Following the release of the Digital Government Strategy, a large number of program initiatives were executed to benefit every sector and society segment in the Kingdom of Bahrain – citizens, residents and visitors; government entities and their employees; as well as small, medium and large business enterprises and their employees.
The initiatives conveyed massive difference on the daily lives of citizens and residents subsequent to the delivery of effective services which enhance business operations, government efficiency, and the community. Currently, the government is focusing on delivering high impact projects, linking all constituents and diffusing technology on societal norms.
This page summarizes the impact of various initiatives which have made great strides in improving and supporting country’s national economy.
In line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister on facilitating the procedures for exercising trade and economic businesses in the Kingdom in conformity with the Economic Vision 2030 adopted by the government; it was decided to initiate a unified and comprehensive guide for establishing businesses in Bahrain in cooperation with the eGovernment Authority, the Economic Development Board and other relevant government agencies.
Sijilat is a virtual one-stop solution available through multiple channels offering an integrated ‘Whole of Government’ service where users - citizens, investors, Commercial Registration (CR) applicants and holders, as well as professional bodies - can use a single streamlined form to apply, update, renew and terminate multiple licenses concurrently. Sijilat represents a major transformational mindset change, deliver innovative, pro-enterprise and customer-centric licensing solution, through an extensive collaboration rather than working alone.
The Sijilat project is a ‘Whole of Government’ effort in innovation, and mindset change to foster a pro-enterprise environment and improve customer service for the Kingdom’s businesses. The solution allows start-up entrepreneurs to apply for licenses with far greater speed and convenience, without having to be suffocated by red tape, and be able to start the business and generate revenue earlier.
The objective of the project is to position the Kingdom as the best place to start a business by fostering a pro-enterprise environment; making the application of business licenses customer-friendly, efficient, more affordable and hassle-free.
From customer and government perspective, the following challenges led to the introduction of the National Suggestions & Complaints System ‘Tawasul’:
Hence, Tawasul was introduced by the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) in close coordination with several government entities to allow the public to freely share their feedback on the quality of government services by submitting complaints of any shortcomings or failures; which in return will allow government entities to address and resolve the issues raised by the citizens and residents.
The system is designed to increase government performance and maintain transparency; it also acts as a unified platform for interaction between all government bodies and the public. Suggestions and complaints submitted via the system are swiftly addressed and utilized to generate mechanisms and policies to prevent similar problems from recurring in the future.
Available 24/7, the system is established to handle all complaints, suggestions and enquiries relevant to the concerned entity with the aim of promptly meeting customer expectations by inspiring them with confidence. With this aim in mind, each case is submitted to the concerned department within the entity in order to proceed according to the agreed Service Level Agreement.
Tawasul has been designed as an ‘intelligent system’ that offers a tracking mechanism to monitor the progress of each complaint. Furthermore, it has a responsive system that sends text messages and emails to users allowing them to track their complaints. Each complaint is allocated with a reference number and stored in a database accessible to all ministers; this method allows government entities to monitor the performance of staff in addressing the complaints and suggestions submitted.
The system also allows decision-makers within a governmental entity to analyze, improve and amend the process of addressing a complaint. The versatility of the system reflects the government’s keenness to involve the public and receive enquiries.
The impact of the National Suggestions & Complaints System can be identified based on three perspectives; the customer, national leadership, as well as ministries and governmental entities
The eGovernment strategy places paramount importance on the capacity building in an effort to harness the power of ICT for technological and socio-economic development. This capacity building is required in multiple areas which include improved governance, citizen participation, leadership, mission, strategy, human resource development, administration, financial management, program development, program implementation, fundraising, income generation, diversity, partnerships, collaborations, evaluation, advocacy, policy change, marketing, positioning, and planning, only to name the least.
Based on the study conducted by the authority, it was identified that gaps exist in the ICT literacy rate of public as well as government employees.
Aimed at enhancing the use of IT specifically in the government sector and its services, the government initiated various capacity building initiatives including the setting-up of adequate information technology infrastructure for learning IT skills and training citizens and government staff in ICT domains. The initiatives include various tailor-made projects like:
In order to achieve the objective of improving service delivery through seamless integration and connected governance, a Kingdom-wide strategy and holistic guiding plans were initiated to design and develop the National Enterprise Architecture Framework (NEAF).
NEAF is an aggregation of models and meta-models, governance and compliance mechanisms, technology standards and guidelines put together to guide effective development and implementation of Enterprise Architecture (EA) by numerous government entities across the country.
The Government of Bahrain has noticed the increasing demand as well as usage of Smart devices and their applications globally and locally. Such observation triggered a unique opportunity of engaging the public through a new channel that utilizes unique characteristics. A new batch of mobile applications was developed, to serve citizens and residents along with government entities and private sector organizations.
With the mobile & smart devices technology being incredibly popular, the government of Bahrain opted to make applications to conform to the huge variety of devices and gadgets. This required real-time business analysis, study of various platforms and market shares in order to launch the mobile apps. Currently, the authority delivers its mobile app services in the leading platforms, namely iOS and Android.
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Content Last Updated: 22 Aug, 2023
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