICR/ISR Implementation Completion/Status Report ICT Information and Communications Technology IPF Investment Project Financing ITU International Telecommunication Union JONEPS Jordan On-line E-Procurement System MENA Middle East and North Africa MoDEE Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship MoICT Ministry of Information and Communication Technology MoPIC Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation NSR National Service Register NRIP National Register of Investment Projects NUR National Unified Registry ODIN Open Data Inventory OGP Open Government Partnership PAD Project Appraisal Document PBC Performance Based Condition PforR Program for Results PIMS Public Investment Management System YTJ Jordan Youth, Technology, and Jobs Project 3 Executive Summary Providing efficient, effective public services is a cr itical part of the Government of Jordan’s national development strategy, through which it aims to create jobs and attract private investment. These are imperatives in a context of high unemployment, economic uncertainty, and low levels of public trust in government. With World Bank support, the government is moving toward a user-centric service delivery model that will allow individuals and businesses to access all government services through a platform called “SANAD�. Development of Sanad is part of the government’s overarching GovTech strategy that includes a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation, enabling policies and regulations, and citizen engagement. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) leads the process of public sector digital transformation. The World Bank is helping to finance design, development, and management of Sanad. Sanad is a single sign-on digital services platform hosted on the government cloud that is meant to become the backbone for online service delivery. It is currently available as a mobile app, and by end of 2024 it will be fully functional online as well. As of end-2023, Sanad had already incorporated more than 500 digital services, such as retrieving citizens’ personal records; passport issuance and renewal; lost or damaged driving license replacement; birth, marriage, divorce and death certificate issuance; health insurance card issuance; social security application services; non-criminal certificate issuance; certificate of good conduct issuance; importing and exporting application services; digital signature for documents; payment of bills and fees; scheduling appointments for government services; and many more services. Work to expand digital payment capabilities is underway. All citizens can now activate a digital ID that allows them to access transactional services through Sanad. Rollout of the digital ID has gotten off to a slow start, with around 810,000 activated to date. However, use of digital services is growing quickly. According to the government’s 2022 Household ICT Use and Prevalence Survey, 23 percent of individuals aged 18 years and above had received public e-services of some kind, compared to 14 percent in 2021. MoDEE has a public communications campaign and a program of visiting large companies to provide digital ID information sessions and allow on-the-spot activation. The government plans to further increase uptake of the digital ID by expanding eligibility to non-Jordanians in 2024, with outreach to include visiting refugee camps to facilitate ID activation. To expand access to services for those who lack connectivity or need in-person help, the government is building a Government Service Center in each governorate, with four open already. Work on enabling reforms and initiatives is ongoing, including efforts to improve service delivery performance. Initiatives supported by the World Bank have included adoption of the government’s Digital Transformation Strategy, efforts to increase data transparency and improve mechanisms for citizen feedback on services, and progress on digitizing public procurement and enacting legal and procedural procurement reforms. All public procurement contract award results are now published online. A public value assessment reviewed 25 of the most important e-services, and improvements have now been made to the selected services based on the assessment’s recommendations. The government has also created a National Service Register (NSR) that lists all 2,400 government services along with information about the documentation required to access each service. The next step is to establish baseline data on service delivery, and then use real-time data collected via the NSR (such as waiting times and satisfaction rates for specific services) for performance improvement. 4 As the government moves toward user-centric service provision, this requires a shift in institutional mindset. Some ministries are reluctant to share data and integrate services, and there is some resistance to change among the civil service. The next frontiers include breaking down organizational silos, streamlining services through business process reengineering, and mainstreaming user engagement and testing. Effective cooperation with the private sector will also be key, as the government envisions a hybrid model of service delivery, with government as a platform and most services delivered by private firms. Emerging lessons from Jordan’s GovTech experience to date include that: • Strong leadership and attention to change management are key. Overcoming bureaucratic inertia and resistance to change, and breaking organizational silos to allow for cross-government collaboration and data sharing, require strong leadership from the top and an emphasis on change management. Business process reengineering to streamline service delivery is important for creating a seamless user experience. • Implementation capacity largely depends on human resources. Recruiting and retaining staff with the necessary technical skills can be a major challenge that can constrain implementation capacity, given the strong market demand for these skills and the difficulty of competing with private sector salaries. • World Bank support to GovTech approaches should be agile and multisectoral. The choice of World Bank financing instrument can make a difference to project implementation. Also, cross- sector collaboration among World Bank teams, and a flexible, iterative approach to project management, are important in complex GovTech projects where the context can change quickly. • Establishing user-centric service delivery requires a shift in institutional practice. Building the capability to engage users (at different levels of technological skill and access) in an agile way and understand their needs even before services are launched, and mainstreaming this engagement from business process design through implementation, management, and monitoring, implies further change in organizational culture from a “government first� to a “user first� orientation. • Strong data governance and data management frameworks are critical. On data governance, a robust enabling framework is important to building a social contract around data use. For example, Jordan needs to strengthen data privacy protections. Also, data standards are a foundational element of a government's data infrastructure, which means establishing unified standards for data classification, sharing and usage of datasets, to support interoperability. • Digital transformation is incremental. Governments should keep sight of the role continuous iteration and improvement play in securing the trust of citizens in the government’s digital service offering. 5 1. Introduction “GovTech� refers to the latest thinking on public sector digitalization. Digital transformation through GovTech means taking a whole-of-government approach that promotes simple, efficient and transparent government with the citizen at the center of reforms. While earlier e-government programs focused on building IT systems for public administration and moving services online that often remained analog in design, GovTech strategies aim to provide citizen-centric services that are digital by design and coordinated across the government, and it prioritizes two-way interaction with citizens by mainstreaming citizen engagement. If implemented successfully, a GovTech-oriented strategy to modernizing the public sector can help governments to improve service delivery, which may contribute to increased citizen trust in government and a stronger social contract, in addition to creating jobs and enabling growth of the digital economy. According to the World Bank’s GovTech strategy, digital technologies are vital to addressing both dimensions of citizens’ trust in government: trust in government’s competence (ability to deliver on promises) and trust in government’s values (the motivations driving policy). It argues that “becoming fully digital is no longer an option, but rather an imperative for [governments’] legitimacy as guardians of well-being and progress. The social contract all societies have with their respective states will depend on governments’ ability to become digital�.1 At the same time, GovTech reforms have the potential to undermine the social contract if they raise citizen expectations but actual delivery falls short. Large-scale ICT procurement also poses serious risks related to corruption and failed technical implementations, and if not well managed, such factors can prompt a weakening of the social contract. The World Bank’s 2021 World Development Report, Data for Better Lives, puts forward a framework for thinking about a new social contract specifically for data that defines rules of the road for governance in the digital age. This new social contract would “enable the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value, while ensuring equitable access to the value realized, as well as fostering participants’ trust that they will not be harmed by data misuse�.2 Digital transformation of government should be grounded in such a social contract for data. Targeting World Bank task teams and GovTech practitioners, this case study provides operational examples and lessons learned to date from GovTech work in Jordan to inform future activities. Three countries (Djibouti, Jordan, and Tunisia) were selected as case studies under the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region’s GovTech: Citizen-Centric Service Delivery, Renewing the Social Contract in MENA program of Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) work. Preparation of this case study relied on desk reviews of operational and related documents, and inputs from World Bank and government staff. The description of project elements largely came from Project Appraisal Documents (PADs) and Project Restructuring Papers, while details on implementation and results achieved drew on Implementation Status and Implementation Completion Reports (ISRs/ICRs). Descriptions of the country context drew on key World Bank country documents such as the Country Partnership Framework, and on government strategies. Communication from World Bank team members and government staff provided additional information and insights on lessons learned. 1 World Bank 2021a. 2 World Bank 2021b. 6 2. Overview: GovTech in Jordan This case study focuses on the operationalization of a GovTech approach to public sector digital transformation in Jordan, where the government aims to provide integrated service delivery through a single unified portal known as “Sanad�.3 Digital technology has been at the center of government reform efforts to transform the public sector administration in Jordan since the early 2000s. His Majesty King Abdullah II first announced Jordan’s e-government initiative in 2001, but implementation was hampered by external shocks and economic challenges, and in recent years the government has been working to make up for lost time. The government has made significant headway: what began as an emphasis on the digitization of services has evolved into a program for improving service delivery in a more fundamental way, in keeping with the global evolution from early e-government approaches toward more holistic GovTech strategies. The World Bank is supporting GovTech in Jordan through several operations that integrate some of the latest international lessons and innovations in digital government. The Government of Jordan committed to improving the country’s business climate and transforming the economy to promote job creation through its Reform Matrix (2018-2024), and in 2022 launched its “Economic Modernization Vision� (2023-2033). Promoting economic growth, and expanding employment among youth and women, are top priorities for Jordan’s government. It sees growth and job creation as central to its efforts to preserve political stability in a highly volatile region of the world. The government aims to demonstrate to the private sector that “Jordan is open for business� by improving the investment climate, including by increasing public sector efficiency, reducing the cost of doing business, digitizing the procurement cycle, and supporting the digital economy. While the public sector has traditionally created the majority of formal employment, the government sees private investment and public-private partnerships as the main engines of future job growth.4 The COVID-19 pandemic brought additional financial challenges to Jordan’s already struggling economy, and public trust in government is low. After five years of two percent annual GDP growth, the economy shrank in the midst of the pandemic, but growth rebounded to 2.7 percent in the first half of 2023.5 However, the employment rate is still below its 2019 level, the same year that a Jobs Diagnostic suggested that annual growth needs to increase to about six percent to make a dent in Jordan’s chronically high unemployment rate.6 In the most recent Arab Barometer survey, only 15 percent of respondents said that the economic situation was good or very good, down from 55 percent in 2006.7 Other external shocks over the last fifteen years, including the global financial crisis and the influx of Syrian refugees, have compounded economic challenges and had a negative impact on public finances. With respect to the governance context, according to World Bank analysis in an update to the Country Partnership Framework, “the delicate domestic equilibrium that has enabled Jordan to maintain its stability is under increasing pressure, in part due to public frustration with the slow pace of reforms. A deeper reservoir of public mistrust on issues of government accountability, corruption, and transparency has risen to the surface in waves of social unrest�.8 The same report notes that Jordan has slipped in Transparency 3 See https://sanad.gov.jo. 4 Government of Jordan 2019a. 5 Youssef, Oraby and Sammy 2023. 6 Winkler and Gonzalez 2019. 7 Arab Barometer 2022. 8 World Bank 2021c. 7 International’s Corruption Perceptions Index since 2015, and that Freedom House now says Jordanian society is “not free�, though it was previously categorized as “partly free�. Jordan ranked in the 26th percentile on voice and accountability in the 2022 Worldwide Governance Indicators.9 Jordan sees digital transformation of government as key to its strategy to become a hub for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services in the region, and to attract private investment and stimulate job creation. Jordan’s ICT infrastructure and capacity render the country well positioned in the region in terms of digital competitiveness. Ninety-two percent of households have internet access at home, compared to an average of 62 percent for the Arab region, and 95 percent of families in Jordan have a smartphone.10 However, creating an enabling environment for private sector growth and competitiveness also depends on the government providing high-quality, efficient and reliable public services to citizens and businesses, which the government intends to do through digital transformation. Box 1 describes an early example of the government’s work on integrating and digitizing cross- government services. Over the last few years, the government has created a strategic and institutional framework for public sector digital transformation, with support from the World Bank. The role of the former Ministry of ICT (MoICT) was expanded from a purely ICT focus to one oriented toward the digital economy, which the World Bank had encouraged, and in 2019 a cabinet bylaw transformed MoICT into the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE). MoDEE is now tasked with enabling the country’s transition to a digital government and a digital economy. In July 2021, the Jordanian government adopted an overarching Digital Transformation Strategy to outline the path forward in public sector modernization. It includes plans for centralized government digital infrastructure, a data center, middleware, open application programming interfaces (APIs), and enabling policies such as on data privacy and digital signatures. This strategy now provides the framework for all GovTech-related initiatives. Box 1. Integrating Service Delivery through Interagency Coordination The government is promoting the digitalization of cross-government services in which data is transferred in the back office between multiple entities, as they have a more substantial impact on citizens by reducing the administrative burdens a citizen would face if these services were provided separately offline. Interestingly, the first batch of fully digitalized and online-only services provided by the government in 2017-2018 largely consisted of services whose implementation required cross-agency cooperation and data transfers that might have had a positive effect in their adoption. A significant example could be the online service to obtain a non-criminal certificate, provided by the Ministry of Justice, in which the whole process was reengineered to introduce a smooth and user-friendly experience, while enhancing the behind-the-scenes coordination between the Ministry of Justice, the Public Security Directorate, local carriers and online payment systems. This service was the second-most used within six months of its launch, with more than 200,000 requests in the second half of 2018. Source: Excerpted from World Bank 2021d. “Data Practices in MENA: Case Study: Opportunities and Challenges in Jordan—Findings of a Data Ecosystem Assessment.� Washington, DC: World Bank Group. 9 Available at https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/. 10 MoDEE and DOS 2023. 8 Indices of country-level progress in each of four GovTech dimensions comprise the World Bank’s global GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI), which gives a general impression of the status of public sector digital transformation in Jordan.11 The GTMI aims at assisting practitioners in the design of digital transformation projects by measuring the key aspects of four GovTech focus areas defined in the World Bank’s global GovTech Strategy: 1) core government systems; 2) service delivery; 3) citizen engagement; and 4) GovTech enablers. It is a composite index made up of the Core Government Systems Index (CGSI); the Public Service Delivery Index (PSDI); the Citizen Engagement Index (CEI); and the GovTech Enablers Index (GTEI). The GTMI is the simple average of the four indices, representing a total of 48 key indicators, and denotes the extent to which 198 economies are advanced in these areas. Based on the GTMI score, countries are categorized into four groups, from Group A (GovTech leaders) to Group D (minimal focus on GovTech). In the first GTMI, based on data collected in 2020, Jordan was classified in Group B, indicating a “significant focus on GovTech�.12 At the same time, it is important to note that the GTMI reflects the de jure situation in each country, not the quality of implementation or enforcement of regulations, or the resulting impact on service delivery and citizen trust. Looking at the individual components of the GTMI score, key potential areas for improvement in GovTech maturity in Jordan as of 2020 included: • Core Government Systems: Full implementation of government cloud, enterprise architecture, and service bus; adoption of a Disruptive Technologies strategy; adoption of a Public Investment Management System (PIMS) • Public Service Delivery: Improvement in the UN Online Service Index (OSI) • Citizen Engagement: Improvement in the UN E-Participation Index (EPI); strengthening the open data portal • GovTech Enablers: Strengthening the whole-of-government approach; strengthening data protection; implementing digital signature capability; strengthening digital skills In the 2023 GTMI update report, Jordan was classified in Group A (with the caveat that due to some methodological changes in the GTMI, the first and second scores are not directly comparable). The remainder of this note is organized as follows. Section 3 provides key examples of GovTech activities supported by the World Bank in Jordan, organized according to the four GovTech focus areas. Section 4 then looks at the portfolio again, but through five “lenses� for analysis that provide different perspectives on project design, implementation, and challenges. Finally, Section 5 draws some lessons learned from the World Bank’s experience supporting GovTech approaches in Jordan thus far. 3. World Bank Support for GovTech in Jordan GovTech initiatives contribute to both pillars of the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for Jordan (2017-2022), which include 1) fostering the conditions for stronger private sector-led growth and better employment opportunities for all; and 2) improving the equity and quality of service delivery. 13 This section looks at ways the World Bank is actively enabling GovTech approaches in Jordan. Table 1 11 World Bank 2021e. 12 World Bank 2021e. 13 World Bank 2016a. 9 provides examples drawn from the World Bank Digital Governance Projects Database,14 which contains World Bank Group-funded investments (not technical assistance, Advisory Services and Analytics, or budget support) with large ICT or e-government components as of October 2022. The table includes active and recently closed15 projects from the database. This section then proceeds to discuss aspects of World Bank support under each of the four areas, which are: 1) Core government systems – includes ICT infrastructure, hardware and software; government systems such as those for public financial management, human resources management, and procurement; disruptive technologies such as cloud computing; as well as an overarching digital government transformation strategy and set of related principles 2) Public service delivery – refers to human-centered online services that are simple, transparent, and universally accessible 3) Citizen engagement – includes open government approaches as well as mechanisms for accountability, citizen feedback and citizen participation in the workings of government 4) GovTech enablers – includes leadership, institutional strengthening, skill building, digital IDs, strategy and regulations, and innovation Table 1. Examples of GovTech Activities in Jordan Supported by the World Bank GovTech Project Planned Activities Key Results as of Areas December 2023 Core Jordan Youth, • Digital Transformation Cabinet approved the Digital Government Technology and Jobs Strategy* Transformation Strategy; Systems (P170669); Active • Government-wide digital work underway on a new architecture for service national enterprise delivery architecture framework; • Digital payments and e- back-end integration needed signatures to enable digital payment is nearly complete Strengthening • JONEPS system (e- JONEPS system has been Reform procurement) enhancements enhanced with new modules Management in • National Registry of and 100 percent of contract Jordan (P171965); Investment Projects (NRIP) awards are published online; Active NRIP is operational Jordan Inclusive, • National Greenhouse Gases Monitoring Reporting and Transparent and (GHG) Registry Verification (MRV) Registry Climate Responsive system was developed and is PforR (P175662); in use Active Second Education • Open Education Management Open EMIS with state-of-the- Reform for the Information System (EMIS) for art technical capabilities Knowledge Economy schools made operational and rolled project (P105036); out in all schools Closed 14 https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/int/search/dataset/0038056/digital_governance_projects_database 15 Projects that closed prior to FY2016 were not considered. 10 Public Service Jordan Youth, • Digitizing government Public value assessment Delivery Technology and Jobs services and providing them conducted of the most (P170669); Active through a one-stop e-portal important 25 e-services; 178 • Improving quality/access for public services have been existing e-services newly digitized and launched Jordan Inclusive, • Create National Register of National Service Register Transparent and Government Services (NRGS) (NSR) available via Sanad Climate Responsive PforR (P175662); Active Citizen Jordan Inclusive, • Support to “At Your Service� Assessment report for “At Engagement** Transparent and (Bekhedmetkom) platform for Your Service� platform Climate Responsive citizen feedback completed; Jordan’s Open PforR (P175662); • Open data initiatives Data Inventory (ODIN) score Active increased 13.7 percentage points from 2020 to 2022 GovTech National Unified • Unified social registry Created a unified social Enablers Registry (NUR) and registry to improve targeting Outreach Worker of the government’s cash Program (P144832); transfer program Closed Jordan Youth, • Digital onboarding of citizens Citizens can activate a digital Technology and Jobs ID and use it to conduct (P170669); Active transactional services online Jordan Inclusive, • National Statistics Roadmap Dept. of Statistics has Transparent and worked on improving Climate Responsive metadata documentation PforR (P175662); and updating some data Active Strengthening • Strengthening regulatory and Reform Secretariat Reform institutional pillars for e- established to coordinate, Management in procurement advance and implement Jordan (P171965); reforms under the Five-Year Active Reform Matrix Promoting Financial • Regulatory Sandbox for the Regulatory Sandbox Inclusion Policies in Central Bank of Jordan; established; technical action Jordan (P163719); technical action plan for the plans in digital finance and Closed National Financial Inclusion data adopted Strategy *Also considered a GovTech Enabler **Note: Citizen engagement refers to support in the PAD for technology- enabled mechanisms for citizen engagement or feedback (i.e., CivicTech), or open government initiatives related to open data and transparency (e.g., web portals). 11 3.1 Core Government Systems With respect to core government systems, the World Bank provided support around the design and adoption of the government’s Digital Transformation Strategy, mentioned above. The strategy makes clear that MoDEE is expected to lead the process of digital transformation, and espouses a set of guiding principles for digital transformation that includes 1) Digital by Default; 2) One Stop Shop; 3) Leaving no one behind16; 4) Simple, fast and satisfactory services; and 5) Once-only principle (avoiding duplicate requests to users for the same data, and avoiding conflicting sets of data, by ensuring coordinated data management and sharing across government institutions).17 Adoption of the strategy satisfied one of the Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs; now known as Performance Based Conditions, or PBCs) of the World Bank’s Jordan Youth, Technology and Jobs project (“YTJ project�; P170669). The World Bank is also supporting e-procurement in Jordan, a foundational pillar of digital transformation. Completing the implementation of an integrated e-procurement system and associated business processes will be a cornerstone for building a GovTech ecosystem in Jordan, and critical to the government’s Public-Private Partnerships strategy. In 2019, the government adopted a new procurement bylaw to increase the efficiency and transparency of public procurement, and 12 government agencies are now using the Jordan On-line E-Procurement System (JONEPS). The World Bank is supporting enhancement of JONEPS through the Strengthening Reform Management in Jordan project, including the purchase of hardware and software; a number of new modules have been added to the system. Relatedly, the project enabled the establishment of a National Register of Investment Projects (NRIP) for Jordan, which is a web-based information management system to collect, store and produce reports on data related to the entire lifecycle of investment projects, including performance indicators relative to budgets and timelines. The NRIP is intended to strengthen public investment management.18 The complexity and multisectoral nature of procurement reform illustrates the need for a whole-of- government approach to ensure system interoperability. For example, procuring entities using JONEPS need to verify the qualification documents of a given bidder by connecting to other systems, such as 1) the Ministry of Finance to verify tax compliance status; 2) various ministries (Trade, Industry, etc.) to check registration status; 3) associations of engineers and contractors, to cross-check eligibility; and 4) banking systems to verify submitted guarantees (e.g., bid guarantee, advance payment guarantee, performance guarantee). System integration is also required to allow the procurer to pay the contractor. All of this underscores the importance of cross-government coordination and collaboration. 3.2 Public Service Delivery The World Bank is supporting digital transformation of service delivery to citizens and businesses in Jordan. The YTJ project (approved in 2020) is financing design, development, and management of the Sanad system, which is a single sign-on digital services platform hosted on the government cloud. Sanad is meant to become the backbone for online digital service delivery (Figure 1) and is currently available as a mobile app, and by end of 2024 it will be fully functional online as well. Thus far the Sanad app has been 16 These principles are reflected in YTJ project design. For example, on leaving no one behind, the project specifies that 40 percent females and 15 percent Syrian refugees will benefit from access to and services provided by digital platforms. 17 MoDEE 2021. 18 MoPIC 2021a. 12 downloaded more than 3 million times.19 When the federated e-government architecture (Figure 2) has been fully implemented as envisioned, it will include a proprietary Government Service Bus (GSB) based on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to enable a seamless service delivery experience. Once fully integrated with Sanad, the GSB will route service invocations towards service providers and return responses to users, and link to shared services such as digital payment capabilities. An information interoperability framework has been initiated that will ensure that all entities involved are using the same data standards. As of end-2023, Sanad has already incorporated more than 500 digital services. Examples include retrieving citizens’ personal records; passports issuance and renewals; lost or damaged driving license replacement; birth, marriage, divorce and death certificate issuance; health insurance card issuance; social security application services; non-criminal certificates issuance; certificate of good conduct issuance; importing and exporting application services; digital signature for documents; payment of bills and fees; scheduling appointments for government services; and many more services. The government aims to incorporate a total of 2,400services by the end of 2025 to create a one-stop shop for transactional digital services across the government. Creation and rollout of a digital ID has been central to digitizing service delivery. 20 The new digital ID builds on work done under the World Bank’s National Unified Registry (NUR) and Outreach Worker Program (P144832; closed in 2019), which built a unified social registry to improve targeting of the government’s cash transfer program. Creation of the NUR meant connecting the management information systems of six government agencies and many different databases, which required developing a data interoperability framework and technical specifications; identifying and procuring hardware and software; and identifying and implementing institutional arrangements. The NUR has become a cornerstone tool with strong stakeholder support and is used on a continuous basis with over 250,000 households certified and reviewed systematically. The project contributed significantly to institution building by supporting the Institution of Communication and Technology (NICT) Data Center housed by MoDEE that hosts the registry, which has become a key government resource for targeting beneficiaries for various government programs. More broadly, the project seems to have helped shape the government’s thinking on the benefits of linking different systems and bringing disparate pieces of public administration together. All citizens are now eligible to activate a digital ID through one of several methods. One way is to present their national ID card in person at one of about 450 Sanad stations across the Kingdom. The individual either has their fingerprints taken or their iris scanned, and this biometric data is then matched with data already held by the Citizen Status and Passport Department. When the match is confirmed for identity verification, their digital ID is activated. Alternatively, if the individual already has a bank account with one of about ten accredited banks that have partnered with the government, the citizen can activate the digital ID through the bank’s mobile app (since identify verification would have been part of the process of opening the account). Currently, there are 810,000 active digital IDs21 and the government’s goal is to reach 3.5 million by 2025. In 2024 the government will expand digital ID eligibility to non-citizens, including refugees and other foreigners, and also to firms. 19 According to the Sanad website: https://sanad.gov.jo/Default/En. 20 Digital ID is considered a GovTech enabler (section 3.4) but discussed here instead for ease of reading. 21 According to sanad.gov.jo. 13 Figure 1. High-level view of Jordan’s e-government stakeholders Source: Reproduced from World Bank 2024; original source MoDEE 2021. Figure 2. High-level view of Jordan’s e-government architecture Source: Reproduced from World Bank 2024; original source, http://modee.gov.jo. A key step in YTJ project implementation was a public value assessment that involved detailed testing of 25 e-services across 12 institutions. A consultancy firm worked with MoDEE and the World Bank to agree on criteria for selection of 25 important e-services (from a pool of 405 services) to evaluate in terms of quality and efficiency. The selection criteria were based on good practices from countries with advanced e-government systems, as well as MoDEE priorities, end-user demand (based on number of annual transactions), and other factors. The assessment found a wide range in terms of the maturity of existing services, with some having an up-to-date look and feel and full-featured functionality, and others relying on obsolete technology and providing only very simple functionality. Moreover, the assessment identified room to improve technical interoperability of e-services and address the current fragmentation of digital service delivery. It confirmed the need for a central services catalog, central user identification, mobile-optimized web services (as opposed to mobile apps), and clear data privacy policies. Some improvements have now been made to the selected services based on the recommendations. To generate data and evidence to strengthen service delivery and policymaking, the World Bank is providing technical assistance linked to the Inclusive, Transparent and Climate Responsive Investments 14 Program for Results (Investment PforR; P175662). This assistance helped the government develop the National Service Register (NSR), which is now public on sanad.gov.jo with all 2,400 government services listed along with information about the documentation required to access each service. The NSR harmonizes the way that public services and the user journey are documented across all government entities, making it easier for users to understand what is available, and allowing the government to identify and eliminate duplication. MoDEE is now working with World Bank support to determine how to establish baseline data on service delivery, and then how to use the NSR to collect and analyze data for performance improvement. Data collection will include criteria such as average waiting time for the service; the satisfaction rate of service applicants; the percentage of errors and rate of complaints on the service; the number of documents required from applicants; and the volume of demand for the service. The technical assistance will include support for developing an e-catalog that also serves as a manual, specifying minimum technical requirements and guidelines for e-services—currently, the focus is on digitizing services quickly and there are no uniformly applied standards as yet. 3.3 Citizen Engagement The government has committed to mainstreaming citizen engagement as a path to improving service delivery. Per its Digital Transformation Strategy, the government “realizes the need to improve the two- way flow of information between the government and citizens, increase public participation, and establish partnerships and cooperation between the public and private sector�.22 The Investment PforR project design recognizes that improved stakeholder and citizen engagement will be important for Jordan to make the climate responsive public and private investments that will be necessary to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement. The Investment PforR emphasizes citizen engagement in support of improved service delivery. Project objectives include strengthening the “At Your Service� (Bekhedmetkom) mechanism, an online platform linked to 89 government agencies that captures citizen complaints and feedback and was leveraged during the COVID-19 crisis as a communication tool between the state and citizens. In 2024, “At Your Service� will be rolled into a larger, unified portal for e-participation that MoDEE is developing (see section 4.3). To advance the open data agenda, the Investment PforR also supports the implementation of the government’s Open Data policy, and includes a PBC to be achieved via a significant improvement in Open Data Watch’s Open Data Inventory (ODIN) score for Jordan by making data more accessible and available. 3.4 GovTech Enablers A 2021 Data Ecosystem Assessment conducted by the World Bank in Jordan looked at some aspects of the GovTech enabling environment. The assessment recommended focusing on several key priorities to strengthen policy, legal and regulatory safeguards for data governance. These included enacting a personal data protection law (a draft law was passed by the Council of Ministers in December 2021); adopting a whole-of-government approach to the development of data governance frameworks, with input from civil society and the private sector; and supporting multi-stakeholder implementation of policies, laws, regulations and standards.23 The movement toward digital IDs for all individuals supported under the YTJ project particularly underscores the need for strong data privacy protections given the 22 MoDEE 2021. 23 World Bank 2021f. 15 sensitive information associated with the ID and the activation process (which includes biometric data). As yet Jordan does not have a strong data privacy framework and enforcement regime in place. The World Bank is facilitating the improvement of the regulatory and institutional pillars necessary for e-procurement through the Strengthening Reform Management in Jordan project. The project has generated improved public procurement policies, frameworks and processes that will be applied to government entities, and is working on professionalizing the procurement stream. It is supporting a business processing reengineering exercise that involves procuring agencies including state-owned enterprises, municipalities, and public administration entities, and a security audit to confirm the integrity of the system. Also, the project has already enabled the creation and staffing of a Reform Secretariat within the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) to support ministries, departments and agencies in respective policy reforms across the 12 pillars of the Reform Matrix. The YTJ project supports digitization of government payments (from persons to government, P2G, as well as government to persons, G2P) in order to enhance the functionality and transparency of key services. Payment digitization must eventually cater to around 140 government entities and interface with the Central Bank, private banks and financial institutions, and payment service providers. It will build on nationwide digital infrastructure that has already been put in place, including on digital IDs, secure networking, and payment system platforms. The backend will be a real-time payment processing hub with domestic clearing and settlement and reconciliation and audit functions. To strengthen IT linkages between ID systems and other government systems and implement IT enhancements, the project will devise an overarching government payment architecture that brings the various ongoing efforts into a strategic framework with a clear set of activities and implementation plan. Part of the motivation for digitizing government payments is to create a catalyst for increasing financial inclusion, especially for low- income Jordanians, for whom mandatory payment delivery to a bank account or e-wallet would create banking demand and could become a gateway to other financial services. 4. GovTech in Jordan through Five Lenses This section looks at the World Bank’s GovTech-related work in Jordan through five “lenses� that provide a multifaceted view of the ways in which these activities may strengthen service delivery, public trust, and the social contract. The lenses, shown in Table 2, have been lightly adapted from the World Bank’s Evaluating Digital Citizen Engagement: A Practical Guide. Although they were developed with citizen engagement initiatives in mind, they are general enough to apply to GovTech writ large, and their use here is intended to ensure that key elements are not left out of the discussion. Since the main projects included in this case study are still ongoing, this is not a retrospective view of results achieved, but rather a discussion of the process of project design and the initial issues and challenges encountered in implementation. 16 Table 2. Lenses for Evaluating GovTech Initiatives Lens To consider Objective Seeking to understand the explicit objective and underpinning assumptions of the initiative and wider environment, including the planned impact Control Which actors are involved in decision making at what stages Participation How citizens are reached; the opportunities provided for them to participate and at what level; the attention paid to historically marginalized groups Technology Overall program management; how privacy issues are managed; institutional and technical capacity; non-technical factors in implementation Effects How results are measured; how the initiative can adapt to changing circumstances; evidence of intended or unintended impact; funding arrangements and incentives for results Source: Adapted from World Bank 2016b, p.48. 4.1 Objective The government is pursuing digital transformation to support larger development goals, not simply for the sake of digitizing, and this problem-driven approach has given focus to GovTech objectives and activities. The impetus for the YTJ project came from the government’s economic growth and youth agenda, and the issue of economic opportunity for youth figures prominently in the Digital Transformation Strategy. The government clearly sees digital transformation as a path to job creation, which it considers a political imperative. Relatedly, building on existing initiatives with defined objectives has also been useful, for example with the decision to build the NUR by anchoring it on the National Aid Fund’s cash transfer program that was already established. In terms of the wider environment, the YTJ project has a strong emphasis on strengthening the local digital ecosystem. The GTMI report identifies facilitation of private sector involvement in the provision of technology for public sector digital transformation as a GovTech good practice. Digital transformation can create many opportunities for local entrepreneurs to provide services to government entities.24 To increase the supply of digitally skilled workers in Jordan, YTJ supports establishing a digital skills training ecosystem with private sector involvement and enhancing the digital skills of public school students. It also includes activities to expand access to market for digital firms. 4.2 Control The Jordanian government generally operates in a top-down manner, and digital transformation is no exception; a clear signal of high-level political commitment to the agenda has helped to drive it forward. Political commitment at the highest level, rooted in the government’s overarching economic plan, has been the key enabling precondition for GovTech work. To name one specific example, the Implementation Completion Report for the National Unified Registry (NUR) operation noted that high-level government endorsement of the NUR platform had been essential to promote data exchange between agencies and solidify its role in executing the National Social Protection Strategy. 24 It is also interesting to note that the private sector has spotted an opportunity to respond to market demand for assistance with public e-services, for a small fee (i.e., shops exist where individuals can go to get help accessing and using e-services). 17 Yet, political economy issues loom large in Jordan. Although a single entity (MoDEE) is charged with the task of leading digital transformation, which the World Bank’s GovTech strategy considers a good practice in terms of a coordinated, whole-of-government approach, the current institutional arrangements create challenges. MoDEE’s status as a line ministry (rather than a part of the Office of the Prime Minister, for example) hampers its ability to manage the digitization of other ministries—MoDEE has a mandate to coordinate on digital transformation, but not the power to compel ministries to follow its lead. In terms of change management, resistance to digital transformation comes from a number of angles. Some line ministries have already individually undertaken extensive digitization efforts and are reluctant to revisit this process; some government entities do not want to connect to shared systems (via APIs). Moreover, sometimes responsibility for a digital project is divided between two agencies. Ensuring coordination will be imperative to breaking down organizational silos and developing policies based on data and user feedback. Significant resistance comes from government employees, some of whom perhaps feel threatened by digitization. To address this, the Minister has emphasized in his public messaging that digital transformation does not mean a loss of jobs, but rather creation of new jobs. Digitization can also reduce opportunities for kickbacks, which may prompt some stakeholders to resist change. MoDEE provides an escalation process to address resistance from civil servants, but its effectiveness has been limited so far, and there is no dedicated change management team. The government acknowledges institutional and coordination challenges in its Digital Transformation Strategy. It notes that the “presence of a large number of bodies and organizations involved in providing integrated information and services leads to bureaucratic procedures and the unwillingness of stakeholders to bear the responsibility resulting from ownership in some cases�.25 Relatedly, the original attempt to create the NUR was overly ambitious as it aimed to establish an NUR for all government programs, expecting that all agencies would contribute data to the system even though the implementing unit did not have a mandate to direct other agencies to do so. There is a general need to overcome the institutional rivalries that delay implementation, and to revisit siloed ways of working to avoid duplication of effort and implement integrated processes and technologies. To overcome resistance and bureaucratic inertia, the YTJ project incorporates capacity building for MoDEE in convening and advocacy to strengthen its ability to lead. All ministries that have a major stake in the YTJ project were engaged in its design and inception, including MoDEE, MoPIC, the Ministry of Labor (MOL), Ministry of Education (MOE), and the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC). The YTJ project also financed an institutional review of MoDEE’s former E-Government Unit, and proposed a new organizational structure to make it into a Digital Transformation Unit with new job descriptions and skill profiles. The new organizational structure was approved after a long delay, and the ministry is working on a staffing plan to accommodate the changes and hire additional staff. The long- time lack of a digital transformation lead within the Ministry (due to recruiting challenges) to serve essentially as a Chief Information Officer for the government significantly hampered initial progress on digital transformation in general and YTJ specifically. Government collaboration with the private sector is also essential to Jordan’s digital transformation strategy, which raises other coordination issues. The strategy envisions government as a platform, and the bulk of e-services being provided by private firms. Although the government is committed to this 25 MoDEE 2021. 18 model, it has been reluctant to relinquish control to private sector partners to the extent necessary for the strategy to work well. At one point a Digital Transformation Committee comprising public and private sector representatives was created, but it only met a couple of times and was discontinued. Effective cooperation with the private sector will require the government to continue its work on the enabling environment, to put appropriate oversight mechanisms in place to ensure the quality of outsourced services, and to empower its partners to play their roles effectively. From an internal World Bank perspective, the YTJ project design process provides an illustration of a collaborative and iterative, organic approach. It was initially designed to respond to the government’s request for help increasing the supply of university graduates with robust IT skills, but through government discussions with the World Bank the project came to incorporate interventions to boost labor market demand as well. This suggested the potential for digital government transformation not only to enhance service delivery and public sector efficiency, but also to serve as an engine for job creation. Digital payment capabilities were then added to the project as an important element to strengthen the digital ecosystem. This flexible approach mirrors the concept of agile methodologies for development of digital services and tools. Internally, there has been effective cross-sectoral work within the World Bank, with four contributing Global Practices and a close integration of thematic areas reflected in the project design. On the other hand, the addition of some major GovTech elements came toward the end of the project design phase, leaving relatively limited time for assessment and preparation. 4.3 Participation The government is starting to shift toward a more user-centric approach in service design and delivery. In deciding which data to include in the Sanad mobile app, for instance, the government has analyzed which information is most often sought after by users of the web version. By applying a concept of information-by-default, the government aims to reduce the number of inquiries related to personal information that users must resolve either online or in person.26 MoDEE collects user feedback on Sanad through the “At Your Service� platform, social media, and a “Suggestions and Complaints� feature within the app, to which it responds directly. Based on the latest update of the Sanad mobile app and the addition of new services and features, Sanad’s mobile app rating jumped from 1.8 to 4.8 in the AppStore. Moreover, the government plans via the NSR to capture data that is comprehensive and detailed enough to enable specific corrective action, enforce accountability, and inform management and decision making. Going beyond such steps to mainstream user research and engagement throughout the cycle of service delivery planning, design, implementation, and monitoring represents the next frontier. New features are generally still developed without incorporating users’ feedback (aside from a testing team working on replicating existing processes). With digital economy reforms there is a risk of exacerbating the digital divide, but Jordan is taking steps on inclusion. Supporting digital payments has the potential, for example, to contribute to financial inclusion, particularly for women, but extensive digitization can leave marginalized users even farther behind. Continuing to provide analog or in-person alternatives for service delivery, such as via Jordan’s Government Service Centers, can promote inclusion. Under the YTJ project, Government Service Centers will be established in each of the fourteen governorates where both citizens and businesses can access and receive help with services. It is also notable as mentioned in section 3.2 that the government plans to 27 MoPIC 2021b. 19 expand the digital ID to refugees in 2024, including via activation stations at refugee camps. Improving the quality of public sector data and data on service delivery (via the NSR) could also lead to more effective targeting of marginalized populations. The Investment PforR aims to support Jordan in measuring progress on service standards using a composite indicator that incorporates process, output and outcome level indicators, partly based on user feedback disaggregated by social groups (including by gender). More broadly, a commitment to open government is an important GovTech underpinning, yet as noted at the outset of this case study, the governance context in Jordan is challenging. Jordan joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2011, and through its Fifth OGP National Action Plan (2021-2025), the government has reiterated its commitment to enhancing community engagement in decision making through electronic tools, and to adopting a participatory approach to evaluating capital projects.27 The action plan points to achievement of prior OGP commitments including implementation of an open government data policy and institutionalization of enforcement procedures for the Access to Information law. However, there is still much to be done. The limited use by civil society and research institutions of data sets in Jordan’s existing open data portal28 suggests deficiencies in terms of data prioritization, quality, or relevance.29 Otherwise, a new open data portal is now under development in order to improve the accessibility of open data sets, data quality and user experience. The new open data portal will be comply with best practice overall countries and with a high level of open data and data quality standards. The most recent OGP Eligibility Database (published May 2023)30 gives Jordan a civil liberties score of just 2 on a scale of 1-4 (with 4 being the most open), and the same for asset disclosure, further indicating that reforms are necessary. For civil society to engage in policy dialogue and hold government to account, better access to data and stronger mechanisms for participation will be important. Jordan established an Open Government Data Policy in 2017, followed by an Open Government Data Quality Framework in 2020. It also has an Open APIs Policy (2020), which is a key enabler of Jordan’s digital transformation because it of its importance in facilitating data exchange. The policy is intended to improve transparency through the sharing of data and information, and to enable the government to leverage private sector expertise to develop new services.31 In 2021, the government published the Jordanian Policy for Electronic Participation, which aims to: • Activate electronic tools to enhance the process of community participation; • Activate community participation in preparing legislation and making decisions; • Improve the quality of public services, government decisions and directions, to suit the needs of beneficiaries; • Enhance transparency and increase confidence in the government apparatus; and • Improve the efficiency and quality of information and facilitate access to it. Building on these policies, in 2024 the government plans to launch a platform with APIs for publicly accessible data as part of the “Jordan as a Platform� (JAAP) component of the Digital Transformation 27 MoPIC 2021b. 28 https://data.jordan.gov.jo 29 World Bank 2021f. 30 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sk4cIWSU03Q9jQE09gawgfuA4EhVqXlRNJprYqAE7Po/edit#gid=14062 21191 31 In Jordan, several businesses have successfully used publicly-owned data to create economic value, for instance through data cleaning and mining, or to introduce services related to sales lead management and reporting (World Bank 2021f). 20 Strategy. Also, the government is working toward the second commitment of the OGP National Action Plan, which is “Enhancing community participation in the decision-making process using electronic means� by creating a unified e-participation portal, also to be launched in 2024. So far, public consultation on legislation has been more of a one-way process (i.e., feedback is not published, and contributions are not publicly acknowledged by the government or used as a basis for dialogue with other potential contributors). The portal will provide citizens and the private sector in Jordan with an online one-stop shop to: 1) get advance notice of and access to relevant information regarding legal, regulatory and policy proposals; 2) provide comments in a transparent and interactive way; and 3) obtain a response from the regulator, explaining if and how their comments were used to modify or improve regulatory proposals. 4.4 Technology “Soft� infrastructure is as important as “hard� infrastructure in implementing the technical side of public sector digital transformation. While “hard� infrastructure refers to hardware and connectivity, “soft� infrastructure includes policies on data interoperability and security, and technical standards for data classification and management to ensure the effective implementation of data governance frameworks. The YTJ project will finance an assessment to be conducted by MoDEE covering the interoperability of shared services, systems capabilities, data governance, and resilience to identify institutional and regulatory gaps for digital transformation. This services assessment will also examine the legal and regulatory environment around e-services such as e-signature, e-transaction, data exchange, and authentication of e-documents legislation, and ensure responsible data use and data protection and privacy surrounding online delivery mechanisms. The Strengthening Reform Management project also emphasizes the process- and institutional change-related aspects of digital government transformation. To complement systems development and integration, MoDEE has issued a Data Executive Plan32, an important step since issues with the availability and quality of relevant data can be major stumbling blocks in digital transformation. Data management involves data production, policies, standards, and questions around who collects and controls data. In Jordan, traditionally, sharing data across ministries, departments and agencies has not been part of organizational culture or practice, and data sharing between line ministries and the rest of the government continues to be minimal. The public value assessment noted the need to strengthen data management in a way that enables access to all systems but identifies data owners to ensure that only a single version of each data set exists. The government has since issued a directive intended to change the status quo by indicating that all data belongs to the Government of Jordan, not the line ministry in question,33 which represents significant progress toward enabling data sharing (which would also need to be in accordance with the legal framework for personal data protection). The Data Executive Plan is now in motion, albeit with some delays, and online dashboards for citizens, businesses, and residents are planned. To a limited extent, MoDEE is working directly with ministries on business process reengineering as services are digitized. For an individual service, business process reengineering (BPR) means rationalizing 32 The Data Executive Plan comprises elements including coordination with government and security institutions; data governance, including legal, policy, and regulatory issues; infrastructure; data sources, management, and engineering; advanced analytics; data usage; data as a service; and API services. 33 A Data Ecosystem Assessment conducted by the World Bank in 2021 had noted that “each public entity retains ownership of the data it manages� and suggested that whole-of-government approaches to data re-use and sharing could help streamline service delivery (World Bank 2021d). 21 the required steps and documentation to access the service. BPR also implies changes to or enhancements of current regulations (and in some cases laws), a process that may be challenging and takes time. Before MoDEE digitizes a service, ideally it works with the relevant ministry to understand current business processes and identify changes needed to streamline the process for digitization. However, BPR has become more rushed and is sometimes skipped given the pressure to digitize services quickly – the focus is on digitizing existing forms and adding new functionality (such as digital payment and digital signature), rather than the more foundational work of shortening processes and updating regulations and bylaws. Recruiting and retaining staff with the necessary skills has been the main technical challenge of YTJ implementation thus far. While the Minister’s commitment to the agenda is strong, a severe lack of implementation capacity due to staffing shortages has impeded progress. Thus far, given the need to meet short-term goals, the focus has been on hiring technically qualified staff rather than upskilling current civil servants. Government salaries are lower than private sector salaries, making recruiting a challenge. Also, many qualified Jordanians have moved elsewhere in the region where demand for digital skills is high, such as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It is very difficult to find qualified staff to recruit, and then candidates are sometimes lost to other opportunities because of the lengthy government hiring process.34 Recruiting is hampered by the fact that governments often respond to an increase in workload by employing people on short-term contracts that last only for the duration of the project, while workers often prefer open-ended positions, making it difficult to compete with private sector job opportunities. Because of the combination of low salaries and high pressure to deliver, there has been high turnover within the YTJ Project Management Unit since project inception. MoDEE currently has about 92 staff members working on digital transformation, but still has inadequate implementation capacity. Though some key positions are now filled, MoDEE still needs additional staff. Subcontracting specific technical tasks to IT companies has been one tactic to address the staffing challenge, but it is also very difficult to find appropriately qualified firms, and the lengthy government procurement process has caused implementation delays. Moreover, firms can provide technical support, but core project management and communications to the public (e.g., to promote Sanad use) cannot be outsourced. As part of YTJ project implementation, the World Bank has facilitated peer-to-peer learning between the Jordanian government and other digital government experts. A joint World Bank/MoDEE delegation to the UK’s Government Digital Service International (GDSI) was organized to promote peer-to-peer learning between the countries. The UK’s approach to digital government, which involves a team of experts and innovators working together under the Cabinet to provide technical support to line ministries, provided a concrete model that appealed to MoDEE. Based on this exchange of information, the Government of Jordan decided to put together a Digital Transformation Team that would be housed in MoDEE and work with line ministries. The partnership between MoDEE and the GDSI35 provides a model that could be appropriated elsewhere. The World Bank also connected MoDEE with a private firm based 34 Hiring through the government system (through the old Civil Service Bureau) is a very lengthy process, and individuals are hired based on the date they applied to be included in the database (seniority) rather than their qualifications for the post. However, a new structure was approved by the ministerial cabinet in Dec. 2023 that should facilitate the creation of new positions that the ministry desperately needs and could not be added under the old structure. 35 For more information on this partnership, see https://blogs.worldbank.org/arabvoices/jordan-sharing-lessons- uk-improving-digital-public-services. 22 in India that has extensive experience with India’s digital ID system and has been useful as an advisor with respect to the digital onboarding of citizens. The government is also working to build citizens’ awareness of the availability of e-services to increase uptake. Mobilizing citizens to obtain a digital ID and take advantage of digital services requires awareness, access, digital skills, and trust, in keeping with the principle of no one left behind. To raise awareness of the digital ID, MoDEE has created communications campaigns and videos, and has an ongoing program to visit large companies to provide information sessions and allow on-the-spot digital ID activation. This has been an efficient way to reach large groups of people directly. MoDEE also communicates routine Sanad updates and announcements though social media, TV/radio, and other channels. 4.5 Effects Since the government’s vision for digital transformation was already in place (and has now been made more explicit by the Digital Transformation Strategy), the World Bank has chosen to use financing instruments that support government ownership while creating incentives for the government to achieve concrete results. MoDEE’s e-government budget line for the coming years, intended to finance digital infrastructure, provided an entry point for Bank support through YTJ and a way to build on the government’s plans. The YTJ project is financed via an Investment Project Financing (IPF) operation to build government capacity, but also includes PBCs, meaning that funds are released when the government meets pre-agreed targets. As a Program-for-Results, the Investment PforR uses another vehicle that links disbursement of funds directly to the achievement of specific program results. Once output targets are achieved, an issue is ensuring that reforms and initiatives are sustainable and lead to the desired development outcomes. For example, the Promoting Financial Inclusion Policies in Jordan project enabled the creation of a Regulatory Sandbox at the Central Bank of Jordan, but although two rounds took place, they did not generate clear results—more awareness of the importance of the Sandbox and potentially more support for its management may have been needed. The government has made significant progress on digital services rollout with the launch of the Sanad app and development of the online portal, soon to be fully functional. Both the YTJ project and the Investment PforR have specific PBCs related to digital transformation of service delivery to citizens and businesses. These include inter alia targets such as measuring the number of new e-services available, launching a new citizen feedback system for e-services, launching an e-services performance dashboard, and digitizing business registration and licensing. Significant progress has been made. For example, as of Oct. 2023 there had been 3.5 million transactions conducted via new or improved e-services digitized by the YTJ project (with a goal of 5 million by 2027). According to the government’s 2022 Household ICT Use and Prevalence Survey, 23 percent of individuals aged 18 years and above had received e-government services (compared to 14 percent in 2021), and the majority of them had received digital services via Sanad (67 percent). Satisfaction with ease of service use was 95 percent, and 11 percent reported having used one of the government’s complaints mechanisms, such as At Your Service. Also, 71 percent of those aged 18 and older had heard of Sanad.36 Fostering private investment and business growth is also an objective of digital transformation. Another YTJ target is mobilization of private sector investment in digital services ($2.3 million to date, against a target of $20 million). On e-procurement, the Strengthening Reform Management project defines several 36 MoDEE and DOS 2023. 23 specific indicators, including going from a baseline of zero to a target of 100 percent of public procurement contract award results published online (achieved), as well as a target of 60 percent of businesses satisfied with the ease-of-use of e-procurement processes (actual rate was at 70 percent as of Oct. 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic altered the context for digital transformation by accelerating demand for digitalization and prompting citizens to adopt e-services more quickly. Citizens increasingly started using existing digital services such as checking the status of parking tickets and utility bills. Sanad played a significant role during the pandemic as it allowed individuals to manage the vaccination process digitally, for example with text reminders for appointments. The Sanad app served as the only trusted and verified source of vaccination status and could be used to show proof of vaccination before entering public buildings when required. This accelerated habituation to a digital ecosystem could be expected to facilitate citizen take up of new or enhanced e-services. Moreover, for the government the pandemic highlighted the utility of data dashboards and analytical tools to support real-time decision making, and the effectiveness of working in cooperation with the private sector on tools for leveraging data.37 Work done on Identification for Development (ID4D) with World Bank support has been foundational to Jordan’s public sector digital transformation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government leveraged this to certify more than 200,000 households by April 2020 to benefit from emergency cash transfers. Emergency cash transfers were delivered digitally, contributing to an increase in the number of mobile wallet accounts from around 300,000 to 1.3 million in three months. The rapid increase in accounts was facilitated by a procedural change made by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ); previously individuals had been required to apply in person for a mobile wallet, but due to the pandemic the CBJ changed this to allow remote onboarding, with great success. 5. Lessons Learned Several themes emerge from the review of the World Bank’s GovTech portfolio in Jordan. This concluding section aims to distill lessons about key GovTech ingredients, and highlight important challenges, to help inform future operations. Overall, the idea of a data-driven public sector offers great potential to transform service delivery and enable growth of a digital economy, thus increasing citizen trust in government’s competence and values and strengthening the social contract more broadly. All of this however rests on a new social contract for data, with data governance as its foundation, that engenders trust that citizens will not be harmed by data misuse.38 1. Strong government leadership, coupled with effective institutional arrangements and navigation of political economy challenges, is key to digital transformation. In Jordan, the government has a clear vision for digital transformation driven by national development priorities related to economic opportunity, service delivery, and climate action – it is digitizing with a purpose. Relatedly, empowering a central entity to lead a whole-of-government digital transformation is important for coordinating the many institutions involved, securing stakeholder buy-in, avoiding duplication, and prioritizing implementation steps, as well as defining and 37 According to Ahmad Hanandeh, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, in a live World Bank event. “Leveraging Data to Foster Development: Where does the MENA region stand?�. World Bank online event, Dec. 6, 2021. 38 World Bank 2021b. 24 enforcing in a top-down manner what an excellent digital government looks like (this was the approach of the UK’s GDS during its nascent stages, which proved to be effective). In Jordan, MoDEE plays this role, but as a line ministry itself it lacks the ability to control what other ministries do. Its formal mandate needs to be enforced either through legislation, a stronger political push from above, or some other modality to strengthen MoDEE’s ability to take the lead. Administrative and reporting frameworks should outline how the rest of government and the private sector should adhere to digital service and technology standards, and how the government can conduct quality assurance (particularly given the outsourcing model). 2. Personnel recruiting challenges can make it difficult to alleviate GovTech capacity constraints. Digital skills are highly sought-after in the market. In MoDEE, a lack of staff (rather than a lack of technical know-how) has been a problem. For MoDEE to play its coordination role, it needs to evaluate all hardware and software decisions for digital transformation, which requires a lot of capacity. Taking a user-centered design approach to recruitment is one idea to tackle these challenges, beginning with understanding the needs of applicants and what government can do to support people in producing higher quality applications for government roles.39 One of MoDEE’s tactics is subcontracting technical work to private firms, but some functions cannot be outsourced. MoDEE has also had luck hiring junior and mid-level staff via a local university. 3. The choice of World Bank financing instrument can make a difference to implementation. The World Bank’s support to whole-of-government digital transformation in Jordan began with the YTJ project via Investment Project Financing (IPF) with Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs). This instrument provides strong incentives for results since tranches of funding are released based on progress, but one drawback is the limited up-front financing for the government to undertake key steps, which became problematic when the government’s fiscal situation unexpectedly deteriorated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, YTJ provided a foundation for the Investment PforR, an instrument that gives the government more flexibility. The downside of the Investment PforR is the lack of funding for World Bank support, so it has been buttressed by targeted World Bank technical assistance financed via trust fund, e.g., on the service registry component. Overall, this combination of financing instruments and support has been a good model for the World Bank’s engagement in Jordan. 4. Digital technology provides an opportunity to design service delivery based not on how government agencies are organized, rather around how citizens and businesses live and work; but establishing user-centric service delivery requires a shift in institutional mindset. In Jordan, the government recognizes the need for this shift and is taking steps in that direction. Building the capability to engage users (at different levels of technological skill and access) in an agile way and understand their needs even before services are launched, and mainstreaming this engagement from business process design through implementation, management, and monitoring, implies further change in organizational culture from a “government first� to a “user first� orientation. This is particularly important in the context of Jordan’s envisioned hybrid 39 For example, to increase the number and quality of applicants for Content Designer roles in the UK’s GDS, a recruitment guide was developed as a supporting document for applicants, addressing a range of questions and providing clarifications on the role. See https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RxUmicHfk3FK90lxkLxkd3MuHu3ufQy1Aq0D2TASWTQ/edit. 25 delivery model in which the private sector provides many services, and the government needs to establish principles and standards to which all suppliers must adhere. 5. Data governance grounded in a robust policy and regulatory framework is critical. The government’s adoption of the Digital Transformation Strategy outlines a vision and way forward, which has been important in driving progress thus far. At the same time, Jordan does not yet have an effective data protection and privacy framework in place, which is an essential enabler for digital onboarding of citizens. This is needed to regulate the collection and processing of personal data and enable trusted data use and sharing by government and citizens. If citizens do not trust that protection is in place, service uptake will suffer, and any privacy breaches will further undermine that trust. Capacity building within government around enforcement of existing data policies and regulations, including on access to information, is another important building block. 6. Data standards are a foundational element of a government's data infrastructure. They create a common understanding of how to organize, find, store, and evaluate information. The goal is to enable effective data use and reuse for service delivery, evidence-based decision-making, and innovation. The implementation of the government’s data strategy will be key in Jordan. 7. Change management and prioritization of activities need to happen before digitization. Preparatory steps such as the public value assessment are important to laying the groundwork for the business process reengineering exercises that need to happen before digitization—only after the business process for a service is evaluated (including proactive user research) does it make sense to digitize some or all steps. This also requires attention to where and how data are currently being stored, which data are being collected and why, how they are used in decision making, and what steps would be needed to support data-driven management. For a process such as obtaining a work permit, there may be more than a dozen ministries involved, implying a need for interagency process integration and change management. This also means establishing unified standards for data classification, sharing and usage of datasets, to support interoperability. 8. Digital transformation is incremental, and governments should not lose sight of the role continuous iteration and improvement play in securing the trust of citizens in the government’s digital service offering. Detailed evaluations such as the public value assessment can help shape the long-term digital transformation journey. But they do not replace regular testing, real-time data collection (in Jordan, this will be via the NSR), and interactions with users intended to understand how well digital services are meeting user needs as well as government needs (such as value for money). Also, governments need to develop robust guidance to ensure line ministries have the autonomy to analyze and adjust services based on the data they have. This can help to foster a sense of ownership over service performance and data and support the organic growth of a culture of continuous improvement. 26 References Arab Barometer. 2022. Arab Barometer VII: Jordan Report. https://www.arabbarometer.org/wp- content/uploads/ABVII_Jordan_Report-EN.pdf. Government of Jordan. 2019a. “Turning the Corner: Jordan’s Path to Growth.� Amman: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. https://mop.gov.jo/ebv4.0/root_storage/en/eb_list_page/reform_matrixturningcorneren28feb2019- 1.pdf. Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE), Jordan. 2021. “National Digital Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025).� Unofficial Translation. https://modee.gov.jo/ebv4.0/root_storage/en/eb_list_page/dts-2021-eng.pdf. Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) and Department of Statistics (DOS). 2023. Household ICT Use and Prevalence Survey 2022 (Arabic). https://www.modee.gov.jo/. 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