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: Latin America and the Caribbean 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: Latin America and the Caribbean.” 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 10 Digital Citizen Engagement 12 GovTech Enablers 13 Digital Governance/GovTech Projects 16 Future Directions 18 Resources 20 >>> 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 (ELCG1, ELCG2, ELCRU, IDD03, and IDD07). 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 Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Overview According to the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) 2022 update for the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, 18 countries in groups A and B are exhibiting significant focus on GovTech initiatives to enhance the delivery of public services and strengthen core government systems and enablers. The remaining 14 countries with medium to low focus are in groups C and D (Figure 1). Within the last two years, significant progress has been made in the pursuit of a whole-of-government approach, coupled with the establishment of dedicated GovTech entities to oversee it. Nevertheless, the regional average GTMI score of 0.547 is marginally lower than the global average of 0.552, which reflects some country-specific gaps in all GovTech dimensions that signify consider- able opportunities for improvements in public sector digital transformation as presented in the following sections. >>> Figure 1: 2022 GTMI Regional Outlook, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Mexico Guatemala Bahamas Jamaica Belize Honduras Costa Rica Panama Ecuador Haiti El Salvador Nicaragua Colombia Peru Dominican Republic Venezuela Guyana Suriname St. Kitts & Nevis St. Vincent & the Gren. Antigua & Barbuda Dominica St. Lucia Barbados Grenada Trinidad GTMI A GovTech Leaders B Significant Focus C Some Focus D Minimal Focus Total # of Economies 11 7 11 3 32 & Tobago Bolivia Brazil Paraguay Average GTMI Scores Chile Uruguay GTMI 0.547 Argentina CGSI 0.591 PSDI 0.694 DCEI 0.413 GTEI 0.491 0.0 0.5 1.0 Source: World Bank data (32 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 Government/GovTech projects database presents the details of 241 regional investment projects funded by World Bank global practices since 1995. As of December 2022, 206 investments have been completed and there are 29 active and six pipeline projects supporting various GovTech solutions. Total commitments are about $20.8 billion, and $4.3 billion is on DG/GovTech solutions (Table 2). Existing diagnostic reports (Digital Economy Initiative for Latin America and Caribbean and 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 upcoming years. >>> Figure 2: Average GTMI Scores, by GTMI Group, LAC There was an increase in the regional GTMI average score 1.00 0.858 1.00 (32 countries) from 0.534 in 2020 to 0.547 in 2022, indicating 2020 0.838 2022 progress in the last two years. However, the digital divide has 0.75 0.75 0.619 0.569 increased, as indicated by three countries moving from group 0.534 0.547 0.50 0.50 C to D (Figure 2). The regional average (0.547) is also lower 0.345 0.338 than the global average (0.552), and opportunities exist to 0.25 0.25 0.197 advance toward the contemporary technology frontier in most of the countries. 0.00 0.00 A B C D A B C D # Econ: 7 9 16 0 # Econ: 11 7 11 3 >>> Figure 3: Average GTMI Scores, by Income Level, LAC Improvements were seen across most income levels in LAC 1.00 1.00 within the last two years (Figure 3). Progress in high-income 2020 2022 and upper-middle-income countries were the main drivers 0.75 0.75 0.552 0.556 0.549 0.573 of this progress, while setbacks were experienced by lower- 0.513 0.534 0.547 0.50 0.50 0.444 middle-income countries (confirming the growing digital divide, 0.272 as shown in Figure 2). This pattern emphasizes the need to 0.25 0.25 allocate adequate resources to advance digital transformation in the public sector. 0.00 0.00 H UM LM L H UM LM L # Econ: 8 19 4 1 # Econ: 8 19 5 0 Source: World Bank data (32 economies). Note: GTMI = GovTech Maturity Index, LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean, H = high-income economies, UM = upper-middle-income economies, LM = lower-middle-income economies, L = low-income economies. The LAC region constitutes fewer economies in groups A and B (18 out of 32, or 56 percent) than other regions such as Europe and Central Asia (26 out of 30, or 87 percent), and South Asia (5 out of 8, or 63 percent) (Figure 4). Furthermore, nearly half of the economies (14 out of 32, or 44 percent) are in groups C and D, displaying medium to low focus on public sector digital transformation. There are thus abundant opportunities for further progress in the GovTech agenda, including open-source policies, digital citizen engagement, one-stop-shop for efficient public service delivery, and GovTech enablers (e.g., digital skills and public sector 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. GovTech initiatives in the LAC region are primarily concentrated on improving the delivery of public services, like most of the other regions. Some emphasis has also been placed on modernization and interoperability of core government systems, as well as the GovTech ecosystem embedded within national innovation systems (Figure 5). However, the region demonstrates a similar pattern as seen in other regions, where progress is slow in improving digital citizen engagement. This signifies a need to allocate more resources to address existing regional and country-specific gaps in CivicTech, as well as other focus areas highlighted in subsequent sections. >>> 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 (78 percent) participated in the 2022 Central Government GTMI online survey and provided useful information about their digital transformation initiatives. For 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, seven economies (Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago) advanced to a higher GTMI group, and four countries moved one level down (Haiti, Honduras, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname) (Table 1). The remaining 21 countries maintained their positions. The reduction in the total number of countries in groups C and D (from 16 to 14) and advances in other groups indicate that there was some progress in several focus areas within the last two years despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. >>> Table 1: Overview of the GTMI Groups, LAC, 2022 Group A B C D GTMI Very High Low Economies in group GovTech leaders Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico*, Panama, Peru, Uruguay High Medium Haiti¯*, St. Kitts and Nevis*, Suriname* Significant focus on GovTech Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Paraguay, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago Some focus on GovTech Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados*, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana*, Honduras, Nicaragua, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela, República Bolivariana de¯* Minimal focus on GovTech Total Economies 11 7 11 3 32 %E 24% 20% 28% 28% Source: World Bank data (32 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 (¯). In the LAC region, two of 32 economies—Haiti and Venezuela—are included on the World Bank’s current list of fragile and conflict- affected (FCS) situations. Haiti fares significantly lower than its regional peers with a GTMI score of 0.202, well less than half the regional average of 0.547. Haiti moved one level down in the 2022 GTMI update, indicating low focus on digital transformation. Haiti’s recurrent crises and chronic fragility render GovTech engagements difficult to succeed. The World Bank is currently supporting Haiti’s digitalization efforts through the Haiti Digital Acceleration Project (P171976) and the Statistical Capacity Building Project (P157531). Venezuela exhibits some focus on GovTech with a GTMI score of 0.286, about half the regional average of 0.547. The remotely collected 2022 GTMI indicator data of Venezuela indicate some focus on core government systems and digital service delivery but a minimal focus on GovTech enablers and digital citizen engagement. The World Bank currently does not have a portfolio of active loans in Venezuela. 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. Core Government Systems Most countries already have core public financial management and other systems in place to support central government operations (financial management information systems, tax, customs, human resources management information systems, social insurance, pensions, e-procurement, debt management, etc.). However, government enterprise architecture and open-source software policy are reportedly present in only five economies (less than 16 percent), while government cloud, interoperability framework, service bus, and the national strategy on disruptive technology are present in less than 40 percent of economies (Figure 6.1). There have been improvements in 10 (out of 14) existing Core Government Systems Index (CGSI) indicators compared with the 2020 GTMI data. The most visible increases are on government cloud (28 percent), enterprise architecture (28 percent), treasury single account (34 percent), and national strategy on disruptive technologies (31 percent). These improvements are encouraging but still limited to few economies (Figure 6.2).5 Two new key indicators (denoted by N) revealed marginal (3 percent) 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, LAC, 2022 Figure 6.2: Changes since 2020 Nat’l Strategy on Disruptive Tech I-17 11 5 16 I-17 3% 31% Open Source Software Policy I-15 5 8 19 I-15 9% 13% Public Investment Mgmt System I-14 17 1 14 I-14 0% 0% Debt Management System I-13 32 I-13 0% 0% e-Procurement Portal I-12 27 1 4 I-12 6% 13% Social Insurance/Pension System I-11 31 1 I-11 N 0% 3% Payroll System I-10 31 1 I-10 0% 6% Human Resources MIS I-9 28 1 3 I-9 6% 6% Customs Mgmt Information System I-8 32 I-8 0% 0% Tax Mgmt Information System I-7 32 I-7 0% 3% Treasury Single Account I-6 23 9 I-6 0% 34% 3% Financial Mgmt Information System I-5 31 1 I-5 3% 6% Government Service Bus I-4 12 6 14 I-4 16% 0% Gov Interoperability Framework I-3 11 9 12 I-3 N 3% 0% Gov Enterprise Architecture I-2 5 9 18 I-2 28% 9% Government Cloud I-1 11 8 13 I-1 28% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes Planned / In progress No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (32 economies). Note: CGSI = Core Government Systems Index, LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean, MIS = management information system, N = new indicator. New initiatives could focus more on improving the effective use and interoperability of existing systems, shared digital infrastructure (e.g., government cloud, 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: ● Brazil’s Digital Government Secretariat (Governo Digital) is leading the implementation of whole-of-government approach. The digital government website presents the implementation status of digital transformation plans (2021–2022), as well as the guidelines updated in 2022 for the adoption of cloud computing services for the Federal Public Administration. The implementation of Brazil’s interoperability standards (ePING) is expected to prioritize the use of public software and/or free software, in accordance with the rules defined by the Information Technology Resources Management System (SISP). The use of open-source software in the public sector is being promoted through the Software Público Brasileiro portal, which currently provides free access to 69 solutions for different sectors. To address procurement challenges in community-driven development (CDD) projects, the SOL app was developed by the Brazilian states of Bahia and of Rio Grande do Norte under the Bahia Sustainable Rural Development Project (P147157) and the Rio Grande do Norte Regional Development and Governance Project (P126452) for the beneficiary community associations to manage their buying processes electronically in a secure and easy way. The SOL app has replaced the paper-based processes and covers all CDD procurement steps, including advertising and signing of contracts. It has four main features: automation, integrity, integration, and a monitoring dashboard. With SOL, the community associations were able to procure products and services faster, safer, and more efficiently. Currently about 900 cooperatives are participating in their purchases from more than 1,300 registered vendors, and the total amount generated by the successfully concluded procurements through SOL is about $4 million. A key benefit for governments and the World Bank is that this tool enhances their capacity to support, monitor, and audit CDD projects by collecting and analyzing procurement data. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 8 ● In Colombia, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MinTIC) is leading the institutionalization of whole- of-government approach by designing, adopting, and promoting policies, plans, programs, and projects to advance public sector digital transformation. In 2018, a framework agreement was introduced to establish the conditions for the provision of public cloud services. In 2014, the Digital Enterprise Architecture Reference Framework (MRAE) was also approved and published. The Consolidation of National Public Management Information Systems Project (P106628) supported the improvements in the transparency, coverage, operation, and interoperability of national management information systems including SIIF- Nación, SUIFP, and MUISCA, and helped government officials in using these integrated performance monitoring tools to enhance strategic decision-making. Information on budget execution (i.e., revenues and expenditures), available on a daily basis, has been increased from 85 percent to 100 percent of the national budget. The time lag to produce aggregate financial data for the central government, including decentralized entities, has been reduced from up to 35 days to one day. Consolidated budget information (at the level of individual entities) is being published online monthly within the first week of the following month. ● In Jamaica, the e-Procurement system (GOJEP) was launched in 2017 by the Procurement Asset and Policy Unit (PAPU) of the Ministry of Finance and Planning. The GOJEP project was initiated in mid-2015 as part of the overall procurement reform of the government, which includes the implementation of a new Public Procurement Law and capacity development of procurement practitioners, benefiting from the recommendations of a World Bank assessment. GOJEP is a web-based, collaborative platform that facilitates the full life cycle of a tendering process for buyers and suppliers. It offers a secure, interactive, and dynamic environment for procurement of any nature, complexity, or value, enforcing (where appropriate) and encouraging recognized good practices. The system uses open European standards and fully complies with the EU legislation and World Bank procurement standards. Different procedures are supported for both one-off or repetitive purchases through several dedicated submodules providing facilities for user registration, competition notification, bid preparation and submission, online bid evaluation, contract awarding, creation and management of catalog-based information, placement of electronic purchase orders, electronic invoicing, and order tracking. ● In Mexico, the National Digital Strategy Coordination unit (CEDN) is in charge of defining federal government policies on digital government and open data and coordinating the implementation of the National Digital Strategy (2021–2024). There has been some progress in the expansion of shared digital platforms within the past two years. Infotec Data Center has provided cloud hosting services since 2015. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 9 Public Service Delivery Economies in the LAC region have higher rates of adoption across Public Service Delivery Index (PSDI) indicators. Indicator adoption is particularly strong for tax service portal and e-filing services, with more than 87.5 percent of economies having related platforms. Even the lowest-performing indicator—a general online public service portal—has a 62.5 percent adoption rate, with over 20 percent reporting plans for implementation (Figure 7.1). >>> >>> Figure 7.1: PSDI Indicator-Level Responses, LAC, 2022 Figure 7.2: Changes since 2020 0% Job Portal I-25 21 11 I-25 N 0% 0% Social Ins/Pension Online Services I-24 21 2 9 I-24 N 0% 41% Customs Services/Single Window I-23 19 6 7 I-23 0% 0% e-Payment Services I-22 24 5 3 I-22 72% 9% e-Filing for Tax/Customs I-21 28 2 2 I-21 3% 9% Tax Online Service Portal I-20 29 3 I-20 3% 6% Online Public Service Portal I-19 20 7 5 I-19 16% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes Planned / In progress No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (32 economies). Note: LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean, N = new indicator, PSDI = Public Service Delivery Index. Compared with the 2020 GTMI data, there were decreases in responses to three (out of five) existing PSDI indicators. The most substantial decrease was on customs single window (41 percent), potentially due to more detailed sub-indicator questions. 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). GovTech initiatives could invest more in enhancing the performance and effectiveness of existing portals, while expanding the adoption of solutions across sectors according to local opportunities. Effective public service portals not only demonstrate the value to policymakers and constituents but develop knowledge on what works for the local context. In this way, the human-centric design of transactional services demonstrates value and is critical across economies. Some of the good practices related to online public service delivery platforms are presented below: ● In line with its ambitious Digital Government Strategy, Brazil was able to significantly strengthen its online public service delivery during the past two years. Following the launch of the GOV.BR portal in 2019 and sustained investments in the digitalization and integration of public services (177 migrated portals), the government increased and consolidated its digital interactions with citizens and businesses. According to the service statistics available online, the number of digital services increased from around 1,000 in 2018 to 4,100 in 2022, and the average level of user satisfaction is 4.3 in 5.0. The online app of the portal diversified the channels of access to these services, the life events6 approach improved its user experience and all GOV.BR services are now accessible through the new digital identity card issued by the federal government. The GOV.BR example reflects how the combination of high-level political support, consistent quality investment, and strong engagement of different sectors and levels of government can generate a leapfrogging effect on the provision of effective online public services. 6. “Life events” is an approach to organize public services around key life events including childbirth, marriage, job searches, and retirement. It aims to provide citizens with a more personalized and integrated service experience to increase citizen satisfaction. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 10 ● ChileAtiende is an emblematic multichannel service delivery initiative launched in 2012 focusing on bringing the state closer to citizens. It combines physical one-stop shops across the country providing different public services, a services portal, kiosks, social media, and a contact center enabling telephone communication with citizens. In 2020, ChileAtiende7 one-stop-shops were available in 192 locations, and an additional 62 were covered by a mobile venue, handling 6 million requests per year. The telephone contact center received an average of 150,000 calls per month. The website received 24 million interactions a year and the social media team responded to an average of 300 requests a day. Chile’s integrated and multichannel approach on service delivery allows a progressive digitalization of public services, while ensuring that the segments of the population that cannot or don’t want to use digital channels are not left behind. This information inclusion feature of ChileAtiende makes the initiative a reference point for developing contexts where access and use of the Internet still does not reach all segments of the population. ● In Argentina, significant progress has been made on the digitalization of government services. This has allowed citizens and businesses to access essential public services online during the COVID-19 pandemic and has helped the government to promote social distancing measures. Online service portal Trámites a Distancia (TAD) is providing access to over 2,000 different online services. In 2016, Argentina launched the Mi Argentina app, which serves as a single-entry point for citizens to interact with the government through a mobile device. Based on the January 2023 update, Mi Argentina has more than 30 million registered users. Also, the Gestión Documental Electrónica (GDE), with over 450 institutional users, allows digital processing of most administrative procedures with a remote access option. The Digital Inclusion and Innovation in Public Services in Argentina Project (P174946) is supporting Argentina’s ongoing digitalization efforts. With the overall number of registered users of Argentina’s public digital platforms increasing rapidly, the project aims to ensure that this trend remains inclusive by financing digital service centers at the subnational level and closely tracking gender indicators related to the use of digital services. The project also includes support to the National Procurement Office to enhance the use of and promote open data standards for the procurement data produced by the e-procurement system, implementation of which was previously supported by the World Bank. In addition, the recently approved operation, Strengthening Data Infrastructure to Close the Digital Gap in Argentina (P178609), will improve broadband connectivity, data infrastructure, and digital skills to support ongoing digitalization efforts and provide better access to digital services in Argentina. ● In Ecuador, there has been progress in all GovTech focus areas within the last two years. The Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society is leading the implementation of the new Digital Agenda (2022–2025) with a whole-of-government approach. Simplification of procedures, improvement of service delivery and citizen participation, interoperability, data protection, digital infrastructure, and digital identity are among the key pillars of digital government. Notable improvements include the expansion of online services available through the GobEC (portal and mobile app), with 6,800 procedures and services provided by more than 350 institutions. Total site visits had exceeded 67 million as of December 2022. Also, there is a Public Software portal for implementing the government’s policy on open-source software for the public sector, including a public software code repository (MINKA) for developers. ● In 2021, Uruguay’s e-Government and Knowledge Management Agency (AGESIC) launched a strategic 2025 Digital Agenda, which outlines a roadmap for future digital development with a focus on reducing the digital divide and improving digital service delivery. The gub.uy portal provides access to some 1,600 online services (450,000 monthly visits). Citizens can initiate all administrative procedures and complete 93 percent of their visit goals online. 7. OECD. 2020. “Digital Government in Chile – Improving Public Service Design and Delivery.” OECD Digital Government Studies. Paris: OECD Publishing. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 11 The World Bank has supported Uruguay’s digital transition through a series of projects, including the Institutions Building Technical Assistance Loan (IBTAL) (P097604) that supported the creation of AGESIC in 2005, and the Improving Service Delivery to Citizens and Businesses through E-Government Project (P161989), expected to be completed in 2023. In addition to increasing accessibility to online administrative processes for citizens, the ongoing project supports government-to-business services through the upgrade of a single window for export services and the introduction of an electronic invoicing system for small and medium-sized enterprises. Digital Citizen Engagement In the LAC region, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Ecuador are among the leading countries strengthening digital citizen engagement. Open data portals and open government portals are available in 21 and 18 economies in the region, constituting 66 percent and 56 percent, respectively (Figure 8.1). This indicates the availability of current government data and informative publications to promote transparency and accountability in governance. However, national platforms dedicated to the participation of citizens in governance do not exist in over half of the economies in the region. Less than half of the economies in the region provide citizens the chance to offer feedback on policy issues and public services. Even fewer (11 out of 32, or 34 percent) publish citizen engagement statistics to help monitor and track progress as of December 2022. >>> >>> Figure 8.1: DCEI Indicator-Level Responses, LAC, 2022 Figure 8.2: Changes since 2020 Citizen Engagement Stats Public I-32 11 21 I-32 0% 22% Gov Platform for Citizen Feedback I-31 I-31 3% 15 17 13% Nat’l Platform for Citizen Particip I-30 6% 13 19 I-30 6% Open Data Portal I-29 3% 21 11 I-29 0% 6% Open Government Portal I-28 18 14 I-28 6% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (32 economies). Note: DCEI = Digital Citizen Engagement Index, LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean. Within the past two years, there has been an improvement in the availability of government platforms intended to gather data on citizen feedback (in 13 percent of the economies in LAC) and in the publication of citizen engagement statistics (22 percent). This demonstrates some positive developments (Figure 8.2). While open data portals are relatively more common, no progress was observed as economies in the region did not maintain or advance their open data portals. Future GovTech initiatives could focus more on launching and expanding citizen participation and feedback platforms, as well as dynamically updated open data portals. Selected good practice cases related to digital citizen engagement are presented below: ● Brazil has been a member of the Open Government Partnership since 2011 and is committed to the publication of government data and reports to improve fiscal openness and transparency. Through the Participa+Brasil platform, citizens can contribute to policymaking and the improvement of public services by providing feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticisms. The government also publishes citizen engagement statistics and implements initiatives to improve the representation of vulnerable groups. Additionally, the open data portal contains over 14,000 datasets covering several themes, including agriculture, education, and health, which are provided in both human- and machine-readable formats. Most of the available data are dynamically updated daily through application programming interfaces (APIs). The API enables public institutions to integrate their internal systems with the portal. In addition, the API has services to allow for a flexible querying of the datasets in the portal. Several resources and user guides are available, including policies that govern data usage and reusage. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 12 ● In Colombia, the Urna de Cristal platform empowers citizens to engage the government by offering feedback on government services and sharing personal experiences on the implications of government policies. In addition to the publication of statistics on citizen engagement, including previously implemented surveys, key government responses to queries and complaints are featured on the platform. Furthermore, the open data portal provides data updated daily. The portal contains over 7,000 datasets from more than 1,000 bodies, reflecting its wide coverage. The data are also usually updated automatically, and multiple-use cases of the data are also published to highlight potential applications of the data and encourage usage. A dashboard is also provided for easy visualization of the data. ● Dominican Republic’s open data portal comprises over 800 datasets from 250 organizations. It serves as a central mechanism for sourcing government data, with the goal of facilitating the access and reuse of data. While most of the data are updated manually and the updates are relatively less frequent (monthly), the datasets are also available in machine-readable formats to permit wider application. The 311 platform enables citizens to engage the government through various channels including social media platforms (specifically, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube). Besides offering complaints and suggestions, citizens can demand compliance with agreements or contracts made with the governments. The government also publishes citizen engagement statistics, which need to be updated. ● El Salvador’s National Digital Agenda (2020–2030) has four focus areas: digital identity; innovation, education, and competitiveness; modernization of the state; and digital governance. The Secretaría de Innovación de la Presidencia was established in 2019 to lead the implementation of the digital agenda. Creation of an environment friendly ecosystem for managing personal data, a secure exchange of information, and integration of digital services using a single national identity for inclusion of the entire population are all part of the action plan. These actions are linked to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals. A single portal for access to all public services (single.sv) has been launched with a unified authentication service and it is linked to the electronic government payments system. Also, the Transparency Portal provides access to frequently updated open data sets published by around 350 institutions, and APIs can be used to extract available data. GovTech Enablers Based on the 2022 GTMI survey, Brazil, Peru, Panama, and Uruguay are among the regional leaders focused on improving the GovTech enabling and safeguarding environment. More than 70 percent of economies in the region have dedicated digital government entities that oversee GovTech initiatives and digital transformation strategies (Figure 9.1). The availability of institutions established to oversee data governance, as well as the implementation of strategies and programs to improve public sector innovation and digital skills, is relatively scarce. They exist in less than 30 percent of countries in the region. However, the regional outlook is promising, with several countries in the planning phase. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 13 >>> >>> Figure 9.1: GTEI Indicator-Level Responses, LAC, 2022 Figure 9.2: Changes since 2020 I-48 N 0% Gov Policy on GovTech Startups I-48 14 18 31% I-47 13% Gov Entity for PS Innovation I-47 16 2 14 16% I-46 6% Public Sector Innovation Strategy I-46 8 11 13 28% I-45 0% Gov Strategy/Prog on Digital Skills I-45 5 19 8 34% 6% Digital Signature Platform I-42 12 16 4 I-42 25% 9% Data Protection Authority I-39 15 4 13 I-39 16% 6% Data Protection/Privacy Laws I-38 22 7 3 I-38 6% 13% Right to Information Laws I-37 23 2 7 I-37 0% 6% Whole-of-Government Approach I-36 11 13 8 I-36 63% 22% GovTech/Digital Transf Strategy I-35 23 6 3 I-35 13% 0% Dedicated Data Governance Entity I-34 8 6 18 I-34 22% 0% Dedicated DG/GovTech Entity I-33 24 3 5 I-33 84% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Yes Planned / In progress No % Decrease % Increase Source: World Bank data (32 economies). Note: DG = digital governance, GTEI = GovTech Enablers Index, LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean, N = new indicator, PS = public sector. Based on the GTMI survey responses, there were major favorable developments in the establishment of institutions dedicated to GovTech (in 84 percent of the countries), as well as progress toward institutionalizing a whole-of-government approach (63 percent) within the past two years (Figure 9.2). Improvements were also documented in multiple areas, including the implementation of strategies to enhance digital skills (34 percent), government policies to promote GovTech startups, and the development of public sector innovation strategies (24 percent). While setbacks were experienced in some areas, such as the need to update some digital transformation strategies in some countries (22 percent), the evidence indicates that momentum is building in lagging areas. Additional support is required to ensure that the potential of the region is realized through an enabling GovTech environment. Selected good practices and opportunities for improving the GTEI indicators are summarized below: ● Panama’s Agenda Digital strategy guides the implementation of GovTech initiatives and supports the institutionalization of a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector. The Autoridad Nacional para la Innovación Gubernamental (AIG) is mandated to plan, coordinate, and oversee the modernization of public sector through the national strategy. Panama does not yet have an established public sector organization in charge of data governance, which reflects a broader deficit in the region. However, attention is given to improving public sector innovation and digital skills through the Panama Digital platform. Government policy and laws, such as Law 186, also aim to support GovTech startups and private sector investments. The Panama Open Contracting and Public Infrastructure Transparency Project (P173484) supports the implementation of an open contracting approach to strengthen the availability and use of data on public procurement. This ongoing project seeks to standardize open procurement data and increase the number of projects uploaded to Panamá en Obras, the government’s public procurement platform. The project also supports capacity building, partnerships with universities and training institutions, and the development of curricula to enable the success of open contracting. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 14 ● In Peru, the Secretariat of Government and Digital Transformation is responsible for the implementation and evaluation of the National Policy Design for Digital Transformation, as well as the related policies, plans, standards, guidelines, projects, and platforms. Peru has also institutionalized a whole-of-government approach to public sector digital transformation supported by the national digital transformation strategy. While the strategy presently requires an update, there are critical programs designed to promote public sector innovation and improve digital skills. For instance, the National Digital Talent Platform allows access to free educational content to develop and strengthen digital skills to obtain new job offers, as well as upskill and reskill in line with the current (disruptive) technological revolution. Also, the Government and Digital Transformation Laboratory was created in 2019 as a co-creation space for academia, civil society, the public and private sectors, and citizens to participate in the design, redesign, and digitalization of public services, and in the overall digital transformation of Peru. ● Uruguay has tasked the Agency of Electronic Government and Society of Information and Knowledge (AGESIC) to focus on public sector digital transformation—with the Consejo Directivo Honorario (CDH) coordinating and leading the GovTech initiatives, and the AGESIC’s Data Management Division overseeing data governance. Uruguay’s Digital Government Plan 2025 is the latest roadmap for digital development, and is based on four guiding principles: alignment with national government objectives, efficiency and savings, quality of public services, and public management transparency. Uruguay has both a strategy and program to encourage public sector innovation, Innovación, tecnologías emergentes y plataformas. It was launched in 2021 with a focus on adoption of data science for decision-making and promoting the use of artificial intelligence in a transparent, efficient, and responsible manner. EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 15 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 digital transformation programs, online service delivery channels, citizen engagement, and other critical components of the GovTech ecosystem. A summary of 241 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 leading 14 active and three pipeline GovTech projects in 11 LAC countries to support modernization of public sector management, service delivery, citizen engagement, and interoperability of core public financial management systems (FMIS, tax) at the central and subnational levels. The Digital Development Global Practice (DD GP)10 is leading one pipeline and two active projects in three countries to strengthen data infrastructure, Internet connectivity, and emergency response systems, among others.11 Additionally, the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project (P171528), led by DD GP for Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), is focused on increased access by governments, businesses, and individuals to Internet as well as digital services, technologies, and skills in participating countries. Other practices (including Education; Health; Social Protection; and Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation) are leading the remaining 13 active and three pipeline projects focused on sector-specific applications including health services, MIS, payment systems, and social protection. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia are the top seven countries benefiting from digital government investments so far (about 56 percent of the 241 projects). The current portfolio includes GovTech projects in 19 countries, and most of these are multisectoral solutions mainly related to central government systems, public services, and enabling environment. 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 <<< 16 The Costa Rica Fiscal Management Improvement Project (P172352) was launched in 2020 to improve the efficiency of tax and customs administration and public expenditure management through new interoperable FMIS, tax, customs, HRMIS, and debt management systems by 2026. The project will also support the implementation of an interoperability platform/service bus as a part of the new Government Enterprise Architecture, in line with the digital transformation agenda and transition to a whole-of-government approach. Sint Maarten Digital Government Transformation Project (P172611) became effective in February 2022 to enhance the access, efficiency, and resilience of selected administrative public services for citizens and businesses. The Interoperability Policy and the Digital Transformation Strategy were approved in 2022. The Government’s Digital Leadership Team (DLT) is focused on the digitization of government records and the development of an Enterprise Architecture vision to guide digital government initiatives across the island, whether financed by the project or not. Digital Development teams are leading three active digital transformation projects (in Argentina, Haiti, and Peru), as well as the Caribbean Digital Transformation Program, in collaboration with other global practices. Governance teams are leading eight active public sector digital transformation projects (in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Mexico, Sint Maarten, and Uruguay), mainly focused on core systems (FMIS, tax, e-procurement, HRMIS/payroll), service delivery, citizen engagement, and GovTech enablers in collaboration with Digital Development 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 the supervision of investments in fragile and conflict-affected countries since 2018. 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 Diagnostics have been completed in eight LAC countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru). In November 2021, G2Px launched the G2P digitization in practice webinar series to share country experiences in their journey toward a modern G2P architecture. Brazil’s Auxilio Emergencial (Emergency Aid) program was able to quickly identify millions of informal workers through an intensive use of digital technology that allowed real-time cross referencing over existing databases to verify eligibility, and to remotely open millions of digital savings accounts from Caixa (the state-owned bank) for financially excluded beneficiaries. Colombia’s Ingreso Solidario program has been able to identify and deliver payments to over 1.2 million beneficiaries through existing accounts or mobile wallet, and to facilitate opening of accounts for the remaining 1.7 million unbanked beneficiaries. Also, G2Px country briefs have been prepared to share good practices in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. 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 about 470 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the LAC region, the number of people without an ID is about 33 million (5.1 percent of the 640 million total population in 32 countries). Although regional ID ownership is relatively high compared with other regions, future projects could also focus more on supporting sustainable identification systems to realize the global commitment to “leave no one behind.” EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES <<< 17 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 <<< 18 ● 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 <<< 19 >>> 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 <<< 20 >>> Table 2: Digital Governance/GovTech Projects, EAP, 2022 2020 2022 Change GovTech Focus Areas DG/GovTech Projects Funding ($ million) Country Pop (m) % UP Grp GTMI Grp GTMI Grp GTMI CGS PSD DCE GTE Completed Active Pipeline Tot Comm Tot Disb Tot DG Antigua and Barbuda C 0.307 C 0.348 ¥ £ - 1 - - 0.093 5.5 1 - - 3 3 1 Argentina A 0.868 A 0.759 ¥ ¤ 30 11 2 6 45.277 1.1 27 3 1 5,961 5,661 1,236 Bahamas C 0.416 C 0.487 ¥ £ - - - - 0.408 18.0 - - - - - - Barbados C 0.369 C 0.355 ¥ ¤ - - - - 0.281 1.3 - - - - - - Belize C 0.314 C 0.331 ¥ £ - - - - 0.400 20.7 - - - - - - Bolivia B 0.554 B 0.531 ¥ ¤ 11 1 - 1 12.079 3.9 11 1 - 557 391 161 Brazil A 0.918 A 0.975 ¥ £ 34 15 6 12 214.326 3.7 26 7 3 5,578 5,102 938 Chile A 0.853 A 0.754 ¥ ¤ 11 2 - 2 19.493 0.8 12 - - 548 541 103 Colombia A 0.854 A 0.864 ¥ £ 12 3 - 1 51.517 3.1 10 2 - 924 737 152 Costa Rica B 0.557 B 0.512 ¥ ¤ 3 1 - - 5.154 4.2 2 1 - 381 230 146 Dominica C 0.300 C 0.296 ¥ ¤ 1 1 - - 0.072 5.5 1 - - 1 2 0 Dominican Republic B 0.697 A 0.867 £ £ 9 2 - - 11.118 8.7 7 2 - 249 241 103 Ecuador B 0.725 A 0.863 £ £ 4 2 - 1 17.798 5.2 3 2 1 217 138 42 El Salvador B 0.719 A 0.767 £ £ 6 1 - - 6.314 4.8 6 - - 249 249 80 Grenada C 0.313 C 0.257 ¥ ¤ 4 1 - 1 0.125 5.5 4 1 - 34 20 19 Guatemala C 0.483 B 0.632 £ £ 11 3 - - 17.608 5.6 11 - - 439 418 230 Guyana C 0.343 C 0.293 ¥ £ 5 1 - - 0.805 0.5 4 1 - 49 40 12 Haiti¯ C 0.272 D 0.202 ¤ ¤ 7 2 1 1 11.448 18.5 5 2 - 319 245 96 Honduras B 0.617 C 0.395 ¤ ¤ 10 4 1 1 10.278 5.7 11 - - 340 333 121 Jamaica B 0.586 B 0.541 ¥ ¤ 7 2 - - 2.828 13.5 7 - - 210 204 53 Mexico A 0.862 A 0.792 ¥ ¤ 18 2 - 1 126.705 8.9 17 1 - 3,389 3,180 220 Nicaragua C 0.335 C 0.324 ¥ ¤ 9 2 - 1 6.851 11.4 10 - - 283 276 104 Pamana B 0.534 A 0.834 £ £ 7 1 1 - 4.351 2.5 6 1 - 224 203 61 Paraguay B 0.582 B 0.748 ¥ £ 2 1 - - 6.704 8.9 2 - - 98 92 15 Peru A 0.776 A 0.879 ¥ £ 13 4 - 2 33.715 2.7 10 3 1 406 235 287 St. Kitts and Nevis C 0.283 D 0.236 ¤ ¤ - - - - 0.048 5.5 - - - - - - St. Lucia C 0.341 B 0.503 £ £ 1 - - - 0.180 8.0 1 - - 12 13 0 St. Vincent & the Gre. C 0.321 C 0.345 ¥ £ 2 - - - 0.104 0.0 2 - - 13 12 3 EQUITABLE GROWTH, FINANCE & INSTITUTIONS NOTES Suriname C 0.271 D 0.152 ¤ ¤ - - - - 0.613 1.7 - - - - - - Trinidad and Tobago C 0.465 B 0.516 £ £ - - - - 1.526 4.8 - - - - - - <<< 21 Table 2 continued 2020 2022 Change GovTech Focus Areas DG/GovTech Projects Funding ($ million) Country Pop (m) % UP Grp GTMI Grp GTMI Grp GTMI CGS PSD DCE GTE Completed Active Pipeline Tot Comm Tot Disb Tot DG Uruguay A 0.873 A 0.861 ¥ ¤ 7 2 1 1 3.426 0.0 7 2 - 239 228 81 Venezuela, RB¯ C 0.384 C 0.286 ¥ ¤ 3 1 - - 28.200 6.1 3 - - 78 65 10 Totals 639.845 5.1 206 29 6 20,798 18,858 4,274 Source: World Bank data (161 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. EAP = East Asia and Pacific; DG = digital governance; 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 <<< 22