By Mobin Pandit
DOHA: Qatar is on track to achieving its target of bringing all key government services online by 2020, says a report.
By 2015-end, some 681 government services were online, and the number is expected to rise to 1,000 by the close of this year.
The report, issued by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, is titled “Qatar’s ICT Landscape 2015” and says IT executives believe that the use of ICT by the state has improved the quality of government services significantly. It also suggests that government entities are increasingly embracing social media to improve service delivery and engage with stakeholders.
The report is based on a large-scale study of 480 government employees and IT executives from 48 government organisations, including ministries, authorities and other institutions. Its aim was to monitor the government’s progress in improving its service delivery, transparency and efficiency.
Government organisations are using social media channels to reach out to external stakeholders and foster deeper engagement as well as improve service delivery, says the report. In 2015, for instance, 78 percent of government entities in the country were using social media, with 97 percent of them doing so to publish information. And 84 percent of them were using social media to engage with social media users, and 70 percent to solicit ideas and involve social media users in the policy and serviced delivery processes of government organizations.
Importantly, more than three-quarters (80 percent) of government organisations that use social media now employ at least one dedicated social media executive. ICT adoption within the government workforce is widespread, government organisations are embracing new technologies, and there is a rapid rise in the penetration levels of smartphones and tablets in the country.
All this is spurring the rollout of mobile apps and services by government entities, the report suggests. Of the channels used for providing e-services, the increasing importance of mobile is visible, with nearly half of the online services being made available through a mobile-enabled website or mobile app.
The investments government organizations have made in automation of their core business processes are bearing fruit. While 87 percent of organizations had automated their core business processes in 2013, this percentage rose to 93 in 2015. Of those who have automated their core businesses, 100 percent have reportedly automated their human resource (HR) functions.
The number of government entities connected to the Government Network has seen a sharp rise since 2013. As of June 2015, 76 government organizations were connected to the Government Network. However, IT training of government employees is still an area for improvement. Despite the demand for training, only 38 percent of the surveyed employees confirmed they received ICT training in the last three years.
This is compared to 25 percent in 2013, with most of that training provided by their employer. However, state employees expect to get an average of 38 hours of ICT training in the next 12 months, up from the 34 hours they received in the last 12 months, said the report.
The Peninsula
