By Mohammad Shoeb
DOHA: With over 1,000 public services made available online, Qatar ranked among the top 10 Asian economies, on the ‘Online Service Index’ of the biannual E-Government Development Index (EGDI).
It was released recently by the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, ranked third among the GCC states, scoring 0.67391.
Qatar ranked third along with Kuwait, among Gulf countries and 55th globally with a score of 0.6441, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Transport and Communication yesterday.
Qatar Digital Government, an initiative of the Ministry of Transport and Communications to make Qatar’s government more efficient, effective, accessible and customer-centric, reported that 144 e-services have been launched in the first half of 2016, taking the total number of e-services to 1,030 and exceeding the target of 1,000.
Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani launched ‘Qatar Digital Government Strategy 2020’ in May 2014.
The strategy aims at ascertaining the principle of transparency and increasing the efficiency of e-Services provided to the public and businesses.
Qatar Digital Government has three strategic objectives: Better services for individuals and businesses; enhanced efficiency in government administration; and encouraging financial prudency by increasing government openness through more civic participation.
EGDI is used to measure the willingness and capacity of national administrations to use information and communication technologies to deliver public services.
The measure of the index is useful for government officials, policymakers, researchers and representatives of civil society and the private sector to gain a deeper understanding of the comparative benchmarking of the relative position of a country in utilising e-Government for the delivery of inclusive, accountable and citizen-centric services.
EGDI is based on an expert assessment survey of the online presence of all 193 UN member states and assesses national websites and how e-Government policies and strategies are applied in general and specific sectors for delivery of essential services.
The assessment rates the e-Government performance of countries relative to one another as opposed to being an absolute measurement.
EGDI is a weighted average of three normalised scores on three most important dimensions of e-Government: Scope and quality of online services (Online Service Index, OSI); development status of telecommunication infrastructure (Telecommunication Infrastructure Index, TII); and inherent human capital (Human Capital Index, HCI).
Qatar has slightly advanced on all these indexes since the last edition in 2014.
The UK, followed by Australia and North Korea, lead the world in providing government services and information through the Internet and e-Government, according to the survey showing the progress of nations in promoting e-Government.
The 2016 survey provides new evidence that e-Government has the potential to help support implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 sustainable development goals.
The Peninsula
By Mohammad Shoeb
DOHA: With over 1,000 public services made available online, Qatar ranked among the top 10 Asian economies, on the ‘Online Service Index’ of the biannual E-Government Development Index (EGDI).
It was released recently by the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, ranked third among the GCC states, scoring 0.67391.
Qatar ranked third along with Kuwait, among Gulf countries and 55th globally with a score of 0.6441, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Transport and Communication yesterday.
Qatar Digital Government, an initiative of the Ministry of Transport and Communications to make Qatar’s government more efficient, effective, accessible and customer-centric, reported that 144 e-services have been launched in the first half of 2016, taking the total number of e-services to 1,030 and exceeding the target of 1,000.
Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani launched ‘Qatar Digital Government Strategy 2020’ in May 2014.
The strategy aims at ascertaining the principle of transparency and increasing the efficiency of e-Services provided to the public and businesses.
Qatar Digital Government has three strategic objectives: Better services for individuals and businesses; enhanced efficiency in government administration; and encouraging financial prudency by increasing government openness through more civic participation.
EGDI is used to measure the willingness and capacity of national administrations to use information and communication technologies to deliver public services.
The measure of the index is useful for government officials, policymakers, researchers and representatives of civil society and the private sector to gain a deeper understanding of the comparative benchmarking of the relative position of a country in utilising e-Government for the delivery of inclusive, accountable and citizen-centric services.
EGDI is based on an expert assessment survey of the online presence of all 193 UN member states and assesses national websites and how e-Government policies and strategies are applied in general and specific sectors for delivery of essential services.
The assessment rates the e-Government performance of countries relative to one another as opposed to being an absolute measurement.
EGDI is a weighted average of three normalised scores on three most important dimensions of e-Government: Scope and quality of online services (Online Service Index, OSI); development status of telecommunication infrastructure (Telecommunication Infrastructure Index, TII); and inherent human capital (Human Capital Index, HCI).
Qatar has slightly advanced on all these indexes since the last edition in 2014.
The UK, followed by Australia and North Korea, lead the world in providing government services and information through the Internet and e-Government, according to the survey showing the progress of nations in promoting e-Government.
The 2016 survey provides new evidence that e-Government has the potential to help support implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 sustainable development goals.
The Peninsula
