LIMA – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched its Guide to Digital Transformation of Government today. The guide aims to help the public sector in Latin America and the Caribbean achieve a crosscutting and comprehensive digital transformation focused on building institutional capacity to better serve the needs of citizens and the private sector.
View the complete guide here. View the executive summary here.
The publication is intended for anyone involved in digital transformation of governments. It is a practical tool to simplify, inform, and support the increasing number of digitalization processes in the region’s public sector.
“A government’s digital transformation is much more than just implementing technological tools. It hinges on a shift in corporate culture, organizational model, and methods and processes to tap into the full potential of information and communication technologies. The ultimate aim of this transformation is for public institutions to be able to meet the needs of citizens and businesses in an efficient, transparent, and secure way,” explained Susana Cordeiro, Manager of the IDB’s Institutions for Development Sector.
According to the guide, the aim of a digital transformation of government should be to provide better services to citizens through a user-centered strategy. It also stresses the importance of creating shared services that the entire public sector can access to improve efficiency and the user experience.
The guide also recommends that governments form a body to coordinate the digital transformation process across the entire public sector. Finally, it emphasizes that the key to a successful comprehensive transformation include creating regulations on how the transformation works, training people to use the new technologies, and designing more simple and efficient processes.
The publication was released during the VII E-Government Ministerial Meeting of the Americas, organized by the Electronic Government Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (GEALC Network), in collaboration with the IDB, Peru’s Secretariat of Government and Digital Transformation, and the Organization of American States. The meeting took place on November 10th and 11th in Lima, Peru.
The publication provides structure and step-by-step guidelines for the process of digitally transforming government, and it helps the public sector, business, and other stakeholders to understand and wholly support this change with a collaborative spirit.
The guide is structured around the five pillars of a comprehensive transformation of government: 1) governance and institutions, to give direction to and coordinate the process; 2) regulatory framework, to provide legally certainty about changes; 3) infrastructure and technological tools, as the backbone of central, shared, and enabling systems; 4) digital talent and change management, to support the organizational transformation; and 5) new processes and digital services to enhance the public sector and its interactions with citizens.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region. Access our virtual tour.