Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance

This publication provides an overview of 85 successful innovations in governance
Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2009

and public administration from 40 countries that received the United Nations Public
Service Awards, which is the most prestigious international recogition of excellence
in public service. The purpose of this book is to disseminate, through descriptive
case studies, information about innovative practices by looking at the problem that
led to an innovation; the solution that was designed and implemented to respond to
the specific challenge; the actors and steps involved in the innovation process, and
lessons learned. Learning more about how public institutions from around the world
have solved difficult governance challenges can be a powerful and inspirational tool
for those engaged in improving public sector performance.
United Nations
Published by the United Nations

ISBN: 978-92-1-123180-9
Sales No.: E.09.II.H.1
Price: $33.50
June 2009
Good Practices
and Innovations in
Public Governance
United Nations Public Service Awards
Winners and Finalists, 2003-2009
ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/139
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Good Practices
and Innovations in
Public Governance
Winners and Finalists, 2003-2009
New York, 2009

DESA MISSION STATEMENT
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is
a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental
spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas:
(i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environ-
mental data and information, on which Member States of the United Nations draw to
review common problems and to take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the
negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of
action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises inter-
ested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks devel-
oped in United Nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country
level and, through technical assistance, helps build national capacities.
NOTE
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do
not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of
the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area,
or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The designations developed and developing economies are intended for statisti-
cal convenience and do not necessarily imply a judgment about the stage reached by
a particular country or area in the development process.
The term country as used in the text of this publication also refers, as appropriate,
to territories or areas.
The term dollar normally refers to the United States dollar ($).
The views expressed are those of the individual authors and do not imply any expres-
sion of opinion on the part of the United Nations.
ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/139
United Nations Publication
Sales No.: E.09.II.H.1
ISBN: 978-92-1-123180-9
Copyright United Nations, June 2009
All rights reserved
Printed by the United Nations, New York
ii
Introduction
The quest for innovations in the public sector has been on-going for quite sometime,
but with the need for the world to achieve the commitments made by its leaders in the
Millennium Declaration, the 2005 World Summit and many other global and re-
gional conferences, it has attained a level of urgency. The global consensus on the
urgency of reinventing government is not only manifested in the research efforts that
are focusing on how to improve the performance of governance and public adminis-
tration institutions. It is also seen in the innovators readiness to come together to
share information and knowledge about their innovations to minimize wastage of
resources and time in re-inventing the wheel. It has dawned on most people con-
cerned with the improvement of performance in the public sector that although in-
novations in government are circumscribed in scope, they have the potential to trig-
ger a bigger process of transformation of the State and produce general positive
benefits for citizens through improved service delivery. There are networks of inno-
vators being formed for purposes of sharing and adapting successful practices in in-
novation. One of them is the Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediter-
ranean region launched within the framework of the Programme for Innovation in
Public Administration in the Mediterranean Region InnovMed, and implemented
by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)
of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
There are also awards programmes at the national, regional and international level to
recognize and further promote innovative practices in the public sector. The most
prestigious international recognition of excellence in the public service is the United
Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA), which is managed by DPADM/UNDESA.
It was launched in 2003 to search for innovations in the public sector, reward and
motivate civil servants, as well as disseminate knowledge about successful practices
in good governance in order to provide the opportunity for peer-to-peer learning
among Member States.
In order to sustain efforts towards a better public administration, it is paramount to sup-

port each initiative of this kind, to encourage innovation in each public institution, to
motivate public servants to help bridge the gap between governments actions and citi-
zens expectations. There is no shortcut to effective delivery of services except to have
the best talent in the public sector. Ultimately, the ability of government to provide
services effectively and efficiently depends upon a competent cadre of civil servants as
good governance requires good people. The men and women who have received the
prestigious United Nations Public Service Awards are testimony to this. They represent
the best in the public service. One way to encourage them to continue in their quest for
more efficient, participatory and equitable public services is to recognize their efforts at
the highest level possible through Awards programmes such as the UNPSA.
iii
GOOD PRACTICES AND INNOVATIONS IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE
This publication is intended for policy makers, scholars and practitioners who have a
keen interest in concrete solutions to governance challenges. Its purpose is to encourage
more women and men in the public sector who are working hard to improve citizens
lives, to share with the world their innovations by applying to the United Nations Public
Service Awards Programme, which is held annually; to recognize the efforts of those
who have already won this prestigious Awards by showcasing their successful practices;
and to provide United Nations Member States interested in innovation in governance
with useful information and knowledge about good practices for possible replication.
In light of the above, Part One gives an overview of what the UNPSA is, who is eli-
gible and how to apply, and highlights key aspects of the selection process. Part Two
of this publication provides a description and brief analysis of the successful prac-
tices of the UNPSA winners and finalists from 2003 to 2009. Finally, Part Three
presents key findings on the positive impact that the UNPSA has on further promot-
ing and sustaining innovation in government among its winners, as well as lessons
learned on what makes innovation successful.
Box 1:
Good Practices are Available on the UNPAN Portal
Case studies and information about the UNPSA winners

and nalists are also available in the UNPSA Past Initia-
tives online database, which is part of the United Nations
Public Administration Network (UNPAN). The initiatives
can be retrieved by country, year or thematic area at:
www.unpan.org/unpsa_cases
UNPAN is designed to help countries, especially developing countries and countries in

economic transition, to respond to the challenges that governments face in bridging the
digital divide between the haves and have-nots and to achieve their development goals.
The long-term objective of UNPAN is to build the capacity of these regional and na-
tional institutions, so that they can access, process and disseminate relevant information
by means of up-to-date information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the pro-
motion of better public administration.
In short, UNPANs mission is to promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best
practices, throughout the world by means of ICTs, sound public policies, effective public
administration and efcient civil services, and through capacity-building and cooperation
among Member States, with an emphasis on South-South cooperation and UNPANs com-
mitment to integrity and excellence. It is the only network of its type in the world today.
iv
Acknowledgments
This publication was produced under the leadership of Haiyan Qian, Director of the
Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) of the
Department of Econmic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
John-Mary Kauzya, Chief of the Governance and Public Administration Branch,

DPADM, coordinated this project together with Adriana Alberti, Governance and
Public Administration Officer and UNPSA Coordinator, DPADM. Adriana Alberti is
also the substantive editor of this publication. Valuable contributions were provided
by Olivier Munyaneza, UNPSA Administrator, UNDESA; Ariane De Lipkowski,
former Associate Expert in Governance; and Sarah Sher. Peggy Brice Bayetassa,
United Nations intern at DPADM, DESA provided support in proofreading. This
publication was designed by Eliot Sela, a design director consultant. Administrative
support was provided by Mary-Elizabeth Danseco.
In elaborating the chapters related to the UNPSA winning and finalists initiatives,
the authors have relied on the information contained in the submission forms of the
Awards annual competition, on UNDESA reports of technical meetings on innova-
tions that won the UNPSA, and on information from the official web-sites of the
public organisations awardees.
The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the United Nations.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission from the
United Nations.
v
Contents
Introduction iii
Acknowledgments v
Contents vii
United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA)
Winners and Finalists 2009-2003 At a Glance by Category viii
Winners and Finalists 2009-2003 At a Glance by Year ix
Part One: An Overview

Genesis, Purpose and Scope of the
United Nations Public Service Awards Programme 3
Part Two: Success Stories 2009-2003

United Nations Public Service Awards Winners and Finalists 17
2009 Winners and Finalists 19
2008 Winners and Finalists 37
2007 Winners 129
2006 Winners 171
2005 Winners 197
2004 Winners 217
2003 Winners 243
Part Three: Lessons Learned

The Impact of the United Nations Public Service Awards 275
Lessons Learned on Innovation in Governance 281
List of Graphs
Graph 1: UNPSA Regional Groups for Evaluation Purposes 9
Graph 2: UNPSA Categories by Year 10
Graph 3: UNPSA Winners and Finalists by Region 14
Graph 4: UNPSA Winners and Finalists by Year 16
Graph 5: UNPSA Winners and Finalists by Country 18
List of Boxes
Box 1: Good Practices are Available on the UNPAN Portal iv
Box 2: United Nations Public Service Awards in Brief 2
Box 3: United Nations General Assembly Resolution Establishes Public Service Day 6
vii
UNPSA Winners and Finalists 2009-2003 At a Glance by Catogory
Improving Transparency, 2007 Category 2*: 2005 Category 3:

Accountability, and Responsive- Access to civil records services 152 Online Positive business environt. 210
ness in the Public Service
Water consumption reduction 154 Online inter-jurisdictional info. 212
2009 Category 1:
Facilitating immigration processes 157 Enhancement through technology 215
Online water assessment system 21
Online tax ling system 160
Minority language rights 22 2004 Category 4:
Promoting public ofcials perform. 162
Dialogue benchmarking system 23 Encouraging governance participt. 241
2006 Category 2:
2008 Category 1:
Efcient health-crisis services 180 Special Award in Innovation
Participatory poverty alleviation 39
Improving e-Government service 182 2006 Special Award:
Online portal redressing grievances 47
Bringing justice in timely manner 183 Public sector innovation assessment 195
Home ownership programme 53
Bringing efcient water supply 185
Youth-specic criminal justice 61
Reducing juvenile delinquency 68 Improvement of
2005 Category 2:
Public Service Results
Decentralizing exports control 203
2007 Category 1*: 2004 Category 1:
Employment promotion & training 205
Emphasizing results over compliance 131 Clean water to rural populations 219
Water shortage hydraulic policy 208
Public service enhancement 134 Entrepreneurs information service 221
Public procurement accessibility 137 Citizens One-Stop-Shop centre 223

Fostering Participation
Social security services integration 140
in Policy-making Decisions 2003 Category 1:
Digital law-making enhancement 143 through Innovative Mechanisms
Spuring e-Commerce growth 245
Public procurement enhancement 146 2009 Category 3:
Obtaining ofcial documents easily 248
Extractive Industries transparentness 148 Drinking water access and mgmt. 32
Reforming custom administration 250
City government open online portal 33
2006 Category 1: Maintaining urban cleanliness 252
Equity in the educational system 173 2008 Category 3:

Online business permit system 175 University interactive system 105 Improvement of the Quality
Internet elections system 177 of the Public Service Process
Communities public social services 108
2004 Category 2:
Citizen involvement in public affairs 112
2005 Category 1: Minimizing public service corruption 227
Participatory public funds mgmt. 117
Govt. problem discussion groups 199 Public employment management 229
General Directorate for participation 122
Govt. and NGOs partnerships 200 Promoting client-oriented mentality 231
Womens health & reproductive edu. 125
Involving citizens in budgetary proc. 233
Improving the Delivery 2007 Category 3*:
of Public Services 2003 Category 2:
Indigenous communities well-being 165
2009 Category 2: Municipal government online portal 254
Elections vote-casting impvovement 168
Improving TB cure rate 25 Water shortages hydraulic policy 256
Improving health access 26 Automating srvc. request procedure 258
Advancing Knowledge
Streamlining hospital administration 27 Management in Government
Business registration One-stop-shop 28 2009 Category 4: Innovations in Public Service
Web-based students enrollment 29 Admin. adequate responsive training 35 2004 Category 3:
Civil registration data retrievement 30 Mobile police in rural community 236
Application of Information and Speeding up data collection 238

2008 Category 2:
Communication Technology
Reducing medical waiting time 73 (ICT) in Govrnment 2003 Category 3:
Health services in remote rural areas 76 2006 Category 3: Privatizing registration ofce 261
People with disabilities jobs access 82 Increasing access to business info. 188 Electronic procurement system 263
Holistic and speedier medical care 88 Consolidated social security info. 190 Integrating services at city level 265
Citizens key to their own business 93 Industries and bus. electronic srvc. 192 Innovation in public admin. dept. 267
Access to public library services 95 Innovating the tax system 269
* 2007 finalists initiatives details
Single shared payment system 101 are not covered in this publication Reforming educational structures 271
viii
UNPSA Winners and Finalists 2009-2003 At a Glance by Year
2009 UNPSA Winners and Finalists

Category 1: Improving Transparency, Accountability, and Responsiveness in the Public Service
Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Asia and Republic Real-Time Water Quality Establishing an online water assessment system 21
the Pacic of Korea Opening Services, Seoul informing residents about their waters quality
Europe and Canada French-Language Services Ensuring French language in key public service delivery 22
North Am. Excellence (FLEX), Ontario to protect minorities rights
Europe and Sweden City of Pite, A comprehensive benchmarking system to promote 23

North Am. Norrbotten Region dialogue between government ofcials and citizens
Category 2: Improving the Delivery of Public Services

Africa South Administrative Support for Improving Tuberculosis cure rate by bringing a new 25
Africa TB Programme, Cape Town layer of staff to strengthened clinics capacity
Africa Zambia Integrated Health Services, Itezhi Improving the overall health of the community through 26
Tezhi District Health Ofce improving access and utilization
Asia and Thailand Medical Services, Maharaj Streamlining hospital admin. processes and forming 27
the Pacic Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital health care networks with other hospitals
Europe and Slovenia One-Stop-Shop for Establishing a one-stop-shop for company registration, 28
North Am. Companies (e-VEM) drastically reducing registration time
Western Egypt e-Tanseek, University Comprehensive web-based application assisting 29

Asia Enrollment Project students enrollment in colleges and universities
Western Oman Civil Status Systems A state-of-the-art system designed to store and 30
Asia (National Registration System) retrieve data through the Civil Register
Category 3: Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms

Asia and India Water and Sanitation Mgmt. Org. Providing access to drinking water by engaging citzens 32
the Pacic (WASMO), Govt. of Gujarat in water management
Asia and Republic Seoul Citys Oasis, Seoul Encouraging engagement in city government through 33
the Pacic of Korea Metropolitan Government open discussions on a new online portal
Category 4: Advancing Knowledge Management in Government

Europe and Poland National School of Public Transforming public administrations practices and 35
North Am. Administration (KSAP) culture by providing adequate responsive training
ix
2008 UNPSA Winners and Finalists


Africa Rwanda Ubudehe, Common Development Empowering people to alleviate poverty through 39
Fund, Rwanda participatory decision-making
Asia and India District Lokvani Society Sitapur, Redressing citizens grievances in rural areas through 47
the Pacic Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh an online portal
Asia and Singapore Home Ownership Programme, Fullling the aspirations of Singaporeans for home 53
the Pacic Housing and Dvlp. Board ownership through a public housing programme
Europe and United States Juvenile Delinquency and Family Providing a comprehensive youth-specic criminal 61
North Am. Violence Court, California justice intervention
Latin Am., Brazil Arts and Crafts School Project of Reducing juvenile delinquency and poverty by 68
Caribbean Santana de Parnaba, So Paulo teaching disadvantaged youth restoration skills

Africa Botswana Princess Marina Referral Reducing patient waiting time by integrating medical 73
Hospital, Botswana services through a one-stop shop
Africa South Transnet-Phelophepa Health Bringing health services in remote rural areas: The 76
Africa Care Train, Johannesburg Transnet-Phelophepa Health Care Train
Asia and Australia JobAccess, Department of Edu., Special online portal and phone services to improve 82
the Pacic Employ. & Workplace Relations access of people with disability to job markets
Asia and Thailand Yasothon Hospital, Providing holistic and speedier medical care by 88
the Pacic Thailand integrating services and reshaping work ow
Europe and Puerto Rico La llave para tu negocio, Banco Giving citizens a key to their own business: 93
North Am. Commonwealth de Desarrollo Econmico the Economic Development Bank of Puerto Rico
Europe and Sweden Public Library 2007, Increasing access to public library services, especially 95
North Am. Ume Region, Sweden for the disabled
Western Saudi SADAD Payment System, Single shared national platform payment 101
Asia Arabia SA Monetary Agency, Riyadh system to promote efciency and equality

Africa Tunisia Online Academic Providing university students with an interactive and 105
Orientation Service participative online system
Asia and India Public Institutions and Services, Empowering local communities to manage essential 108
the Pacic Government of Nagaland public social services
Asia and Republic Information System Planning Cyber Policy Forum to boost online citizen involvement 112
the Pacic of Korea Bureau, Seoul Metropolitan Govt. in public affairs
Europe and Germany City of Cologne, Ensuring citizens participation in decision-making 117
North Am. Germany regarding public funds
Europe and Spain Participation in Policy-making Promoting citizen engagement by establishing 122
North Am. Decisions, Govt. of Catalonia a General Directorate for Participation
Western Jordan Family Planning, the Higher Promoting family planning and empowering women 125
Asia Population Council, Amman through health and reproductive education
x
UNPSA WINNERS AND FINALISTS 2009-2003 AT A GLANCE
2007 UNPSA Winners*


Africa Kenya Performance Contracts Steering Emphasising results over process compliance by 131
Committee Secretariat introducing a performance-based contracting system
Asia and Australia State of the Service Report, Enhancing public service performance and 134
the Pacic Public Service Commission accountability through the State of Service Report
Asia and India e-Procurement Project, Andhra Making public procurement more efcient and 137
the Pacic Pradesh, Sitapur District (UP) transparent with an accessible online portal
Asia and Singapore Progress Package, Ministry of Providing the disadvantaged resources and social 140
the Pacic Finance, Ministry of Manpower benets by integrating social security services
Europe and Austria Electronic law making processes Enhancing law-making process transparency and 143
North Am. (eLaw), Federal Chancellery efciency with a digital law-making system
Latin Am., Chile ChileCompra, Making public procurement easier, less costly and 146
Caribbean Ministry of Finance more transparent
Western Azerbaijan Extractive Industries Making the extractive industries more transparent 148
Asia Transparency Initiative and efcient

Africa Morocco eFez project, Arrondissement Ensuring access of all citizens to civil records services 152
Agdal, Fez, Morocco through the creation of an online portal
Africa South eThekwini Municipality Water Reducing the consumption of water and encouraging 154
Africa and Sanitation Debt Relief citizens to pay for water use
Asia and Republic Korea Immigration Smart Service Making immigration processes easier, faster and 157
the Pacic of Korea (KISS), Justice Ministry secured through an integrated system
Western Lebanon Taxpayer Service, Making it easy and fast to le taxes through 160
Asia Ministry of Finance an online ling system
Western United Arab Dubai Government Promoting high performance in government by 162
Asia Emirates Excellence Programme rewarding and motivating public ofcials

Europe and Canada Tli Cho Community Increasing the well-being of indigenous communities 165
North Am. Services Agency through participatory management
Europe and Switzerland e-Government Project (e-voting) Making it easier and faster to cast votes 168
North Am. Statistical Ofce Canton Zurich in elections
* 2007 finalists initiatives details are not covered in this publication
xi
2006 UNPSA Winners


Africa Rwanda Assessment and Evaluation Providing equity in the educational system by 173
for Reconciliation, RNEC increasing transparency and accountability
Asia and Singapore Integrated Work Permit Online Meeting the business community needs by creating an 175
the Pacic Services, Work Pass Division online work permit system
Europe and Netherlands Rinjland Internet Election Deepening democracy by enabling free and 177
North Am. System, Rinjland District transparent Internet elections (RIES)

Africa Zambia Masaiti District Health Mgmt. Making service delivery more efcient and responsive 180
Board, Copperbelt Province to the populations health crisis needs
Asia and India Online Delivery of Land Improving e-Government service delivery by serving 182
the Pacic Records, Govt. of Karnataka on a rst-come-rst-served basis
Europe and Canada Domestic Violence Project, Bringing justice to all citizens in an appropriate 183
North Am. Manitoba Provincial Court timely manner
Latin Am., Brazil Self-Sustainable Sanitation Efcient providing water supply to the community 185
Caribbean Systems Programme of Bahia
Category 3: Application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Govt.: e-Govt.

Asia and Australia Businesses Entry Point, Promoting transparency for the business community 188
the Pacic Tourism and Resources by increasing access to information
Europe and Belgium Crossroads Bank for Creating an online portal aimed at delivering 190
North Am. Belgium Social Security consolidated information on social security matters
Western United Arab e-Government Municipal Using electronic government to provide high level 192
Asia Emirates services, Dubai Municipality services to industries and businesses
Special Award in Innovation

Asia and Republic The Government Measuring the level of innovation in the public sector 195
the Pacic of Korea Innovation Index (GII) through a user-friendly web-based system
xii
2005 UNPSA Winners


Asia and India Citizen-Govt. Partnership: Creating networks of local groups to discuss problems 199
the Pacic Bhagidari. NCT, New Delhi with government representatives
Europe and Canada The Vancouver Agreement, Innovative partnerships between government agencies 200
North Am. City of Vancouver and NGOs at all governmental levels

Africa Morocco Autonomous Estab. of Exports Quality monitoring process of fruits & vegetables for 203
Control and Coord. (EACCE) export by decentralizing exports control
Europe and Spain Public Employment Service A public employment service responsible for training 205
North Am. of Castile and Leon and promoting employment
Latin Am., Mexico Secretariat of Water, Public Work Coordinating and monitoring the hydraulic 208
Caribbean and Infrastructure Development policy to address water shortage
Category 3: Application of Information and Communication Technology in Government

Asia and Singapore Online Application System for Using ICT to favor a positive business environment: 210
the Pacic Integrated Services (OASIS) the creation of an online platform
Europe and Canada The Canadian Consumer Online source of inter-jurisdictional information to 212
North Am. Affairs Gateway (CCIG) restore efciency in the market place
Latin Am., Mexico Government Unit of Electronics Enhancing transparency and accountability 215
Caribbean and Technological Information through technology
xiii
2004 UNPSA Winners

Category 1: Improvement of Public Service Results

Africa Morocco Program Provisioning Drinking Increasing school enrollment and reducing disease by 219
Water to Rural Populations providing clean water to rural populations
Europe and Canada Information Service for Responding to entrepreneurs needs by creating 221
North Am. Business Community a single-window information service
Latin Am., Brazil Citizen Assistance Creating a One-Stop-Shop centre offering full service 223
Caribbean Service Centres (SAC) for citizens administrative documents
Category 2: Improvement of the Quality of the Public Service Process

Africa Cameroon The AQUARIUM Minimizing corruption in public service through a new 227
Project of Sigipes HR management system
Asia and Australia Professionalism in Financial Enhancing accountability and promoting excellence in 229
the Pacic and Personnel Management public employment management
Europe and Austria Administration Reform project, Making each citizen a King by promoting 231
North Am. District Admin. Zell am See a client-oriented mentality
Latin Am., Brazil Participatory Budget in the Dening priorities in the citys budget by 233
Caribbean City of Belo Horizonte involving citizens in budgetary process
Category 3: Innovations in Public Service

Africa South Mobile Community Service Centre, Establishing a rural mobile community safety centre to 236
Africa Limpopo Province Police provide visible and accessible police services
Asia and Malaysia NPC Interactive e-Benchmark Developing an IT-based benchmarking system 238
the Pacic Database for Benchmarking to speed up data collection and computation
Category 4: Application of information and communication technology in local government

Asia and Philippines i-Governance, Creating an electronic governance programme aimed 241
the Pacic City Government of Naga at encouraging participation in governance
xiv
2003 UNPSA Winners

Category 1: Improvement of Public Service Results

Asia and Singapore Infocom Development Building condence amongst businesses and 245
the Pacic Authority, TrustSg Programme consumers so as to spur e-Commerce growth
Europe and Greece Call Centre 1502, Obtaining ofcial documents made easy by integrating 248
North Am. Ministry of Interior services into a One-Call-Shop
Latin Am., Bolivia National Customs Introducing a client oriented service culture by 250
Caribbean Services of Bolivia reforming the countrys Custom Administration
Western Oman Cleanliness of Dealing with the issue of urban cleanliness by 252
Asia Muscat Municipality providing and maintaining municipal services
Category 2: Improvement of the Quality of the Public Service Process

Europe and Spain Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas, Improving relationships between citizens and the 254
North Am. Local Council of Alcobendas municipal govt. by launching an online portal
Latin Am., Mexico Integral Family Development Creating a govt. entity to coordinate and monitor the 256
Caribbean System of Tamaulipas State hydraulic policy, addressing water shortages
Western Egypt The Ministry of State for Admin. Providing faster service to citizens by 258
Asia Development (MSAD) Automating Service Request procedures
Category 3: Innovations Initiatives in the Public Service

Africa Zambia Patents and Companies Reducing business cost by privatizing the Patents and 261
Registration Ofce (PCRO) Companies Registration Ofce
Asia and Republic Public Procurement Service Introducing an electronic procurement system 263
the Pacic of Korea to improve procurement services efciency
Europe and Canada Neighborhood Integrated Service Empowering citizens by integrating services at city 265
North Am. Team (NIST), Vancouver level to address difcult community issues
Europe and Italy Efciency in Admin. (PADEA) Creating a Department open to innovation 267
North Am. Department for Public Admin. in public administration
Latin Am., Chile Servicio de Impuestos Internos Innovating the tax system so that ling taxes becomes 269
Caribbean (SII), Internal Revenue Service easier and less costly for all citizens
Western Lebanon Education Centre for Research Reforming educational structures and creating an 271
Asia and Development, Lebanon educational centre to respond to changing needs
xv
Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance
Part One:
An Overview
1
Box 2:
How to Apply to the 2010 UNPSA Competition?
Who is Eligible?
All public organisations/agencies at national and sub national levels;
All public/private partnerships and organisations performing
outsourced public service functions are eligible for nomination; and
Self-nominations are not accepted.
How to Apply?
All application forms must be completed online at:
www.unpan.org/unpsa
Only online nominations are accepted;
Nominations deadline is in the fall of each year. Please visit UNPANs
site (www.unpan.org) for the exact date; and
Applications can be made in any of the United Nations six ofcial
languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, or Spanish.
How are Winners Selected?

The Division for Public Administration and Development pre-selects
the applications to create a short-list;
Short-listed candidates are asked to submit additional information,
including a cover letter, letters of reference and supporting
documentation (e.g., evaluation and audit reports, results of client
surveys); and
The United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration
(CEPA) (www.unpan.org/cepa.asp) advises the United Nations
Secretary-General about the winners.
2
Genesis, Purpose and Scope of the United Nations
Public Service Awards
This chapter provides an overview of the rationale for establishing the United Na-
tions Public Service Awards, and it outlines the objectives, the categories and criteria
of its annual competition, and its selection process.
1. What is the United Nations Public Service Awards Programme?

The United Nations Public Service Awards Programme is the most prestigious interna-
tional recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements
and contributions of public service institutions to a more effective and responsive pub-
lic administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the United
Nations Public Service Awards Programme promotes the role, professionalism and vis-
ibility of public service. It encourages exemplary public service and recognizes that
democracy and successful governance are built on a competent civil service.
2. Why was the United Nations Public Service Awards Programme

Established?
Governments from around the world are required to respond to increasingly complex
demands from their citizens and significant changes in their global environments. At
the national level, they are grappling with several difficult social and economic is-
sues; including poverty eradication, unemployment, poor education systems; health
epidemics (including HIV/AIDS and the avian influenza), and environmental degra-
dation. At the same time, they are attempting to readjust their policies and skills to
integrate effectively into the world economy.
Overall, governments face three main challenges:

First, they must operate and provide more far-reaching and higher-quality ser-
vices with reduced resources and limited operational capacities. That is to say,
governments must use their resources and build capacities not only more ef-
fectively but also more creatively by, for example, enlisting the support of the
private sector and civil society in service delivery.
Second, they must make public institutions more accountable, responsive, and
effective by promoting a more citizen-oriented public administration.
Third, and most importantly, they must respond more adequately to citizens
demands for greater participation.
Although government still plays a central role in society, it is now widely recognized
that civil society and the private sector also have an important role to play in this
sphere. Citizens no longer perceive themselves as passive consumers of govern-
ment services but as part of the solution to handle emerging issues more effectively.
3
Deepening democracy to provide opportunities not only for improved representation

but also for more active participation and engagement in public affairs requires in-
novative institutional mechanisms, processes, and policies.
As a consequence, several countries around the world are attempting to revitalize

their public administration and make it more proactive, more efficient, more account-
able, and especially more service oriented. To accomplish this transformation, gov-
ernments are introducing innovations in their organisational structure, practices, ca-
pacities, and working on how to mobilize, deploy, and utilize the human, material,
information, technological, and financial resources for service delivery to remote,
disadvantaged, and challenged people.
While there are efforts all over the world to find innovative ways to improve the per-
formance of public administration and to empower it to effectively initiate, plan and
implement national development policies and programmes as well as international
and regional agreed development strategies, including the Millennium Development
Goals; there is, also, a strong need to acknowledge and share them at the interna-
tional level.
In light of the above, the United Nations Public Service Awards Programme was
launched to promote and support Member States efforts to improve public sector
performance. The importance of this international recognition has later been recalled
in 2005, when the United Nations General Assembly agreed that the United Nations
should promote innovation in government and public administration and stressed the
importance of making more effective use of United Nations Public Service Day and
the United Nations Public Service Awards in the process of revitalizing public ad-
ministration by building a culture of innovation, partnership, and responsiveness
(UN/2005, A/60/L.24, para.7). To capitalize on existing knowledge on how to achieve
development and the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations General
Assembly in 2003 also recommended in Resolution 57/277 that the exchange of ex-
periences related to the role of public administration in the implementation of inter-
nationally agreed goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, be
encouraged (United Nations, 2003, A/RES/57/277).
4
GENESIS, PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE UNITED NATIONS PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS
3. When and How was the UNPSA Established?

The United Nations Public Service Awards Programme was launched as a result of
the deliberations of the fifteenth meeting of the Group of Experts on the United Na-
tions Programme in Public Administration and Finance (GA Resolution 49/136).
During this session, the Group of Experts recommended that an annual event be or-
ganized by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations
Secretariat through its Division for Public Economics and Public Administration
(now the Division for Public Administration and Development Management) to rec-
ognize and encourage excellence in public administration. This recommendation was
subsequently reflected in the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the
Group of Experts on the United Nation Programme in Public Administration and
Finance at its fifteenth meeting (E/2000/66) and endorsed by the Economic and So-
cial Council in its decision 2000/231 of 27 July 2000.
As reiterated by the General Assembly in its resolution 57/277 in 2003, efficient

accountable and transparent public administration, at both the national and interna-
tional levels, has a key role to play in the implementation of internationally agreed
goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and
in that context stresses the need to strengthen national public sector administrative
and managerial capacity-building, in particular in developing countries and countries
with economies in transition.
Therefore, in line with the above, 23 June has been designated the United Nations
Public Service Day to celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community.
The Economic and Social Council established the United Nations Public Service
Awards to be bestowed on the Public Service Day for contributions made to the cause
of enhancing the role, prestige and visibility of public service.
5
Box 3:
United Nations General Assembly Resolution
Establishing Public Service Day
General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/57/277)

of 7 March 2003
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 50/225 of 19 April 1996, 53/201 of 15

December 1998 and 56/213 of 21 December 2001 on public adminis-
tration and development, as well as Economic and Social Council
resolution 2001/45 of 20 December 2001,
Stressing the need for capacity-building initiatives aimed at institution

building, human resources development, strengthening nancial
management and harnessing the power of information and technology:
Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the role

of public administration in the implementation of the United
Nations Millennium Declaration;
Reiterates that efcient, accountable, effective and transparent

public administration, at both the national and international
levels, has a key role to play in the implementation of
internationally agreed goals, including those contained in the
United Nations Millennium Declaration, and in that context
stresses the need to strengthen national public sector
administrative and managerial capacity-building, in particular in
developing countries and countries with economies in transition;
6
Decides that 23 June will be designated United Nations Public

Service Day, and encourages Member States to organize special
events on that day to highlight the contribution of public
service in the development process;
Expresses its deep appreciation for the generous offer of the

Kingdom of Morocco to host the fourth Global Forum, at
Marrakesh, in December 2002;
Welcomes the substantive support that the Secretariat has

provided to the Global Forum, and invites it to extend such
support to any future forums of a similar kind that may take place;
Reiterates its appreciation for the role that the United Nations
Online Network in Public Administration and Finance performs in
promoting information sharing and exchange of experience and in
building the capacities of developing countries to utilize
information communication technologies for this purpose, and
reiterates that particular emphasis should be given to the
exchange of experience related to the role of public administration
in the implementation of internationally agreed goals, including
those contained in the Millennium Declaration; and
Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General

Assembly at its fty-eighth session, in the manner he deems
appropriate, on the implementation of the present resolution.
7
4. What is the Overall Purpose of UNPSA?

The overall purpose of the United Nations Public Awards is to recognize the institu-
tional contribution made by public servants to enhance the role, professionalism and
visibility of the public service (Economic and Social Council decision 2000/231). It
can be translated into the more specific following objectives:
To reward service to citizens and motivate public servants worldwide to sus-
tain the momentum of innovation and the improvement of the delivery of pub-
lic services;
To collect and disseminate successful practices and experiences in public ad-
ministration in order to support efforts for improvements in country level pub-
lic service delivery;
Through success stories to counterbalance any negative image of public ad-
ministration, raise the image and prestige of public servants and revitalize
public administration as a noble discipline, on which development greatly
depends; and
To enhance professionalism in the public service by rewarding the successful
experiences in innovations and excellence in the public service.
In brief, the Awards aim to:

Discover innovations in governance;
Reward excellence in the public sector;
Motivate public servants to further promote innovation;
Enhance professionalism in the public service;
Raise the image of public service;
Enhance trust in government; and
Collect and disseminate successful practices for possible replication.
5. Who Manages the UNPSA Programme?

The Programme is managed by the Division for Public Administration and Develop-
ment Management of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
8
6. What are the Eligibility Criteria?

All Public organisations/agencies at national and sub-national levels, as well as pub-
lic/private partnerships and organisations performing outsourced public service func-
tions, are eligible for nomination. The United Nations Public Service Awards Pro-
gramme takes into consideration a geographical distribution of five regions. In order
to level the playing field for nominations received from countries with varying levels
of development and income, the following five regions have been established:
Africa;
Asia and the Pacific;
Europe and North America;
Latin America and the Caribbean; and
Western Asia.
Nominations have to be made by another entity than the institution being nominated,
i.e., self nominations will not be accepted. Eligible nominators include: government
departments and agencies; universities, non-governmental organisations, profession-
al associations, etc. Purely scientific innovations, e.g., in medical or environmental
science, do not qualify for the United Nations Public Service Awards.
Graph 1:
Regional Groups for Evaluation Purposes
Europe and
North America
Western
Asia
Latin America Africa Asia and

and the Caribbean the Pacific
9
Graph 2:
Categories by Year
Category/Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Improvement of
Improvement of
the Quality of the
Public Service Process
Initiatives in
the Public Service
Application of Infor-
mation and Communi-
cation Technology
in Government
Improving Transpar-
ency, Accountability,
and Responsiveness
in the Public Service
Improving the
Delivery of
Public Services
Special Award
in Innovation
Fostering Participa-
tion in Policy-making
Decisions through
Innovative Mechanisms
Advancing Knowledge
Management in
Government
10
7. What are the Categories and Criteria for Selection?

The UNPSA categories and criteria for selection are hereafter described by year.
2003 Categories:
1. Improvement of Public Service Results
2. Improvement of the Quality of the Public Service Process
3. Initiatives in the Public Service
2004 Categories:
1. Improvement of Public Service Results
2. Improvement of the Quality of the Public Service Process
3. Initiatives in the Public Service
4. Application of Information and Communication Technology in
Local Government
2005 Categories:
1. Improving Transparency, Accountability, and Responsiveness in the
Public Service
2. Improving the Delivery of Public Services
3. Application of Information and Communication Technology in Government
2006 Categories:
Public Service
3. Application of Information and Communication Technology in Government
4. Special Award in Innovation
2007 & 2008 Categories:
Public Service
3. Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through
2009 Categories:
Public Service
3. Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through
4. Advancing Knowledge Management in Government.
11
8. What are the Main Steps of the UNPSA Application Process?

The process of the United Nations Public Service Awards starts with the an-
nouncement of the competition and call for nominations. Then it continues with
receipt of the nominations, analysis of the nomination documents, pre-selection
assessment of the nominations, selection of the winners, verification and an-
nouncement of the winners. The process ends with the celebration of United Na-
tions Public Service Day and the Awards ceremony. The application process con-
sists of two stages.
Step 1: An application form has to be completed online in one of the six offi-
cial United Nations languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or
Spanish). The deadline for application is 31 December of each year (please
check UNPAN portal for deadlines updates).
Step 2: Upon receipt of the applications, DPADM pre-selects nominations.
Pre-selected candidates are asked to submit additional information such as
letters of reference, supporting documents (e.g., evaluation and audit re-
ports, results of client surveys), etc. DPADM then shortlists candidates on
the basis of the documents provided. The short-listed are subsequently con-
sidered by the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administra-
tion (www.unpan.org/cepa.asp). After due consideration, the Committee
advises the United Nations Secretary-General concerning the winners of
the Awards.
The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) is a subsidiary
body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Committee, which
was established by ECOSOC in its resolution 2001/45, comprises twenty-four
experts appointed for four years who serve in their personal capacity. The
experts are nominated by the United Nations Secretary-General, in consulta-
tion with Member States, and approved by the Economic and Social Council
(www.unpan.org/cepa.asp).
A process of verification and validation is implemented to ascertain
congruence between the documents submitted and what happens on
the ground.
The CEPA submits its recommendations concerning the winning cases
to the United Nations Secretary-General for declaration of the winners.
The winners of the awards are officially announced.
Reviewers assess each nomination according to an evaluation form
designed for each category of the Award. This form features a certain
number of questions, and a mark is given for each question.
12
9. Awards Ceremony on the United Nations Public Service Day 23 June

Winners and Finalists of the United Nations Public Service Awards are celebrated
every year at United Nations Headquarters on 23 June and awardees are invited to
participate in the ceremony. The United Nations General Assembly, in its Resolu-
tion 57/277, designated 23 June as Public Service Day (A/RES/57/277).The United
Nations Public Service Day intends to celebrate the value and virtue of public ser-
vice to the community; highlight the contribution of public service in the develop-
ment process; recognize the work of public servants, and encourage young people
to pursue careers in the public sector. Since the first Awards Ceremony in 2003, the
United Nations has received an increasing number of submissions from all around
the world. The Awards Ceremony is also web-cast live through the United Nations
web-site at: www.un.org
The Award: The Winners of the United Nations Public Service Awards receive a
United Nations certificate of recognition and they are awarded with the prestigious
United Nations Awards Trophy.
Information regarding the past Ceremonies of United Nations Public Service Day is
available online at: www.unpan.org/dpepa_psaward.asp
10. Dissemination of Information About the Awards and Winners

Information about the Awards (including eligibility criteria, and methods of nomina-
tion) is widely disseminated among all Permanent Missions to the United Nations,
government ministries or other government agencies in charge of public service in
Member States, institutional partners of DPADM, United Nations Development Pro-
gramme Country Offices; UNPAN Regional Centres and the Regional commissions.
The United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) is a useful means for
transmitting information about the Awards to the various stakeholders. All relevant
documents regarding the Awards are posted on the UNPAN website (www.unpan.org).
Finally, the Division also requires winners to publicize around them and through the
media the Award they received, in order to further promote the United Nations Public
Service Day and Awards, to raise awareness of this event among public institutions
in their country and to encourage them to apply for an Award. The media coverage is
ensured, for example, through press releases and interviews in magazines, newspa-
pers, and other means of communication.
13
Graph 3:
United Nations
Winners and Finalists by Region
Asia and the Pacific
Australia India Rep. of Korea Philippines

2008, 7, 6, 4 2009, 8, 7, 6, 5 2009, 8, 7, 6, 3 2004
Africa Malaysia Singapore Thailand

2004 2008, 7, 6, 5, 3 2009, 2008
Botswana Cameroon Kenya Morocco

2008 2004 2007 2007, 5, 4
Rwanda South Africa Tunisia Zambia

2008, 2006 2009, 8, 7, 4 2008 2009, 6, 3
Latin America and the Caribbean
Bolivia Brazil Chile Mexico

2003 2008, 6, 4 2007, 2003 2005, 2003
Europe and North America
Austria Belgium Canada Germany

2007, 2004 2006 2009, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 2008
Greece Italy Netherlands Poland Western Asia

2003 2007, 2003 2006 2009
CO Puerto Rico Slovenia Spain Sweden Azerbaijan Egypt Jordan Lebanon

2008 2009, 2007 2008, 5, 3 2009, 2008 2007 2009, 2003 2008 2007, 2003
Switzerland United States Oman Saudi Arabia UAE

2007 2008 2009, 2003 2008 2007, 2006
Note: Years underneath flags indicate

when each country won an award
14
Part Two:
Success Stories from the
Winners and Finalists (2009-2003)
15
Graph 4:
United Nations 2006 Winners pg 171
Winners and Finalists by Year
Australia Belgium Brazil Canada
2009 Winners and Finalists pg 19

India RO Korea Netherlands Rwanda
Canada Egypt India RO Korea (x2) Singapore UAE Zambia
2005 Winners pg 197

Oman Poland Slovenia South Africa
Sweden Thailand Zambia Canada (x2) India Mexico (x2) Morocco

Singapore Spain
2004 Winners pg 217

Australia Botswana Brazil Germany
India (x2) Jordan RO Korea CW Puerto Rico Australia Austria Brazil (x2) Cameroon
Rwanda Saudi Arabia Singapore South Africa Canada Malaysia Morocco Philippines
Spain Sweden Thailand Tunisia South Africa
2003 Winners pg 243

United States

Bolivia Canada Chile Egypt
Australia Austria (x2) Azerbaijan Canada Greece Italy Rep. of Korea Lebanon
Chile Italy India Kenya Mexico Oman Singapore Spain
RO Korea (x3) Lebanon Morocco (x2) Singapore (x2) Zambia
Slovenia South Africa (x2) Switzerland (x2) UAE
16
2009 United Nations Public Service Day

This year, eight winners are awarded with the most
prestigious recognition of excellence in the public service
on 23 June, during the United Nations Public Service
Day. The winners are public organisations from: Egypt,
India, Republic of Korea, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden,
Thailand and Zambia. The nalists are public
organisations from: Canada, Republic of Korea, Oman
and South Africa.
2009 Winners
Egypt India Rep. of Korea Poland
Slovenia Sweden Thailand Zambia
2009 Finalists
Canada Rep. of Korea Oman South Africa
17
Graph 4: United Nations Public Service Awards
Winners and Finalists by Country pg 93
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
pg 32, 47, 108, 137,

pg 82, 134, 188, 229 182, 199 pg 101
Australia India Saudi Arabia
pg 143, 231 pg 267 pg 39, 173

Austria Italy Rwanda
pg 53, 140, 175,

pg 148 pg 125 210, 245
Azerbaijan Jordan Singapore
pg 190 pg 131 pg 28
Belgium Kenya Slovenia
pg 21, 33, 112, 157,

pg 250 195, 263 pg 122, 205, 254
Bolivia Republic of Korea Spain
pg 73 pg 160, 271 pg 25, 76, 154, 236

Botswana Lebanon South Africa
pg 68, 185, 223, 233 pg 238 pg 23, 95

Brazil Malaysia Sweden
pg 227 pg 208, 215, 256 pg 168

Cameroon Mexico Switzerland
pg 22, 165, 183, 200,

212, 221, 265 pg 154, 203, 219 pg 27, 88
Canada Morocco Thailand
pg 146, 269 pg 177 pg 105

Chile Netherlands Tunisia
pg 29, 258 pg 30, 252 pg 162, 192

Egypt Oman United Arab Emirates
pg 117 pg 241 pg 61
Germany Philippines United States
pg 248 pg 35 pg 26, 180, 261

Greece Poland Zambia
18
2009
United Nations
Winners and Finalists
Category 1 pg 20
Rep. of Korea Canada Sweden
Category 2 pg 24
South Africa Zambia Thailand Slovenia Egypt Oman
Category 3 pg 31
India Rep. of Korea
Category 4 pg 34
Poland
19
2009 Category 1
Improving Transparency, Accountability,

and Responsiveness in the Public Service
Region Country Winner or Finalist Description Pg

Asia and Republic Real-Time Water Quality Establishing an online water assessment system 21
the Pacic of Korea Opening Services, Seoul informing residents about their waters quality
Europe and Canada French-Language Services Ensuring French language in key public service delivery 22
North Am. Excellence (FLEX), Ontario to protect minorities rights
Europe and Sweden City of Pite, A comprehensive benchmarking system to promote 23

North Am. Norrbotten Region dialogue between government ofcials and citizens
Rep. of Korea Canada Sweden
20
2009 CATEGORY 1: REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Asia and the Pacic

Republic of Korea
2009 Category 1 Winner
On and Off-Line Real-Time Water Quality Opening
Services, Ofce of Waterworks, Seoul Metropolitan Government
Recipients on behalf of the institution

Mr. Oh Se Hoon, Mayor of Seoul
Mr. Lee Jeong Kwan, Assistant Mayor for Waterworks
Summary
Through this initiative, the Seoul Metropolitan Government of the Republic of Korea
has enabled citizens to access an accurate and up-to-date information about the qual-
ity of water being supplied to their house by establishing an online water assessment
system. This has resulted in increased citizens trust in public water supply and has
contributed to an increase in tap water consumption of 20%, as well as in greater
conservation of ground water.
The Problem
Seouls tap water, Arisu satisfied all 145 items of water quality inspection recom-
mended by the World Health Organization (WH). However, Seouls citizens were
suspicious of the quality of Arisu for no apparent reason and avoided drinking it.
There was no monitoring system to assess the quality of tap water, which brought a
low rate of consumption of tap water, high sales volume of bottled water, reckless
underground water development and indiscreet belief in water purifiers. Moreover,
negative effects of over-usage and mismanagement of purifiers, as apparent in waste
of water resources and pollution of drinking water became common. All of this re-
sulted in a threat to citizens health and cast doubts on the overall quality of public
services, particularly on the tap water supplying service.
The Solution
With the Arisu Quality Verification System, citizens can check on-line and in real-
time the quality of water supplied to their houses from water purification plants. They
can also gather such information from water quality inspecting agents who visit citi-
zens houses for free. In 2008, the Seoul Government provided information through
the internet about the water quality, turbidity, pH, chlorine residual, of a total of 72
spots, including six intake plants, six water purification plants, and 60 spots of water
routes supplied to citizens.
21

Canada
2009 Category 1 Finalist
French-Language Services Excellence (FLEX)
Ministry of Community and Social Services with
responsibility for the Ofce of Francophone Affairs
Government of Ontario

H.E. Ms. Shelly Jamieson
Secretary of the Cabinet
H.E. Ms. Lucille Roch
Deputy Minister of Community and Social Services
with responsibility for the Office of Francophone Affairs
Mr. Eric Mzin
Director
Strategic Policy and Research Branch
Office of Francophone Affairs
Summary
Throughout nearly 400 years, Francophones have played a key role in Ontarios over-
all development. Their contribution to the social, cultural, political and economic sec-
tors of Ontario, the most populated province in Canada, has been recognized with the
adoption of several acts, including the French-language Services Act of 1986.
Over the past three years, the Office of Francophone Affairs of Ontario has initiated
a comprehensive strategy to raise knowledge and awareness of Francophone rights
through the successful implementation of initiatives, promoting the increased ac-
countability of ministries regarding the planning and delivery of quality French-lan-
guage services.
22
2009 CATEGORY 1: SWEDEN

Sweden
City of Pite, Pite, Norrbotten Region

Ms. Helena Stenberg, Vice Mayor of Pite
Ms. Anna Lena Pogulis, Municipal Strategist, City of Pite
Mr. Mats Berg, Chief Financial Officer, City of Pite
Summary
In Sweden, the city of Pite has established a comprehensive benchmarking system
to promote dialogue between government officials and citizens, and has greatly in-
creased citizens inputs into the prioritization of budgetary expenditures.
The Problem
Information on citizens views of the quality of public services offered in the City
of Pite was very limited. The officials of the Municipality of Pite had relatively
little insight unto the results achieved with respect to quality assessment and citi-
zen satisfaction.
The Solution
Pite developed an evaluation system to benchmark the quality of public services and
to evaluate their impact in terms of citizens satisfaction. Pite is now one of Swe-
dens leading municipalities in using benchmarking as an effective method of impact
assessment, change management and dialoguing platform with its citizens. In this
framework, evaluation and follow-up work have improved goal-oriented work pro-
grammes and citizen engagement, including in the annual conferences organized to
inform citizens and seek input on progress made and to come.
Development of dialogue with citizens and an easier access to information have in-
creased citizen involvement in the activities organized by the municipality. Surveys
have enabled resources to be allocated on the basis of a more comprehensive and ef-
fective decision-making process, including in budget-making. In the 2009 budget,
extra funds have been allocated for such things as care for the disabled and elderly,
funds for meeting places and public transport as desired by several vulnerable seg-
ments of society.
23
2009 Category 2
Improving the Delivery

of Public Services

Africa South Administrative Support for Improving Tuberculosis cure rate by bringing a new 25
Africa TB Programme, Cape Town layer of staff to strengthened clinics capacity
Africa Zambia Integrated Health Services, Itezhi Improving the overall health of the community through 26
Tezhi District Health Ofce improving access and utilization
Asia and Thailand Medical Services, Maharaj Streamlining hospital admin. processes and forming 27
the Pacic Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital health care networks with other hospitals
Europe and Slovenia One-Stop-Shop for Establishing a one-stop-shop for company registration, 28
North Am. Companies (e-VEM) drastically reducing registration time
Western Egypt e-Tanseek, University Comprehensive web-based application assisting 29

Asia Enrollment Project students enrollment in colleges and universities
Western Oman Civil Status Systems A state-of-the-art system designed to store and 30
Asia (National Registration System) retrieve data through the Civil Register
South Africa Zambia Thailand Slovenia Egypt Oman
24
2009 CATEGORY 2: SOUTH AFRICA
Africa
South Africa
City Health, Metro District Health Services
and TB/HIV Care Association, Cape Town

Dr Keith Cloete
Chief Director, Metro District Health Services
Provincial Government of the Western Cape
Department of Health
Ms. Judy Caldwell
Project Manager, TB Control Programme
Summary
The Administrative Support for the Tuberculosis Programme in City Health, Cape
Town in South Africa has strengthened the capacity of clinics to improve their cure
rate by bringing a new layer of staff into the normal day-to-day operations of the clin-
ics. Door-to-door follow-up visits to patients, specifically those who have been diag-
nosed with Tuberculosis and registered at the clinic, are carried out by trained Tuber-
culosis Assistants who make sure that the patients do not interrupt their treatment.
The Problem
Chronic Tuberculosis has been a consistent problem in South Africa, particularly in
poor sub-districts of Cape Town where budget constraints and heavy demand for
treatment along with lack of skilled health officials resulted in poor treatment out-
comes. The main challenge, therefore, was twofold: to provide support to clinic staff
and to increase the TB cure rate.
The Solution
The programme is located in 27 of the 93 TB clinics spread throughout the eight sub-
districts of the Cape Town City Health Department. It builds the capacity of the clin-
ics to improve their cure rates by bringing in a new layer of staff into the normal
day-to-day operations of the clinics. The new staff are recruited mostly from among
the unemployed high school graduates who live in the vicinity of the local clinics.
They are trained in two specific roles: as TB Assistants whose principal task is to
carry out door-to-door follow-up visits to patients who have been diagnosed with TB
and registered at the clinic, or as TB Clerks who assist in the management-related
activities at the clinics.
25
Africa
Zambia
Integrated Mobile Community Voluntary, Counseling and
Training other Health Services, Itezhi Tezhi District Health Ofce
Mr. George Kawatu
Permanent Secretary, Management Development Division, Cabinet Office
Dr. Velepi Mtonga
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health
Dr. Mulenga Rosemary Kasoma
Director of Health, Itezhi Tezhi District Health Office
Summary
The Integrated Mobile Community Voluntary Counselling and Training, and other
Health Services initiative developed by the Itezhi Tezhi District of Health Office in
Zambia provides the community with counselling, training and a number of health
services through a mobile clinic to improve the overall health of the community. This
initiative has resulted in a decrease of child mortality, improvement of maternal
health and better treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, and an increase in the number of
potable water sources.
The Problem
Itezhi Tezhi is predominantly a rural district with high illiteracy and poverty rates.
The District is also prone to seasonal floods, particularly given its poor infrastructure
in roads and communication networks. These conditions had inhibited access of citi-
zens to the only First Level Hospital and eleven rural health centres, particularly
during the months of seasonal flooding. As a result, utilization of health services by
the community was very low with most indicators falling below the national targets.
The most affected segments of the population were pregnant women and children
under five years of age.
The Solution
The Project of Integrated Mobile Community Voluntary Counseling and Training
and other Health Services, including five project outputs, increased the number of
Community Health Workers and Traditional Birth Attendants to provide mobile out-
reach programs in maternal and child health as well as voluntary counseling and
testing for infectious diseases. TBAs also act as a link between the pregnant mothers
in the community and the health centre.
26
2009 CATEGORY 2: THAILAND
Asia and the Pacic

Thailand
Improving Public Medical Service through
Collaborative Networks, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital

Prof. Pongsak Angkasith,
President of Chiang Mai University
Professor Niwes Nantachit
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University
Dr. Thosaporn Sirisumphand
Secretary-General, Office of the Public Sector Development Commission
Summary
The Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital in Thailand through its initiative on Improv-
ing Public Medical Service through Collaborative Networks increased accessibility of
patients to quality health care by streamlining hospital administrative processes and by
forming health care networks with community hospitals. Through this network, the hos-
pital provides consultations and training courses for community, district, and provincial
hospitals to improve medical personnels skills and knowledge in managing complicat-
ed conditions by themselves before deciding to refer patients to the Maharaj Hospital.
The Problem
The Hospital, known to the locals as Suandok Hospital, serves large segments of
population who live in remote rural areas in Northern Thailand. Without an efficient
communication and referring system, patients waste valuable time and money finding
a hospital that is available to admit them. Even when they eventually arrive at the
hospital, it often takes a long time to receive medical care due to shortage of medical
personnel and a large number of patients requiring treatment. Thus, few patients re-
ceive adequate care because of delays in referral processes fueled by complicated in-
ternal administrative procedures.
The Solution
Reducing the amount of paper work and simplifying the patient referral process were
used to improve the hospital efficiency. Through a heath care network, the hospital
has initiated training courses for community, district and provincial hospitals to assist
them in improving their medical personnel skills and knowledge in managing com-
plicated conditions by themselves before referring patients.
27

Slovenia
One Stop Shop for Companies (e-VEM)
Ministry of Public Administration

H.E. Ms. Irma Pavlini Krebs
Minister of Pubic Administration
Mr. Duan Kriej
Deputy Director General
Ms. Teja Batagelj
MSc, Senior Adviser
Summary
In Slovenia The One Stop Shop for Companies (e-VEM) has reduced the registra-
tion time from 60 days to maximum four days for big companies by establishing a
one stop shop for company registration. Unlike the old system that charged 250 to
600 for that service, the new system is free of charge.
The Problem
Registration of companies in Slovenia was a very cumbersome process requiring 60
days and going through several contacts within the public administration system in-
cluding to submit tax data, to obtain a craft permit, to register employees and their
family members into obligatory social insurance schemes, to make changes and ter-
minations to the latter, etc. As a result, 90% of applications were left incomplete.
Costs for registration were high (250-600 for a registration of a company).
The Solution
These procedures were converged in one and single online shop called One stop shop
including one stop shop contact points (180 in Republic of Slovenia), notaries (90)
and district court (only for entries under compulsory power). Together over 700 civil
servants are currently using the system.
28
2009 CATEGORY 2: EGYPT
Western Asia
Egypt
e-Tanseek, University Enrollment Project
Ministry of State for Administrative Development

Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Tobal,
Education Projects General Manager, Government Services Development Program
Ministry of State for Administrative Development
Eng. Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim, Deputy Operation Manager,
e-Government Gateway, Ministry of State for Administrative Development
Description
Admission to public universities and institutions in Egypt operates through a centralized
office, University Enrollment Co-ordination Office. This office enrolls over 450,000
students annually.
Summary
Through the initiative entitled e-Tanseek, the Ministry of State for Administrative
Development of Egypt developed an online portal to facilitate the enrolment of stu-
dents at colleges and universities. The system serves more than 450,000 high school
students and has resulted in a savings of more than US$7 million each year.
The Problem
The Egyptian Higher Education enrolls 450,000 students from school to college each
year. In addition to tackling the balance between the demands for certain faculties or
majors and the number of seats available in those majors, the Admission management has
to deal with an increasing number of new high school graduates each year. This system is
prone to mistake because until recently it was done manually by data-entry operators.
The Solution
To solve the problem the Ministry of State for Administrative Development initiated
a comprehensive web-based application that accepts student university enrollment
applications, and is supported by a 24/7 call centre for support. This free of charge
and ubiquitous online application provides the students with guidelines, rules and
interactive help as well as the ability to update personal data or make changes to their
chosen faculties and/or majors. Enrollment results are communicated to students by
regular mail, emails and SMS.
29
Western Asia
Oman
Civil Status Systems, (National Registration System)
Directorate General of Civil Status, Royal Oman Police

Brigadier Dr. Sulaiman Mohammed Al Harthiy, Director General of Civil Defense
Lt.Colonel Abdullah Mohammed Al Jabri, Director General of Civil Status
First Lieutenant Yahya Amur Al Hamimi
Head of Public Relation Department, Directorate General of Civil Status
Summary
Through the creation of a National Registration System in the Sultanate of Oman a
state-of-the-art online system that integrates a number of offices information can be
stored and retrieved in a more efficient and effective way. The Civil Register, the largest
database in the Sultanate, includes data on births, deaths, marriages and divorces in the
Sultanate, as well as data on identity cards for Omanis and residence cards for foreigners.
The Problem
Before the implementation of the Civil Status System, the issuing of important docu-
ments was a complex process and involved delays. Citizen had to visit different pub-
lic institutions to get their required documents. The Royal Oman Police issued the ID
card, the Ministry of Manpower issued the Labor card, the ministry of Health was in
charge of the birth and death certificates, and the Ministry of Justice registered mar-
riages and divorces. As a result and in some cases, the unemployed lacked ID docu-
ments or it was simply difficult to obtain accurate information.
The Solution
The National Registration System in the Sultanate of Oman was launched in 2004 as
a solution to ensure accuracy, consistency and rapidity in delivering official docu-
ments from a single unit. The Civil Register includes data on births, deaths, mar-
riages and divorces in the Sultanate as well as data on identity cards for Omanis and
residence cards for residents. An electronic link with the civil status system through
the Civil Number, issued to each citizen and resident, enables government institu-
tions to make transactions easier. Several Ministries partner in the National Registra-
tion System, which has constituted the stepping stone to other applications, including
E- Gates at Muscat International Airport, E-purse, E-health and E-vote.
30
2009 Category 3
Fostering Participation in Policy-making

Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms

Asia and India Water and Sanitation Mgmt. Org. Providing access to drinking water by engaging citzens 32
the Pacic (WASMO), Govt. of Gujarat in water management
Asia and Republic Seoul Citys Oasis, Seoul Encouraging engagement in city government through 33
the Pacic of Korea Metropolitan Government open discussions on a new online portal
India Rep. of Korea
31
Asia and the Pacic

India
Institutionalization of Community
Managed Drinking Water Supply Programme
and User Level Water Quality Monitoring
Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO)

H.E. Mr. Nitinkumar Ratilal Patel
Minister for Water Supply, Water Resources
Urban Development and Urban Housing, Government of Gujarat
Mr. V.S.Gadhavi, IAS
Secretary for Water Supply, Government of Gujarat
Dr. Jaipal Singh, IFS
Chief Executive Officer, Water and Sanitation Management Organisation
Summary
In India the State of Gujarat, which is prone to frequent droughts and water scarcity,
has improved access to water in rural areas by engaging citizens in its management
through the Institutionalization of Community Managed Drinking Water Supply
Programme and User Level Water Quality Monitoring, which was developed by the
Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) in 2002, a Government
of Gujarat initiative.
The Problem
Prior to the initiative, water supply in the rural areas of Gujarat was ensured by Gov-
ernment agencies and the entire sector was supply driven. A rigid bureaucracratic
structure gradually led to the buildneglectrebuild syndrome. The service was ir-
regular, inefficient, and unable to meet the peoples requirements. As a result, user
satisfaction was low and the people were unwilling to pay the user charges.
The Solution
WASMO was established in 2002 as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for effective
citizens engagement in drinking water services in rural areas. Community institu-
tions in the form of Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) and partner-
ship links between the State and NGOs, and other entities, such as the United Nations
Childrens Fund (UNICEF) have been formed.
32
Asia and the Pacic

Republic of Korea
Seoul Citys Oasis
Seoul Metropolitan Government

Mr. Oh Se Hoon
Mayor of Seoul
Mr. Chang Kyung Hwan
Director-General of Policy Evaluation
Summary
Through Seoul Citys Oasis (oasis.seoul.go.kr), developed by the Seoul Metropolitan
Government of the Republic of Korea, citizens are encouraged to participate in deci-
sion-making processes by engaging in open discussions with local government offi-
cials and by making proposals through an online portal. Oasis has adopted the Web
2.0 spirit of creativity, sharing, and collaboration.
The Problem
Seoul City ran a citizens creative idea suggestion system from 1997 to 2007 in order
to urge citizens to participate in the policy making process of the city. However, it
was a rather closed system in that citizens filled out a suggestion form and submitted
it in person or by mail and were notified whether their ideas would be adopted or not
a month later. Since those ideas were reviewed in closed-door meetings without the
participation of the idea providers, the system was bound to have limited success and
drew little interest and citizen participation.
The Solution
The OASIS system was created as a more open and interacting system to serve as a
channel, through which citizens actively participate in the city government and sug-
gest fresh ideas for improvements. Oasis (oasis.seoul.go.kr), which was initiated on
10 October 2007 represents creativity and imagination as Seoul Citys vision.
33
2009 Category 4
Advancing Knowledge
Management in Government

Europe and Poland National School of Public Transforming public administrations practices and 35
North Am. Administration (KSAP) culture by providing adequate responsive training
Poland
34
2009 CATEGORY 4: POLAND

Poland
National School of Public Administration
(Krajowa Szkola Administracji Publicznej)

H.E. Mr. Slawomir Brodzinski
Minister and Head of the Civil Service
Professor Jacek Czaputowicz
Director of the National School of Public Administration (KSAP)
Professor Ryszard Rapacki
National School of Public Administration
Summary
By engaging all stakeholders in the definition of its education programmes content
and format, and by promoting knowledge management through sharing of interna-
tional good practices, the National School of Public Administration of Poland has
had a massive-scale impact on the transformation of Polish public administrations
practices and culture. A total of approximately 26,000 civil servants have completed
various courses offered by the School, and more than 1,300 specialized courses have
been offered.
The Problem
In Poland, the discrepancy between the institutional and legal arrangements and the
bureaucratic practices fell disappointingly short of civic and political expectations
when it came to delivering adequate public services. The public administration was
perceived as ineffective and inefficient. Moreover, the still authoritarian style of ad-
ministration made its practices very often cumbersome to citizens.
The Solution
The National School of Public Administration (known in Poland as KSAP) was cre-
ated in 1991 with the mission to provide adequate training to the Polish public civil
servants. KSPA has been instrumental in knowledge sharing in the Polish Public
Administration for its modernization as well as in training and popularizing values
and attributes typical of effective, efficient, open, responsive, socially responsible,
and transparent governance systems, among other things.
35
2008
United Nations
Winners and Finalists
Category 1 pg 38
Rwanda India Singapore United States Brazil
Category 2 pg 72
Botswana South Africa Australia Thailand Puerto Rico Sweden Saudi Arabia
Commonwealth
Category 3 pg 104
Tunisia India Rep. of Korea Germany Spain Jordan
37
2008 Category 1


Africa Rwanda Ubudehe, Common Development Empowering people to alleviate poverty through 39
Fund, Rwanda participatory decision-making
Asia and India District Lokvani Society Sitapur, Redressing citizens grievances in rural areas through 47
the Pacic Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh an online portal
Asia and Singapore Home Ownership Programme, Fullling the aspirations of Singaporeans for home 53
the Pacic Housing and Dvlp. Board ownership through a public housing programme
Europe and United Juvenile Delinquency and Family Providing a comprehensive youth-specic criminal 61
North Am. States Violence Court, California justice intervention
Latin Am., Brazil Arts and Crafts School Project of Reducing juvenile delinquency and poverty by 68
Caribbean Santana de Parnaba, So Paulo teaching disadvantaged youth restoration skills
Rwanda India Singapore United States Brazil
38
2008 CATEGORY 1: RWANDA
Africa
Rwanda
Ubudehe, Common Development Fund, Rwanda
Description
Putting people at the centre of decision-making about poverty alleviation through
the Ubudehe initiative in Rwanda.
Summary
Ubudehe is a socio-economic programme that empowers citizens at the community
level in Rwanda to plan, use public resources, and implement poverty reduction proj-
ects like the construction of houses and roads.
The Problem
The 1994 genocide had shattered Rwanda to its core. The new government inherited
a country characterized by a high number of dislocated and traumatized citizens who
had lost trust in each other. The infrastructure, basic services and property had been
destroyed. Whole families and communities were divided. Livestock were killed and
crops had gone to waste. Hospitals and schools were ransacked or destroyed. Com-
munal health centres were ruined. Stock of health supplies and basic drugs had been
looted. Water supply lines were non-operational. Qualified staff had been killed or
fled the country including most teachers. An estimated 250,000 women were wid-
owed, at least 100,000 children were orphaned, lost, abducted or abandoned and an
estimated 300,000 children killed. Over 500,000 women were victims of rape and
violence. Over three million people had fled Rwanda and over One million people
were killed in the genocide. Poverty levels were at their highest. The public adminis-
tration was destroyed and faced with the challenge of rebuilding a nation comprising
of victims, survivors, returnees and perpetrators of genocide. Citizens were apathetic
and fearful of the State given their experience of the abusive powers the State had
exercised in perpetuating genocide. This was the background to the Ubudehe initia-
tive and indeed the whole country. Given such a context, the Ubudehe initiative
sought to address key challenges:
How could citizen apathy towards government and towards their own problems
be reduced? How could citizens take charge of their own lives and participate in
the definition of their own problems by working hand in hand with others to
solve these problems? How could citizenship be increased and local governance
democratized even further? How do you introduce real participation that strength-
ens each citizens power to act and therefore build active Rwandan citizens?
39
How could citizen trust amongst each other be increased to start the difficult
process of healing and working together and building greater social capital and
inclusion amongst different social groups? How could the preferences and needs
of specific excluded groups be highlighted and acted upon by an active citizenry?
How could national policy making be influenced and informed by better, rigor-
ous information and statistics generated by citizens themselves, so as to im-
prove resource allocation and the accountability of government and donors in
meeting the millennium development goals in Rwanda? It is these three core
challenges that the Ubudehe initiative sought to address.
The Solution
The Ubudehe initiative emerged thanks to the vision and active engagement of several
key actors. During its inception, core drivers included innovators from the Rwandan Gov-
ernment, in particular Mr. Protais Musoni, the then Secretary General at the Ministry of
Local Government (and currently the Minister of Local Government in the Government
of Rwanda, the main driving force behind Ubudehe), Mr. Vincent Karega, then Director
at the Strategic Planning Unit, Ministry of Finance, the social development advisor to
DFID Rwanda, and the head of the EU delegation to Rwanda. Mr. Sam Joseph, coach and
consultant from India, also played an important role in conceptualizing Ubudehe.
The initial ideas, theories, and vision to create a process that increases citizens abil-
ity to self-govern and become proactive in shaping the design of their poverty reduc-
tion strategies emerged during the period 1999-2001. At the same time, the Poverty
Reduction Strategy Program (PRSP) process requirement for a Participatory Poverty
Assessment (PPA) was also in place.
The idea of Ubudehe was conceived as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of

citizen participation in its truest form. In order to accomplish this goal, the Ministry of
Local Government, together with other government entities and relevant stakeholders
decided to rely on and to expand a form of traditional mutual assistance, called Ubu-
dehe, which operated at the lowest administrative unit, the Cell or village. The re-
vamped institution was to bring together all members of the community to assess their
socio-economic conditions, define their priorities and decide on what to do in order to
improve their well being. For example, they could decide, based on a limited budget,
whether they preferred to build a school or a health care centre in their village. When
we were looking for a development approach to fight poverty and enhance peoples
livelihoods from the grassroots, Ubudehe came into the picture. The fact is that it
emanates from our culture and is people-centred, so we prioritised it and it has paid
off ,said Eugene Barikana, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Local Govern-
ment (MINALOC). The uniqueness of this programme that saw it outclass competi-
tors from other countries was its nature of being people-centred, right from the grass-
40
roots, where people are empowered to play an active role in solving their
socio-economic problems, he added (AllAfrica.com). In brief, the initiative enabled
village residents to increase their own problem-solving capabilities.
Ubudehe was formally established in 2001 by the Government of Rwanda through the
Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning and the current Ministry of Local Gov-
ernment, Good Governance, Community Development and Social Affairs, and it was
funded by the European Commission. The Ubudehe secretariat is made up of a small
team of no more than five people nationally, and there are no intermediaries in ensuring
resources flows between the central government and cellules. In 2002, the Government
of Rwanda set up the Common Development Fund (CDF) to enhance the process of
decentralization initiated in 2000, while contributing to the efforts of financial decentral-
ization and decision making capacities. CDF is the government institution, through
which the Ubudehe programmes are funded. In fact, it is a government owned fund set
up to support the implementation of decentralization policy; a policy, which the Govern-
ment of Rwanda considers as the main strategy to achieve good governance and sustain-
able economic development and as a weapon of higher caliber to fight poverty. In order
to ensure an effective implementation of this policy, availing resources to grassroots
administrative entities was thought of as indispensable. Therefore, the CDF was estab-
lished and assigned the mission to empower those administrative entities by financing
development projects, with at least 10% of the annual national revenues allocated to the
Fund and contributions from donors. In particular, the European Union committed 1
million for this pilot, which went directly to the 681 pilot villages between 2002 and
early 2003. These projects had to be approved by the CDFs Board of Directors while
referring to CDFs priorities and distribution criteria. For the first time resources were
disbursed directly from a donor to the Central Bank of the government to the citizens in
the villages with no intermediary in between. So far a total of 25 million has been con-
tributed for fighting rural poverty and improving local governance in Rwanda.
An agreement was therefore reached to run a pilot process on condition that citizens
would be in charge and in control of generating their own poverty information, and
would be given the opportunity to act collectively in solving common problems. A
pilot process therefore begun in Butare, the South Province, to demonstrate the pos-
sibilities and abilities of citizens to exercise their own power to analyze their poverty
reduction needs and their ability to act together to solve specific problems.
In order to implement this initiative, the following steps had to be undertaken.
Training of Trainers:
Training of facilitators at the village level; and
Facilitation at the village level (Village residents come together to discuss pov-
erty issues)
41
Members of the Ministry of Local Government in charge of implementing the Ubu-

dehe initiative asked cell (village) residents in Butare to select two people as facilita-
tors for each village. 12 Master Trainers attached to the Ministry of Local Govern-
ment trained the selected village facilitators. Between February and June 2001, 1,823
facilitators were trained to embark on the pilot process. The facilitators were as-
signed the task of helping local people to come together in a purposeful way and to
engage in solving a single problem of their choosing. Citizens were encouraged to
rely on their own ideas instead of always depending on governments support to find
solutions to their problems. If necessary, however, residents at the village level could
consult government, NGOs, and donors for technical and financial advice.
During the meetings at the local level, the facilitator together with the other citizens
of the village had to engage in the following activities:
Define social categories and their characteristics;
Draw a Social Map of the village on the ground;
Reproduce the hand-drawn map of the village on a cloth with all the social
categories;
Indicate the number of people for every category;
Define other categories according to their status, to what they do and own;
Prioritize local problems;
Define a concrete action to be taken to solve one problem of their own choosing;
One poor household is selected in every village so that it may be helped with
some resources to pursue livelihood strategies; and
Any other information that village residents need to provide is elaborated on a
visual tool.
In 2002, citizens in 681 Villages/Cellules in Butare completed detailed social maps

(in large cloths making visual validation possible from individual household names,
social categories, infrastructure and service provision and other characteristics) ana-
lyzing their poverty characteristics.
Once the people have assessed together their problems, they gather in a village council
meeting where they map out solutions for their problems. After coming to a common
understanding, they work out a project that best suits their needs, and financial support
is granted to them through the Ubudehe Unit at the Common Development Fund. A
bank account has been created for every Ubudehe initiative and this in turn has created
a network of resources flows, which can be the backbone of a microfinance system.
Ubudehe is embedded at the grassroot levels, and implemented at the village levels
precisely because this is where poverty lies. One cannot tackle poverty from the top
42
level, one has to solve it from its grassroot levels, said Egide Rugamba, the acting
Director of the Common Development Fund (AllAfrica.com). So the poor them-
selves at the cell level as well as those at the household level identify the causes of
poverty and their consequences. We provide Frw 600,000 to each household project
for the poorest household in the community and Frw 600,000 to each community
project. And since 2005 up to this year, we have financed 15,000 households, ex-
plained Jean Baptist Ngerejah. Community members come up with village-based
community projects and we finance them.
Results from the Butare pilot project demonstrated the power of citizen participa-
tion and collective action in reducing poverty. By the year 2004, the positive out-
come of the pilot phase was enough to convince the government to make Ubudehe
a national policy and the European Union (EU) to allocate 10 million for a nation-
wide rollout with the aim to reach over 9,175 cellules (villages) covering the whole
of Rwanda. In brief, the Ubudehe approach seeks to promote self governance, par-
ticipatory planning, problem solving, social capital building and entrepreneurship
development. It is designed to increase the level of institutional problem-solving
capacity at the local level by citizens and local government. It puts into operation
the principle of citizens participation through local collective action. With this
initiative, all the households in the village are encouraged to take part in all discus-
sions about their poverty reduction needs and solutions. This poverty analysis in-
forms all poverty reduction efforts and forms a robust and rigorous baseline to as-
sess future performance and social change. The programme has fostered citizens
participation in policymaking while having improved transparency, accountability
and responsiveness in the public service. The strategies adopted to make this initia-
tive successful included:
Working with citizens selected as facilitators to be based in the communities to
facilitate participatory processes. Over 17,500 cascade facilitators were trained
by the Master Trainers of the Ministry of Local Government;
Transforming the nature of Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPA) to move
away from the conventional consultative approaches adopted by most coun-
tries preparing PRSP papers, to an approach that truly encouraged participation
and ensured 100% nationwide involvement of all citizens in defining poverty
profiles using social maps and other visual tools as a foundation. (Facilitated
by community facilitators);
Providing more accurate statistics about poverty. The rich analysis that emerged
from this process has started to influence the production of national statistics
and is beginning to demonstrate that it is possible to get more accurate poverty
related data compared to survey based statistical systems. (Used by the Minis-
try of Local Government and Ministry of Finance);
43
Supporting citizens in each village with a maximum of 1,000 to act on prob-

lems identified during the PPA process. For the first time, PPAs moved from
being extractive information gathering processes to something citizens felt
they could act on themselves. Over 10,000 village actions emerged. (Resources
provided by EU, process facilitated by community facilitators), (15,000 ac-
tions planned for 2007-2008);
Developing financial systems to transfer funds from the central government
directly to the citizens accounts at the local level without any intermediaries
in between and with low transaction costs;
Repeating cycles of collective action at the local village level before scaling up
to sectoral and district levels to provide public goods on a larger scale, driven,
designed and owned by citizens; and
Using information generated in social maps to hold various national government
departments to account and use social maps as a basis for developing alternative
citizen driven national statistical system (Ministry of Local Government).
Several independent audits and studies have consistently demonstrated that Ubudehe has
achieved high value for money by ensuring resources go directly to citizens and contrib-
uted to increased citizenship and democratization in Rwanda. But most importantly,
across all villages in Rwanda Ubudehe is known, and citizens have actively engaged in
one way or another in problem defining and solving processes. The Ubudehe programme
has promoted: self-governance and poverty reduction; services that respond to citizens
needs; the development of a formal economy, and trust, tolerance and community spirit.
While the Ubudehe initiative is still ongoing, it has achieved several milestones. One
of them is the fact that Ubudehe has transformed the nature of Participatory Poverty
Assessments (PPAs), moving away from traditional approaches to ones where citi-
zens are truly in control. The use of social maps has begun to transform and influence
new thinking in Rwanda about how national statistical systems can shift away from
survey based methodologies to ones that are controlled by citizens and thereby cap-
ture citizens voice and preferences regularly. By 2007 citizens in all villages had
actively participated in generating social maps and defining and stating their prefer-
ences and priority problems. The information generated from social maps is now
being used to act as performance measures to hold national government and relevant
ministries accountable against commitments made.
The second major achievement is the fact that citizens not only captured and stated their
preferences and characteristics of poverty, but had the opportunity to come together
through collective action to do something about priority problems they had stated. In
2006-2007, across 9,000 villages, citizens came together to solve the problems they had
highlighted (from restocking livestock lost during the genocide, to provision of public
44
goods such as primary health care or water in collaboration with government). In total,
25 million will be distributed directly to all the villages from the central bank demon-
strating how resource transfers from central government directly to citizen groups can
take place fluidly and without much administrative costs. This major experience has
begun to influence the design and shape of the Common Development Fund (CDF) to
ensure that citizens become active agents in planning, budgeting, use, implementation
and monitoring of state and donor resources in the provisioning of public goods. The
Ubudehe initiative now boasts several thousand examples of active citizen action dem-
onstrating the power of a proactive citizenry if governments can play a more active en-
abling role for their citizens. The ability of citizens, emerging from the trauma of geno-
cide, to come together and work together to solve common problems has contributed
significantly to national healing and trust building crucial for long lasting peace.
As the initiative is still evolving there are aspects of Ubudehe that may not be repli-
cated currently, but could be replicated in the near future. In particular, the ability to
transform a national statistics system to capture nationwide citizens voice is of huge
significance as this provides developing countries with the opportunity to generate
much more accurate poverty related data resulting in better conceived policy making,
resource allocation and the development of performance measures designed and
owned by citizens themselves.
Lessons Learned
Because Ubudehe is founded on the core principle that citizens must be enabled to exer-
cise the power to act, by its very nature the Ubudehe initiative is sustainable and transfer-
able. Nationally, Ubudehe has grown from a small pilot project in Butare, South Prov-
ince, to achieve a national coverage. By 2007, other ministerial departments were being
introduced to the power of social maps in determining performance measures, by which
government departments and officials can be held to account. The fact that Ubudehe
scaled up from 600 cellules (the smallest administrative area in Rwanda) to more than
9,154 cellules is testament to its transferability as is the fact that Ubudehe is recognized
nationally and now being budgeted at the national level by the government of Rwanda.
The Ubudehe experience is also a tangible demonstration of the power of social

capital. It has helped citizens move away from being dependant and helpless subjects
into proactive actors of their own development. By default, as confidence in citizens
increases, sustainability increases since citizens realize that they can tackle commu-
nal problems collectively without always having to rely on the State or outsiders to
solve their problems.
The Ubudehe process itself facilitated by local community volunteers enables citizens
to design local problem solving institutions that can self-govern and self-manage. Only
after a sustainability test for self-governance and self-management of capital, opera-
45
tional, maintenance, information and coordination costs is completed can citizens en-
gage in a problem solving process. This sustainability test ensures that citizens craft
local problem solving institutions that they truly own. This includes environmental
concerns that can plague the management of common pool resources. There are sev-
eral elements that have contributed to the evolving success of the Ubudehe initiative.
Ensuring inclusive participation: A firm belief in the principle of real par-
ticipation and opportunities, and the demonstration of what this participation
looks like in practice, have visually demonstrated and encouraged greater sup-
port from others.
Starting small and scaling up was a core strategy: Recognizing that any long
term change process takes time, and persisting with long term processes has en-
sured that Ubudehe makes small but gradualy inroads into national acceptance;
Minimizing expenses: Keeping overheads low and ensuring over 80% of re-
sources are controlled by citizens themselves has been central in ensuring Ubu-
dehes success. The Ubudehe secretariat comprises of a small team of no more
than five people nationally, and there are no intermediaries in ensuring resourc-
es flows between the central government and cellules;
Buidling awareness about peoples ability to govern themselves: This ini-
tiative helped people to come together to develop a common understanding of a
problem and experience problem solving through direct engagement. People
have developed a sense of how to implement and manage their affairs. In the
process, citizens debate, negotiate and reach an agreement, which contains de-
tails about a commonly agreed purpose, budget and rules of association that will
bind citizens. All of this increases local pools of knowledge. By default this ini-
tiative has increased the accountability and transparency in the management of
their collective action leading to wider calls for accountability and transparency.
And this approach now provides for the next phase of Ubudehe a basis for plan-
ning longer term and larger scale support to citizens at the district level; and
Ability of donors to embrace innovative development approaches: The
ability of donors, such as the European Union, to take initial risks and experi-
ment with the process has given much boost to this type of cooperation and has
also demonstrated that donors need to move beyond traditional development
strategies and try out new approaches that may be more relevant to specific
contexts. Speaking at the award-giving ceremony in Rwanda, President
Kagame said that Ubudehe is a clear indication of how Rwandan people have
managed to solve their own problems by listing their priorities, needs and mak-
ing decisions by themselves. Poverty is a mindset and getting out of it is by
making just a simple decision. If we continue with this success record, the
country will develop quickly, he noted.
46
2008 CATEGORY 1: INDIA
Asia and the Pacic

India
District Lokvani Society Sitapur
Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh (UP), India
Description
Providing online government services and channels for redressing citizens
grievances in rural areas through an online portal made accessible by internet
kiosks and public-private partnerships.
Summary
The District Lokvani Society of Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh (UP) was selected as a Fi-
nalist for providing information about government services in rural areas and for
opening a channel for redressing citizens grievances through an online portal.
The Problem
Before Lokvani was established, there was no formal system of providing informa-
tion to citizens about government services. Being a backward district with only 38%
literacy, extremely poor and unaware citizens, the government officers acted as rulers
rather than public servants. Citizens had no option other than personally visit the
District headquarter/Tehsil for government related services/information and/or get-
ting their grievances addressed. In Sitapur, citizens had only two hours a day to inter-
act with the District Magistrate (DM) (administrative head). This caused a great
strain on the system and resulted in very few grievances being addressed satisfacto-
rily. Moreover, once a person had met the DM and provided him with his grievance
in writing, he received no receipt or number to track the status of his grievance. Also,
the absence of checks on public servants performance encouraged a lackadaisical
approach and delays in solving citizens problems.
Both the officers and citizens were used to this system repeated physical visits, long
queues to meet officers, paper applications and affidavits, files, and babus (clerks).
The entire back-end functioning of the system was shrouded in secrecy, and lacked
transparency. The system was, generally, not accessible to a common citizen, who
typically had to seek the support of either a local political leader, or influential people
to represent his case/grievance. This system led to the exploitation of illiterate and
uninitiated (to the governments way of functioning) citizens by touts at various stag-
es. This was no doubt a source of corruption. Officers were also over-burdened by
excessive paperwork without proper filing systems (including file tracking systems)
and red-tape (bureaucratic hassles). Generally district administration officials in In-
47
dia have a very large population base under their purview. But the infrastructure was
abysmally inadequate due to a negligible number of computer systems and the lack
of computer networks. There was not even basic awareness amongst officers about
basic usage of computers and internet. Even the letters in the DMs office were getting
typed on manual typewriters. This was the situation not only in Sitapur, but in most
of the districts of Uttar Pradesh.
The Solution
When Mr. Amod Kumar took over as the District Magistrate (DM) of Sitapur in July
2004, he sought to initiate a system that would ensure transparency in the administra-
tion. He had heard of two Government to Citizen (G2C) initiatives, Gyandoot
(gyandoot.nic.in) at Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh, and Janmitra (jhalawar.nic.in/
janmitra.htm) at the Jhalawar District of Rajasthan. So he decided to establish a team
of three people, including the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sitapur (from the revenue
department), the District Information Officer (from the technical department), and
the Block Development Officer (from the development stream), who were sent to
study these two initiatives in September 2004.
After completing the study, a number of brain storming sessions were organized in
order to translate the ideas on paper into an actual service and to make it suitable for
Sitapur. Finally, the team decided to establish an Internet kiosk based G2C interface
(online portal) to provide relevant information to citizens, as well as a channel to ef-
fectively redress peoples grievances in a transparent, accountable and time-bound
manner, and to furnish information about the performance of civil servants in real
time to ensure accountability.
To overcome the resistance of the employees, while designing the Lokvani system,
the District Magistrate worked closely with his team of officers. The Lokvani on-
line portal was designed by a team of three officers from NIC (National Informatics
Centre), namely Mr. A. P. Singh, Mr. AjaiGopal and Mr. Rajeev Lakhera. Due to
the inadequate electricity supply in the district (leading to frequent and long power
cuts), it was decided to host the site at the NICs Delhi server, rather than at the
district headquarters. Therefore, Lokvani would be based on the Internet rather
than the Intranet (like Gyandoot and Janmitra) to enable 24/7 access and 100%
transparency. The site design was customized to the local needs. The entire site was
in Hindi, the official language (which also happens to be the local language). They
conceptualized a user-friendly site with large jumbo-sized lists, rather than small
bullet points. The site therefore contained no graphics, large Hindi fonts, and was
easy to navigate. The text was written in the language of the commoners (like the
link for viewing complaint status was titled as status of your complaints, rather
than complaint status).
48
Self-sustainability and change management were the key strategies for the successful
implementation and execution of the Lokvani Project. No additional government re-
sources were needed to implement this project. In fact, the Lokvani Society was built
with existing resources and through a public-private-partnership between internet
kiosks operators and the government.
The Software was developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) as part of its
duty to technically assist the District Magistrate. The NIC provided the necessary
infrastructure for hosting the Lokvani application at the remote server. To reduce
some of the bureaucratic pressures and to effectively implement this initiative, a
company by the name of Lokvani was built under the chairmanship of the DM of
Sitapur. The company has district level officers and eminent citizens as its members.
Introducing G2C services was not easy. The officers were not well versed with com-
puters; rather they were used to files and paperwork. Electricity supply was erratic,
and the tehsils (Indian administrative divisions) were not connected to the internet.
The infrastructure was not adequate. To overcome this drawback the public-private
partnership (PPP) model of kiosk was introduced. The system is based on an innova-
tive operational model wherein existing cyber cafes are being leveraged to act as
franchisees of the system. Such a strategy avoids upfront investments from the gov-
ernment to set up such kiosks and avoids any operational support from the govern-
ment. This is possible as the system generates its own funds received from the regis-
tration fees of kiosks operators, revenue sharing per grievance, short term and
lifetime membership fees. Eminent citizens also contributed to its implementation.
Change management was identified as the toughest task for this project. Officers
were not exceedingly eager to learn how to use new technologies. Therefore, it was
necessary to have a programmatic approach to change management in order to en-
sure an effective implementation of the system. Each officer was given a fixed period
of 15 days, within which he had to redress each grievance. This strict schedule has
dramatically increased the efficiency and accountability of officers. Moreover, the
District Magistrate and citizens can access the progress report of the work under-
taken by any officer. Transparency brought about by the easy availability of informa-
tion on land records has reduced the possibility of land scams.
A three pronged approach was adopted to introduce the new system. Firstly, four to
five officers were identified, based on their interest, in IT and commitment to enhanc-
ing the quality of peoples lives. They formed a core group, which looked after its day
to day functioning. Secondly, no decision regarding the Lokvani initiative was taken
by the leader himself. It was strictly ensured that all the decisions were taken openly
in meetings, which were chaired by the DM or any member of the core group. This
ensured the participation, interest and enthusiasm of most of the government officers
49
in the project. Thirdly, a system of positive and negative incentives was developed to
monitor the performance of all the officers (about 300 in number) on a weekly basis.
This system was publicized extensively to achieve the desired results.
The deadline for the test launch of the site was set to 15 November 2004. Pilot test-
ing began with public grievances on 9 November 2004, and the site was fully op-
erational by 10 December 2004. Initially, there were only 13 Lokvani kiosks (with
roughly two in each tehsil). In the first 20 days since the site was activated, they
received complaints in single digits (number of complaints received per day); by
the first month, they began receiving complaints in double digits (per day); and by
the end of the third month, they started getting triple-digit numbers of complaints.
As of 15 January 2008, Lokvani had received 109,086 grievances, of which 104,519
have been resolved (sitapur.nic.in/lokvani/stp/exsmry1.asp). Later on with time
other information/services were added/are being added upon request of the citizen/
kiosk owners.
To reach the rural illiterate and poor people through internet, the kiosks model was
copied from the Gyandoot project of MP. An intensive public campaign was launched
to break the initial barrier of fear of computers. Radio publicity using FM channels
was used to reach the illiterate people who could not read. The aim was to bring a few
initial users to the kiosks. Once their problems were solved effectively using Lokvani,
word of mouth publicity was enough to keep it moving.
The Lokvani system was also widely promoted through press conferences. Likewise,
the kiosk owners were also encouraged to organize awareness campaigns and to take
local level measures to publicize the initiative. The main objective was to gain the
trust of the people in the system by giving excellent solutions to initial problems. It
started with 13 kiosks and presently there are about 110 kiosks spread throughout the
district. About 150,000 people have directly benefited from this system in the last
three years. (The site can be viewed at: sitapur.nic.in/lokvani using guest as user id
as well as password). The system has registered more than 100,000 complaints and
disposed of over 90% complaints successfully. In the former system, ordinary citi-
zens had to forego wages to stand in a queue to merely file in a petition. They would
then have to follow it up with countless visits to various government offices to find
out the status and outcome of the petition that was filed. Clearly, with the Lokvani
system, citizens are able to put their time to a more productive use, which definitely
adds up to the local GDP. It has created employment in rural areas and has ushered
in a new era of enthusiastic kiosk operators whose incomes are rising steadily. An
unexpected positive outcome of the system has been a perceptible shift towards gen-
der equality as women are more computer literate and some of the most efficient ki-
osks are being run by women.
50
The Lokvani model was established keeping in mind the three key stakeholders, that
is to say the government, the IT entrepreneurs/Kiosk operators, and, at the heart of
the system, the citizen:
Government: The systems success depends upon officers response to peo-
ples grievances and on the information they provide on Lokvanis website. All
the government employees are major stakeholders in this system;
IT entrepreneurs/Kiosk owners: The key achievement of this initiative is its
self-sustainability and long-term financial viability. The conversion of existing
cyber cafes/computer training institutes into Lokvani Centres was a key factor
driving the financial success. This step ensured that extraneous capital was not
a vital requirement for the solution. The kiosks are run by IT entrepreneurs.
The society signed contracts with existing kiosk owners for the purpose of
registering them as Lokvani franchisees with only a nominal fee of Rs. 1,000
(Indian rupees) paid annually by Kiosk owner. A typical kiosk has an internet
enabled PC, printer, webcam and power backup device (UPS/inverter/genera-
tor). Kiosks earn profits through the income generated from various Lokvani
services provided to the citizens. In addition, the kiosks can also generate some
extra revenue by providing disparate facilities like computer education, com-
puter typing, digital photography, internet access resulting in cross sales. Some
of the kiosks are earning as much as Rs. 20,000 per month.
Citizens: The citizens are the reason as well the force behind this initiative.
They greatly benefit from the system. In an economy riddled with poverty, it
is an enormous burden on the citizens to forego daily wages to obtain govern-
ment services.
Apart from the above, volunteers of Asha (an NGO led by Mr. Sandeep Pandey, a
Magsaysay awardee) mobilized civil society to pressure the government to keep the
initiative on track. Media played an important role not only in publicizing the initia-
tive (so that people can use it effectively), but also criticizing the non performing
officers by bringing out newspaper reports and stories on news channel by picking up
their performance directly from the website.
The Lokvani system is the first example in India of pure PPP in establishing the in-
ternet kiosks in rural areas. It is an example of ICT being used on a large scale for the
masses instead of upper classes. In India, after Bhoomi in Karnataka (land records
computerization), perhaps it is the biggest example of ICT use for the rural poor.
After its overwhelming success and peoples support in Sitapur, the UP Government
issued a Government Order (G.O.) on 16 June 2005 to replicate it in the whole state.
The project Lokvani, which has been replicated the initiative in about 35 districts,
can be completely adapted with ease. A translated Telugu version of Lokvani is being
51
used in Andrha Pradesh. The wide network of NIC, as well as coordination between
employees and a standardized central data structure has made the transferability of
the project exceptionally smooth and fast. It takes only a few hours to install the
system in a new district, but strategically it takes time to implement. This system can
be made operational by conducting a Lokvani meeting once a week under the chair-
manship of the District Magistrate.
Lessons Learned
The Lokvani initiative has proved that a low literacy rate, financial constraints, and
power shortages are not a barrier for implementing a successful e-Governance proj-
ect. Sitapur has a 38.6% literacy and negligible computer literacy rate. However, this
did not prove to be a deterrent to the project since the existing kiosks were used as an
interface between the system and the citizens.
A key learning point from this solution is that word of mouth is the most effective and
efficient mechanism for generating awareness among rural and semi-urban citizens
that have low literacy rates. Rural people have lost trust in advertisement due to false
promises made to them. Hence, trust can be built only by offering services that sat-
isfy their needs over a period of time.
By charging the kiosk operator an annual fee for hosting government services in-
stead of subsidizing kiosks, the Lokvani initiative has proved that e-Governance
projects can be a source of revenue for governments even in a district where 88%
population is rural and the average per capita income is very low. The project has
succeeded despite several odds such as extremely poor literacy, only six to seven
hours availability of power in rural areas, minimal computer literacy, poor connec-
tivity and an inert socio-political atmosphere. It has demonstrated that e-Gover-
nance/ICT can succeed without electricity also in rural areas, provided a good busi-
ness model is built around it. Kiosks are managed using generators/invertors/solar
devices. This shows that profit motive and competition can overcome many infra-
structural inadequacies. The large success of the project has created an e-Gover-
nance friendly atmosphere in the state.
Another important lesson learned is that widespread awareness, as well as a more

informed public opinion can go a long way in the fight against corruption. People
were unaware of their rights as well as of the various services offered by the govern-
ment. Lokvani has brought about a well appreciated transparency by displaying the
performance of officers on the web (sitapur.nic.in/lokvani/stp/officerwise_detail.
asp). This kind of openness cannot be found yet in any other government organisa-
tion in the country.
52
2008 CATEGORY 1: SINGAPORE
Asia and the Pacic

Singapore
Home Ownership Programme
Housing and Development Board, Singapore
Description
Fullling the aspirations of Singaporeans for homes and communities through
the Home Ownership Programme established by the Housing Development Board
in Singapore.
Summary
To forge nation building and community development for a multi-racial society, the
Government of Singapore decided to move away from rental housing to leasehold
ownership flats by encouraging home ownership. Singapores Home Ownership for
People Scheme, was introduced in 1964 through the Housing & Development Board
to help Singaporean families own their apartments. With home ownership, each Sin-
gaporean family has an asset to hedge against inflation and an investment that can be
monetized in times of need.
The Problem
When Singapore obtained its independence from Great Britain in 1959, it faced seri-
ous problems of a rapidly growing post-war population (4.3% per year or 60,000
citizens), high unemployment rate (about 13.5%) and a critical shortage of sanitary
housing. Public housing provided by the colonial government was grossly insuffi-
cient to meet a booming population. Basic housing was out of reach to large major-
ity of Singaporeans. Only 9% of 1.6 million people were living in public housing.
The city was mostly occupied by dilapidated and overcrowded shop houses. Due to
postwar rent control, landlords had no incentives to maintain their properties and
allowed them to sink into disrepair, while their chief tenants benefited by endlessly
sub-dividing cubicles to maximize large number of sub-tenants to collect rent. At
the city periphery, racketeers made quick profits on unauthorized shelters in squatter
settlements and in vacant land that were not properly controlled, to ignorant citi-
zens. Such overcrowded slums and squatter colonies with no sanitation, water or
basic facilities were homes to more than half a million people. They became breed-
ing grounds for disease, crime and fire hazards. Social disharmony and frustration
among the different communities of ethnic groups were strong; riots and strikes
were common.
53
In many countries and for many people the concept of public housing is mostly used
as a housing programme of low quality and insecure place to stay in. But in Singapore,
the Housing Development Board (HDB) flats offer their residents quality lifestyles in
quality buildings. Before the programme started, most people lived in squatter colo-
nies and city slums. In 1960, a housing programme was launched to build low-cost
public housing. Basic self-contained units with piped water, electricity and sewer dis-
charge, was initially let at low rents to low-income families. However, in many coun-
tries and for many people the concept of public housing is mostly used as a housing
programme of low quality and an insecure place to stay in. But in Singapore, the
Housing Development Board (HDB) flats offer their residents quality lifestyles in
quality buildings. Before the programme started, most people lived in squatter colo-
nies and city slums. In 1960, a housing programme was launched to build low-cost
public housing. Basic self-contained units with piped water, electricity and sewer dis-
charge, was initially let at low rents to low-income families. However,
The Solution
It was estimated then that about 14,000 new housing units annually were needed to
cater to the rapid increase in population, relieve overcrowding in the city and to re-
house poor families affected by slum clearance. Responding to the crisis, a new hous-
ing authority, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) was set up in February
1960 to spearhead provision of sanitary and affordable housing to the population.
Public housing took top priority under the newly-elected government, and HDB was
given full financial and legislative support to carry out its tasks.
An immediate task of HDB was to provide as many low-cost housing units as possible,
within the shortest time. The apartments, known as HDB flats, were designed to be
self-contained units, with piped water, electricity, sewer discharge and adequate living
space for families. In the first five years of its existence, the HDB built 50,000 flats, a
remarkable feat, considering that the colonial government took 30 years to provide
only 23,000 flats. Within ten years, the severe housing shortage was largely resolved.
Initially, the flats were let at low rents to low-income families. However, to forge na-
tion building and community development for a multi-racial society, the government
decided to move away from rental housing to leasehold ownership flats by encourag-
ing Home Ownership. Owning a home would instill pride and a sense of belonging
among the people, which also would enable them to have a stake in nation-building.
The Home Ownership for People Scheme was introduced in 1964 to help Singa-
porean families own their HDB flats. Today, there are more than 800,000 HDB flats
in Singapore, housing over 80% of Singapores resident population of about four
million. Almost all (95%) HDB households own their homes. An equally high pro-
portion (94%) of HDB residents are satisfied with their flats (based on HDBs five-
54
yearly Sample Household Survey). Home ownership has become an indistinguish-

able norm from Singapores public housing programme. Beyond providing physical
shelter, the home ownership scheme, buttressed by community-focused housing pol-
icies, has played an important part in Singapores nation-building and contributed to
the overall economic, social and political stability of Singapore.
First, owning a home meant that Singaporeans were more committed to the countrys
long-term survival and interests. Since each family has an asset to defend and benefit
from enhancement in value of their home, home ownership contributed to both social
well-being and stability.
Second, home ownership helped to build strong work ethics. Homeowners were
more likely to work hard to finance the purchase of their home, thereby contributing
to greater productivity and economic growth for Singapore.
Third, home ownership helped to root the people physically and emotionally, as there
would be a greater sense of belonging and identity with the nation.
Fourth, home ownership helped to instill a sense of pride among homeowners for
their living environment. Problems of poor maintenance and upkeep of the housing
estates would be less likely to occur. This prevented public housing estates from de-
generating into urban slums.
Finally, home ownership reduced the need for heavy government financing to provide
public rental housing. This ensured the sustainability of Singapores public housing to
the benefits of Singaporeans. HDB estates have become a common point of emotional
reference for most Singaporeans. This HDB Experience bonds Singaporeans, in the
same way that National Service and the education system have created a common
experience among Singaporeans of all races and from all walks of life. Singaporeans
of different races and socio-economic groups could have the opportunities to mix and
interact with one another, thereby fostering ethnic integration and social cohesion.
At its inception, HDB was responsible for the entire process of public housing pro-
vision, from planning and design to the removal of squatters, land assembly, con-
struction (with building works by private building contractors) and equitable hous-
ing allocation. Upon completion of the flats, HDB followed through with the flat
allocation, management and maintenance of the housing estates. In 1989, Town
Councils were formed to take over the management and maintenance of the com-
mon areas in HDB estates. In 2003, with the corporatisation of the Building & De-
velopment Division of HDB (comprising architectural, engineering and project
management expertise), the design and development of HDB flats, implementation
of upgrading programmes, procurement of construction services and resources,
project management, etc., were outsourced to private consultants, including Surba-
55
na, the corporatised body. In 2005, the government launched the Design, Build and
Sell Scheme, which allowed private developers to develop and sell a proportion of
new public housing on same eligibility conditions as HDB to provide more options
to meet growing housing aspirations.
An important partner of HDB in the home ownership is the Central Provident Fund
(CPF) Board, the statutory body that administers Singapores mandatory pension
contributions. In 1968, CPF Board allowed its members to pay for their HDB flats
using the savings in their CPF accounts. This provided a low-cost home financing
solution to bring home ownership within the reach of most Singaporeans. It is a ma-
jor factor underlying the success of the home ownership scheme.
As public housing is in fully integrated and self-contained towns with a full range of
commercial, educational, recreational, transport and other communal facilities, HDB
also works closely with various public agencies, e.g., Urban Redevelopment Author-
ity, National Parks Board, Land Transport Authority, Ministry of the Environment and
Water Resources, Ministry of Education, Singapore Land Authority, and Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports, on comprehensive planning for town-
ship development. Singapores achievements in public housing and home ownership
can be attributed to an interaction of several policies as briefly described below:
Land Acquisition Policy: In the early years, to assemble sufficient land at a
reasonable cost, the government had to acquire private land for the develop-
ment of new public housing. Landowners, who were given fair compensation
for land acquisition, were initially aggrieved but accepted it for national inter-
ests, as demonstrated by the governments massive and successful execution of
the public housing programme;
Central Provident Fund Policy: The CPF, a compulsory savings scheme where-
by up to 34.5% of a workers salary is set aside by the employer and employee,
has enabled Singaporeans to fund the purchase of their homes. Today, over 70%
of Singaporean HDB flat owners service their housing loans from their CPF ac-
count without the need for outright cash payments. There is an element of housing
subsidy built in the scheme. All HDB flats are sold on a 99-year lease at subsi-
dized prices. Every flat is sold by HDB at below their market value to ensure that
HDB flats are affordable to citizen families. First-time citizen buyer have a choice
of buying a flat at a subsidized price from HDB, or an HDB flat at market value in
the secondary market with a housing grant of SGD$30,000 to SGD$40,000 from
the government. Lower-income families (with monthly household income not ex-
ceeding SGD$4,000) are assisted with more subsidies in the form of additional
housing grants of up to SGD$30,000, at graduated scale, so that the lower the
household income is estimated, the higher the subsidy the families would enjoy.
This is on top of existing housing subsidies given to first-time buyers;
56
Affordable Pricing: To ensure that the large majority of Singaporeans have

access to quality housing, HDB is guided by the governments commitment
that 90% of Singaporean households will be able to own at least a basic flat.
HDB closely monitors the Debt-Service Ratio of the target segments, compar-
ing the monthly mortgage payments of the flats they buy with their income
levels. Today, the Debt-Service Ratios of its flat buyers are generally below
25% of their monthly household income, well within international benchmarks
on affordable housing expenditures.
To keep public housing affordable, development cost is carefully managed
through land use optimization, cost-effective building design (high-rise, high-
density) and enhanced construction efficiency. Latest innovations in building
technology, such as prefabrication and pre-casting, are adopted to raise con-
struction productivity and quality, while lowering construction cost. The con-
cept of a sole agency in charge of public housing enables more effective re-
source planning and allocation. HDB is able to secure land, raw materials and
manpower for large-scale construction to optimize results and achieve econo-
mies of scale;
Home Financing: Besides the availability of CPF savings for flat purchase,
HDB also provides housing loans at concessionary interest rates to eligible
home buyers. HDB flats can also be mortgaged to approved banks and financial
institutions for competitive home loans;
Eligibility conditions: As public housing is heavily subsidized, appropriate
eligibility rules and policies are necessary to allocate limited housing resources
and subsidies to deserving applicants. Since home ownership was implement-
ed in 1964, HDB flat buyers need to meet the eligibility conditions of family
nucleus, citizenship, household income ceiling and non-ownership of private
property. To deter speculation of public housing, HDB flats are sold for owner-
occupation. Each eligible household can own only one HDB flat at any one
time. Flat owners need to occupy their flats to satisfy a minimum occupation
period before they can sell them in the open market or sublet their entire flats.
Each family can buy subsidized flats twice. Those who buy a second new flat
from HDB must have occupied their first flat for five years and pay a levy to
reduce the subsidy of the second flat;
Planning Concept and Ethnic Integration Policy: Being a multi-ethnic and
religious society, Singapore recognizes the importance of racial and religious
harmony. HDB public housing estates are physically designed to promote in-
teraction among residents of different income levels, races and religions. HDB
estates are developed with facilities such as places of worship, eating and mar-
keting facilities that cater to the needs of all ethnic groups. Flats of varying
57
types and sizes are provided within each precinct and block, so that households
of different income and social profiles can live together and interact with each
other. Common spaces and shared facilities, e.g., open spaces and childrens
playground, are provided for residents to mingle. The Ethnic Integration Poli-
cy, implemented in 1989, seeks to prevent the formation of racial enclaves by
setting the maximum allowable proportion for each ethnic group in every HDB
neighbourhood and block. Today, every public housing estate is a microcosm
of multi-racial Singapore; and
Physical Design: To build an inclusive society, public housing accommodates
various groups of people. Flats built in the early years were utilitarian, comprising
uniform blocks of mainly 1-room, 2-room, and 3-room flats (from 35 to 60 sqm).
Progressively, in response to changing lifestyles and growing affluence, bigger flat
types, 4-room, 5-room and Executive flats (90 sqm to 145 sqm) were introduced
in the 1970s and 1980s, and Premium flats with better quality finishes in the
1990s. To encourage private sector participation in public housing and to inject
greater variety for flat buyers, the Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) was in-
troduced in 2005 whereby private developers undertake the entire public housing
development process from tendering for the land, design and construction, to the
pricing and sale of the units to eligible buyers. The government continued to pro-
vide housing grants to eligible flat buyers of DBSS flats.
With an ageing population and a widening income disparity in Singapore, greater

attention is now paid to elderly and low-income flat buyers, through the provision of
Studio Apartments, a special form of public housing customized for elderly living
and sold on shorter 30-year leases for affordability; and the construction of more
smaller flat types.
As home purchase requires long-term financial commitment, it is important that flat

buyers are credit worthy and purchase flats within their means, so that they can sus-
tain long term ownership of their homes. HDB carries out credit assessment on home
buyers, taking into account the buyers age, income and other financial commit-
ments. Flat buyers are also required to make full use of their CPF savings first before
HDB grants them an HDB mortgage loan. For borderline cases, HDB conducts finan-
cial counseling sessions so that flat buyers are aware of their financial commitments
before the flat purchase. Home buyers are also required to take up Home Protection
Insurance to help family members pay off the mortgage loan in the event of demise
of the flat buyers. Those who face temporary financial difficulties in repaying their
mortgage loan due to a reduction or loss of income, retrenchment or business failure
etc., are assisted through various financial assistance measures.
With 95% of flat dwellers owning their flats, it is important that the asset value of
public housing is sustained and enhanced where possible. Since the 1990s, HDB
58
has implemented an Estate Renewal Strategy to bring older HDB estates to the
standards of newer ones. This programme improves and upgrades the physical con-
ditions and facilities of ageing estates and flats. The programme is heavily subsi-
dized by the government, with citizen flat owners co-paying only a small amount
of the cost.
Lessons Learned
There are at least a few key lessons to be drawn from Singapores home ownership
scheme hereby summarized:
Importance of Home Ownership: When HDB was formed in 1960, the orig-
inal intention was to build flats for low-cost rental housing. However, soon
after, the government decided to help the people to own homes. By owning
their flats, HDB residents are committed to take care of their property and
housing environment. This in turn helps to preserve their property asset value.
More importantly, owning a home has given the vast majority of Singaporeans
a tangible stake in the country, something to protect and defend. The home
ownership scheme has therefore contributed significantly to their nation-
building efforts;
Focus on Building Communities: There are many examples around the
world today of racial tensions and conflicts between different ethnic groups
and religions. These usually originate from socially or racially segregated
ghettos and slums of their cities. Once racial enclaves are formed, people of
different races do not have opportunities to interact with each other, result-
ing in mistrust with one another and misunderstandings flaring up into alter-
cations easily.
In a multi-racial society like Singapore, the government implemented a policy to
integrate different races and income groups in their HDB estates. Through the
design of public housing and policies e.g., Ethnic Integration Policy, HDB has
been able to maintain racial harmony and social cohesion, despite the diversity of
the population. This has been critical to Singapores national development; and
Forward-looking & Responsive Housing Policies: Public housing policies
should be forward-looking to meet the ever changing needs of the population.
In planning HDB towns, HDB took a long-term and comprehensive planning
approach, working closely with other public agencies to ensure that all neces-
sary infrastructure and facilities are in place. The housing policies and pro-
grammes are formulated and regularly reviewed and refined to ensure that they
move with the times even as the population and its expectations change, and
that both immediate and long-term housing objectives, and the needs and aspi-
rations of Singaporeans are met.
59
Talking about future plans and the provision of quality services, Mr. Tay, the HDB
CEO summarizes: Our plans going ahead are to be an outstanding organisation
fulfilling the aspirations of Singaporeans for homes and communities that all are
proud of.
The HDB is also looking to contribute to the social well-being of Singapore and help
build cohesive communities in HDB estates. Extensive consultations were carried
out for estate upgrading and redevelopment programmes to engage the residents.
Other community outreach programmes such as welcome parties for residents in
newly completed housing precincts, public talks and exhibitions were also imple-
mented. In other words, the housing projects are planned in a way that they include a
full range of facilities so that they help build communities and they provide spaces
and facilities for all ethnic groups.
The UNPSA has drawn more attention to HDB from other national organisations and
from public housing programmes in other countries as well. Through workshops and
visits, HDB has shared its experience with countries like China, Thailand, and South
Africa. The HDB initiative has also been featured in newspapers in China such as
The 21st Century Business Herald; Guangzhou, China. On 7 October 2008, the HDB
was awarded the Singapore Quality Award (SQA), which recognizes exemplary or-
ganisations that have demonstrated outstanding management capabilities and deliv-
ered superior performance in business excellence. Regarding the national and inter-
national recognition, the HDB management declared: We are always on the lookout
for new opportunities to do things more effectively and efficiently. Internally, we
have an Innovation Promotion programme that steers innovation under the five para-
digms of innovation, which focus on product, service, process, policy and business
models. In addition, HDB also submits innovative projects/programmes for external
affirmation and in recognition (2008 UNPSA Questionnaire).
60
2008 CATEGORY 1: UNITED STATES

United States
Juvenile Delinquency Domestic Violence and Family
Violence Court, State of California Superior Court for the
County of Santa Clara, San Jose, California, United States
Description
Providing a comprehensive youth-specic criminal justice intervention uniting
different divisions in a common effort to combat youth violence, rehabilitate
abusive youth and deliver specialized services to victims through the Juvenile
Delinquency Domestic Violence and Family Violence Court.
Summary
The Juvenile and Domestic Violence and Family Violence Court, the first program in
the nation to specifically intervene in issues of juvenile domestic and family vio-
lence, was created in 1999, under the leadership of Superior Court Judge Eugene M.
Hyman, to provide a comprehensive, youth-specific criminal justice intervention
that focused on uniting different divisions in a common effort to combat youth vio-
lence. The new program represented a broad collaboration between the court, law
enforcement, the District Attorney, the Public Defender, Probation, and community
service providers. This unique, court-based program focuses on reducing the number
of juvenile domestic and family violence cases in Santa Clara County; providing re-
habilitation services to abusive youth; and delivering specialized services to victims.
The Problem
Domestic violence and child maltreatment have devastating effects on children who
are exposed either as direct victims or as witnesses to the abuse of their parent. The
cycle of violence can be a generational phenomenon, where violent behavior is
passed down from parent to child and learned as a way of interacting with others.
Many studies have shown children who come from abusive homes are at greater risk
of becoming adults unable to have healthy relationships. Like the parent whose abuse
they endured or witnessed, these adults now perpetrate violence on intimates or fam-
ily members.
The criminal justice systems response has historically focused on these adult perpetra-
tors of domestic violence, from arrest and prosecution to probation and batterers inter-
vention programs. But justice systems were not specifically addressing the unique prob-
lems of juvenile domestic violence, when youth are violent towards their dating partners,
and juvenile family violence, when youth are violent towards parents or siblings.
61
Juvenile domestic violence and juvenile family violence are distinct phenomena. But
there is growing knowledge of their prevalence in the society. Sobering statistics in-
dicate that abuse committed by juveniles is a hidden epidemic. A 2001 study indi-
cated that one in five female high school students reported physical or sexual abuse
by a dating partner. The Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Councils Death
Review Committee, which has reviewed all domestic violence-related homicides in
the county since 1993, has found that many of the total domestic violence-related
deaths (from 11.7 to 41.6% per period) occurred in relationships that began when the
victim was underage. Youth exposed to violent relationships are at risk for more seri-
ous or even deadly violence as adults.
Criminal justice interventions for violent youth were inadequate. Police merely re-
ferred incidents of youth violence to probation officers who informally counseled
offenders before referring a matter for prosecution. Even if charges were filed against
a violent youth, the criminal disposition may still result in an informal probation-
based response. As a result, teen dating violence and family violence incidents were
not being recognized as the serious crimes that they are. Parents and juveniles were
not receiving necessary assistance to rehabilitate the young offenders. Victims also
did not receive restitution to compensate them for their economic losses, information
regarding disposition of their cases and the important community program referrals
they needed in order to heal.
The Solution
The hidden epidemic of youth violence was addressed in 1999, when Santa Clara
County established the first program in the nation to specifically intervene in issues
of juvenile domestic and family violence. In 1999, under the leadership of Superior
Court Judge Eugene M. Hyman, the Santa Clara County established the Juvenile
Domestic and Family Violence Court the first of its kind in the nation.
The new program represented a broad collaboration between the court, law enforcement,
the District Attorney, the Public Defender, Probation, and community service providers.
The program provided a comprehensive, youth-specific criminal justice intervention
that focused on uniting different divisions in a common effort to combat youth violence.
Although the concept of the Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court was con-
ceived by the Honorable Eugene M. Hyman, its success has depended on the active par-
ticipation and involvement of many other players and stakeholders. The government
agencies participating were: Santa Clara County Probation Department, Office of the
District Attorney, Office of the Public Defender, Each of the 13 police departments in the
county. The non-government agencies involved were: Victim services agencies (e.g.,
Victim-Witness), Legal services agencies (e.g., Legal Advocates for Children and Youth
and Support Network for Battered Women), Domestic Violence Intervention Programs.
62
To make the Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court succeed, four key steps
in its development and implementation were identified:
Idea Conception: Juvenile domestic and family violence was not receiving the same
analysis or attention it was given in the adult system. Thus offenders were not being
held accountable or provided adequate rehabilitative services and victims were like-
wise not receiving referrals and service. With this new model, the importance of in-
terceding in juvenile domestic and family violence cases as early as possible was
identified in order to provide the supervision and intervention necessary to reduce the
likelihood of youth becoming adult offenders. To address this concern, three key
priorities were identified:
Reduce the number of juvenile domestic and family violence cases in Santa
Clara County;
Provide rehabilitation services to abusive youth; and
Deliver specialized services to victims, whether they were the dating partner
or the parent/sibling of the offender.
Stakeholder Identication: Stakeholders were identified amongst existing manda-

tory services within the juvenile system including; law enforcement, Probation ser-
vices, the Office of the District Attorney and the Office of the Public Defender. Spe-
cialized domestic violence service providers including Victims services and Legal
services agencies who previously had no formal role or communication with other
stakeholders were identified and brought to the table. Domestic Violence Interven-
tion Programs that were providing services to adult offenders were enlisted to de-
velop and deliver programs specific to juvenile offenders.
The development of a committee, which held monthly meetings formalized the roles
of all stakeholders. An important indirect benefit of the program is the increased
communication and cooperation across different agencies.
Role Identication: Roles, procedures and practices needed to be modified in order

to achieve the programs key priorities. Traditional roles and interaction amongst
stakeholders were reviewed and areas where roles needed to be revised, expanded or
formalized were identified. For example, law enforcement adopted a mandatory arrest
policy, which was necessary to increase victim safety and to communicate to the of-
fender and the community the seriousness of the offence. In addition, building on the
strength of an existing dedicated juvenile domestic violence caseload, Probation was
able to shift from a primarily informal process, to one which required that any domes-
tic violence related act/case must be referred to the District Attorney for prosecution.
Protocol Development: Protocols specific to each function were developed by the

individual stakeholder agencies and brought to the larger committee meetings for
63
input and recommendations and to determine areas of referral and intersection. Pro-
tocol development was essential to the long term success of the program ensuring
continuity that survives changes in personnel amongst the stakeholders. Protocols
also identify responsibility areas amongst stakeholders and require ownership and
accountability. An annual protocol review process was recommended.
The creation of the specialized court involved creating and implementing new ways
of thinking about cases of youth violence through the following strategies:
Cast a bigger net through the creation of new intake and referral protocols:
Law enforcement agencies in the county collaborated on creating new response
protocols, which required police to arrest where appropriate and to refer cases
to juvenile probation for intake. By using more sophisticated models, cases
involving violent youth were specifically screened by Juvenile Probation and
referred to the District Attorney if Probation believed the offense fit the criteria
for abuse. If a criminal case could be proven, the District attorney issued a
petition. Initial risk assessment was crucial for evaluating victim risk and for
issuing appropriate interim orders of protection where applicable; and
Establish zero tolerance through training: Attorneys were re-trained to view
juvenile violence consistent with the countys zero tolerance approach to
adult cases. The county prosecution and public defender received introductory
training about domestic violence and its various forms that are likely to be pre-
sented in court. As result, both sides were able to resolve cases earlier. Training
enabled prosecutors to properly charge cases and to request proper conditions of
probation to supplement those requested by the probation department. The pros-
ecution, in addition to probation and the police, were able to assist victims with
more community-based referrals. These referrals increased the likelihood that
not only would victims obtain the services they needed, but in addition, in-
creased the odds that victims would appear in court and testify appropriately as
a result of being less dependent on the defendant for financial and emotional
support. Defense attorneys were better able to defend their clients as a result of
increased trial skills and knowledge of probation conditions and probation vio-
lations. Attorneys could thus identify those clients needing specialized services
in addition to intervention programs for domestic and family violence.
Keep eyes on the offender:

Frequent Judicial review: Judge Hyman deemed frequent judicial reviews
critical, not only for assessing abuser and stakeholder accountability but also
victim safety. Frequent reviews kept the focus on the young offender complet-
ing their 26-week program and complying with all conditions of probation,
including staying in school, avoiding drugs or alcohol, and following any pro-
tective orders in place relating to the victim; and
64
Intensive Probation supervision: The probation officers supervised domestic

and family violence delinquents more intensely, providing victims greater pro-
tection while maximizing efforts at rehabilitation. Protocols also required that
Probation provide referral sources for victims in every case.
Ensure accountability with tailored intervention programs: the court intervention fo-
cused on sending the youthful offender to a 26-week intervention program for do-
mestic and family violence. This program was developed to specifically address
these forms of violence, which are based upon models of power and control, tailored
with a youth-specific message. The programs were delivered by three to four local
providers, using a gender-specific curriculum.
Ensure victim safety through services and referrals: The program referred victims to
non-governmental agencies that provided specialized services, including paternity
testing, child support and visitation determination, and appropriate restraining or-
ders. The program also gave victims access to restitution or their losses and access to
counseling services through Victim-Witness.
The programmes aim was threefold:

Reduce the number of juvenile domestic and family violence cases in Santa
Clara County;
Provide rehabilitation services to abusive youth; and
Deliver specialized services to victims, whether they were the dating partner
or the parent/sibling of the offender.
This unique, court-based program includes the following key components:

Assessment: Domestic and family violence cases are identified at the intake pro-
cess by specially trained probation officers who conduct a detailed risk assessment;
Specialized Prosecution and Defense: Both the District Attorneys Office
and the Public Defenders Office specially train attorneys to handle juvenile
domestic and family violence cases;
Dedicated Docket: One afternoon a week is set aside exclusively for juvenile
domestic and family violence cases;
Intensive Supervision: Abusive youth are subject to periodic reviews by the
judge, as well as intensive probation supervision. Probations specialized do-
mestic violence/family violence unit stresses accountability and competency
skills for healthy relationships;
Offender Programs: A major component of the court-based intervention is a
teen-specific 26-week batterers intervention program, supplemented by sub-
stance abuse programs, mental health programs, or other counseling as needed; and
65
Victim Services: The Program offers victims direct and confidential advocacy,
support groups, legal assistance, court accompaniment, assistance with Victim/
Witness claims, and resource referrals.
Instead of informally treating youth cases through Probation, under the new court
system the vast majority (93%) of domestic/family violence cases in Santa Clara put
offenders on formal probation. A formal probation model treats juvenile violence as
a serious crime and focuses on early intervention to stop the violence and rehabilitate
the offender. A 2003 study that tracked the specialized court three years after its in-
ception showed that most youth who completed the 26-week intervention program
were deterred from recidivism.
Lessons Learned
The model is clearly sustainable since it is still in operation almost nine years later,
under the leadership of two subsequent juvenile delinquency judges. It has not re-
quired specific funding of any kind. Santa Claras specialized court has been the
subject of scholarly research on the Effects of Court-Based Programs on Recidivism
(Sagatun-Edwards etc., 2003 and Ueket, Sagatun-Edwards etc., 2006), and has re-
ceived national attention on television programs like Nightline, Good Morning
America, 60 Minutes and Montel Williams.
Within two years of the courts 1999 launch of the Juvenile and Family Domestic
Violence Court, nearby San Francisco County replicated a similar model with few
adjustments. Under a grant from the National Centre for State Courts, researchers
studied the effects of Santa Clara Countys specialized Juvenile and Family Violence
Court in 2003 and 2006. The study found the specialized program had a deterrent
effect on first-time offenders. However, youth who already had a criminal record
were more at risk to recidivate. One year after the arresting incident, about 30% of
offenders with prior delinquency had recidivated, regardless of any specialized inter-
vention. There are a number of important lessons learned as outlined below:
The importance of fostering interagency collaboration: It took months to
develop smooth collaboration. Frequent meetings kept the players working to-
ward the same goals;
Ensure completion of the 26-week program: the key to achieving recidi-
vism goals, especially with first-time offenders, included completing the 26-
week program. Thus it was necessary to deal with alcohol or substance abuse
issues as early as possible, and employ review strategies that encourage proba-
tion compliance. The ability and willingness of juveniles to successfully com-
plete a probation program varies significantly between first-time offenders and
repeat offenders. Juveniles with prior records were least likely to successfully
complete probation. Further studies will be conducted on how juveniles re-
66
spond to each facet of an intervention program so that strategies can be taken

to improve successful completion rates;
Graduate sanctions: while a zero tolerance sends a strong message to abusers
that abuse is unlawful, many arrested youth are first-time offenders, who get
stuck in the juvenile system because they cannot complete conditions of pro-
bation. Programs that treat all offenders with the same intensity of sanctions
may be counterproductive. Graduated sanctions that take into account the se-
verity of the incident and extenuating circumstances may offer a more bal-
anced approach to the experiences of the juvenile population; and
Complement the specialized program with more mental health services:
a sizeable proportion of juvenile domestic/family violence offenders have been
diagnosed with mental health issues. At a minimum, a mental health compo-
nent should complement justice system remedies. In some cases, mental health
programs can offer additional services that may be more suitable than court-
based intervention programs. Recognizing the intersection of mental health
and juvenile delinquency, including teen domestic and family violence, has
had an impact on the design and effectiveness of the intervention programs.
67

Brazil
Arts and Crafts School Project of Santana de Parnaba
Prefeitura Municipal de Santana de Parnaba
Santana de Parnaba, So Paulo, Brazil
Description
Reducing juvenile delinquency and poverty by teaching the socially disadvantaged
youth restoration skills, therefore applying them to restore and revitalize the
historic centre of the city of Santana de Parnaiba, Brazil and opening up greater
employment opportunities.
Summary
This initiative, which took place in the 427-year-old Historic Centre of Santana de
Parnaiba in Brazil, has promoted the restoration and revitalization of the Historic Cen-
tre of the city and its surroundings, by training young people with psycho-social diffi-
culties at the Arts and Crafts School Project of Santana de Parnaiba. By providing
young people with training opportunities and on the job experience in restoration and
related arts, the Arts and Crafts School Project of Santana de Paraniba, supported by
political leaders and the private sector, has promoted the citys restoration of cultural
assets while generating new jobs (86% of the graduates of the school went on to find a
job), labor qualification, cultural sophistication, greater access to and appreciation of
cultural assets, in addition to the development of related areas such as education, envi-
ronment, social inclusion, etc. The project has also built in an element of sustainability
in that the same young people who were responsible for damaging the buildings of the
city with graffiti were trained to restore them. Thus, once the restoration was complet-
ed, these young students felt a sense of accomplishment, as well as ownership of the
citys historical centre, therefore not engaging any longer in vandalistic behavior.
The Problem
Before the implementation of the Projeto Oficina Escola de Artes e Ofcios de San-
tana de Parnaba (POEAO-SP Arts and Crafts School Project), the city of Santana
de Parnaiba had lost all cultural identity and lived the conflict of having to preserve
this Historic Centre, all damaged and covered with graffiti. Among the problems
there was lack of tourism and leisure equipment such as restaurants, bars and galler-
ies; regardless of their economic power, the population (most of whom from the
northeast of the country) had little interest in this old complex. It was considered as
just a dormitory for out-of-town workers and business people due to the lack of
68
2008 CATEGORY 1: BRAZIL
specialized labor for the restoration of the buildings and the small offer of cultural
activities and work for the impoverished youths.
Santana do Parnaba is a town of 85,000 inhabitants with twenty five slums and 14
luxury condominiums. It is located within Great So Paulo, 40 km from Congonhas
Airport. It is a 427-year-old Historic Centre with 209 listed buildings and protected
surroundings with over 200 buildings, in addition to alleys, streets and squares. The
governmental body responsible for listing the whole complex is CONDEPHAAT-SP
(Council for the Defense of the Historic, Artistic, Archeological and Tourist Heritage
of the State of So Paulo), but some listings are also provided by IPHAN (Institute of
National Historic and Artistic Heritage).
The Solution
A group of citizens residing in the Historic Centre, together with members of the
Town Council and the Town Hall were responsible for proposing and contributing to
the establishment of the POEAO in Santana do Parnaiba. Their main fear was total
loss of the towns memory and identity. At the same time, they were aware of the fact
that, without an identity between the people and the city, there would never be a
sense of shared ownership and responsibility in dealing with local problems, and thus
with development issues at the local level. To solve the problem, this group of dedi-
cated citizens brainstormed on the major steps to be taken. First, it was necessary to
find ways of including the youth affected by psycho-social difficulties into the town
and societys fabric. Second, it was necessary to recover the Historic Centre and its
importance for the general population, to strengthen the parnaibano pride as well.
So the idea of establishing courses of Restoration and Conservation of Furniture and
Properties for the aforementioned youths was promoted by the Arts and Crafts School
Project and the Heritage Maintenance.
The main strategy was to make the population trust the socially disadvantaged youth
so as to integrate them in the life of the city and to employ them to restore the beauty
of the old mansions of the Historic Centre. To do that, a regional and national media
campaign was launched to highlight the positive role of this school in social and
conservationist projects. At first, the schools focus was to elaborate a quality project
to be approved by the listing organs and the Council of Culture. Some difficulties
were to be expected in the approval of a project of this kind: the restoration of cul-
tural assets by youth with psycho-social difficulties.
Once this step was over, the school had to select the youth who would be part of this
initiative, and this was not an easy task given the large numbers of impoverished
people. The criteria were based on the views of the towns Social Assistance Ser-
vice, the Tutelage Council, the judicial system, Neighborhood Associations and Ser-
vice Clubs.
69
The following step was to get to know the young people selected for the project; a
particularly difficult task as many of them had suffered severe traumas and bad experi-
ences, in addition to being often times from rival gangs. The Arts and Crafts School
Project had to learn about their individual history, concepts, health and hygiene condi-
tions and how much sexual education they had in order to re-socialize them and involve
them in the restoration of the towns cultural heritage. This was also a way to make the
restoration craft less elitist. And the youth could channel their energies in outdoing
themselves and reaching their goals, trying to be the best professionals ever.
Not only these young people received theoretical instruction in the art of restoration,
and psycho-social assistance, but they also received compliments from the commu-
nity and the press for the results they achieved in restoring the citys historical sites.
All the activities at the Arts and Crafts School Project approached transversely
themes like citizenship, rights, quality, ethics, environmental education, hygiene, etc.
These once outcast youths became the tools for the integration of the whole com-
munity, and instead of depredating the Cultural Heritage, they became essential pres-
ervation agents. Thus, the community, the political leaders and the private sector took
over this initiative and helped it flourish.
For the following 12 months, a budget of R$373,000.00 (three hundred and seventy
three thousand reais) was distributed as follows: R$113,000.00 for aid-scholarships
for the apprentices, R$82,000.00 for daily transport fares for the projects youth,
R$14,000.00 for life insurance for the apprentices, R$22,000.00 for their uniforms/
EPIs, R$49,000.00 for teaching and related material and R$93,000.00 for the techni-
cal teaching team. Three masters and one pedagogical coordinator are full-time ded-
icated to the School, and the other five professionals are Town Hall employees who
are involved with this initiative and with other activities of the towns historical heri-
tage preservation (engineer, secretaries and teachers).
One of the biggest obstacles in implementing this initiative was that the owners of the
historical buildings did not believe in the capacity of the youth who came from the
outskirts of the city and many of whom were ex-offenders to restore the towns cul-
tural heritage. Moreover, many of the same young people who were called upon to re-
store the buildings had been themselves responsible for using graffiti on the walls of the
citys buildings. Another difficulty was caused by the resistance of the historical heritage
body to approve this innovative project. To get the approval of the organs responsible for
protecting the historic heritage, it was necessary to show unquestionable technical qual-
ity, to undertake some meetings and to obtain the approval of the State Cultural Council.
Therefore, the public authorities allowed their buildings to be the first labs/work sites for
the youth. The major benefits of this project can be hereby summarized as follows:
Restoration and revitalization of the Historic Centre and its surroundings;
70
Inclusion of 86% of the youth who graduated from the School in the job mar-
ket, thus reducing poverty and criminality (60% of the youth was already com-
pleting socio-educational sentences or beginning criminal lives);
3% of these ex-students entered universities in the region;
Minimization of social and cultural barriers as the Historic Centre is nowadays
a point of convergence for all the population, rich or poor, northeastern or oth-
erwise; and
Cultural emancipation of the youth who, through a differentiated educational
proposal, take part in the evaluation of their peers and of all the Schools team,
learning how to think and question their own learning.
As for sustainability, this initiative is efficient and non-expensive. The cost of restora-
tion is reduced in at least 35% through the site-school system in which, after the theo-
retical teaching, the students go to the work sites to learn by doing. As they get aid-
scholarships (not salaries) besides meals, transportation tickets, health insurance and
equipment for individual protection, the gains for them are many and the costs for the
Oficina-Escola are few. This innovative practice is fully transferable. It has even been
replicated by many Brazilian towns through partnerships, thus assisting over 5,000
youths all over the country. The states and towns who have benefited from this initia-
tive are the following: State of Cear Sobral, Fortaleza, Aquiraz, Maranguape, For-
tim and Aracatia; Bahia Porto Seguro and Trancoso; Minas Gerais Belo Hori-
zonte, Ouro Preto, Mariana, Lavras Novas and Cachoeira do Campo; Esprito Santo
Marataizes, Venda Nova do Imigrante, Fundo, Santa Leopoldina, Vitria, Vila Vel-
ha, Itapemirim, Castelo, Cachoeiro do Itapemirim and So Pedro de Itapuama; So
Paulo So Luiz do Paraitinga, Jacare, Guarulhos, Jundia, Jandira, Itapevi, Pirapora
do Bom Jesus, So Paulo-capital, So Sebastio, Iporanga, Rio Grande da Serra, Pa-
ranapiacaba, Barueri, Rio Grande da Serra, Iper, Iguape, Osasco and Itu.
The more the population benefits, the more it feels motivated to protect its cultural heri-
tage and support the proposed activities for social development. Each segment of society
feels involved and motivated, and a specific part of the population becomes responsible
for the preservation of its identity the youth who used to be looked down on.
Nowadays, Santana de Parnaba has become a reference centre and, therefore, an

exporting market of professionals qualified in restoration. So there has been, and
there still is, constant learning and qualification of student-apprentices, once out-
casts, enabling them to be productive members of society. It is necessary to minimize
the social barriers and inequalities, to respect not only the cultural heritage but every-
one who is involved on a daily basis in building and preserving culture. There are
many people who only need a chance to become qualified, to be educated and take
part in the construction of better places to live.
71
2008 Category 2

of Public Services

Africa Botswana Princess Marina Referral Reducing patient waiting time by integrating medical 73
Hospital, Botswana services through a one-stop shop
Africa South Transnet-Phelophepa Health Bringing health services in remote rural areas: The 76
Africa Care Train, Johannesburg Transnet-Phelophepa Health Care Train
Asia and Australia JobAccess, Department of Edu., Special online portal and phone services to improve 82
the Pacic Employ. & Workplace Relations access of people with disability to job markets
Asia and Thailand Yasothon Hospital, Providing holistic and speedier medical care by 88
the Pacic Thailand integrating services and reshaping work ow
Europe and Puerto Rico La llave para tu negocio, Banco Giving citizens a key to their own business: 93
North Am. Commonwealth de Desarrollo Econmico the Economic Development Bank of Puerto Rico
Europe and Sweden Public Library 2007, Increasing access to public library services, especially 95
North Am. Ume Region, Sweden for the disabled
Western Saudi SADAD Payment System, Single shared national platform payment 101
Asia Arabia SA Monetary Agency, Riyadh system to promote efciency and equality
Botswana South Africa Australia Thailand Puerto Rico Sweden Saudi Arabia
Commonwealth
72
2008 CATEGORY 2: BOTSWANA
Africa
Botswana
Princess Marina Referral Hospital, Botswana
Description
Reducing patient waiting time by providing integrated medical services through
a one-stop shop in the Princess Marina Referral Hospital in Botswana.
Summary
Through the Project entitled Long patient waiting time at Princess Marina Referral
Hospital Outpatient Dispensary, the dispensary managed to integrate all medical ser-
vices while reducing the long patient waiting time for health examinations and drugs.
The Problem
One of the biggest problems at the Princess Marina Hospital Outpatient Dispensary
was that patients waited for too long before getting their medications. Data collect-
ed during the month of October 2006 before the initiative was implemented showed
that 95% of sampled patients waited for an average of two hours and 21 minutes
instead of the expected one hour (a target the team decided on) due to the flow of
work such as frequency of meetings and rotational schedules; inadequate allocation
of Pharmacy staff within departments, and the high volume of patients. The above
resulted in some patients going away without their medication, staff fatigue and
strain due to over-time.
The Solution
A team within the Hospital made up of doctors, pharmacists and other relevant
stakeholders was formed in order to tackle the above problems. The Pharmacy
Total Quality Management team took various steps in trying to redress the prob-
lem, i.e., brainstorming; clarification of objectives; multivoting; theme selection
matrix, Fishbone diagram, Pareto Chart, Countermeasure Matrix and Standardiza-
tion. The brainstorming aimed at highlighting all the problems the department
encountered. The Theme Matrix Selection was undertaken to select the process to
be adopted based on the impact on the external customers (patients) and the need
to improve.
The Fishbone Diagram was used to analyze and identify the root causes of the prob-
lem. This was followed by a Pareto Chart to prioritize the actions to be taken in rela-
tion to the root causes. The Countermeasure matrix was developed in order to help
the team compare the different countermeasures for each objective and decide which
73
strategies to choose by considering their effectiveness and feasibility. The Aids and
Barrier analysis was also undertaken to identify and evaluate the factors that may
resist or assist the proposed change.
The team identified three objectives. The first objective was to review the allocation
of staff and frequency of rotation. To achieve this, the team came up with the follow-
ing strategy:
Introduction of relief schedule. The team put in place a relief schedule to in-
crease staff within the first two hours of the morning;
The second objective was to review long winding dispensing system and processes
in place: This was achieved by the following strategies:
Opening a card collection and enquiries window. This was done to reduce the
crowding of patients at the dispensing points. A data entry officer was ap-
pointed to register new patients and to help at the enquiries window;
Frequency of departmental meetings was reduced. The number of meetings
used to be four in a week and was reduced to three;
The Issuing of two months supply to selected prescriptions. i.e., from urology
and eye clinic was introduced, where applicable; and
The number of prepacks packed in a day was increased from three to four items
per day. New items were also included in to prepack list. This helped reduce
the time taken to count items during the process of dispensing.
The last objective was to advise patients to get medication from the nearest clinic/
health facility. This was achieved by:
Educating patients to get medications from their nearest clinics by conducting
educational talks and providing educational pamphlets created by the phar-
macys TQM team. The dispensary supervisor was tasked to ensure that all
these strategies were implemented.
The following main obstacles were encountered and they were overcome by adopt-
ing appropriate strategies:
The shortage of staff at the out patient dispensary: This was overcome by
introducing morning relief where selected staff members from other units were
engaged to help patients at the dispensary;
Resistance of staff to change: The staff members were involved in the im-
plementation of the strategies and the Pharmacy Management played
a key role in support of the change;
Limited time for TQM team meetings: The team had to meet after hours and
during weekends to complete the project;
74
2008 CATEGORY 2: BOTSWANA
Breakdown of Prepacking Machinery: To repair this machine a Technical

service team was outsourced and is now in operation; and
Patient crowding at dispensing window: The opening of an enquiries win-
dow helped to decongest the dispensing window.
This project was carried out at no cost and by using limited available resources. The
team motto was Do what you can with what you have where you are. This initiative
can be replicated or transferred anywhere in the world to increase productivity and
improve service delivery. The project was presented at the Ministry of Health mini
convention and at the Botswana National Pharmacy workshop. The project was also
presented at the Botswana National Public Service Convention and was awarded
trophies, medals and a certificate of recognition. A letter of appreciation was received
from the head of department as well.
The Princess Marina Referral Hospital initiative included reducing the waiting time
to 60 minutes by February 2007, which improved customer satisfaction and reduced
staff fatigue. The knock time was also reduced by two hours. The number of depart-
mental meetings was rescheduled from four meetings to three per week. Further-
more, the general meeting duration was also reduced from one and half hour to about
an hour. This allowed more time for staff to serve at the dispensary. In addition, the
frequency of staff rotation within the department was reduced from 12 rotations per
year to four times, thus allowing for a better understanding of their work stations and
reduced re-orientation for more effectiveness and productivity. Some selective pre-
scriptions were issued in full where applicable instead of monthly refills. This re-
duced the number of visits by patients and therefore reduced patient load.
Lessons Learned
The most important ingredients of a successful innovative initiative are:
Team Spirit: Through oneness and support, the team achieved the desired goals.
Commitment and Dedication: Thanks to the full commitment and dedication
of all staff involved, the team was able to achieve the desired goals.
Winning Strategy: Do what you can with what you have where you are! With
a positive attitude, there is always room for improvement.
75
Africa
South Africa
Transnet-Phelophepa Health Care Train
Johannesburg, Transnet Foundation, South Africa
Description
Bringing health services in remote rural areas: The Transnet-Phelophepa Health
Care Train of South Africa.
Summary
The Phelophepa Health Care Train is a 16-coach train that travels to 36 remote rural
areas each year, for a period of one week each, to provide affordable and accessible
primary healthcare services and health education to the rural poor. Founded in 1994,
this initiative, which is based on a public-private partnership, is unique in the world.
It reaches tens of thousands of patients throughout South Africa and provides basic
dental health, and eye care as well as health education and counseling. Graduates of
this programme become volunteers in the community who disseminate the informa-
tion they received from Phelophepa. Following the trains departure, the Order of St
John gives these 16 people a week of instruction in home-based care, with a focus on
HIV/AIDS. Thanks to this programme, that was established as a reaction to the frag-
mented and discriminatory health system legacy of the Apartheid, there has been an
increased access to health care services in deep rural areas reaching over 4,500,000
people since its inception in 1994. Since then more than 8,000 community members
have been trained in basic health care and 1,443 people have received home-based
care training. In addition, Phelophepa has created temporary employment for 50-60
local community members at each stop.
The Problem
Although the South African Constitution now recognizes the universal right of access
to health care services, inadequate access to these services still plagues the lives of
the majority of South Africans. It has been recorded that since 1994, doctors and
nurses have been leaving the country in droves. The increasing spread of HIV/AIDS
throughout the country (917 deaths per day in 2006) and its associated epidemic
Tuberculosis (529,320 cases in 2004, and 66.4% HIV+) along with the chronic un-
der-servicing and under-resourcing of the rural sector all have devastating conse-
quences on infant mortality (48 deaths per 1,000 live births), maternal health (3,406
deaths between 2002 and 2004), and life expectancy (50.8 years). The result has been
a decline in South Africas ranking on the Human Development Index. Whereas
76
South Africa was rated 67th according to the Human Development Index in 1995, the
most recent HDI ranked South Africa 121st.
The Solution
The Phelophepa Health Care Train was conceived in 1993 as a three-coach optomet-
ric clinic by the Rand Afrikaans University Department of Optometry and Transnets
(a parastatal transport corporation) corporate social investment department. The
Transnet Foundation, which took over ownership of the project, provided all of the
funding for the initial stages of the project and currently funds about half of the
trains expenses. The Transnet Foundation is the implementing agency. The Transnet
Foundation, which is the corporate social investment arm of Transnet, South Africas
state-owned transport and logistics enterprise, believes that whilst many other or-
ganisations may view social investment as a means to attaining goodwill within the
community, Transnet has an additional mission. The Transnet Foundation is based on
empowerment towards the future and acquiring selected initiatives that will provide
long-term sustainability not only to the organisation, but to the country as a whole.
Dr. Lynette Coetzee, the Transnet Portfolio manager, is one of the key people in cre-
ating and implementing the idea of the train.
Private sector partners include Roche Products, the Colgate-Palmolive Foundation,

and the Canon Collins Education Trust for Southern Africa (CCETSA). These part-
ners offer some funding support; provide technical, provisional and logistical sup-
port; and share their expertise in subjects such as diabetic care, medicine, cancer
treatment, oral hygiene, and education/curriculum development. St. Johns Red
Cross Society (NGO) provides the week-long training courses in home-based care
offered to graduates of Phelophepas five-day basic health care training.
For Phelophepa to secure credibility and function most effectively, it must establish
community support, gather input and ensure community participation. A week ahead
of the trains arrival, a Phelophepa team arrives in the area that the train will be visit-
ing and finalizes arrangements with the community. They engage in discussion with
all local medical personnel in the area, and set up referral mechanisms. The team
consults with local community leaders and authorities and selects 16 persons to par-
ticipate in a week of health instruction on the train; and identifies individuals to be
recruited for translation, clerical, cleaning and other services. They also identify the
schools to be visited by outreach programmes and the village, in which to hold
Health Day activities.
Building the train was one of the most difficult design and engineering projects ever
tackled by Transnet Rail Engineering. Old coaches had to be refurbished and fitted
with special healthcare equipment. One of the coaches was converted into a power
car and installed with enough equipment to provide electricity for 14 to 21 days. A
77
state-of-the-art kitchen was installed to prepare almost 400 meals per day and a satel-
lite communications network. The setting up of the project involved practices, which
were directly related to the mobile character of the service. In the case of the Dental
and Optometry clinics, early decision making, involving electronic equipment, had
to take into account the weekly vibrations and jolts involved with a train journey i.e.,
packing away of sensitive equipment and securing what cannot be moved or packed
away. The Health clinic quickly realized the importance of education as a means of
prevention and then set up the Edu clinic, which gives five days of primary healthcare
lectures to a volunteer group of 16 at each station, i.e., every week.
The Pharmacy on the train was also very innovative as it developed a set of pictures,
which depict the prescribed regimens to solve the language problems. Because there
are nine different languages encountered, the medical staff found great difficulty in
explaining the necessary regimens to follow when taking medicines. Phelophepa
comes from the seSotho and seTswana languages and it means good, clean health.
The well-oiled machine with a heart, as the train has been dubbed, is the only train
in South Africa that brings affordable and professional health care to rural communi-
ties. Besides providing direct medical care, Phelophepas key focus is health educa-
tion and awareness. Transnet and Phelophepa produce literature in all the major
South African languages, which is distributed to teachers in the community to pass
on knowledge and awareness of pertinent health issues like teenage pregnancy. The
volunteers that work on Phelophepa are also armed with knowledge, which they use
to educate and empower themselves and their communities.
Rural (African) schoolchildren generally walk miles to and from school through
grasslands, the husks and pollens, of which cause sever Allergic reactions and inflam-
matory complications (Vernal). Once the steroid/moist cell inhibiting eye drops have
cleared the condition and therefore, the Eye clinic dispenses funded spectacles to
these children to prevent a recurrence.
Services rendered on the train include: health screening, cancer screening, diabetes
screening, eye testing and provision of spectacles, dental restorative processes and
extractions, oral health education, individual counselling therapy and community
counselling workshops. Patient fees are no more than R30 (Rand), e.g., a health
clinic consultation costs R2.50, dispensing a prescription costs R2.50, spectacles
cost R30, and extracting a tooth costs R10. All of the trains clinics and offices are
equipped with computers and connected to the internet via satellite, which enables its
staff to transmit data, consult with other medical professionals and establish referrals
and appointment times for individual patients. In its classroom, Phelophepa gives a
full-time five-day training course to 16 community members in basic healthcare
measures. Graduates of this programme become volunteers in the community who
disseminate the information they received from Phelophepa. Following the trains
78
departure, the Order of St John gives these 16 people a week of instruction in home-
based care, with a focus on HIV/AIDS.
Phelophepa also runs several community outreach programmes throughout the

course of its stay. These include: a school outreach programme, through which it of-
fers screenings and examinations as well as oral health education to children at com-
munity schools and pre-schools in the surrounding villages; and a counselling out-
reach programme wherein staff visit local schools to conduct sessions with teachers,
children and parents on a topic of their choice.
The Phelophepa Health Care Train has increased access to health care services in
deep rural areas. Since its inception in 1994, the Phelophepa Health Care Train has
reached over 4,500,000 people. The health clinic sees between 20,000 to 25,000
patients each year. The eye and dental clinics see 120 to 150 patients per day. Phe-
lophepa dispenses about 80 pairs of spectacles daily. Since 1994, counselling pro-
grammes have reached 263,570 people. More than 8,000 community members
have been trained in basic health care and 1,443 people have received home-based
care training.
In addition, Phelophepa creates temporary employment for 50 to 60 local commu-

nity members at each stop who provide translation services, record patients basic
personal information, or work as cleaners, security staff and assistant cashiers. Such
individuals earn between R30-60 for the week. Phelophepa is the only health care
train in the world. Phelophepa works with several government departments. The De-
partment of Safety and Security provides security services to the train during its
stays. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) regards Phelophepa as a flagship
programme within Transnet, of which DPE is the major shareholder. The Depart-
ments of Social Welfare and Education support some of Phelophepas services by, for
example, registering orphans for social grants at school outreach programmes. The
Department of Health recognizes Phelophepa as a legitimate source of health care
support and strives to inform as many people as possible about the trains arrival.
Transnet business units carry out much of the technical work required for the trains
operation. Spoornet and Transwerk conduct infrastructure maintenance, stock up-
grading and technical assistance to the train. Transtel and Arivia.kom supply and
maintain the communications equipment and services to the train including a satellite
dish, telephones, and computer equipment.
Phelophepas primary objective is to deliver efficient, credible and cost-effective mo-

bile healthcare services to poor rural communities where health care facilities are
either inadequate or non-existent. In addition, the project seeks to enhance basic
health care awareness in rural South Africa and to empower people to enhance their
physiological and psychological health. The train makes visits to 36 locations in four
79
provinces in one year and the remaining four provinces in the following year. Gauteng
is excluded as the network and spread of its health services is considered to be supe-
rior to that of the remaining eight provinces.
Reaching as many people as possible is the aim and object of Phelophepas outreach
programmes. Not everyone is able or willing to come down to the train, so the trains
staff make visits in the community to conduct outreach activities. At each stop, Phe-
lophepa staff also conduct two Health Days in one of the local villages. This com-
prises of a full day of health-related activities in order to raise awareness about health
and health care issues. Phelophepa hopes that health education and awareness will
help community members to avoid contracting some preventable illnesses.
Lessons Learned
Mobility is a key feature of Phelophepas operations. The Phelophepa Health Care
Train can reach much larger numbers of people, being mobile, than it could if it were
permanently stationed in one location. Since Phelophepa only visits each location for
a week, it became clear to its implementers that something had to be done to ensure
that their visit left a lasting impression and lasting benefits for patients. So, Phelo-
phepa launched a health education programme to achieve maximum impact on the
health of the communities they visit. This programme allows them to teach 16 people
in each community basic health care procedures so that they can continue to treat and
educate patients once the train has left.
This initiative has managed to bring aboard private sector operators as well as pub-
lic ones. This approach is key to its sustainability. It receives 49% of its funding
from Transnet who, as the implementing agency, will continue to fund this initia-
tive indefinitely. The rest of the projects funding comes from a range of corpora-
tions including a few large companies like Roche Products and Colgate-Palmolive.
Because of its successes, and its national and international exposure, Phelophepa is
unlikely to see funding dry up in the near future. Phelophepa is also socially and
culturally sustainable as a result of having achieved significant community buy-in
and participation in each of the locations that it visits. Having been in operation for
over ten years, Phelophepas organisational structure, policies and procedures are
well-entrenched.
As a result of past success, this initiative is being replicated and expanded. The Min-
ister of Public Enterprises has requested that a second train be built, to be opera-
tional in 2008. While initially quite an expensive venture, Phelophepa is a cost-effec-
tive method of healthcare service delivery. The key aspect to replicate here is
mobility, and not necessarily a train per se. In South Africa, a train works well be-
cause of the existing railway infrastructure that had previously served the mines and
transported conscripted workers during the apartheid era to and from the mines. Also,
80
a train can hold a lot of people and equipment and is able to expand simply by adding
another coach. In another region, however, another mode of transport may be more
feasible. The major requirements for implementing a similar initiative elsewhere are
funding and access to medical supplies and human resources.
Finally, one of the key elements to the success of the initiative is preparation. The
project management is involved in extensive planning of almost every aspect of the
trains operations. Planning is thorough and Phelophepa staff have long checklists.
They repeat the same routine each week, which has helped to ensure that the train
runs smoothly and that there are no surprises. The selection of stopover locations and
negotiations with community leadership including hiring of temporary staff, and lo-
gistics planning for community outreach activities are all finalized well in advance of
each stopover. The commitment of the Phelophepa staff cannot be overlooked. They
work long hours and live on the train away from their families for 36 weeks per year.
It is an extremely demanding job that not everybody can do. Much of Phelophepas
success rides on the competence and dedication of its staff members.
The Foundation renewed its commitment to build a second Phelophepa Health Train.
A business plan that will ensure the successful rolling out of a second miracle train
in 2010 is already under way. By bringing together all the stakeholders such as
Transnet Rail Engineering, that contribute to the construction of Phelophepa I, the
Foundation will ensure that the construction of the Phelophepa II is a project that
belongs to the whole of Transnet.
81
Asia and the Pacic

Australia
JobAccess, Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations
Description
Providing people with disabilities improved access to the job market by creating a
special online portal and telephone services.
Summary
JobAccess has provided people with disability and/or mental illness with greater ac-
cess to the job market through a one-stop information shop, including online applica-
tion forms, a unique database of workplace adjustments and solutions and free expert
telephone services.
The Problem
Recruitment in Australia is changing. Labour shortages of around 195,000 people
are forecast to hit all major industries in Australia over the next five years. Despite
this trend, people with disability, who represent 16.6% of Australias working age
population, still find it difficult to find and maintain employment. In 2005, the Aus-
tralian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission conducted a National
Inquiry into Employment and Disability. The objective of the Inquiry was to iden-
tify the reasons for low participation and employment rates among people with
disability and to work toward practical, achievable solutions. The results of the
Inquiry indicated that people with disability face higher barriers to participation
and employment than many other groups in Australian society. Three sets of ob-
stacles affecting the employment of people with disability in the open labour mar-
ket were identified:
Information: the absence of easily accessible and comprehensive information to
assist in decision making and to support ongoing needs, including information
about the full range of supports and services offered by the Australian Government;
Cost: concern about the cost of participation for people with disability and the
possible cost to their employers; and
Risk: concern about possible financial and personal impacts of disability on
employment.
The lack of clear information appears to have added impetus to several myths about
the cost and risk of employing people with disability including that they cost more
82
2008 CATEGORY 2: AUSTRALIA
than other employees to recruit and that the risks to the employer are higher for this
group than for other employees.
As a result, employers in Australia did not have a great awareness of the business
benefits of employing people with disability including that the cost of hiring people
with disability can be up to 13% lower than the cost associated with hiring other
employees. Employers were also discouraged from accessing and using some of the
free services and support available to them because of lengthy application processes
and government red tape.
The Solution
As part of the Inquiry into Employment and Disability, the Australian Human Rights
and Equal Opportunity Commission recommended that the Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations (from now the Department) develop and
implement a one-stop information shop and expert advice service for the employment
of people with disability. The Commission also recommended that the Department
improve access to the Workplace Modifications Scheme. The Commissions recom-
mendations were based on intensive consultation with people within the disability
community, employment service industry, the private sector and government.
The Department commissioned a scoping study to examine the feasibility of devel-

oping such a service in Australia. Associate Professor Nicholas Buys (Griffith Uni-
versity) completed the study, consulting with key stakeholders in Australia and seek-
ing input from the United States Department of Labor (who fund the Job
Accommodation Network in the United States). The Job Accommodation Network
project team, who provides advice about workplace adjustments and solutions to
employers in the United States, was available to discuss its experience in detail.
Following completion of the scoping study, the Department conducted further target-
ed consultations in Australia with employers and potential employers of people with
disability, job seekers and employees with disability, their co-workers, employment
service providers, disability peak bodies, consumer organisations and other govern-
ment departments and agencies. Employers, industry and peak body representatives
also provided advice to the Department on increasing labour force participation and
employment opportunities for people with disability in Australia. These stakeholders
recommended how to best engage with business, how to target website content to
meet employer needs and also participated in user testing of the site before its release.
The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Employment and Disability recom-
mended that the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
(previously the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations) develop and
promote a service for employers and people with disability, offering them all the in-
83
formation they need in one place, including a map of the full range of services and
supports across all levels of government. The Report also called for easier access to
employer incentives such as the Workplace Modifications Scheme, which pays for
the costs involved in modifying the workplace for eligible employees with disability.
JobAccess responds to the Reports recommendations, providing a comprehensive
and coordinated resource dedicated to improving the employment of people with dis-
ability and providing easier access to employer incentives.
The project team was constituted by staff from five branches including staff with IT,
legal, communications, programme and policy expertise. An internal steering com-
mittee, including a project owner and sponsor from senior management, tracked the
projects success. To ensure that the website covered the full range of services and
support available, three Commonwealth departments and two Commonwealth agen-
cies were invited to submit content relevant to the site. Commonwealth departments
were also encouraged to seek input from their relevant state and territory counter-
parts. As a result, JobAccess contains information about services and support regard-
less, of which department or level of government is providing the service or support.
The Department used a phased implementation strategy to progressively release Jo-

bAccess. Given that JobAccess was the first service of its kind in Australia, the objec-
tive of a phased implementation strategy was to gauge stakeholder satisfaction with
the service and to respond to demand for the service as it became known. It allowed
the Department to manage the risk that the service would greatly exceed anticipated
demand and available funding.
The first release of JobAccess included a fully functional website with approximately
700 pages of content and another 1,000 pages of content in the online database of work-
place adjustments and solutions (the Workplace Adjustment Tool). The JobAccess Ad-
visers, a team of approximately eight staff, were also fully operational upon the release
date. A pre launch took place initially to ensure that the website and service were ready
to cope with further demand. The official publicity launch took place a month later
when the Department was confident that the service was operating as planned.
Four subsequent releases of JobAccess in 2006-2007 responded to feedback received

through post-implementation user testing and accessibility testing, which was carried
out among members of each of the target audiences. These four releases also allowed
additional online forms and content to be added to the site once the demand for Jo-
bAccess became fully apparent.
Complementing each release of the website was a phased and targeted communica-
tion strategy, which was designed to respond to over or under demand for the service
as required. This strategy was developed and implemented by the Departments com-
munications team.
84
The first two phases of the communication strategy targeted disability peak bodies and
government-funded employment service providers who work with both employers
and job seekers/employees with disability. These phases were designed to prepare the
way for the new service and promote its use among employment service providers.
The final phase of the communication strategy was targeted directly at the employers
themselves. This phase included direct mail outs to employers, online marketing and
print media advertising. It focused on the business benefits of employing people.
Promotion and advertising highlighted the free practical advice and financial assis-
tance available to employers, either online or by telephone through JobAccess.
A Need Staff? kit was distributed to employers in the industries most likely to be
affected by skills shortages. The kit contained a DVD of employer experiences. Em-
ployers discussed the tangible benefits that employing people with disability had on
their organisation and encouraged other employers to look beyond their traditional
recruitment channels and give people with disability an opportunity.
After a year of consultation, planning and development, the Department released Jo-
bAccess on 3 July 2006. The site and service was officially launched by the Minister for
Workforce Participation in Melbourne in August 2006 and continues to be enhanced.
JobAccess is a comprehensive resource for employers, people with disability, their

co-workers and employment service providers. It is a one-stop information shop with
a very user-friendly website. Content on the website has been authored specifically
for each target audience. The Employers section of the site focuses on the business
benefits of employing people with disability, dispelling common misunderstandings
and myths. Employers can find statistics demonstrating that people with disability
can have fewer accidents, lower absenteeism and lower recruitment costs than other
employees. Employers can also find practical guides enabling them to become dis-
ability confident organisations, including access to free copies of a Mental Health
First Aid in the Workplace e-learning CD.
The information-rich website (www.jobaccess.govt.au) includes online application

forms, a unique database of workplace adjustments and solutions and free expert
telephone advice. The key benefit of JobAccess is that it removes the information
barrier that prevents many people with disability from getting a job.
The JobAccess Advice service is contracted to WorkFocus Australia, an organisation

with 17 years of experience in the sector. The JobAccess Advisers organise free
workplace assessments and modifications as part of the Workplace Modifications
Scheme and facilitate access to Australian Sign Language (Auslan) interpreting and
training through the Auslan For Employment Programme. Applications for assis-
tance, including applications for productivity-based wage assessments, are made on-
85
line. The benefits of JobAccess have been measured both qualitatively through user
satisfaction surveys and quantitatively through data analysis.
The number of pages viewed on the website for July 2007 has increased by one third
since the site was released. The number of enquiries to JobAccess at the start of 2007
doubled compared to averages for previous years. JobAccess currently receives more
than 1,000 enquiries per month. To date, nearly 70,000 copies of the Mental Health
First Aid in the Workplace CD have been distributed.
Perhaps the most notable achievement of JobAccess has been encouraging access to
employer incentives. Previously the Workplace Modifications Scheme required three
paper-based forms with an average turnaround time of 11 calendar days. The JobAc-
cess model ensures that applications for assistance for less than $AU10,000 are an-
swered within four business hours. For applications over $AU10,000, a workplace
assessment is organised within two business days. JobAccess has met these require-
ments for 100% of applications. Once a workplace assessment report is lodged, in
94% of cases, the JobAccess Advisers review and approve the report within two busi-
ness days.
The number of people who have received reimbursement under the Scheme has in-
creased from 408 in 2005-2006 to 684 in 2006-2007 and indications are that this will
increase even more significantly in the future. From July to October 2007, 421 peo-
ple have already been granted reimbursement under the Scheme.
Lessons Learned
JobAccess is highly replicable. A scoping study is currently being undertaken by
Australias National Vocational Education and Training Disability Taskforce to see
how the concept of JobAccess might be used in educational settings to assist students
with disability and their teachers. The Taskforce will liaise closely with the JobAc-
cess Advisers, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Depart-
ment of Education, Science and Training (now the Department of Education, Em-
ployment and Workplace Relations), disability liaison officers in universities and
colleges, training authorities in each state and territory, students with disability and
their teachers to complete the study in early 2008.
Options include expanding the current service to embrace the needs of students with
disability and their teachers; adding new content to the website and sharing the site
with a separate team of education experts; or modelling an entire new site and service
on JobAccess. Whatever the outcome, the lessons learned from the JobAccess expe-
rience will be invaluable for the Taskforce.
The Global Applied Research and Information Network (GLADNET) has been
granted permission to use the concept and content on JobAccess to help other coun-
86
tries and non-government organisations implement the new United Nations Conven-
tion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Information about JobAccess has been
sent to other countries. In the United States, the Job Accommodation Network team
received it with the intention that the innovations developed from the Australian ex-
perience can be used in their own programs.
The success of JobAccess can be attributed to the overwhelming input and support
provided by Australias disability employment sector; state, territory and federal gov-
ernment departments and agencies; and the end users of the service: job seekers and
employees with disability, their co-workers and employers. Ongoing consultation
allowed the project team to tailor JobAccess to meet the needs of the target audience
and to respond in a very specific and practical way to the barriers identified in the
Report into Employment and Disability.
Thanks to the input from employers and industry groups, JobAccess speaks the lan-
guage of business. Employers will not find acronyms or government jargon on the
website. Instead, they will find statistics, facts and case studies that demonstrate that
the employment of people with disability makes good business sense. JobAccess pro-
vides compelling evidence to bust the myths around employing people with disability.
Consumer organisations and job seekers and employers with disability have provided
input to ensure that the service provides all the resources people with disability need
to find and maintain a job in one place. JobAccess provides resume templates, infor-
mation about disability confident employers, disclosure of disability and step by step
guides for all stages of the employment journey. A phone call to the JobAccess Ad-
visers can connect job seekers and employees to the service that best meets their in-
dividual needs.
The contribution of co-workers of people with disability has allowed the service to
encourage all Australian workers to become disability confident. JobAccess provides
practical guides on how to communicate with people with disability, disability aware-
ness training, mental health first aid in the workplace and advice on how to support a
colleague with disability.
The input of employment service providers has allowed JobAccess to respond to the
needs of professionals assisting people with disability and employers looking for
staff. JobAccess Advisers are professionals and understand the issues from the per-
spective of the employer, the employee and the service provider. They comprise oc-
cupational therapists, a registered psychologist, exercise physiologist and customer
service officers. JobAccess provides a range of tools, publications, checklists and
other resources to help employment service providers bring job seekers with disabil-
ity and employers together. Ongoing feedback from each of these groups will ensure
the continuing success of this Australian initiative.
87
Asia and the Pacic

Thailand
Yasothon Hospital, Thailand
Description
Providing more holistic and speedier medical care by integrating services and
reshaping the work ow at the Yasothon Hospital in Thailand.
Summary
By improving the efficiency of each unit and better integrating services, as well as by
reshaping the work flow, only 56 minutes as compared to six to seven hours are
now required for a patient to receive proper medical care. In 2004, the hospital was
awarded the first regional prize for good quality of public service.
The Problem
Like other public hospitals, Yasothon Hospital has faced the problem of heavy work-
loads because of the growing number of patients. The 350-bed hospital provides
health care each day to more than 800 people seeking its Out-Patient Department
services. Even so, it has continually developed the front-office services and has short-
ened the procedure for medical services, in line with the guidelines worked out by the
Public Sector Development Commission. For example, it has arranged a one-stop
service centre, extended service hours, and expanded the health care program to var-
ious communities. Neighboring countries, such as Cambodia and Vietnam, have also
sent medical teams to the hospital to learn from Thailands experience in improving
the delivery of services.
Yasothon General Hospital was established in 1965 initially as a 30-bed hospital.

There are currently 370 beds (with an average of 800 outpatient cases per day). Pa-
tient satisfaction levels were beginning to decline. The service had too many steps,
each taking a long time, for example, six to seven hours for some clients until the
conclusion of the medical visit. The medical service process depended on the pa-
tients conditions. For example, the patient needed to complete a new registration
card and OPD card during their first visit. Their vital signs were then recorded along
with their chief complaint and other information at the screening unit before seeing
a physician. If the physician needed more information about the patients illness, the
patient needed to go to a laboratory unit or X-ray unit and then come back to the
physicians unit after he or she received the X-ray or lab results. After the physician
wrote his prescription, the patient handed in the prescription to the Pharmacy Unit
before the pharmacist dispensed the drug and provided drug counseling. Then the
88
patient could go back home. Survey studies found that the total waiting time was five
hours 58 minutes per case. Patient satisfaction was 72.3% in 2004.
There were two to three complaint letters per day saying that The hospital was a
slaughter house; The nurse should perform better service; Poor service; Wish-
ing the nurse would smile more; The hospital has only a few doctors and they come
rather late, making the patient spend a long time in the hospital; Patients need a
quicker service; There is an untidy and dirty environment and especially the toilets
smell bad; The hospital should take better care at this stage; and The hospital
should cooperate with other care providers and not rely on patient self-help alone.
Increasingly, when people became ill, they preferred to buy medicine or see a doctor
at a private hospital or private clinic. This increased patients expenses unnecessarily
and resulted in patients sometimes taking unnecessary drugs. People who take too
much medicine have higher risks of getting sick from adverse drug reactions, which
can be life threatening.
The Solution
A team composed of doctors, pharmacists, lab and X-ray staff, technicians, nurses,
ward officials, psychologists, physical therapists and other professionals was set up
and through brainstorming, teamwork, and cooperation the Hospital developed a
good front liner system with multi-disciplinary care teams that later received sev-
eral awards. It took a long time to brainstorm with all of the concerned units and
team work was given priority. That has meant holding frequent meetings to evalu-
ate all problems from patients who entered the medical cycle. Continuous Quality
Improvement (CQI) standards were introduced to guarantee high quality service
standards leading to an improved system that reduces steps and waiting time for the
patients well-being and ease. Building a positive environment with Thai music,
karaoke, and a meditation room, along with having a health club promotion has
also contributed to the Hospitals success. An equally important part of its success
can be attributed to the clear policies set by the higher executives as well as the
increase in budgets and continuous evaluation and monitoring. Most importantly,
however, are the service providers continuous dedication and concern for patients,
as well as the efforts they made networking among communities and private sec-
tors. Every month there is a meeting to monitor the quality of services, and to
identify any problems.
Using the assessment of patient satisfaction by Dusit poll and Thailand Hospital ac-
creditation questionnaires, the Hospitals team collected data by randomly sampling
20 patients per day every morning for 30 days. Every day the data were summarized
and analyzed. The key performance indicators included patient satisfaction, patient
complaints, and service timing. After one month each patient from the analyzed re-
89
sults found that the waiting time was only 56 minutes. In 2004, the hospital received
the regional first prize for good quality public service.
The strategies employed to solve the problem included:

Integrating services through one stop services in every unit, where possible;
Reducing overcrowded services by changing the service hours from 8:00 to
16:00 to 7:00 to 16:00 every day. Increased service times from 16:00 to 21:00
on weekdays. On Saturday, Sunday and holidays service hours are from 9:00
to 13:00;
Reshaping the flow of work by creating two primary care units. (A health care
team from the hospital goes to the care unit outside the hospital. This team is
responsible for medication refill and check ups for patients with chronic dis-
eases.). The primary care unit cooperates with health centres and community
hospitals by a coordinated referral system. Since patients with chronic illnesses
such as DM and HT have frequent medication refills and check ups, they come
to the primary care unit rather than to the hospital. Therefore, the number of
patients in the hospital is reduced;
Improving the quality of time spent in the hospital while waiting for specific
services by providing entertainment similar to an entertainment complex, with
volunteers playing Thai music and overall improvement to the hospital areas.
The hospital now looks like a good hotel. There are reading corners, herbal
drinking counters, and peaceful areas for worshiping Buddha images, Hindu
Gods, etc.;
Providing a holistic health care approach by providing Thai massage, herbal
saunas, karaoke, and a meditation room. Fitness clubs for health promotion for
officials and others. The Thai traditional medicine unit and health educators are
responsible for this section;
Improving sanitation conditions. The public toilets situation has changed from
having not enough toilets and unclean toilets with a bad smell. From our sur-
vey, we found toilets in Yasothon Hospital were used by 822 persons per day.
We improved the toilets by using HAS (Health Accessibility and Safety) stan-
dards until we received the national first prize for the most excellent toilets
from the Department of Health; and
Improving human resources qualifications by providing training. Personnel de-
veloped excellent behavior through team training by customer service experts
from Thai Airlines to work with hospital personnel.
All of the service units work on innovative ideas to increase patient satisfaction. They
are setting strategies for improved performance as follows:
90
Improving services;
Defining service behavior to meet clients need;
Identifying problems and obstacles;
Seeking feed-back from patients;
Knowledge management and competency of personnel promoting continuous
quality improvement; and
Admiring and giving rewards to the personnel who do the best.
The key development and implementation steps are Continuous Quality Improve
ment (CQI):
Use of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle to develop a high quality ser-
vice system; and
Improving the service by reducing steps, therefore, saves time at each service
point.
Reducing steps are done as listed below:

The patient care team OPD paid attention to making all patient care most sat-
isfactory. Client care was emphasized through the multidisciplinary participa-
tion of every one at every level. These included doctors, dentists, pharmacists,
nurses, technicians, physical therapists, health educators, psychologists, and
social medicine practitioners.
The work flow was reshaped by reducing seven steps to one stop service in the
dental unit and specialization clinic. Clear steps are aimed at covering every
dimension of patient care, including timing of service to ease the patient as
needed. The clients are very happy. We monitor all data and take them to con-
sult monthly with the other PCT teams, including Med PCT, Surg PCT, Ped
PCT and ENV team.
Participation of local organisations, private sectors and other clubs can help us
with activities such as campaigns for dengue fever, blood donations, and Heart-
felt volunteers (Jit-asa).
Computer used by Hos-XP program was adapted for use in the hospital by hav-
ing cards record the time in queue automatically at both the card room and
pharmaceutical room. The cost for this program was over 300,000 baht and
was subsidized by local organisations and the public health ministry.
Human Resources: Volunteers come from the general population and retired
persons who wish to help the patients without any wages. Heartfelt volunteers
(Jit-ASA) is a group of retired people and patients with chronic disease who
volunteer to help patients and service providers understand about the service
91
system and even respond in some parts of service delivery. It seems that they
enjoy helping the patients and the personnel.
The collection data OPD service timing is fixed by form. Each unit writes down the
time. The forms are included with the patients history file. After one month each
patient from the analyzed results found that the waiting time was only 56 minutes.
(Standard waiting time is less than 90 minutes.) Patient comments included: The
hospital area environment is clean; The service is impressive; quick; excel-
lent; the providers are giving service by smiling heartily; Nice talk; and Good
service indeed. In 2004, the hospital received the first regional prize for good qual-
ity public service.
The hospital lets the winning team attend seminars focusing on good organisation,
gives special bonuses and rewards the team by declaring a job well done. There is a
budget for cleaning, tidiness, and improving the environment. The hospital won the
first prize for the cleanest toilets in the Public Health region. The Patient Satisfaction
results after developing and implementing turnaround strategies were as follows:
January 2005 87.45%
January 2006 88.3%
January 2007 89.4%
July 2007 92.3%
Lessons Learned
One of the main lessons learned is that in order to achieve good results, it is neces-
sary to work in a team. That has meant holding frequent meetings to evaluate all
the problems from patients who entered the medical cycle. Building a positive en-
vironment with Thai music, karaoke, and a meditation room, along with having a
health club, has also contributed to the success of the initiative. An equally impor-
tant part of its success is related to the fact that clear policies were set by the man-
agement of the hospital; and that individuals were committed and dedicated to
improving services and to relying on the extensive networking with communities
and the private sector.
92
2008 CATEGORY 2: COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
La llave para tu negocio
Banco de Desarrollo Econmico para Puerto Rico
Description
Giving citizens a key to their own business: the Economic Development Bank
of Puerto Ricos La llave para tu negocio.
Summary
La Llave para Tu Negocio is a public policy program created by the Governor of
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Hon. Anbal Acevedo Vila, on 10 March 2005
through an Executive Order. It is an intra agency program between the Puerto Rico
Trade and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico. Its purpose is to pro-
mote entrepreneurship and the economic development of the Island, through the cre-
ation of new businesses and the expansion of existing ones, based on a three phase
scenario: technical support, financing and mentoring. The goal was to finance 1,000
entrepreneurs by 31 December 2008. By 9 June 2008, more than 1,050 cases, ex-
ceeded the expectations.
The Problem
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has faced a sharp economic slowdown from a
decade ago. The current economic growth rate is of 1.3%. This is due to several
factors, among them the lack of an entrepreneurial culture, which encourages the
creation of new businesses. This has prompted the government to find ways to
move from a socio-political culture of looking for jobs in the public sector or for-
eign companies to a culture of entrepreneurship, and job creation by the private
sector through training and other means. Currently, Puerto Rico has more than
100,000 small and medium enterprises; however, only about 42% of the population
is employed.
The Solution
With La llave para tu negocio, the Economic Development Bank (EDB) of Puerto
Rico has presented new entrepreneurs with a key to realize their dreams by provid-
ing up to 100% of funding for their projects for a maximum of $50 M, without any
initial deposit or guarantee, with a ten-year fixed interest rate. By 30 June 2008, the
EDB has managed to approve funding for more than 1,000 keys (going beyond its
100% target). Over 82% of that funding has already been disbursed and more than
93
45% of those who have received funding for their own business are women. These
new activities have created approximately 9,000 new jobs. For companies that were
already doing well at the local level but wanted to export their goods, the EDB has
provided them with additional funding to become more competitive internationally.
Lessons Learned
There are several lessons learned through this journey towards the creation of new
companies that encourage economic activity in the country and that in turn create
new spaces for employment. One lesson learned is that to achieve success in a project
of this magnitude it is necessary to create alliances to get the message through. Part-
nerships with Professional Associations (to carry the message that anyone can be an
entrepreneur), Institutes and Universities (helping in the area of training and develop-
ment of the business plan), Cooperatives and Local Banks (working as additional
distribution centres for products and services) and other agencies that are willing to
guide people who wish to have their own business.
Another important lesson is that education is essential in any project and even more
when working to produce a mentality shift in the population. Monitoring and support
are crucial to the sustainability of the program.
94

Sweden
Public Library 2007, Ume Region, Sweden
Description
Increasing access to public library services, especially for the disabled, through
a new Library system set up in Ume, Sweden.
Summary
Library 2007 is the story of how borrowers in the smallest municipality in Sweden
got access to one of the largest book stocks in the country. It is also the story about
how accessibility increased for borrowers in general, and the disabled in particular.
Library 2007 is a unique joint action in many ways. AudioIndex The Talking Li-
brary provides the visually impaired with opportunities to benefit from library ser-
vices and a range of talking books. The new joint website mylibraries.se is re-
garded by many as an answer to the Library 2.0 concept model.
The Problem
The Ume Region has a population of 140,000 inhabitants with an average age of 37
years, 29,000 students at two universities and 5,000 college students. The increasing
strain on the economic situation for the municipalities has led most of them to cut the
budget of many services. The library services in many municipalities were among the
casualties. The strained budget of the municipalities and the call for keeping the mu-
nicipal budget balanced resulted in the closing-down of the bookmobile in three of
the municipalities in 1997. The libraries in the Ume region are very popular. The
public library in Ume has more visitors than the national Vasa Museum in Stock-
holm. Besides borrowing books, the role of the library as a meeting place becomes
increasingly important. Printed books have become only one of the librarys many
functions. New technology stimulates the demand for new services. In the context of
budget cuts and increased demand for library services, the Ume region had to find
an appropriate solution.
The Solution
One of the underlying policies for the Ume region is that cooperation must be ben-
eficial for each municipality. As early as 1993, politicians made the first declaration
of intent about cooperation that would contribute to development that benefits every-
one and lead to the renewal of municipal services by streamlining municipal depart-
ments. The climate of cooperation should be characterized by mutual trust and con-
95
tinuous exchanges of experience and knowledge between local government officers

and politicians.
It is in that spirit that in 1999 the libraries were assigned a forward-looking task of
conducting a pilot study, which would include the following:
Describe and make a survey of the prerequisites for development
through cooperation;
Make use of technological developments;
Cope with volume increases;
Reduce costs and/or improve quality;
Offer greater freedom of choice;
Increase accessibility; and
Strengthen the accessibility, quality and diversity of all the libraries
The heads of the public libraries in the Ume region formed a steering group. A win-
ning strategy was that all the municipalities were each given the same vote in the
working sessions, regardless of size. Different working groups were set up with a
representative from each of the six municipalities.
The innovative technological solutions are the result of leading-edge research at

the Institute of Design at Ume University. One example is AudioIndex where in-
tended users have been involved throughout the entire development process, from
the definition of their needs to the design of the product and services that address
those needs.
The aim of Library 2007, a EU-funded project, has been to adapt the services
provided to the needs of the citizens. Library 2007 has allowed for a greater
wealth of books than before and has integrated the services provided by various
libraries in the region. Today, the inhabitants of the Ume region can borrow from
a total stock of one million books with a single library card. Accessibility, includ-
ing for the disabled, has been increased thanks to the newly designed website.
Because there is a lot of movement in the Ume region (people move across mu-
nicipalities when, for example, they work at one place but live in another), the li-
braries have worked for a closer cooperation. They have developed only one serv-
er for all the libraries in the region. In addition, they have a common library
register, and users only need one library card to have access to all the libraries,
and can borrow and return books in any one of them. Their web page, www.min-
abibliotek.se includes a discussion forum or Living Room where users can dis-
cuss books, music and films. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and
Regions has called it Swedens first municipal community. An audio library al-
lows visually-impaired users to enjoy the library independently. Ume library has
96
already been praised for its development work in the past, when it received the
European Public Sector Award and the Union of Baltic Cities Innovative Cultural
Activity prize.
Thanks to the single library card, a visitor can borrow and return items at any of the
libraries in the region. Thus, cooperation in the Ume region has given the partici-
pating municipalities a considerable increase in book stock without having to pur-
chase a single book. The total book stock makes it easy to make reservations, bor-
row and return books. A total of 94% of the inhabitants of the region have reported
being satisfied with the new system. A higher level of service has been achieved at
very little cost.
Accessibility has been increased. The website has been designed so that the disabled
have increased accessibility to the libraries. All citizens have been given the opportu-
nity to reserve and borrow books, as well as to download e-books, music and films
from the Web. Borrowers can manage a great deal without even leaving their home.
In cooperation with the Ume Institute of Design and the Ume University, the Ume
Library System developed prototypes for navigation with a handheld computer, as
well as with other electronic gadgets. AudioIndex, the talking library has become a
commercial product, launched in 2007.
By putting the resources together and acting as one agency, the Library System of
Ume was able to lower the cost of acquisition of new computer systems and soft-
ware. The Ume Library System practiced streamlining and large scale benefits. In
order to administer and operate a system with great demands for reliability and ac-
cessibility, many measures were required such as shell protection, fire-protection,
and protection against unauthorized access to computer systems, such as physical
data security, as well as security breaches to the website.
This cooperative efforts among libraries in the Ume region has increased savings in
many other ways. Costs are divided among more parties; the possibility of an im-
proved bargaining position to acquire books increases, thereby providing leverage
for better terms, and information about new books only needs to be entered into the
catalogue one time instead of six. The System has improved the level of protection.
To achieve an adequate level of protection for classified information, three munici-
palities would have had to improve their alarm, fire-protection, code locks, for an
estimated cost of 10,500 each if there had not been a joint action.
The innovative technological solutions are the result of leading-edge research at the
Institute of Design at Ume University. One example is AudioIndex where intended
users have been involved throughout the entire development process, from specifica-
tions to the design of the product and services.
97
One objective for the Ume Region is renewal of municipal services. The libraries
have responded with new products and services that create renewal of public library
services and increase the accessibility for the borrowers in general and the disabled
in particular so that everyone can use the libraries on equal terms.
One initiative is AudioIndex the talking library. AudioIndex provides the visually
impaired with opportunities to benefit from library services and the range of talking
books. When a library user indicates a book using a pointing device, information
about it is read out via the users headset. The system can also provide services such
as help with orientation, information about events and book tips. AudioIndex is based
on RFID technology, by which an electronic tag equipped with chips is placed on
the spines of the book. They are read using a pointing device from a distance of a few
centimeters. Information about a particular book is retrieved from a database and
converted to speech that is read out via the headset.
The new joint library website, was launched in 2007 and is regarded by many as an
answer to the Library 2.0 concept model:
The library is an accessible virtual meeting place that is in harmony with the
librarys basic tasks of supplying culture and providing information. These
tasks are predicated on the idea that everyone is equally entitled to cultural
experiences and information;
The website makes the facilities and services of the library visible and makes
them more accessible;
The website produces added value for the visitors; and
The website meets the needs of children and young people as regards library
services.
Approved level of protection is one example of how the libraries contribute to the
objective improved quality. Three municipalities improved alarms, fire protection,
code locks. Another example is the smallest municipality with only 2,500 inhabitants
who increased the book stock from 50,000 to one million books. The System has
regular transports between all the libraries and can provide greater opportunities for
in-service training even in smaller municipalities.
At the beginning, the six libraries started by developing a common infrastructure

that would be the prerequisite and foundation for long-term and sustainable future
cooperation:
Joint regional server;
Joint library data system;
Conversion and matching of four different catalogues into one;
98
Joint library catalogues;

Single library card;
Joint rules and routines; and
Training of staff and Joint agreements.
The libraries formed working groups from all the municipalities and types of librar-
ies. Some of the tasks have been to identify the rules and routines that should be
common for all. The work has included making a survey and compiling the data;
making suggestions and circulating them for comment; making evaluations and new
suggestions; and making decisions in the steering group.
The joint borrowers register caused some problems. In Sweden, the municipalities
cannot link and match computer files. Therefore, before the system could become
operational, it was necessary to be determined if the staff in one municipality could
handle information regarding borrowing books in another municipality without
breaking the law. After consulting with lawyers, the decision was made that if the
information on the library card, borrowing rules and regulations, etc., is sufficiently
clear it means that the signer of the library card agrees with the condition that the
information will be used in the joint borrowers register. It is important that the staff
members are aware of the confidentiality of data. All staff members must sign a dec-
laration that they are bound by professional secrecy.
The joint library catalogue is the hub of the cooperation. With few exceptions there
is a free flow of media among all the libraries in the Ume region. There are regular
biweekly transports with the main library. During the year 2005, 1.5% of the book
collection was borrowed from another municipality than the owning one (in total
20,000 books). The smaller libraries had an even higher percentage, which was up to
10%. The Ume Public Library, which is the public library with the largest book
stock, had 0.4%.
As a subproject in Library 2007 and in collaboration with the Institute of Design

and Ume University, a unique and revolutionary aid for the visually impaired
was developed. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) pro-
posed that this initiative be presented to Her Majesty, the Queen of Sweden, at a
seminar in 2004. Now the idea has become a commercial product that every li-
brary can purchase.
Lessons Learned
It has taken a great deal of time to make joint rules since the different municipali-
ties have had different working cultures and customs. The Ume region believes
that it is important to reach a consensus, understanding and acceptance of the rules
99
of each library in order to foster broader participation in the process. If there is a

willingness to cooperate, then most of the problems will be resolved. Cooperation
and involvement of people with different skills is helpful to gain a broader perspec-
tive. The library cooperation in the Ume region is unique, nowhere else have mu-
nicipal libraries worked together in such a firmly established and stable network.
Cooperation continues. Some of the key elements that made this initiative a suc-
cess are: a clear and future-oriented political mandate, a strong connection to over-
all goals, a desire to cooperate that focused on opportunities, a balance between the
obligations and aspirations. Other skills and innovations were also involved, in-
cluding a professional project management; unified, supporting and efficient work
groups; Umes respect for smaller municipalities and the other municipalities
confidence in Ume; and last but not least a gradual transfer of responsibility to
each library.
For more information about the Ume Region Public Libraries, please go to:
www.minabibliotek.se
100
2008 CATEGORY 2: SAUDI ARABIA
Western Asia
Saudi Arabia
SADAD Payment System
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Description
Promoting greater efciency and transparency; minimizing fraud and increasing
womens access to employment through a single shared national platform payment
system for bills through banks 24/7, and other means.
Summary
The SADAD Payment System is a single shared national platform payment system
for bills through banks 24 hours a day and seven days a week (24/7), which has pro-
moted greater efficiency, and transparency as all transactions are electronically com-
pleted. It has also minimized fraud thanks to audit trail and data reporting for each
transaction; it has reduced costs by eliminating government subsidies; and last, but
not least, it has boosted the role of women in the job market by employing women to
run and operate SADAD as they constitute more than 60% of its workforce and
100% of SADADs operational team.
The Challenge
In the early 1980s, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) The Central
Bank of Saudi Arabia mandated that all Saudi banks accept utilities bill payments
on behalf of utility companies (electricity, telecom and water) at no charge to cus-
tomers and without distinction as to whether the payer was a customer of the bank
where the bill was being paid or not. The SAMA mandate placed an unduly large
burden on banks, resulting in high costs; thereby leading banks to resist providing
collection services.
Moreover, since a bank account was required to make payments of various utilities,
including cellular phones, SAMAs strategy was hard to enforce. With the increased
use of cell phones and the requirement of a bank account to pay bills, a black market
rapidly developed where those with an account would buy phone cards at bank coun-
ters and resell them to make a profit.
According to a survey conducted by SAMA, the top consumers complaints concern-

ing bill payment were that the process was very time consuming, with postage delays
and loss of bills, which resulted in disconnection of service due to delays in bill pro-
cessing. It was also inconvenient because of the handling of large cash amounts.
101
The Solution
In response to consumers needs, SAMA introduced the SADAD Payment System
(SADAD) initiative; a unique concept to enable citizens to pay bills in an efficient
and convenient way through a single shared national platform that streamlined the
presentment and collection process of all major bill payments. It also minimized
fraud in manual transactions, and provided an audit trail system and data reporting
for each transaction. This enabled SADAD to reduce the overall cost of bill pay-
ment (estimated at SAR 1,250M annually) by 20% to 25% by addressing the
structural inefficiencies of the old system. It also eliminated all direct links be-
tween banks and customers by developing a central Electronic Bill Presentment
and Payment (EBPP) system. This initiative greatly benefited citizens as they
were no longer required to spend long hours to pay their bills thanks to the fact
that payments could be done over the internet. An estimated 12-15 million man-
hours were spent annually by consumers paying bills at banks branches (branch-
es usage went down from 66% in 2003 to 10% in 2007). All Consumers in Saudi
Arabia can now pay electronically for the services of 27 utilities (mostly govern-
ment agencies) 24/7 through all the banking channels in Saudi Arabia (Automated
Teller Machines, Phone Banking, Online Banking, and Bank Branches), provid-
ing real-time payment services (currently the system processes 3.5 million trans-
actions monthly and is expected to reach 5.6 million in 2008, with every transac-
tion processed under two seconds). The system has also introduced a proactive
reminder service through electronic bill presentment; flexibility in payments; re-
duction in service cuts; less cash handling, and it has eliminated all paperwork
related to payments.
SADAD represents a major shift in service delivery since it has achieved a more
equitable sharing of costs and benefits between stakeholders, by eliminating subsi-
dies and changing its business model. SADAD does not charge consumers directly
for the services it provides; instead customers pay a transaction fee per bill and a
significant proportion of the revenue generated is passed on to banks to compen-
sate them for the usage of their channels. In return, SADAD facilitates the avail-
ability of funds in the businesses accounts within one business day (instead of
14-60 days); it reduces complexity by maintaining a single interface with SADAD
instead of separate interfaces with 14 different banks; and it reduces reconciliation
costs by 80% to 90%. It also lowers costs related to service disruption (previously
caused by customers wrongly being disconnected due to delays in bill payments)
by providing real-time payment notification. SADAD also benefited banks by re-
ducing complexity of interfaces, decreasing reconciliation costs by 50%-60%, en-
couraging better banking transaction practices, and providing a stable growing
revenue stream.
102
2008 CATEGORY 2: SAUDI ARABIA
Lessons Learned
Building and operating SADAD was full of meaningful lessons and experiences, one of
the most important lessons was that an organisation, responsible for creating a complex
national infrastructure, that does not have proven internal capacities to do so, should al-
ways seek outside help. In the case of SADAD, even though SAMA had developed a
major financial infrastructure in the past, this project was different as it involved all types
of industries. Thus, SAMA had to prepare detailed market studies that clearly identified
market needs; and it had to create financial and business models. SAMA had to obtain the
services of a top management consulting firm to help them to define the objectives and to
implement the system.
SAMA has learned that for any new system to be successful, sustainable, and efficient, it
has to be managed as a semi-autonomous or an independent agency, and have the ability
to hire talented professionals and retain them, as well as to approve spending for develop-
ing its business initiatives with minimal bureaucracy and a clear governance structure.
Meaningful change does not come easily; the innovator needs to be patient yet consistent
and convincing so that all the parties may abandon their old way of doing business and
invest in a new system. In fact, the SADAD team had to develop a business plan and strat-
egy that ensured the cooperation of different parties. Another lesson is the importance of
adopting a top-bottom approach, especially if the concept represents a major shift in how
organisations do business. The SADAD team met with the top management of each major
organisation; presented the current issues about the billing market, and provided informa-
tion about the benefits, business plan, and timeline of the initiative. The team was always
well prepared for each meeting, which means that it did all the required research, con-
ducted all needed studies and calculations, and customized its presentation to fit the mind-
set of that organisation.
Another lesson is that large complex projects like SADAD, with many different partici-
pants, require a more structured project management approach, while an outsourcing ar-
rangement for its operation, with the right control and management, provided access to a
larger pool of talent from all over the world (SADAD employees represent 16 different
nationalities with heavy dependency on Saudi nationals) and reduced the risks of failure in
building and operating such projects.
Abandoning the traditional reliance on male employees and heavily relaying on female
employees was an additional important lesson, in that Saudi men realized that women are
as professional as their male counterparts, and can do a great job without compromising
traditional values.
103
2008 Category 3


Africa Tunisia Online Academic Providing university students with an interactive and 105
Orientation Service participative online system
Asia and India Public Institutions and Services, Empowering local communities to manage essential 108
the Pacic Government of Nagaland public social services
Asia and Republic Information System Planning Cyber Policy Forum to boost online citizen involvement 112
the Pacic of Korea Bureau, Seoul Metropolitan Govt. in public affairs
Europe and Germany City of Cologne, Ensuring citizens participation in decision-making 117
North Am. Germany regarding public funds
Europe and Spain Participation in Policy-making Promoting citizen engagement by establishing 122
North Am. Decisions, Govt. of Catalonia a General Directorate for Participation
Western Jordan Family Planning, the Higher Promoting family planning and empowering women 125
Asia Population Council, Amman through health and reproductive education
Tunisia India Rep. of Korea Germany Spain Jordan
104
2008 CATEGORY 3: TUNISIA
Africa
Tunisia
Online Academic Orientation Service
Direction gnrale des affaires estudiantines, Tunisia
Description
Providing students with an interactive and participative online system for
university enrollment.
Summary
Through the project entitled Online Academic Orientation, the Ministry of Educa-
tion has set up an online portal that allows Tunisian university students to interact
online with academic staff, to receive advice and guidance regarding their studies,
and to apply for the study areas of their choice. This process, which was once long
and painstaking, is nowadays mastered thanks to information and communication
technologies (ICT).
The Problem
The Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology
(MESRST) was faced with the problem of managing, in a record time, a significant
flux of new high school graduates who sought information about the courses offered
by public universities during the two hottest months of the year (July and August).
Prior to implementing the Online Academic Orientation initiative, the Ministry had
to send to all high school diploma candidates (around 150,000 per year) a guide in-
cluding an exhaustive table of all undergraduate programs available in Tunisia as
well as information on the eligibility requirements. It also had to make necessary
calculations and classifications once the grades were made public by the Ministry of
Education (MEF). These operations involved a lengthy and costly process. Since its
inception, this initiative has allowed high school graduates in Tunisia and their fami-
lies to take advantage of ICT applications at low cost. Thanks to this national initia-
tive, the Tunisian public administration can avoid costly and time consuming tradi-
tional operations linked to college orientation. This initiative has also eliminated
possible errors while filling out forms as well as allowed students to access their
personal page through the usage of a user name and password and make any neces-
sary corrections to their personal information.
The major problem that the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and
Technology (MESRST) in Tunisia faced in previous years was the management of an
impressive stream of new high school graduates who needed orientation to enroll in
105
universities and colleges in record time. This exercise had to be completed over July
and August, the warmest months of the year.
Previously, the Ministry had sent a guide for academic counseling to all the candidates of
the baccalaureate exam, around 150,000 per year, providing a comprehensive menu of
training proposed by the State together with capacity available at each higher education
institution. The purpose of the guide was to allow candidates to choose their future study
areas, depending on their motives, their results, and their aspired future careers.
Immediately after the announcement of the final results of the baccalaureate exam
(by the Ministry of Education and Training MEF), the Ministry of Higher Educa-
tion, Scientific Research and Technology received these results in order to make the
necessary calculations and rankings and edit the applications indicating the college
preferences (three choices with three different colors) of those who passed the exam.
The applications were then sent to the twenty four regional directorates of Education
of Tunisia to be handed over to the candidates.
Once the candidates had expressed their choice and returned their applications to the
Department of Students Affairs (DGES), the latter began the process of transferring
data from a paper format to a server processing with the support of a hundred of data
entry clerks specially recruited for the task. A specific computer application handled
the choices of candidates and assigned them to the institutions of higher education.
Students who were not satisfied with the university assigned to them had to apply for
the reorientation at DGES and possibly had to return to the Department to obtain
information about their complaints.
The Solution
The online orientation for higher education was finalized for the 2007 session (in that
it encompassed all stages of the academic orientation: online choice forms, data entry
of the graduates choices, publication of results for each round, and the publication
of the reorientation decisions, etc.). This online process familiarizes the new high
school graduates and their families with the use of new information technologies and
is much more efficient compared to the old system.
This new online process has allowed the government to provide a better service in
a very cost-effective manner; it has minimized costs related to paper, ink, data
entry payment, transport, overtime, catering, which it incurred in the old system
while the new graduates and their parents have been spared long trips to and long
waits at the Ministry.
It is important to note that mistakes made by candidates in the past, which were a
source of inconvenience for both the administration and the candidates, have now
disappeared thanks to the fact that applications are made online and if any informa-
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2008 CATEGORY 3: TUNISIA
tion is missing or wrong, the system alerts them to that effect. With a login and a
password candidates are allowed to go back to their personal information form and
correct mistakes, change their choices, and update their information. Finally, when
the MESRT is ready to published the final results, the latter are instantaneously com-
municated to all institutions of higher education as well as to the candidates. This
allows each institution to download the list of its new students and open up an online
registration form for new freshmen.
Lessons Learned
As already noted above, one of the objectives of this initiative was to lay the founda-
tions for a lasting experience that breaks with conventional management (slow, cum-
bersome in terms of human and financial resources), and which provided more ac-
curate and readily information about possible transfers within the same department
(higher education) or in other public institutions.
Through this initiative, the MESRT has acquired enough experience and know-how
to further improve and consolidate the process and to make it more efficient. The
MESRT stands ready to help other government institutions reproduce the model for
similar services. One of the primary factors that led to the success of the initiative
can be attributed to the decision makers will to tackle difficult challenges with ma-
jor risks.
Another factor that contributed significantly to the success of this initiative was a
certain cultural maturity in the Tunisian public administration, especially after the
successful organisation of the second phase of the World Summit on Information
Society in Tunis in November 2005 and the relevance of its recommendations. Fi-
nally, the set up and improvement of the infrastructure and other logistics, have
helped carry out such an undertaking initiatives despite the sensitivity and complex-
ity of its implementation.
107
Asia and the Pacic

India
Programme of Communitisation
of Public Institutions and Services
Government of Nagaland, India
Description
Empowering local communities to manage essential public social services through
the Programme of Communitisation of Public Institutions and Services established
by the Government of Nagaland in India.
Summary
This programme has significantly improved public service delivery in essential services,
such as health, education and electricity, through an imaginative empowerment of users
at the community level by adopting an innovative legislative framework. It is also play-
ing a key role in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
The Problem
Prior to the implementation of the Communitisation Scheme in Nagaland (the initia-
tive), public social and utility services including health services, education, and elec-
tricity were scarce, and very badly managed. The public institutions responsible for
those services were ineffective and dysfunctional. A strongly felt and unmet need was
how to revitalize the service delivery network and bring about systemic improvement.
The Solution
In order to improve the management of public services so that they would be respon-
sive to the needs of the population, the government of Nagaland introduced a new
concept of service delivery. The citizens themselves were to be responsible for the
delivery of public services and be directly involved in the collection of the fees and
payments necessary to keep them running.
The former Chief Secretary of the Government of Nagaland, Mr. R.S. Pandey con-
ceptualized the initiative and coined the term communitisation as a more effective
means of conveying the concept underlying this initiative rather than using decen-
tralization. Various discussions at the local level were initiated and a concept note
was issued and discussed by the government that decided to institutionalize the com-
munitisation of services in the state of Nagaland. After the governments decision,
rules for the communitisation of different sectors namely, education, health and
power supply were finalized by different committees constituted for this purpose.
108
The active involvement of the political leadership, bureaucracy, civil society and the
church in implementing this innovative and novel approach was a distinguishing fea-
ture of this initiative. The Village Councils and the Development Boards played a
supportive role in the new provision of services. The villagers too started making
voluntary contributions in cash, kind and/or labor (social work) for developmental
activities as well as for the creation of productive and long-lasting physical assets.
Members of the village communities were so enthused by the initiative and its suc-
cess that they voluntarily participated in:
Enhancing awareness about the benefits of the communitisation programme;
Cleaning the school premises and fencing the compound in their free time
and on holidays;
Conducting tuition classes in the evenings for the poorly performing children;
Cooking mid-day meals by taking turns;
Contributing to vocational activities like carpentry, basket making, etc;
Preparing educational kits and teaching aids;
Growing fruits and vegetables in the kitchen gardens attached to the
health centres;
Conducting competitions for the students of all nearby schools; and
Building awareness about important issues of common concern like HIV/
AIDS, environmental protection, etc.
As a result of the communitisation scheme, covering the areas of health, education

and utilities (electricity), there was a marked improvement in the attendance of teach-
ers and students (greater than 90%), in enrolment of students (by 50%-500%), in
dropout rates (falling to near 0%) and in performance in examination results (with
near 100% pass rate). There was also better availability of textbooks, of the required
type and in the required quantity. With the growing popularity of the communitised
schools, many private schools closed down, with a significant percentage of their
students shifting to the former.
In Health Centres, the attendance and availability of doctors and health staff im-
proved significantly (in the range of 90%-100%), unauthorized absence came down
drastically (to near 0%) and medicines of the required type and in the required quan-
tity became available. The number of patients willing to visit, and be treated at the
communitised village dispensaries, increased by 50%-100%.
As far as the electric power supply was concerned, the Village Electricity Manage-
ment Boards (VEMB) undertook repairs and replacement of faulty electricity meters
and took care of the small-time requirements of infrastructure through the 20% re-
bate that the Electricity Department was providing them, on billed amounts. This
109
resulted in a greater drive to collect dues from consumers, ensuring fewer defaults.
The VEMBs were authorized to disconnect the power supply to the erring house-
holds too, with the result that revenues improved by about 250%, with the billing rate
rising to cover 85%-100% of what was due. Power thefts got effectively controlled.
There was increased electrification of villages, with more funds becoming available.
These changes led to desirable qualitative outcomes like greater transparency, ac-
countability, responsiveness, improved service levels and quality, enhanced citizens
role, active involvement and participation of stakeholders, facilitation of democratic
processes and improved functioning of public institutions.
The leveraging of social capital and reduced corruption were one of the major results
of this initiative. Villagers started debating among themselves and then decided on
what was good for them collectively, which resulted in a feeling of empowerment
and a sense of greater satisfaction.
Village Committees that received funds (both one time and recurring) from the Gov-
ernment for Health and Education were responsible for disbursing the same funds to
schools and teachers as well as to health centres, doctors and medical staff. The Com-
mittees followed the principle of No Work No Pay. Hence, greater transparency
(on the actual sums received), accountability and answerability (as regards work out-
put and performance) resulted. As the complete status of fund utilization was dis-
played on public notice boards by the respective Committees, citizens knew how
much money was actually sanctioned and utilized for various activities. This in-
creased the faith of the citizens in the working of public institutions, resulting in
better service delivery in quality and quantity, such as in improved enrolment, atten-
dance and performance of students in exams, timely vaccinations for children, etc.
Ownership of the assets of the government schools, hospitals and services was trans-
ferred to the communities under the guidance and superintendence of the commit-
tees. Resources too were transferred from the government to the communities, both
for capital and revenue expenditures.
Training of the communities and the employees of the government was taken up seri-
ously by the government, leading to their capacity building. The three Ts namely,
Trusting the user community, Training them and Transferring the governmental pow-
ers and resources to them in respect of management of assets and resources were the
key strategies that transformed the administration, enhancing the citizens role, in-
volvement and participation, and revitalizing service delivery.
Lessons Learned
The idea was innovative in as much as it recognized and leveraged the rich social
capital of the local tribes and communities. The principle of three Ts, viz. Trusting
110
the village communities, Training them and Transferring powers to them proved
right and worked very well. It became evident that the empowered user communities,
when bestowed with powers as well as funds (through an enabling legislation) are
capable of taking decisions and managing well the service-delivery institutions. The
service-delivery Committees duly recognized their roles, responsibilities, powers
and obligations, functioned in an inclusive and effective manner, fulfilling the faith
and trust the government reposed in them. The Church also played an enabling and
facilitating role in the task of awareness building and successful implementation of
the initiative.
The priorities and purposes of the initiative were to promote the democratic decen-
tralization of power, the sharing of responsibilities of governance with people and
improving the institutional service delivery at the grassroots level. The strategy ad-
opted was based on the tenet that when the empowered (e.g., the governmental ma-
chinery) are not adequately motivated to perform, it would make sense to empower
those who have the motivation!
Accordingly, a unique partnership between the government and the communities

was mooted. Village- and Town-ward level Committees were formed for the three
chosen sectors. The Committees were broad-based in accordance with the guide-
lines and rules put in place, with judicious stakeholder representation, and with at
least one woman-member inducted into each Committee.
111
Asia and the Pacic

Republic of Korea
Information System Planning Bureau
Seoul Metropolitan Government
Republic of Korea
Description
Boosting online citizen involvement in public affairs and bringing cyber
innovation into the city administration through the establishment of the Cyber
Policy Forum by the Seoul Metropolitan Government of the Republic of Korea.
Summary
Seoul Metropolitan Governments initiative Cyber Policy Forum has served as an
innovative means to boost communication between the government and its citizens
by providing the people with an online discussion ground where they can participate
in heated debates on wide-ranged policy issues.
The Problem
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has made continuous efforts to re-
flect citizens opinions in its policy-making process by collecting various data.
However, it has never been an easy task to elaborate and integrate the data. Al-
though each bureau/division of the government sought to collect opinions on
various public matters from its people by conducting different polls, their re-
sults were not always adequately elaborated and did not meet the SMG or citi-
zens expectations.
To top it off, surveys that did not require disclosure of identity, i.e., were conducted
on an anonymous basis, were repleted of either unsound critiques or politically-bi-
ased opinions. Since people tend to respond to the survey questions more positively
when it is anonymous, a significant number of the polls were conducted in this way.
As a result, most of the collected data contained rather prejudiced ideas, which did
not quite achieve the citys objective of gathering public suggestions through data
collected from surveys.
There was therefore a need to develop a virtual space where citizens could express
their thoughts and views in order to gather more accurate suggestions from the peo-
ple. Apart from such need, as society has become more diversified, there has been an
increase in demands and expectations for better policies without a corresponding
channel where citizens can discuss these issues freely.
112
The Solution
In October 2002, in order to address the above mentioned problems, the Information
System Planning Bureau (ISPB), which is responsible for the official website of the
SMG, made a proposal to the city mayor to launch a program that would enable
people to discuss various ideas online. The program was named Cyber Policy Fo-
rum, and after its pilot program was successfully completed, the Bureau commenced
a full-scale operation of the Forum in 2003. The ISPB is in charge of the overall op-
eration of the Cyber Policy Forum, while directors of each bureau of the SMG pro-
pose subject issues for the Forum. Moreover, each bureau has also actively made
contributions to the Forum by reflecting citizens ideas. This kind of interaction has
triggered more participation from the people. Last but not least, the other stakehold-
ers of this initiative are Seouls citizens as they have played a very important role
since their voices and thoughts are potential policy issues of the SMG. Therefore, the
city government has selected excellent ideas that came from the Forum, and awarded
winning ideas with appropriate prizes.
In order to produce the website, the SMG worked with technical advisors from an
existing service provider of the Information System Planning Bureau (ISPB). The
staff from the ISPB completed a plan for creating a relevant menu of the Cyber Pol-
icy Forum, while the technicians from the service provider were responsible for pro-
ducing necessary programs and designs. Next step included tests into each menu,
fixing problems, which had occurred during the testing period. Once the problems
were sorted out, a final check-up on the operation of the whole content of the website
was conducted in collaboration with the technicians and the Bureau, which was fol-
lowed by a test-operation. It took approximately two months to open the website
officially to the public as the website was operated initially on a pilot basis. The pilot
project helped prepare for potential shortcomings and a number of initiatives were
undertaken to make the system operational:
Preparatory processes for the Cyber Policy Forum began in 2003;
The Forum was officially launched on 7 February 2003;
The SMG commissioned a survey on the participation level of the Forum from
24 September through 6 October 2003;
The SMGs new online service Seoul Oasis-pour your imagination! was es-
tablished with the purpose of encouraging people to express their thoughts and
ideas freely on the website of the city so that the government could reflect di-
verse citizens views into its policy-making process since October 2006; and
An online service omSeoul702, which has enabled the citizens to access the
internet via their mobile phones and to voice varied ideas and opinions about
the city policies was launched in May 2007.
113
In terms of the strategic operation of the Cyber Policy Forum, the ISPB focused on
making sure that the topics selected for discussion were relevant, and on reflecting
citizens opinions as much as possible in order to draw more civil participation.
Three main strategies have been developed.
First, topics of the Forum are selected among citizens and experts suggestions every
month to ensure that the Cyber Policy Forum is on the right track with relevant social
issues. Those topics have to be hot issues that directly affect citizens lives. To this end,
the ISPB posts experts opinions on the website of the Forum to guide the citizens
about topics and to highlight pros and cons on issues. Anyone can put their own opin-
ions and comments on the website. Every month, the SMG posts different topics for the
Cyber Policy Forum along with experts opinions on the selected topics on the website
of the Forum so that citizens can have in-depth discussions with other members of the
society with varied viewpoints. In doing so, citizens could feel that they are not just
mere recipients of government services. This recognition has resulted in increasing
citizens active participation and interest in city affairs. Moreover, the Forum has am-
plified the level of publicity regarding the citys policies since these were discussed
through the Forum leading to a more concerted action between the SMG and citizens.
As for the second strategy, the SMG actively promotes and advertises the Forum to
draw more citizens participation by using diverse means, including press releases. In
addition to this, the city government also emails 90,000 registered members of its
website notifying them about each months topic.
The third strategy for encouraging citizens participation consists of rewards (small
gifts) that the SMG gives to eight best discussants every month. Among them, three
best discussants are selected through online voting cast by the citizens, whilst the rest
of the discussants are selected by public officials of the SMG.
Since the inception of the Cyber Policy Forum in 2003, the Forum has been a mar-
ketplace where Seouls citizens can freely discuss various policy issues. In doing so,
citizens have proven that ordinary people have the capacity to understand sophisti-
cated issues and to come up with brilliant ideas.
However, despite of the SMGs endeavour in promoting the Forum, it did not appear
to be an easy task to get people actively use this program. Therefore, the most urgent
matter that the SMG had to deal with was to find ways of encouraging people to login
to the website as often as possible. Indeed, the low rate of the citizens participation
was rather problematic at the beginning stage of the Forum.
In sum, the Forum has not only shifted the governance paradigm of the city by eas-
ing the SMGs burden on planning policies, but it has also raised its public aware-
ness and understanding about the municipal issues as well. In addition, this online
114
arena of communication has also provided a cyber space for the youth where they
can become panels of the Youth Forum, deepening their insights on governmental
policies. From the perspective of the SMG, the biggest benefit is to gain fresh and
extraordinary suggestions and ideas from the citizens. In other words, with active
participation from the people, public officials have been able to look at policy issues
from different perspectives.
In addition, the SMG has introduced another cyber space where citizens can suggest
their ideas and thoughts freely since October 2006. This innovative online meeting
room is named Seoul Oasis-pour your imagination! Since the space has opened,
about 27 brand new ideas were suggested by participating citizens, and some of them
have been adopted as part of the city policies. On top of that, the government has
been reflecting the peoples ideas via another new mechanism titled omSeoul702,
which is the SMGs online service that anyone can access on her/his mobile phones.
The ISPB of the Seoul Metropolitan Government has made an effort to narrow the
digital-divide by distributing secondhand desktop computers to the poor. But this
measure has not been very effective. Thus, more detailed measures were required in
collaboration with diverse private companies concerned so that recipients of those
computers could receive not only computers per se, but repair services and relevant
training. It is within this framework that the SMG initiated its brand new initiative
named IT Seoul, we share hope.
The first step the ISPB took was to open a bank account, an official account for those
who wished to donate money for distributing computers or for the internet access fees
for the poor. The next action was to organize an after-distribution service team in charge
of checking and repairing the computers distributed. Moreover, the ISPB has also made
use of Seoul administrative supporters, and volunteer college students, as well as citi-
zens. Active promotion is another activity that the ISPB has undertaken to maximize
the effect of the initiative. Apart from the official charity account for the initiative, the
ISPB launched an online charity that enabled Seoul citizens to donate points they have
accumulated by participating in various activities through the SMGs website.
By the year of 2008, a total of 3,000 computers will be distributed to the disadvan-
taged in partnership with private companies, including Samsung SDS, LG CNS and
Woori Bank. The membership of the SMG web-site has grown larger from 35,000 in
January 2004 to 93,000 as of January 2005. Therefore, peoples participation in the
Forum is expected to grow more along with the growing membership.
Lessons Learned
Despite SMGs endeavours to promote the Forum, however, it did not appear to be an
easy task to make people active users of this program. Therefore, the most urgent
115
matter that the SMG had to deal with was to find ways to encourage the people to
login to the website as often as possible. Indeed, the low rate of citizens participa-
tion was rather problematic at the initial stage of the Forum.
In this respect, the SMG has come up with different solutions to tackle the problem by:
Having different discussion topics for every single month in order to draw at-
tention from varied people from all walks of life;
Offering experts/specialists opinions on the given topics so that participants
can have a smoother and in-depth debate;
Conducting a live poll along with the Forum so that anyone can express their
views on the topic;
Renewing the programs of the Forum, and creating a more detailed menu of the
website to let the participants know as to whether or not their suggestions/
proposals have been taken into consideration in a policy-making process; and
Having a partnership with a private portal provider to let citizens participate in
the Forum via more diversified channels.
As a result of such hard work, the Cyber Policy Forum also won the Government
Technology Awards 2007; the Award recognizes outstanding public sector technolo-
gy programmes throughout the Asia Pacific and Gulf States, as a municipal govern-
ment that practiced best technology leadership. The initiative has proved its excel-
lence by winning two prestigious international awards in two consecutive years in
2007 and 2008.
The Cyber Policy Forum and its sustainability are positive since it is opened to every-
one working as an efficient tool that encourages citizens participation in the mu-
nicipality. Plus, the operation of the website does not cost much, and policy-makers
can easily know what the public opinion thinks prior to executing policies, which in
turn reduces possible errors and improves efficiency. That is why other cities and
district offices in Korea are now benchmarking the Cyber Policy Forum of the SMG
for possible replication.
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2008 CATEGORY 3: GERMANY

Germany
City of Cologne, Germany
Description
Introducing participatory budgeting to ensure citizen participation in decision-
making processes regarding the allocation of public funds.
Summary
The participatory budget introduced in Colognes municipal administration is a new
service for citizen participation with the goal of effectively supporting decision
making processes in various fields affecting the community with the help of online
media, while putting the citizen at the centre of governance. By providing an elec-
tronic platform for the participation of citizens, useful ideas of the citizens can be
tapped and additional knowledge generated via the Internet.
The Problem
Citizens were not given the opportunity to decide how public funds were going to be
spent.
The Solution
In December 2005, the administration was asked to work out a concept note for
preparing future budgets in the form of a participatory budget. The Cologne City
Council voted with a great majority to ask the municipal administration to carry
out a public symposium called Participatory Municipal Budget for Cologne.
Upon decision of the finance committee, a steering committee (6 persons) consist-
ing of representatives of the political parties and an advisory council (7 persons)
with representatives of organisations/institutions interested in the participatory
budget were established. The symposium Participatory Budget Cologne was
carried out in September 2006 with the help of Hamburger Ramboll Management
GmbH. The subsequent preparations for the Cologne participatory budget were
expedited by the finance department and the e-government and online services of
the City of Cologne accompanied by monthly meetings of the advisory council.
To inform and activate the citizens and encourage them to participate, the use of
the Internet and the potential of online media were discussed in depth at the third
meeting of the advisory council on 25 January 2007. This meeting brought a con-
sensus to develop a specific approach for the City of Cologne. On 19 June 2007,
the City Council asked for the introduction of an electronic participation platform
117
(e-participation) to implement the participatory budget and introduce an e-par-

ticipation platform.
This process was to be supported by the renowned Fraunhofer Institute IAIS. To-
gether with this Institute, the online editorial department developed a basic guideline
for action (study) to make the electronically supported participation of citizens a
standard procedure in the municipal administration of Cologne. In addition to a num-
ber of channels (letters, public hearing, call centre), it is the Internet that represents
the main channel for participation. The platform was successfully used in October
2007 during the first participatory budget discussion that included debates on:
Roads, lanes and public squares;
Public green spaces; and
Sports.
The four-week online participation phase for 2007 participatory budget was conclud-
ed on 19 November 2007. For four weeks the citizens of Cologne had the opportunity
to participate in planning the budget by submitting proposals, comments and assess-
ments in the fields of roads, lanes and public squares; public green spaces; and
sports, which they did with great interest and enthusiasm. These figures of the Co-
logne participatory budget clearly surpassed comparable online procedures in Ger-
many and throughout Europe. 10,231 participants registered on the Internet platform.
4,973 submitted proposals and received 9,184 comments from other citizen and a total
of 52,746 assessments (votes for or against) were entered. The proposals were called
up online about 464,000 times and the web pages of the participation platform were
visited exactly 873,476 times. About 120,000 unique visitors were counted.
These figures of the Cologne participatory budget clearly surpass comparable online
procedures in Germany and throughout Europe. The media also covered the project
extensively. The participatory budget became the talk of the town during these four
weeks, which was due to the citys public relations work on the one hand, but also
because of the very constructive and extensive media coverage about the procedure.
The great majority of the proposals were submitted online via the Internet (85%).
This shows the high degree of acceptance of this medium during this exercise. But
the 448 written proposals and the 184 proposals received via the call-centre also
show that it was right to make the project accessible for citizens who do not have
access to the Internet or would rather communicate in other ways.
One essential aspect for a successful participation of citizens during the entire phase
of the participatory budget is to represent the complex, and often non-transparent for
many citizens, material of a municipal budget in an understandable and transparent
form. Aside from public hearings and the possibility of sending letters, submissions
via the award-winning call centre of the City of Cologne were made possible for the
118
first time and pooled in the Internet platform to be put up for discussion. This plat-
form is of special significance, because it can also be used to include the respective
evaluations at the conclusion of the online phase. Internet-based discussion forums
allowing for time-independent communication on the basis of written messages al-
low citizens to participate from various locations at any time. Citizens are therefore
no longer reliant on participating in a single event, but instead have enough time to
write and make contributions to the forum discussion from their home or workplace.
Furthermore, electronically supported participation procedures make it easier for
newcomers to enter the discussion, since the entire course of the discussion up to that
point has been documented in writing. For citizens, who otherwise have difficulties
speaking in front of a great number of people or speaking up in the heat of the debate,
it is also easier to participate in discussions via the Internet.
The use of the Internet also holds advantages for politicians and administrators on
many fronts. The quality of the discussion and the results is evidenced by the fact that
Internet-based discussions are documented in writing, which makes it easier for them
to use and process the material for further planning processes.
Here the interactive software had to offer more than the usual range of functions for
newsgroups or discussion forums. Requirements were carefully developed in order
to make sure that the online consultation would go beyond a flood of contributions
in a targeted and result-driven way. Discussion forums or newsgroups merely offer
simple threads of answers. The representation of the content and documentation of
the discussion therefore consists of discussion threads grown over time that more
often than not do not follow the line of arguments inherent in the discussion. Interac-
tive software should therefore offer functions that allow incoming contributions to be
enhanced with further information, for example by means of labeling the contribu-
tions, providing key words or links.
The interactive software not only allowed for the enhancement of contributions, but
also for the processing of the discussion documents. The moderators had to be able to
relocate, edit, remove, retract and re-label contributions or link them to each other in
new ways that make it possible to document the discussion, and to edit its documents
in a targeted and result-oriented way. Furthermore, there had to be functions to control
the discussion to be able to establish and adjust any number of forums and sub-forums
(access rights, visibility of functions, special contribution labels, activation of mod-
ules etc.) Interactive software should also allow for the integration of further commu-
nication channels and tools: one should therefore not only be able to submit contribu-
tions via the WWW, but also via e-mail, fax or telephone. One should also make sure
if the asynchronous discussion can be expanded through integrated 22 modules, like
chat or survey and voting tools, for the different phases of the discussion (e.g., collec-
tion of ideas, assessment of options see process planning,). It should also be possible
119
to embed notes in the topics of discussion in order to annotate documents or maps, for
example. Electronic discussion platforms should also support public hearings, so that
local discussions can be watched by means of special user interfaces and later contin-
ued in Web forums. The main challenge of the participatory budget project was to
reach and activate as much of the public as possible with the resources at hand. The
key strategies included:
Reaching the public citizens activating the target groups;
Generating public attention;
Activating different social groups;
Addressing the target groups in the best possible way;
Designing interactive web pages to be user-friendly;
Guaranteeing transparent processes;
Generating lots of contributions selecting good proposal;
Securing the future;
Long-term embedding in politics and administration; and
Establishing a new culture of participation.
It is important to note that the Cologne budget allows for expenditures of about 3
billion. The participatory budget 2008 is the pilot project for a comprehensive initia-
tive to introduce e-participation in the City of Cologne. In this respect, the citys fi-
nance department has taken over control of the participatory budget in accordance
with the aim of the project. The office for e-government and online services is re-
sponsible for the development of e-participation in the City of Cologne. On behalf of
the office, the Fraunhofer Institute AIS assisted in the implementation of the project
in cooperation with Binary-Objects by providing conceptual and technical support.
Further partners included the citys press and information office as well as the office
for information processing.
In addition to the high-profile public phase (long-running ads in the print media, ra-
dio and TV as well as letters to all Cologne households), the implementation of the
participation platform itself was of special importance. One important result of the
project is the fact that the citizens now have the opportunity to participate in the
preparation of the municipal budget: the citizens have a great need for information
about the budget and there is a great willingness to participate in its preparation.
One important result of the project is the fact that the citizens now have the opportu-
nity to participate in the preparation of the municipal budget: the citizens have a great
need for information about the budget and there is a great willingness to participate
in its preparation.
120
The 2008 participatory budget was the pilot project for a comprehensive approach to
introduce e-participation in the City of Cologne. The success of the project so far has
shown that a repeat effort makes a lot of sense. But this will also make the overall
subject of e-participation an ever greater priority for communities and institutions.
The success of the participatory budget has shown that the public has a great need for
information about the citys administration and that there is a great willingness to
participate in the political process.
Lessons Learned
The procedure was well received by the citizens of Cologne, as it is evidenced by the
access rate, which so far has not been reached in Germany, and maybe even in Eu-
rope, with this form of citizen participation. It turned out that the participatory budget
has found its place in the city and that the citizens want to participate, as shown by
their great interest and active participation. If there was any criticism at all, it was
mainly constructive proposals for improving the procedure.
The success is surely due to the extensive PR work in mobilizing the public and the
structure of the procedure. Access barriers were set very low, allowing citizens to
submit contributions not only via the Internet, but also by mail and via the call centre.
In addition, the participation platform was designed to be easy and user-friendly and
access criteria were set quite low. Another success feature was the politicians en-
gagement and promise to deal intensively with the proposals of the citizens.
It soon turned out that the discussion took place on a very constructive level concern-
ing everyday problems. The subject areas drawing the most attention, such as traffic
lights, street lighting, bicycle lanes and networks, a bike-friendly city, dogs, dog
droppings, dogging, teenagers and children, garbage, cleanliness, public pools, safe-
ty, playgrounds, road repair, traffic and traffic safety, in other words subjects that
everyone encounters every day, were evidence of this. These subjects were a recur-
rent theme throughout the entire procedure, and it turned out that four weeks of ac-
tive participation is sufficient.
It also turned out that the kind and scope of the Internet service was very well re-
ceived by the citizens. An attempt was made to promptly clear up questions and react
to suggestions, and the users were not given much rein. Whenever discussions
were on the verge of getting out of hand or there were problems with the behavior of
some, a reaction followed immediately. This was helpful in preventing discussions
from running out of control and politically incorrect opinions being disseminated.
121

Spain
Participation in Policy-making Decisions
General Directorate for Citizen Participation
Government of Catalonia, Spain
Description
Promoting citizen participation in public affairs, through the establishment of a
General Directorate for Citizen Participation at the local level; Catalonia, Spain.
Summary
Through the General Directorate for Citizen Participation, the Government of Cata-
lonia has increased participation of citizens in all public policy areas by providing
new participatory mechanisms across Catalonia. The General Directorate for Citizen
Participation (DGPC) of the Generalitat of Catalonia (Government of the Autono-
mous Community of Catalonia, Spain) was established in January 2004 to encourage
dialogue and citizen participation to better incorporate peoples ideas, views and
multiple perspectives in the design and implementation of public policies related to
complex social problems.
The Problem
Local governments have been the precursors of a multitude of innovative practices in
citizen participation and democratic initiatives in Spain. But transferring models of
participation from the local sphere to the regional level, i.e., to the regional govern-
ment (the Comunidad autnoma) constituted a challenge given that no previous ex-
perience existed in all of Spain or at the European level.
The Solution
A team of people within the regional government of Catalonia, with both technical
and political experience, and a strong willingness to innovate and commitment to
public service, decided to search for ways to expand the opportunities for citizen
participation. Above all, this team of officials believed in the capacity of bureaucrats
to innovate.
The idea was to elaborate a policy that promotes deliberation and dialogue as a way
of incorporating complexity into the formulation and implementation of public poli-
cies. The team was searching for new participation models, which transcend bound-
aries, and worked together with other departments of the Government of Catalonia,
as well as other levels of government and the administration to establish a Directorate
122
2008 CATEGORY 3: SPAIN
for Citizen Participation (DGPC). The Mission of this new institution was to promote
citizen participation in monitoring, formulating and implementing policies of the
regional government and of Catalonias local authorities.
By fostering, studying and spreading values and practices related to political and
social participation, the new institution would enrich the quality of Catalonias dem-
ocratic life. The new Directorate was established in December 2003 by a legislative
act endorsed by a coalition of three parties who formed the government in Catalonia
after 23 years of a single party government.
The strategies adopted to promote greater citizen participation at the local level in-
cluded the following:
1. Institutional strategy
Setting up an institutional structure (Promoters of participation:
the different departments of the Catalan Government and Public
Administration);
Bringing users-clients on board by affirming that, through citizen
participation, the Directorate can add value to other departments
projects; and by eliminating part of the costs associated with the
introduction of participation in public policies; and
Demonstrating through pilot projects the positive effects of new
participatory methods.
2. Civil society strategy
Using and combining multiple criteria to identify who should participate:
extension, inclusion, intensity, representativeness and diversity;
Paying particular attention to the territorial dimension: meeting
participants in the places where they live; and
Adapting the participatory procedures and processes offered to the
diverse needs of social groups.
The stages of development and implementation included:
Design, 2004: Deciding what constituted participation and what did not. Dif-
ferentiating this concept from others that are related to it, but are different
from it;
Experimentation stage: Efforts to convince other Public Administration bod-
ies of the value of participation. A number of pilot projects were introduced to
help overcome initial doubts;
Implementation;
Consolidation: Since 2006 many government departments have come to DGPC
to request its services; and
123
Excellence: In order to judge the excellence of DGPCs services, evaluations and

audits of its services have been ordered from independents bodies in cooperation
with other governments departments and international think tanks, etc.
The new Directorate has achieved the following results:

Increased participatory processes: The Directorate has promoted coopera-
tion with numerous bodies within the regional government in the formulation
and implementation of participatory processes (reform of the Statute of Au-
tonomy of Catalonia, the Prison Reform Plan, the Research and Development
Plan 2005-2008, laws related to social services, children, young people and
immigration, etc.);
Streamlined channels of participation: The Directorate has worked with
hundreds of councils, committees or commissions, which serve as vehicles for
the participation of citizens and representatives of civil society, to rationalize
and modernize their operations;
Promoted and supported participatory processes at the local level: Since
2005, the Directorate has channeled 7 million to provide support for over 700
types of citizen participation processes at the local level; and
Fostered studies and promoted methodologies for innovative citizen par-
ticipation: The Directorate has undertaken studies of local political participation
patterns and political disaffection; it has developed a methodology to promote
social dialogue regarding government initiatives that have an impact on the re-
gion; and it has helped modify the Law of Popular Legislative Initiative.
The obstacles encountered in the implementation include the following:

A specialized and fragmented government, in which any project that transcends
department or ministry boundaries, is very difficult to implement;
A weak participatory culture both within the government and civil society; and
Difficulty in clearly conveying to mass media in simple language the complex
participatory methodologies, tools, and procedures, as well as the concepts
behind citizen participation practices.
Lessons Learned
Participation cannot be improvised. Participation is fragile, delicate and sensitive. It
requires planning and professionalism, and high-quality implementation. This initia-
tive has transformed government as we know it, i.e., a government still dominated by
the idea of every man for himself. Yet, this initiative has shown that collaboration,
conviction, patience and mutual trust can bring about positive results.
124
2008 CATEGORY 3: JORDAN
Western Asia
Jordan
Family Planning, The Higher Population Council
Amman, Jordan
Description
Promoting family planning and empowering women through health and
reproductive education.
Summary
The Family Planning initiative has promoted a balance between population growth
and economic resources necessary to achieve comprehensive and sustainable devel-
opment by adopting policies that promote rational reproductive behaviors, family
planning, rational use of resources, womens empowerment, equity and productivity
in order to increase per capita income.
The Problem
During the last decade, Jordan has experienced a set of development challenges re-
lated to an increase in population growth, fertility, unemployment, poverty pockets,
and growing pressure on the State to deliver basic social services. This situation has
adversely affected Jordans economic, social, and sustainable development. The cre-
ation of the National Population Commission (NPC) was supposed to address the
problem of very high population growth and its consequences. However, the NPC
was an empty body with virtually no concrete activities.
The Solution
The NPC, which was established in 1988, was not operational until late 1990s. HRH
Princess Basma Bint Talal envisioned establishing an executive body for the Na-
tional Population Commission (NPC) in order to start implementing Jordans na-
tional population programs. During 1999-2002, the NPC was restructured into the
Higher Population Council (HPC) with a clear mandate to implement and follow up
on the National Population Strategy (NPS) and budget.
The HPC, established on 3 December 2002 according to the Cabinets decision

no. 3071, was given the responsibility to act as the reference body entrusted with
suggesting, formulating, monitoring, evaluating and updating the national popula-
tion policies, as well as creating a supportive environment to achieve its objectives
within the framework of the national economic and social development plans and
reform programs. A number of committees were established within the Secretari-
125
at of the HPC including reproductive health, population and development, advo-

cacy and gender empowerment.
The vision of the HPC was to achieve a balance between population growth and
economic resources necessary to promote comprehensive and sustainable develop-
ment. In order to achieve its missions, the HPC implemented good governance mech-
anisms to its own internal operation, including:
Restructuring the Higher Population Council to be composed of the three pil-
lars of society, namely government, private sector and NGO institutions;
Integrated team work and actual partnership, cooperation and accountability; and
Upholding the principles of transparency, accountability and efficiency.
By adopting policies to enhance rational reproductive behavior, family planning, ra-

tional use of resources, womens empowerment, equity and productivity in order to
increase per capita income, the HPC is on the path to achieve its mission.
The strategic goals of the HPC are as follows:

Rationalize population growth through reproductive health and family plan-
ning to achieve balance between population, economic resources on one hand
and the development requirements on the other;
Reduce the negative impact of unchecked reproductive behavior on the family,
society, mother and childrens health;
Address the unbalanced geographic distribution of population to achieve better
interaction between human, financial resources and land, through a balanced
regional dev. and effective relationship between population and development;
Improve the living standards and quality of life of families by enhancing wom-
ens empowerment and their social role; and
Strengthen HPC Arab and international relations by developing effective rela-
tions with donor countries and agencies.
The HPC launched a Reproductive Health Action Plan for 2004-2007 to contribute
to the national efforts of achieving sustainable development by balancing economic
resources and population growth through a reduction of the total fertility rate from
3.7 in the year 2002 to 2.1 in the year 2020.
In order to succeed a number of stakeholders are closely involved:

Governmental ministries (Ministries of Health, education, planning, labour,
Awqaf and Islamic affairs, social dev., finance). Government institutions (De-
partment of Statistics, Housing and Urban Development Cooperation, Civil Sta-
tus Dept., Industrial Cities Corporation, Vocational Training Corporation, high-
er council for youth, higher council for information, Radio and TV Cooperation);
126
2008 CATEGORY 3: JORDAN
Private sector (vocational unions, private hospitals, Amman Chamber of Com-

merce and Industry, the Performing Arts centre); and
NGOs (Jordanian Hashimite Fund for Human Development, Queesn Zein Al-
Sharaf Institute for Development, Noor Al-Hussein Foundation, the Jordanian
Commission for Family Planning and Protection, the National Council for
Family Affairs Arab Womens Organisation of Jordan).
A national team composed of all concerned national institutes, ministries, private

sector and NGOs was established, in cooperation with a Consultants Support Team
CST-UNFPA and was assigned the following goals:
Decrease population growth rate to 2.1% by 2010, 1.5% by 2020;
Decrease total fertility rate to 2.9% by 2010, 2.1 by 2020;
Increase contraceptive prevalence rate to 65% by 2010, 70+ by 2020;
Decrease maternal mortality ratio to 33.5% by 2010, <30 by 2020;
Decrease infant mortality rate to 17% by 2010, <15 by 2020;
Decrease illiteracy rate among females to 10 by 2010, <6; and
Decrease primary school dropout rate to 0.5% in 2010, 0% by 2020.
Since January 2003 and in addition to a number of high level fora, the HPC conducted
several seminars, workshops and meetings across the Kingdom focusing on issues related
to poverty and youth. This resulted in raising awareness in over 104,000 families on the
importance of reproductive health and family planning in development by 300 certified
trainers. Recognizing the importance of religion and its influence on the society, the HPC
trained 1,710 male and female preachers in reproductive health and family planning.
Moreover, the HPC in coordination with the Ministry of Education, introduced popu-
lation issues, reproductive health, family planning, and gender issues in primary and
secondary curricula. The same effort has also taken place at the University level with
the introduction of population and development concepts within the national univer-
sity curricula in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education.
In a span of five years, remarkable progress has been achieved as attested by the fol-
lowing figures expressed in percentage:
Some Population Indicators
Indicator/Year 2002 2007

Total fertility rate 3.7 3.2
Population growth rate 2.8 2.1
Contraceptive prevalence rate 55.8 60.0
Source: Higher Population Council of Jordan
127
Lessons learned
Leadership commitment: The prime minister is the chairman of the HPC. This
gives the latter more power to execute and implement its activities;
The cooperation with other national institutions was key to a smooth imple-
mentation:
Religious leaders, female and male preachers at the Ministry of Awqaf
and Islamic Affairs;
Social facilitators such as the Ministry of Social Development and
NGOs; and
Ministry of Health, the liaison officers from the ministry who work with
the HPC in the fields of reproductive health in addition to professional
health institutions in the private sector.
The involvement of beneficiaries through community networks was essential
for outreach activities:
Meetings in the governorates, districts, camps and Bedouin areas; and
Building awareness of local communities to family planning programs
and supporting them through various means.
The support from external partners was helpful;
The HPC established strong relationships with the following:
USAID by extending the POLICY project to support the General
Secretariat in implementing the second phase of the National Work Plan
for Reproductive Health.;
UNFPA: participating as a main partner in formulating the UNFPA work
plan for the years 2008-2012;
JICA: Integrating Health and Empowerment of Women in the South
Region Project in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the
Jordanian Hashimite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD); and
National organisations: Ministries of Health, Planning, Social
Development, Education (by including curriculum on population and
reproductive health starting in year 2005), Higher Education (including
the subjects of population, development and reproductive health in the
compulsory national education curriculum, which was started during the
academic years 2005-2006), Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and JOHUD.
In fact, involving all stakeholders in this national issue, through various partnerships,
was highly valuable in achieving the goals of this initiative in a transparent and ac-
countable manner.
128
2007
United Nations
Public Service Awards Winners*
Category 1 pg 130
Kenya Morocco* Australia India Rep. of Korea*
Singapore Austria Slovenia* Chile Azerbaijan
Category 2 pg 151
Morocco South Africa Rep. of Korea Singapore* Lebanon UAE
Category 3 pg 164
Canada Italy* Switzerland
129
2007 Category 1

Region Country Winner Description Pg

Africa Kenya Performance Contracts Steering Emphasising results over process compliance by 131
Committee Secretariat introducing a performance-based contracting system
Asia and Australia State of the Service Report, Enhancing public service performance and 134
the Pacic Public Service Commission accountability through the State of Service Report
Asia and India e-Procurement Project, Andhra Making public procurement more efcient and 137
the Pacic Pradesh, Sitapur District (UP) transparent with an accessible online portal
Asia and Singapore Progress Package, Ministry of Providing the disadvantaged resources and social 140
the Pacic Finance, Ministry of Manpower benets by integrating social security services
Europe and Austria Electronic law making processes Enhancing law-making process transparency and 143
North Am. (eLaw), Federal Chancellery efciency with a digital law-making system
Latin Am., Chile ChileCompra, Making public procurement easier, less costly and 146
Caribbean Ministry of Finance more transparent
Western Azerbaijan Extractive Industries Making the extractive industries more transparent 148
Asia Transparency Initiative and efcient
Kenya Morocco* Australia India Rep. of Korea*
Singapore Austria Slovenia* Chile Azerbaijan
130
2007 CATEGORY 1: KENYA
Africa
Kenya
Performance Contracts Steering Committee Secretariat,
Kenya
Description
Emphasising results over process compliance by introducing a performance-based
contracting system in the public sector.
Summary
In Kenya, an extensive system of performance-based contracting has been put in place
to ensure a style of public sector management that emphasizes results over process
compliance fostering greater responsiveness and accountability of the civil service.
The Problem
Since independence, the performance of the Kenyan civil service has been deterio-
rating. This state of affairs resulted largely from a system of management in the
public sector, which emphasized compliance with processes rather than results. Per-
formance contracts were thus implemented to reverse this trend. Problems inhibit-
ing the performance of government agencies are generally similar to those found in
other countries and have been identified as follows: excessive control system, mul-
tiplicity of principals, frequent political interference, poor management, and out-
right mismanagement.
Over time, the government has implemented different strategies to address these
challenges. These strategies included: structural adjustment, privatization, commer-
cialization, contracting out new budgeting and planning systems. Even with these
strategies being implemented, performance of the civil service did not improve. Gov-
ernment subsequently changed course, and in the Economic Recovery Strategy
(ERS) plan it was decided that performance contracting process be adopted as a
management tool of public resources.
The Solution
In 2004, a set of pilot projects in sixteen state-owned enterprises was launched to
implement a performance based contracting system in the public sector. A Perfor-
mance Contract is an agreement between the government and a public agency, which
establishes general goals for the agency, sets targets for measuring performance and
provides incentives for achieving these targets. Kenya has implemented one of the
most extensive systems of Performance Contracts (PCs). The scope, speed and mag-
131
nitude of its quantitative achievements in this area are matched by its qualitative
achievements. To prepare the public officers for the implementation of the process,
massive training and sensitization workshops have been carried out. So far, over
4000 public officers have been trained on the process. Training has been carried out
starting with the political body that is the ministers, in order to get political support
for the system and to ensure long-term sustainability of the process. This has helped
in not only entrenching the process in the system but ensured ability to cascade both
the process and the targets throughout the public sector.
The strategies adopted to ensure the success of the programme were first and fore-
most to solicit and obtain political and administrative support and ownership at the
highest levels. The President and the Secretary to the Cabinet have given the process
their personal support as part of the public sector reform agenda. To ensure identifi-
cation with the process, the political leadership in the ministries (cabinet Ministers)
counter-signed performance contracts signed by their permanent secretaries. More-
over, the government has finalized and is implementing a communication strategy,
which in essence seeks to establish partnerships with the private sector, the academia,
business executives and members of the public in various stages of implementation.
The performance contracts for all institutions are made public and are posted on the
internet. Moreover, every year the institutions conduct a customer satisfaction survey
to determine the extent, to which consumers of various government services are sat-
isfied with those services. The performance of public institutions is announced pub-
licly and the best performing institutions are recognized and receive awards from the
President. This promotes healthy competition among institutions providing public
services, which are required to be ISO certified within the next 2-3 years.
The fundamental objective of the performance targets is to ensure an increase in

economic resources. Each year, performance targets have to demonstrate remarkable
improvement over the previous periods. To ensure objectivity of the process, experts
drawn from the academia, private sector and various professionals negotiate perfor-
mance targets with ministries. This alone has achieved accountability levels never
seen before in the civil service as the performance of officers, including management
of public resources, is now subject to review by the private sector.
So far, the performance contracting system has been extended to all 38 government
ministries, 130 state corporations (including six public universities) and 175 local au-
thorities. The process was first introduced through piloting in 2004 with 16 commercial
state corporations. The effect of the PC system has been remarkable and unprecedented.
The enterprises involved in the 2004 pilot projects recorded an increase in pretax profits
of up to 282% over the previous year and 13% over the targets. Performance contracts
have also proved to encourage responsiveness and accountability. These positive results
encouraged the Kenyan government to introduce PCs in all public agencies.
132
2007 CATEGORY 1: KENYA
The Performance Contracts system has resulted in enhanced transparency, account-

ability, responsiveness and has transformed public administration. In terms of trans-
parency, Performance Contract related documents list the obligations of all public
agencies (Chief Executives of SOEs, Permanent Secretaries and head of other public
agencies such as universities and municipalities). PCs also include specific criteria
and targets to evaluate success. In addition, they prioritize the success indicators to
clearly convey governments priorities to its managers. These documents are put on
the internet for all to see and hold the agencies accountable. In terms of accountabil-
ity, at the end of each year, the performance of all government agencies is assessed
against the commitment made by them in their respective PCs. The state-of-the-art
methodology used by the Kenyan PCs allows the Presidents office to rank all public
agencies on a scale of one to five in a descending order. Thus, the evaluation is not
descriptive but precise and quantitative. The top three performers are recognized
publicly by the President. It is in that regard, Kenyan PCs are similar to systems used
by New Zealand, US, UK and Malaysia. Another key aspect of the Kenyan system is
that its focus is on holding the top echelons accountable. It is based on the assump-
tion that accountability for results trickles down (but does not trickle up). In terms of
responsiveness, Kenyan PCs require that each public agency designs its Service De-
livery Charter and be accountable for its implementation. This is a major innovation
and is likely to become a trend setter. With regard to the transformation of public
administration, it is worth mentioning that PCs are revolutionizing the administration
of public agencies in a number of ways. Each public agency is required to have a
strategic plan to specify their course of action (doing the right thing). In addition,
each agency is required to get an ISO certification, which is a revolutionary concept
in governance.
The basic concept of a PC is not new, neither in Kenya nor in the region. However,
the uniqueness of the Kenyan concept lies in the introduction of a methodology that
allows all public agencies to be ranked on a scale of one to five. The absence of such
a measurable scale explains the failure of previous attempts.
133
Asia and the Pacic

Australia
State of the Service Report
Australian Public Service Commission, Australia
Description
Enhancing Public Service performance and accountability through the State of the
Service Report.
Summary
The State of the Service Report is an annual report on the state of the Australian
Public Service prepared by the Australian Public Service Commissioner and pre-
sented to the Prime Minister for tabling in Parliament. It provides the Australian
Public Service Commission as well as the government and the parliament with an
effective picture of how the commission is performing in a devolved environment. It
helps to identify its strengths, its key challenges and areas in need of further improve-
ment, to ensure that it delivers effective outcomes for the Australian Government and
the community in the future.
The Problem
In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of civil service at the local level,
the Australian Public Service Commission and other government bodies needed to
have comprehensive information about the performance of local agencies.
The Solution
The Australian Public Service (APS) Commission has been required to present an an-
nual State of the Service Report to the Parliament since 1998. The Report, which pro-
vides a picture of the performance and main trends in the Australian Public Service,
was a new concept designed as an important part of the accountability framework un-
der the more devolved arrangements introduced initially by Regulations and then by
Section 44 of the Public Service Act 1999. This Act established that the Public Service
Commissioner must provide a report each year to the Minister for presentation to the
Parliament, including a report on the state of the Australian Public Service during that
year. The State of the Service Report draws on a range of information sources including
a survey sent to all Australian Public Service agencies employing 20 or more staff un-
der the Public Service Act and the results of the APS employee survey.
The 2005-2006 Report includes a Statistical snapshot of the Australian Public

Service, including its size, number of full-time and part-time employees, mobil-
134
ity, age profile, diversity trends, etc. It also provides information about job satis-
faction, communication and productivity in the public service, integrity and fair-
ness, equity and diversity, learning and development, leadership and management,
organisational capability, agency governance, whole government, etc. The 2005-
2006 State of the Service Report shows that, overall, the APS is a healthy institu-
tion, with high levels of employee engagement, organisational effectiveness and
service delivery capability. Associated with the State of the Service Report 2005-
2006 are two other publications the Australian Public Service Statistical Bul-
letin 2005-2006 and the State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2005-
2006. A summary pamphlet, State of the Service 2005-2006 At a Glance, has also
been prepared. These publications are available on the Commissions website at:
www.apsc.govt.au
The State of the Service Report is an important mechanism in increasing the publics
ability to observe, monitor and analyze government decision-making and processes
in relation to the Australian Public Service. It provides a wealth of information about
the impact and effectiveness of management processes and decision-making relating
to the APS across a range of areas including decisions affecting organisational capa-
bility, employee satisfaction and the effectiveness of the APS in working with the
community. The State of the Service report is also an important part of the account-
ability framework for the APS. It provides an effective mechanism for monitoring
APS agencies compliance with key aspects of the Public Service Act 1999 and for
assessment of the performance of the APS across the bord.
The Reports findings have led to action to improve APS performance in a number of
areas including in relation to the ageing of the APS workforce, the need to manage
and sustain the workforce in an environment, which requires more highly-skilled
staff, the employment of Indigenous Australians and people with disability, and in
relation to interactions with Ministers and Ministers offices.
The Public Service Act does not limit what the Public Service Commissioner can in-
clude in the State of the Service Report. The Explanatory Memorandum for the Public
Service Bill envisaged that the report would have both factual and evaluative elements.
In practice, the State of the Service Report has tended to include both conformance and
performance dimensions. For example, a key theme of all reports has been how effec-
tively APS agencies are conforming with aspects of the Public Service Act 1999, most
notably the APS Values set out in section 10. Reports have also made assessments
about the performance of the APS in a number of areas for example in terms of its or-
ganisational capability and the effectiveness of agencies workforce planning.
The State of the Service Report also helps nurture the culture of performance and
continuous improvement within APS agencies. From its inception it was envisaged
135
that the performance information collected from agencies for the State of the Service
Report would be information that agencies themselves would find useful (Public
Service Bill 1999 Explanatory Memorandum). Since the introduction of the State
of the Service employee survey in 2003 and the provision of agency-specific results
to large agencies, this purpose of the Report has been enhanced, with agencies in-
creasingly using their individual reports to benchmark their own performance, iden-
tify areas for improvement and develop appropriate responses.
After eight iterations, the Report has become an integral part of the public service
employment and accountability framework. Similar reports have been adopted, or
are being considered by some of the Australian State and Territory jurisdictions and
considerable international interest has been expressed in the report. The lessons
learned through the experience of preparing the State of the Service Report include
the following:
A State of the Service Report can form an effective part of the overall account-
ability framework in a devolved civil service;
A strategic approach needs to be taken in determining the issues to be covered
in each years report;
Data needs to be collected from a variety of sources, not just from agency man-
agement;
Engagement with agencies themselves needs to be a priority; and
Focus should be on continuous improvement.
The State of the Service Report has allowed the government to monitor the effective-
ness of the APS as a whole in an environment where most employment powers are
devolved to the agency level. There has been a continuous focus on improving the
Report, which now utilizes an online agency survey, a representative employee sur-
vey, which includes questions that allow performance to be benchmarked against
State jurisdictions, specific-issue evaluations, and factor analysis of employee survey
results. Large agencies are provided with individual agency-specific employee sur-
vey results that are used in benchmarking performance and identifying areas for im-
provement. Smaller agencies are provided with benchmarking reports for their size
bracket. Mechanisms for disseminating results to APS employees have also been
improved over the life of the Report.
136
Asia and the Pacic

India
e-Procurement Project
Information Technology and Communications
Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh
Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh (UP), India
Description
Making public procurement processes more efcient and transparent by creating
an online portal accessible to everybody.
Summary
The e-procurement initiative of the Government of Andhra Pradesh in India has in-
creased transparency and reduced corruption in public procurement by automating
procurement processes and work flows.
The Problem
In Andhra Pradesh the cycle time of the tendering process was long, often not highly
transparent and cumbersome. The traditional system of procurement in the govern-
ment departments of Andhra Pradesh was based on manual requests, approvals and
purchases of good and services. This system suffered from various problems, includ-
ing inordinate delays (approximately four to six months) in tender processing, heavy
paperwork, multilevel scrutiny that consumed a significant amount of time, physical
threats to bidders from contractors who wanted to suppress competition, human inter-
face at every stage, and inadequate transparency. This situation prompted the need for
wide ranging reforms in public procurement procedures so as to encourage simplifica-
tion of procedures, greater transparency, better quality of work, and fair competition.
The Solution
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in 2003 an Internet-based platform
for government procurement was launched and implemented by the Information
Technology and Communications Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh
(AP). The transformation of the procurement system using ICT meant that govern-
ment departments as well suppliers would conduct their procurement related transac-
tions beginning-to-end, from invitation of tenders to the issuing of supply orders,
remotely in a new environment facilitated by emerging internet technology. All pro-
cesses related to public procurement as well as work flows in government depart-
ments were automated through the use of ICT. This improved internal efficiency
137
within government departments, shortened tender cycle times, eliminated subjectiv-

ity in the evaluation of tenders, lowered costs thanks to increased competition gener-
ated by remote bidding, and reduced corruption.
In the pre e-procurement era, the departments used to take on average from 90 to 135
days for the finalization of high value tenders. The tender cycle time has gradually
come down to the average of 42 days over a period of one year and was further re-
duced to 35 days at the end of the second year. There is greater accountability since
the electronic records/documents can be retrieved at any given time and all users
activities are undertaken online.
The new system has also reduced opportunities for corrupt practices: the e-procure-
ment system allows a supplier to view the Notice Inviting Tenders, download bid
documents and Bill of quantities, free of cost, anywhere and any time from the
Internet. This has empowered the supplier as he is no longer dependent on govern-
ment workers for issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP), clarifications on the bids, bid
submission, information on tender evaluation status, etc. The entire e-procurement
process was designed to eliminate the human interface, i.e., the interaction between
supplier and government department, during pre bid and post bid processes, has been
minimized. The automatic tender evaluation functionality has reduced subjectivity in
tender evaluation.
It has also increased access to information, and therefore created greater business op-
portunities for suppliers. In fact, before the system was put in place, suppliers had to
physically scan several newspapers to keep track of tenders called by the various de-
partments. Now, the new E-Procurement system provides all information regarding
procurement requests online. It allows the suppliers to access the tender document and
submit their bids online by paying transaction fees to the service provider. Due to this
innovative project, the suppliers have been able to participate in the procurement pro-
cess of a larger number of departments at vastly reduced transaction costs.
The news system has also provided equal opportunities to small and medium suppli-
ers. Earlier, small and medium suppliers were harassed and physically prevented
form participating in the tendering process. They were either not allowed to purchase
the tender document or submit their bids against a tender. However, through the e-
procurement exchange, they can easily participate in the governments procurement
process remotely by sitting in their offices. It has eliminated the opportunity for con-
tractor/supplier cartels. The tendering process has been made completely anonymous
till the bid opening stage. Only after the opening of bids, does anyone come to know
the names of the bidders. Due to this lack of information, the suppliers have been
prevented from forming a cartel. Now the bids are received from a wider section of
small and medium Suppliers.
138
Furthermore, the e-procurement system has allowed for the standardization of pro-
curement processes across government departments. At the outset, an effort was
made to standardize the procurement processes and forms used by the various de-
partments and especially for works tenders. Today, all the departments follow a
common tendering process and forms for works tenders. Even these processes are
being re-engineered to further improve the efficiency and curtail subjectivity in ten-
der evaluation on the part of the department users. A similar exercise is underway
for products as well. The e-procurement project has also reduced the costs of gover-
nance. Due to increased efficiency, the time spent on the processes has been reduced
by approximately 70%. This has resulted in reduced costs of the government admin-
istration and overheads.
The government has set up a corpus fund outside the regular treasury controls with
contributions from all the successful vendors using the e-procurement platform.
50% of the accruals are channeled back to the participating departments for buying
computers, peripherals, internet connections and the 50% balance is used for con-
solidating the initiative like conducting trainings for users, seminars and work-
shops etc. This project has received several awards in the past besides the United
Nations Award.
139
Asia and the Pacic

Singapore
Progress Package, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
Manpower and Central Provident Fund Board, Singapore
Description
Providing more resources and social benets to the disadvantaged by integrating
social security services through a Progress Package.
Summary
The Progress Package and Workfare Bonus Scheme is the first ever consolidated
surplus sharing scheme for Singaporeans. The package represents a paradigm shift in
policy objectives, structure and delivery to citizens by distributing budget surpluses
to all Singaporeans, especially the elderly and underprivileged Singaporeans.
The Problem
In the last 40 years, Singapore has enjoyed prosperity and economic growth. This has
enabled its citizens to earn good wages and achieve a high standard of living. How-
ever, like for many other nations the pressures of globalization and the challenges of
an ageing population have resulted in a widening income gap. In particular, older,
less educated and blue collar, low wage earners face the risk of wage deflation and
structural unemployment.
The government objective was to continue to foster economic growth in a small and
highly open economy, while finding creative ways to promote equity and help low
wage and vulnerable Singaporeans progress along with the rest of society. A key
strategy was to share budget surpluses with citizens in a way that tilts the balance
towards the lower income strata of the society, but without undermining the factors
that have contributed to Singapores competitiveness, particularly work ethics.
Although the government has had some surplus sharing exercises in the past, these
were usually made up of separate programmes with different policy objectives, allot-
ment criteria and sign-up procedures. Citizens had to initiate separate transactions,
remember different deadlines and provide duplicate sets of information to benefit
from the schemes. A number of social security civil services were provided through
different government agencies, making it difficult and time consuming for citizens to
access and take advantage of social services.
However, qualification for many of these programmes was contingent upon citizens
making cash contributions to their individual pension accounts, i.e., the Central Prov-
140
ident Fund account. Many lower-income Singaporeans were not able to make contri-
butions; thus to benefit from these programmes. Previous programmes were also less
targeted in terms of their distribution of funds to Singaporeans. Allotments tended to
depend on single-dimensional proxies of wealth, e.g., the rental value of ones place
of residence, leading to a rather crude assessment of ones financial situation. Based
on this feedback, the government decided that a more refined means-test system
would benefit lower income Singaporeans.
The Solution
In view of the problems with the previous programmes, the government set out to
fundamentally re-design the surplus sharing initiative in a way that would address
and redefine the way monies are to be shared with citizens. The main priorities were
to: (i) introduce a new concept of surplus sharing: one that rewards work, promotes
equity and ensures that lower-income Singaporeans receive more from this exercise,
(ii) transform the administration: simplify the sign-up process and find more efficient
means of distributing monies to Singaporeans, (iii) promote social inclusion and eq-
uity: provide targeted help to underprivileged Singaporeans so that they would be
able to sign-up for their benefits and (iv) promote accountability: provide appeal
channels for Singaporeans.
The Progress Package, which is a surplus sharing initiative that benefits all adult
Singaporeans, with more for lower-income and older Singaporeans, was established
to seamlessly deliver government services as one package despite having different
programmes, each with a different agency in charge. It reaches out to Singaporeans,
especially those in the lower income groups and the elderly, through a partnership
between the government, unions, grassroots organisations, Voluntary Welfare Or-
ganisations (VWOs) and other volunteers. It is a demonstration of Singapores social
compact at work and is made up of six different programmes: Growth Dividends;
Workfare Bonus Programme; Utilities-Save, Service & Conservancy and Rental Re-
bates; Special/Retirement and Medisave Accounts; Opportunity Funds to MOE
schools and self-help groups; and the 40th Anniversary National Service (NS) Bo-
nus. Through consolidating the different programmes into a single package and pro-
viding a common government touch point (website, email address, phone services
and letters), Singaporeans could easily access information on their benefits and sign
up for their Progress Package.
To reach out to elderly and low-income Singaporeans to help them sign up for their
Progress Package and Workfare Bonus, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry
of Manpower (MOM) and the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) worked closely
with the Peoples Association, nursing homes, welfare homes, and the Singapore
Prisons Service. The successful outreach resulted in 9% of all eligible Singaporeans
141
having signed up by the end of the Progress Package exercise in December 2006.
This translated to more than S$2 billion being disbursed to the intended beneficiaries.
In particular, the Workfare Bonus Scheme benefited more than 340,000 low-income
Singaporean workers, who improved their per capita income by up to 12.5% in 2006.
The Progress Package had also encouraged wealthier Singaporeans to help less well-
off members of society through an online donation portal, with a total of more than
$800,000 being donated to various charities. Thus, the Progress Package and Work-
fare Bonus Scheme represents a paradigm shift in policy objectives, structure and
delivery to citizens. The four key achievements are listed below.
Policy: A New Concept for Surplus Sharing: A new three-tiered allotment cri-
teria that accounts for income, wealth and age of a person was designed to
better target the distribution of monies so that older and poorer Singaporeans
would receive more, as compared to previous surplus sharing programmes.
Also, for the first time, a surplus sharing programme that rewards regular and
productive work was rolled out.
Product: A Transformation of Administration: The Progress Package consoli-
dated six different programmes into one umbrella package through harmoniz-
ing eligibility criteria, sign-up processes and by providing a common govern-
ment touch point (website, email address and phone line). Almost all eligible
beneficiaries were determined automatically based on the administrative re-
cords, for greater convenience to beneficiaries. Singaporeans only interacted
with one government agency (the Central Provident Fund Board or CPFB) to
benefit from all the programmes. Each citizen received: A single notification
letter listing all his benefits under the various programmes; a single sign-up
application through one interface; a single sum credited into the bank account
of his choice or a check.
Service Delivery: A Socially Inclusive and Equitable Outreach to Vulnerable
Groups: The citizen-government transaction was simplified to increase the out-
reach of the surplus sharing exercise to the populace, especially vulnerable
Singaporeans. Eligibility requirements that proved to be barriers to entry in
previous surplus sharing exercises were removed, e.g., required cash contribu-
tions to individual pension accounts. Outreach programmes were designed for
groups who were expected to be less aware of the Progress Package, e.g., the
elderly and illiterate.
Public Accountability A Fair and Transparent Appeals Process: To en-
sure fairness in treatment and clear public accountability, the government de-
vised and documented detailed appeal guidelines to process public appeals.
Service centres across the island were established to handle the appeals
promptly and efficiently.
142
2007 CATEGORY 1: AUSTRIA

Austria
Electronic law making processes (eLaw)
Federal Chancellery of Austria
Description
Enhancing the transparency and efciency of the legislative process
by implementing a complete digital law-making system.
Summary
The Federal Chancellery is one of the first public authorities in Europe, which has
implemented a complete digital law-making system. The system called eLaw
(Electronic law making processes) allows the electronic involvement of all institu-
tional stakeholders and interested parties during a law-making process.
The Problem
The legislative process in Austria was, as in other countries, relatively slow. In addi-
tion, citizens did not have direct access to the various drafts of legal acts as these
were paper based. In the past, ministries had no electronic workflow to support their
work to create legal texts. The process of introducing changes was very complicated
and took a considerable amount of time.
The traditional way of paper-based legislation was expensive so the basic idea was
to provide an electronic workflow comprising the draft bill up to the e-Publication
in an online version of the Federal Law Gazette. The simplification and speeding up
of the legislative processes between the public administration, the parliament and
the public were also perceived as key challenges. The goal was to increase the effi-
ciency and transparency of the legislative process while simultaneously reducing its
duration and costs.
The Solution
In 2004, the Federal Chancellery implemented a complete digital legislative system,
the first of its kind in Europe. The system called eLaw (Electronic law making
processes) allows the electronic involvement of all institutional stakeholders and
interested parties during a legislative process. It plays a vital role through the life
cycle of a legislative act covering all stages of the process from the very beginning
of the first draft to online publication of authenticated law texts (e.g., laws, regula-
tions, treaties).
143
The main purpose of launching the eLaw initiative was to enhance the Government
to Citizen (G2C) services. Nowadays, draft bills, government bills and the Federal
Law Gazettes are stored and made accessible to the general pubic free of charge via
the internet. Hence, it is possible also for people not having been directly involved in
the legislative process, to get a deep insight into the genesis and future amendments
of any law, which improves transparency of the legislative process considerably. The
eLaw system has also increased efficiency of the Austrian administration itself be-
cause all participants use one and the same system for the Electronic File System and
the eLaw System. The electronic internet version of the Federal Law Gazettes re-
ceives about 95,000 hits per month. Promulgating laws electronically has also elimi-
nated printing costs (about 400,000 per year).
The project was officially launched in June 2001 following a formal decision of the
Council of Ministers to establish the e-law system. The Federal Chancellery was
made responsible for its implementation together with private companies. The pilot
project started in March 2002 involving six ministries. After training its future users,
the functionality and usability of the system were first put to test and, subsequently,
activated. The eLaw workflow software includes: web based user interface, handling
of processes spanning several organisations, XML-based data transfer, conversion
into several data formats (e.g., PDF), and digital signature of the final version (Fed-
eral Law Gazette). The creation of electronic texts within the law making process
follows the layout guidelines of the Constitutional Service. Based on these guide-
lines, MS WinWord-based templates were developed, which facilitate the structuring
of texts and the layout design for the Federal Ministries.
The first stage of eLaw was finalized in mid-2002. At this stage, it was possible to
process a legislative bill fully electronically from its first draft to the (then still) paper-
based publication of the Federal Law Gazette. The second stage of eLaw was dedi-
cated to the integration of the electronic signature into the process in order to be able
to promulgate laws electronically on the internet and to finally abandon the paper-
based promulgation of laws. The system is operational since the beginning of 2004.
The electronic legislative system represents a fundamental cultural change. The le-
gally valid version of a law is no longer paper based; instead it is published on the
internet. The electronic signature on the legal texts warrants their authenticity and
completeness. All Austrian laws are promulgated via internet and may be accessed
free of charge. As of 1st November 2006, there are more than 2,400 issues of the
Federal Law Gazettes published on the internet.
The main aims of the project are:

Continuous electronic support of legislation;
Error prevention by elimination of duplicates;
144
Easy access to stored data;

Easier administration of different versions of documents;
Implementation of a uniform layout;
Support to legislative bodies; and
Official and authentic publication in electronic form only.
eLaw supports the following types of bills: Federal Law, Regulation by Minister,
Regulation by Cabinet, Governmental Announcement and International Treaty. The
entire legislative process is planned and realized as a whole in electronic form, allow-
ing for a smooth transmission of data files from one organisation to the next without
any media disruption; parallel processing by several organisations at once was also
made possible.
The legislative process is split into different workflow sub-processes. The main pro-
cedures of the workflow are:
Preparation of a bill;
Evaluation procedure;
Presentation to the Council of Ministers;
Government bill;
Process in parliament (independent system);
Decision of Parliament;
Authentication of the Act by the Federal President and counter-signature
by the Federal Chancellor; and
Official electronic promulgation on the Austrian Legal Information System
(RIS), (www.bka.gv.at).
In a database, called a document pool, all relevant documents are stored and can be
easily accessed. The necessary metadata for documentation and searching has to be
recorded. In the parliament, an autonomous IT-system is used. Every bill has to be
transferred from the Federal Chancellery (BKA) to the parliament and after parlia-
ments decision back to BKA. This transfer is facilitated by an open, XML-based
interface and a secure connection. Following the parliamentary decision, the bill is
further processed in the eLaw system and in case of successful completion pro-
mulgated on the Austrian Legal Information System. Use of the eLaw system is re-
stricted to civil servants of the federal ministries only. However, the general public
has access to the draft bills, the government bills and to the Austrian Legal Informa-
tion System free of charge.
145

Chile
ChileCompra
Direccion De Compras y Contratacion Publica
Ministry of Finance, Chile
Description
Making public procurement processes easier, less costly and more transparent.
Summary
ChileCompra is the Public Procurement and Contracting System for the procurement
of goods and services in Chile. It is an online one-stop shop with the objective to
guarantee high levels of transparency, efficiency and use of technologies in the public
procurement market, benefiting entrepreneurs, public agencies and citizens.
The Problem
The public procurement process in Chile was time-consuming, costly and not highly
transparent. Following a few corruption scandals of 2002, in 2003 both the governing
coalition and the opposition decided to launch a comprehensive reform to modernize
the public sector. At the same time, due to low economic growth in the preceding
years, the government decided to introduce various measures to revamp the econo-
my, including a more efficient procurement system. In 2003 and 2004, Chile signed
free trade agreements with the United States and Europe, which included specific
norms on public procurement. In 2004, the government launched the Digital Agenda,
a public-private initiative to introduce ICT in government operations and to allow
citizens to reap the benefits of a knowledge society; e-Commerce in the public mar-
ket was one of the initiatives of this new agenda.
The Solution
ChileCompra is the Public Procurement and Contracting System for the procurement
of goods and services. It is a business spot managed by the Public Procurement and
Contracting Bureau of the Ministry of Finance that puts public buyers in touch with
State suppliers. Its objective is to guarantee high levels of transparency, efficiency
and use of technologies in the public procurement market, benefiting entrepreneurs,
public agencies and citizens in general.
By introducing enhanced technological instruments and management of excel-

lence, ChileCompra has been able to achieve free access to information, universal-
ity and non discrimination of users. These principles are guaranteed by Law as
146
2007 CATEGORY 1: CHILE
Terms and Conditions of Administrative Agreements for Supply and Service Render-
ing, most commonly known as the Public Procurement Law, N 19.886, enacted on
August 29, 2003.
To increase efficiency and transparency in the public procurement market, the govern-
ment introduced different regulatory and management tools, including: an electronic
commerce platform www.chilecompra.cl, management of competences, training and
technical assistance, as well as policies and corporate procurement management.
ChileCompra has produced a number of positive results. First, it has enhanced trans-
parency and efficiency in the public procurement market with free universal access to
information, therefore strengthening Chiles democratic system and the image of the
country. Second, it has ensured equal opportunities in access to information regard-
ing State procurement and contracting processes, with a positive economic impact on
micro, small, medium and large businesses of the country. Third, it has increased
savings for the State while increasing efficiency, productivity and swiftness in pro-
cesses involved in procurements by the public agencies.
Finally, the digitalization of the procurement processes has resulted in an increase of

electronic commerce, economic growth and competitiveness improvement. Each ten
seconds there is a new business opportunity for enterprises. The public procurement
market makes up for 3% of the GDP. In 2006, US$3.5 million were traded in www.
chilecompra.cl. During this period, monthly average of purchase orders issuance ex-
ceeded US$100,000. More than 230,000 suppliers and almost 900 Public Agencies
are registered in the ChileCompra System. Approximately 88% of bids awarded to
suppliers in ChileCompra are micro and small enterprises.
147
Western Asia
Azerbaijan
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan
Description
Making the extractive industries more transparent and efcient by bringing
all stakeholders together in evaluating their revenues and expenditures.
Summary
The government of Azerbaijan has endorsed and implemented the Extractive Indus-
tries Transparency Initiative, an international effort modeled on the the Lancaster
House Conference in London in 2003, which has resulted in high standards of trans-
parency and accountability in oil and gas revenues.
The Problem
In September 2002, the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Extrac-
tive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) at the World Summit for Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg. The First EITI Lancaster House Conference held on
17 June 2003 in London set out the EITI Principles, which acknowledged that the
natural resources wealth of a country should benefit all its citizens. The delegation
headed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, declared at
the EITI Lancaster House Conference that the Government of Azerbaijan would join
EITI and support the international efforts for higher transparency in the extractive
industries. Moreover, Azerbaijan volunteered to become a pilot country.
A number of governments, the extractive industry companies and non-govern-

mental organisations adopted a Declaration on the principles of EITI: Publish
What You Pay for the foreign and national companies of extractive industries and
Publish What You Receive for host governments of extractive industries. The
EITI supports improved governance in resource-rich countries through the full
publication and verification of company payments and government revenues from
oil, gas and mining industries. Many countries are rich in oil, gas, and minerals
and studies have shown that when governance is good, these can generate large
revenues to foster economic growth and reduce poverty. However, when gover-
nance is weak, they may instead cause poverty, corruption, and conflict the so
called resource curse. The EITI aims to defeat this curse by improving trans-
parency and accountability.
148
2007 CATEGORY 1: AZERBAIJAN
Since the Oil Fund of Azerbaijan is expected to take more than 150 billion dollars in
revenue over the next 15 years, a significant portion of government revenue, ensuring
financial transparency in the oil industry was regarded as crucial to promoting inves-
tor confidence in the country as a whole.
The Solution
Following the declaration made by President Ilham Aliyev at the EITI Lancaster
House Conference that the Government of Azerbaijan would join EITI and support
the international efforts for higher transparency in the extractive industries as well as
volunteering Azerbaijan as a pilot country, the President himself promoted the estab-
lishment of an interagency committee on EITI to implement obligations taken at the
EITI Conference. Cabinet Ministers of Azerbaijan established the National Commit-
tee on EITI on 13 November 2003. The Committee was chaired by the Executive Di-
rector of the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ). The Executive Director of the SOFAZ is also
overseeing the work of the EITI Secretariat of Azerbaijan, which is hosted by the Oil
Fund. The SOFAZ is responsible for the day-to-day running of EITI in Azerbaijan,
and the appropriate coordination with the foreign extractive industry companies. The
EITI Secretariat is closely cooperating with the foreign and local extractive industry
(oil and gas) companies and NGOs to implement EITI in Azerbaijan. The main task
of the SOFAZ included: building understanding with EITI process stakeholders (the
National Committee on EITI, extractive industry companies and civil society), in-
creasing awareness of government institutions involved in EITI process and develop-
ing credible implementation mechanisms. It took almost one year to come to a mutual
agreement and as the result of productive cooperation a Memorandum of Understand-
ing (MOU) was signed on 24 November 2004 between all stakeholders.
21 foreign and local extractive (oil and gas) industry companies, including State Oil
Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Exxon, Statoil, Total, Lukoil, Chevron,
Shell, Devon Energy have signed the MOU. Currently the number of companies in-
creased to 24.
The reports are being submitted twice a year: annual on 15 March and semi-annual
on 15 August. A new audit firm is selected for each reporting cycle. Deloitte was an-
nounced on 20 December 2004 as winner of the tender for the first reporting cycle
covering 2003 (annual) and 2004 (6 months). Since the Government of Azerbaijan
joined the EITI, Azerbaijan has disclosed Four Transparency Initiative Reports
(2003, 2004, first 6-months assertion of 2005 and annual 2005). The First report was
disclosed on 15 March 2005. It was the first published report of this kind in the
world. The full report and the press-release have been uploaded to the SOFAZ web-
site: www.oilfund.az and the EITI Secretariat of the UK DFID website: www.eitrans-
parency.org as well as the NGOs Coalition website: www.eiti-az.org
149
The second EITI London Conference in March 2005 established an International

Advisory Group (IAG) to provide further guidance to the International EITI Secre-
tariat on defining and refining proposals regarding the future of EITI itself. Being a
pioneer of the EITI implementation process and having tremendous experience in the
EITI implementation, the Executive Director of the SOFAZ was nominated as IAG
member to represent Azerbaijan.
The IAG prepared a report on the future of EITI, which was presented at the third
International EITI conference in Oslo, 16-17 October 2006. One of the main out-
comes of the Oslo conference was the establishment of the multi-stakeholder Board
to manage EITI at the international level and to oversee the future operation of EITI.
Azerbaijans membership in the EITI Board proves the countrys leading role in im-
plementing EITI. The Executive Director of the State Oil Fund is representing the
government of Azerbaijan in the EITI board.
By implementing EITI, the government of Azerbaijan has achieved full accountabil-

ity and transparency in oil and gas revenues. Azerbaijan has also improved its invest-
ment climate providing a clear signal to investors and international financial institu-
tions that the government is committed to greater transparency. EITI also assists in
strengthening accountability and good governance, as well as promotes greater eco-
nomic and political stability. This, in turn, contributes to the prevention of conflict
based on oil, mining and gas sectors.
Political instability caused by opaque governance is a clear threat to investments. In

extractive industries, where investments are capital intensive and dependent on long-
term stability to generate returns, reducing such instability is beneficial. Transpar-
ency of payments made to the state oil fund also helps to demonstrate the contribu-
tion that their investment makes to a country.
Endorsing and implementing EITI is an important step for the Government of Azer-
baijan and companies wishing to show their commitment to encouraging high stan-
dards of transparency and accountability in public life, government operations and in
business within the legal framework of the country.
150
2007 Category 2

of Public Services

Africa Morocco eFez project, Arrondissement Ensuring access of all citizens to civil records services 152
Agdal, Fez, Morocco through the creation of an online portal
Africa South eThekwini Municipality Water Reducing the consumption of water and encouraging 154
Africa and Sanitation Debt Relief citizens to pay for water use
Asia and Republic Korea Immigration Smart Service Making immigration processes easier, faster and 157
the Pacic of Korea (KISS), Justice Ministry secured through an integrated system
Western Lebanon Taxpayer Service, Making it easy and fast to le taxes through 160
Asia Ministry of Finance an online ling system
Western United Arab Dubai Government Promoting high performance in government by 162
Asia Emirates Excellence Programme rewarding and motivating public ofcials
Morocco South Africa Rep. of Korea Singapore* Lebanon UAE
151
Africa
South Africa
eThekwini Water and Sanitation Debt Relief
eThekwini Municipality, South Africa
Description
Reducing the consumption of water and encouraging citizens to pay for the water
used by involving all stakeholders through participatory water management.
Summary
This project has provided successful solutions to reducing the public debt and man-
aging water consumption in the eThekwini Municipality in South Africa by involv-
ing all stakeholders in identifying leaks and maintaining consumption under the free
water limit.
The Problem
Local governments in South Africa, metropolitan municipalities in particular, are
faced with spiraling water debt due to the non-payment or irregular payments by cus-
tomers in low-income areas. As the majority of all local government income is gener-
ated locally, steady cutbacks from national and provincial government to local gov-
ernment have resulted in reduced transfers coupled with expanded responsibilities.
This has made cost-recovery and cost cutting measures inevitable. These challenges
contributed to local governments inability to address basic service backlogs in mu-
nicipalities, which owed huge sums of money. By July 2004, the eThekwini Munici-
pality had to address the R20 million in outstanding water payments in 20 of the worst
paying wards in the municipal area. Moreover, many citizens living in the eThekwini
Municipality had very little hope of ever repaying their debt and returning to a stable
financial position. Thousands of customers, who were blacklisted by credit bureaus,
could not open accounts, and feared having their homes sold to recover debt; they also
experienced other forms of financial restrictions. Due to the devastation brought on by
HIV/AIDS, many households were headed by pensioners and/or children. This further
heightened economic and social pressure within these households. Arbitrarily cutting
off their water supply would have worsened their economic position and have devas-
tating consequences for the well being of these families.
The Solution
To address these challenges, the eThekwini Municipality, with support from the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, conceptualized and developed a debt relief
152
strategy that provided a window period, within which customers could become debt
free by making regular monthly payments. Through this programme, local officials
launched a campaign to explain debt-related problems to the citizenry, and to provide
solutions to reducing water consumption, identifying leaks and maintaining con-
sumption under the free water limit. A priority of the programme was to identify the
thousands of eThekwini customers who had accumulated large arrears due to leaks,
mismanagement and lack of resources. Once they were identified, they were edu-
cated on how to best manage their limited resources. Where possible, the municipal-
ity provided additional support in training. The purpose of the programme was there-
fore to assist the indigent, so that they could experience a better quality of life and so
that the municipality could generate the much needed additional income.
People covered by the programme had to live in homes that did not exceed R100,000
in cost; their debts had to be at least 90 days overdue. Agreements were drawn up
with the targeted group whereby debt would be written-off over 50 months as long
as the monthly payments thereafter were up to date. But if they defaulted for more
than four months, then the debt relief contract would be cancelled and the debt
would be reinstated.
An extensive advertising campaign to promote the debt relief programme was imple-
mented using radio, local newspapers, councillors, leaflets and customer service
agents. While a training and awareness campaign used a leaflet to explain the pro-
gramme in a user friendly way, social workers were trained and were managed by
Khanyisa Projects to educate customers in their homes regarding their debt and the
options available to them. Here social workers used the leaflet, the billing history and
the meter readings to assess the reason for the debt accumulation, and explained how
the customer could take advantage of the debt relief programme. A social worker was
also appointed to assist indigent, child-headed and pensioner-headed households.
Currently, 28,000 customers are involved in the project, and it has enabled the mu-
nicipality to receive R15.6 million from customers who had not paid their water
accounts previously. Due to these customers contributing towards their current ac-
counts, the municipality was able to write-off R12.9 million in debt. Of the 28,000
customers, 70% pay their accounts regularly. The water consumption of the cus-
tomers in the programme has also been reduced from an average of 0.63kl per day
to 0.55kl, a saving of 52 800kl a month. This translates into a financial saving of
R270,000 per month, which can now be used to assist the indigent, who are unable
to pay for water.
153
Africa
Morocco
eFez projec,
Arrondissement Agdal
Fez, Morocco
Description
Ensuring access of all citizens to civil records services through the creation of an
online portal.
Summary
In partnership with the research team of the ICT-for-Development Laboratory
(ICT4D Lab) at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, the Municipality of Agdal in Fez,
Morocco, has built a local e-government system to provide electronically a range of
services to the public, transforming municipal services into a modern citizen-centric
system accessible and usable by all, regardless of citizens degree of literacy and/or
familiarity with ICT use.
The Problem
In Morocco most government services, such as getting a passport or acquiring the
papers required for voter registration can only be accessed through government of-
fices in the capital, Rabat, or in big cities like Casablanca. By African standards, the
country has high rates of telephone and Internet use and relatively high incomes, and
the government is already using ICTs to improve program coordination, tax admin-
istration, and auditing, public investment planning and monitoring, and spending
management. According to the World Bank, ICT use has cut in half the time the gov-
ernment needs to prepare the national budget. During the last few years, Morocco
started to realize the potential of e-government. However, regardless of its national
strategies, e-government implementation, especially at the local level remained very
low, with no evidence of concrete positive impact on ordinary citizens. Accessing
information and administrative services in the city of Fez was not easy, especially for
disadvantaged groups.
The Solution
In response to this challenge, a team composed of researchers from the ICT-for-De-
velopment Laboratory (ICT4D Lab) at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco
and public officials from the municipality of Fez, worked together to design, imple-
ment, and deploy a replicable local e-government system transforming Fezs archaic
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2007 CATEGORY 2: MOROCCO
municipal service delivery into a modern online system. In July 2006, the team suc-
cessfully completed a pilot e-government project (eFez) funded by the IDRC and
implemented in the local government of the city of Fez.
By making simplified processes accessible through GSM phones (widely used in

Morocco), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and personal computers, the project
reduced or eliminated bureaucratic delays. It gives all citizens equal access to ser-
vices, makes administrative procedures more transparent and visible, and uses gov-
ernment human resources more efficiently. Besides allowing users to access services
and request documents (such as residency certificates, birth certificates, and marital
status certificates), the new system also offers general information about Fez (tour-
ism, economy, history, architecture, weather, etc.).
To ensure that all citizens can access the portal, the Fez Wilaya (local administration)
installed free public digital kiosks. To determine which e-government services should
be prioritised, the Alakhawayn University project team conducted surveys and inter-
views among local citizens. By partnering with Laval University to develop software
for the portal, the Alakhawayn University team was able to benefit from Canadian
e-government expertise. Alakhawayn University provided technical training to the
Fez Wilaya employees to ensure they maintain the system beyond the two-year span
of the project.
The initiative allows local authorities to make full use of ICT, giving citizens fast,
easy access to a wide range of government services through a fair and transparent
process. This project will serve as a road map for rolling-out local e-government
projects across Morocco. The project will also address important research questions
about the social impact and political implications of e-government. These questions
include: Is e-government viable and beneficial in a country with a high rate of illit-
eracy? Which segments of Moroccan society are most likely to use e-government
services? Which are least likely to use them, and why? What political, social and
economic strategies can give the greatest number of people access to e-government?
How can ICTs have an impact on strategies for designing and delivering govern-
ment services?
Designing, implementing, and deploying the project in a citizen-centric, participa-

tory, and interactive manner, enabled the research team to build a local e-govern-
ment system that matters to the local community, responds to the locally perceived
needs, facilitates citizen-friendly service delivery, and thereby fosters local good
governance. The success of eFez has facilitated a growing interest in implementing
ICT projects among political decision makers, civil servants and ordinary citizens.
The general public is becoming more and more aware of the urgent need to pro-
mote ICT diffusion within Moroccos governance structures, especially at the local
155
level. For instance, citizens in Fez are voicing their needs to benefit from a similar
electronically enabled service delivery in the remaining 33 Vital Records Office
(Bureau dEtat Civil BEC). BEC employees and officers are requesting e-Fez be
extended to other offices. There is a growing interest in ICT projects among Mo-
roccos decision makers at the city levels. An increasing number of decision mak-
ers in several cities of the Kingdom have approached the research team to replicate
the system adopted in Fez in order to make their Vital Records Office electroni-
cally accesible by all. The success of eFez is sending a positive message across the
country, i.e., that building an e-government system in any Moroccan city is easy
and beneficial to all.
The eFez project was acknowledged at the national level and awarded with the pres-
tigious prize eMtiaz 2006 as best e-government project in Morocco. It also re-
ceived the Technology in Government in Africa (TIFA) Awards in May 2007.
156
Asia and the Pacic

Republic of Korea
Korea Immigration Smart Service (KISS)
Ministry of Justice, Republic of Korea
Description
Making immigration processes easier, faster and more secure through a new
automated and integrated immigration system.
Summary
The Korea Immigration Smart Service (KISS) is an innovative new immigration
clearance service, which has successfully transformed the immigration work system,
its processes, as well as the overall service quality.
The Problem
The outstanding economic growth of Korea has brought about a great increase in the
number of passengers who enter and depart from Korea. Today, this number reaches
around 100,000 visitors per day. This being the case, passengers inevitably spent
much time going through the passport and visa inspection process. Immigration of-
fices were not organized in a way that allowed for easy communication between the
Entry and Exit Immigration Divisions, which caused frustration among immigration
officials and delays for passengers. Customers spent a large amount of time lining up
for immigration clearance at the airports. The complicated process and unfriendly
attitude of immigration officers became the chief customer complaint. These were
the main barriers that kept the Korean immigration clearance service from reaching
high customer satisfaction. As this was the case, an innovative management system
was required to effectively cope with the increase of passengers and to deliver a good
quality immigration clearance service.
The Solution
To solve this issue, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) decided to develop an innovative
immigration clearance service to satisfy customers and promote a more positive im-
age of the country. The initiative was called the Korea Immigration Smart Service
(KISS). As a result, innovations were introduced in the organisation, work system,
process and service quality of the immigration system.
The Ministry of Justices Korean Immigration Department is responsible for visa is-
suance, border management and residence services. The ministrys service brand
KISS, represented by the friendly image of a Korean traditional mask, was created
157
following a public hearing and review on 11 September 2006. As with the kiss loved
ones give when greeting or bidding farewell, KISS strives to ease travel by providing
fast and comfortable immigration clearance through 3S service: Smart, Speed and
Smile. For Smart Service, the Office of Immigration unified two separate Exit and
Entry Control Divisions into one flexible organisation, composed of small and mo-
bile teams. The office also assigned more immigration officers to comparatively
crowded passport control sectors during rush hours, and upgraded electronic pro-
grams to forecast the number of passengers at the passport control points. Through
the Speed Service, Immigration shortened average screening time per passenger by
utilizing an automatically processed passenger information system. Also, cargo plane
crews can obtain immigration clearance at the cargo terminal using a remote self-
check system.
For the Smile Service, the office conducts customer service training for all immigra-
tion officers on a regular basis. KISS has produced remarkable results. Koreas im-
migration clearance service has won the Best Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award
for passport and visa inspection five times. The Geneva and Montreal-based Interna-
tional Air Transport Association (IATA) chooses ASQ award recipients based on in-
spections and customer surveys. KISS has also had a significant impact on public
finance. For example, abolishing the need for personally completed Departure and
Arrival cards for Korean citizens and legal residents saved $1,250,000 a year from
the governmental budget. Furthermore, Immigration estimated that faster clearance
times have saved customers over $22 million by providing more time to conduct
business while in Korea. Improved immigration played a crucial role in Incheon In-
ternational Airports winning the Best Airport Worldwide in 2006. The award is part
of a global airport monitoring survey conducted by the IATA and ACI (Airport Coun-
cil International).
A number of steps were undertaken to innovate the immigration system. Firstly, MOJ
reorganized its body and reconstructed its work system. The immigration office at
Incheon International Airport used to be separated into two divisions: Entry Division
and Exit Division. Immigration officers had difficulties in changing their work place
and supporting each other under this system. To improve this inefficient work sys-
tem, MOJ combined the two divisions into one unified organisation composed of 24
mobile teams. This enhanced flexibility in management of immigration officers, al-
lowing deployment of more immigration officers during rush hours. The flexible
management of human resources decreased passengers waiting time by 60% for
passport and visa inspection at the airport.
Secondly, MOJ developed a scientific immigration clearance service. MOJ intro-

duced the Machine Readable Passport System (MRPS) that is capable of not only
reading and recording personal information on a passport automatically, but also
158
detecting people prohibited from entering the country. MOJ also adopted the Ad-
vance Passenger Information System (APIS). APIS is a system that checks passen-
gers security background even before their flights arrival. This is a very useful pre-
security check system to prevent terrorists and criminals from entering Korea.
Furthermore, MOJ invented the worlds first Remote Crew Self-check System
(RCSS) and Automatic Crew Perception System (ACPS). Through RCSS, cargo
plane crew can receive immigration clearance service at the cargo terminal without
the presence of an immigration officer. ACPS enables passenger plane crews possess-
ing a crew registration card to be automatically cleared.
Thirdly, MOJ abolished the use of the departure and arrival card. In the past, every
passenger had to submit a card to the immigration officer at the airport. Most pas-
sengers found this process annoying as it was one of the main reasons for the delay
of the immigration process. As this was the case, MOJ abolished the card to decrease
the number of paper documents and to make immigration processes easier for cus-
tomers. In addition, MOJ introduced Group Tourist Computing System (GTCS) to
increase convenience for tourists traveling in groups.
Korean immigration officers have been joining a service training program to provide
a more customer-friendly service. The course was developed by specialists, who vis-
ited immigration offices and analyzed the attitude of immigration officers in their
actual working environment.
159
Western Asia
Lebanon
Taxpayer Service
Ministry of Finance, Lebanon
Description
Making it easy and fast to le taxes through an online ling system.
Summary
In Lebanon, the Ministry of Finance has improved services delivered to taxpayers,
their quality and timeliness making it comparable to international standards.
The Problem
In Lebanon the tax filing system was complicated and information was difficult to
access resulting in low tax payment compliance. The Lebanese internal conflicts
had adverse effects on Lebanons economy, plagued by a deteriorating public ad-
ministration, with aging employees who had limited knowledge of new technolo-
gies and techniques adopted in more advanced economies. This resulted in consid-
erable delays and inefficiencies in the delivery of services to a constantly developing
private sector.
The Solution
To overcome the above mentioned challenges, the Ministry of Finance launched a
programme to:
Revamp the tax administration through the reengineering and modernization
of existing systems and processes;
Promote the simplification of tax returns;
Develop tax guides and other communication material to inform taxpayers
of their rights and obligations;
Promote the recruitment and training, as well as rotation of qualified
young graduates;
Introduce new equipment to improve the delivery of services;
Minimize contact with taxpayers through the use of regular and electronic
mail for tax enquiries and return filing, and most importantly; and
Develop a business continuity plan to ensure sustainability of operations
in risk situations, an urgent need given the local and regional context.
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2007 CATEGORY 2: LEBANON
The taxpayer services function of the Lebanese Revenue Administration has im-
proved considerably over the last few years. It moved from manual management of
taxpayer files and records, to a nearly completely automated system with dedicated
offices, redesigned procedures, and freshly recruited and trained staff. The stream-
lined processes allowed for the decrease in interaction with taxpayers and for in-
creased efficiency. The use of regular and electronic mail and website lead to greater
effectiveness of operations to all stakeholders. The internal and external communica-
tion was enhanced by the availability and dissemination of information. Finally, the
quality of service was improved through continuous education and training of staff.
The tremendous progress achieved in the delivery of services to taxpayers in Leba-

non can be considered a true achievement realized despite the local and regional
challenges. The changes implemented through the new taxpayer services resulted in
an overall customer satisfaction and:
A higher voluntary compliance rate;
Reduced number of disputes;
Increased revenues to the Treasury;
Updated taxpayer database;
Enablement of e-taxation;
Automated track record for taxpayers enquiries for future follow-up;
Automated process of tracking transactions in process;
Reliance on postage for distribution and receipt of returns/correspondence;
Fair gender distribution;
Continuous dissemination of information on new developments through
media channels;
Determination of response times for various transactions, and;
Website development with options for e-filing, e-tracking of taxpayer
accounts, and online receipt of/reply to enquiries.
Moreover, dedicated tax offices are now available in Beirut and throughout the country.
All these changes led to the provision of timely and lower-cost services to taxpayers.
161
Western Asia
United Arab Emirates
Dubai Government Excellence Programme
Dubai Government Excellence Department
United Arab Emirates.
Description
Promoting high performance in government by rewarding and motivating public
ofcials through the establishment of a Government Excellence Programme.
Summary
The Dubai Government Excellence Department has implemented a number of initia-
tives that have influenced positively the performance of government departments. It
has enforced a customer oriented mentality providing better, more reliable, efficient
and effective public services.
The Problem
Dubais public administration was struggling to cope with a fast changing environ-
ment. A high percentage of foreigners employed in the public service had brought
with them diverse backgrounds, skills and attitudes. Ownership was weak and or-
ganisational loyalty was tied to income and job stability. The concept of innovation
was alien and staff behaved in slow and reactive mode, responding to demand for
service as time and cumbersome rules and procedures permitted. The administration
was too slow to respond to inquiries; traditional ways of doing things limited free-
dom of action by senior staffers, opaque decision making system and organisational
culture of rule rather than service further underpinned slow responsiveness.
The Solution
The Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP) was launched following a
directive by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Presi-
dent and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, to improve public sector
performance. The DGEP seeks to achieve this objective through a range of strategies,
including: human resource training, use of the latest means of communication and
information technology, exchange of expertise within government departments, and
adoption of best global practices.
Since its inception, DGEP is playing a major role in fostering a culture of excellence
among all the governmental entities in Dubai and acts as a role model program in the
Arab region, causing a dramatic and tangible change in the government culture. It
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2007 CATEGORY 2: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
does so by conducting training sessions and seminars on the topic of excellence in

the public sector. DGEP manages several periodic evaluations by independent asses-
sors trained by the programme. DGEP took the lead to be the first programme in the
Middle East to start conducting periodic customer and employee satisfaction surveys
for all governmental agencies in Dubai, moreover conducting periodic mystery
shopping programs in the government.
A change of paradigm took place; the administration perceived its new role as ser-
vant of the public rather then the absolute ruler. Rule making had to be inspired by
the needs of the clients of public services. Facilitation, transparency, easy access to
public services and customer satisfaction became the constituents of a new adminis-
trative creed. Leading administrators were given ample authority to propose and
make changes. The stakeholders concept took root in the decision-making process:
consultation with internal and external stakeholders led to a participatory approach in
public administration. Though success of the application of the new philosophy var-
ied, the majority joined in, and others soon followed, attempting to catch up with the
front runners.
DGEP is also acting as an incubator for several other distinguished programs aimed
at further promoting efficiency and transparency in Dubais public offices. Those
programs include: Dubai Government Customer Complaints System, Dubai Knowl-
edge Exchange Teams, Dubai Institute for Human Resources, Dubai Development,
Dubai Government Performance Management Program (KPIs), Dubai Program for
Building, Dubai Government HR Excellence, Dubai Government Excellence Service
Program and Integrity (to be launched soon), among others.
All the above projects have influenced different aspects of governmental perfor-
mance, resulting in the establishment of various performance excellence pro-
grammes and systems devoted to customer relationship management. These pro-
grammes include: customer identification system, customer need assessment
system, customer complaints management system, customer satisfaction system,
customer communication system, e-government services. 72% of these governmen-
tal services are electronically based, which make public services better, more reli-
able, more efficient and effective.
163
2007 Category 3


Europe and Canada Tli Cho Community Increasing the well-being of indigenous communities 165
North Am. Services Agency through participatory management
Europe and Switzerland e-Government Project (e-voting) Making it easier and faster to cast votes 168
North Am. Statistical Ofce Canton Zurich in elections
Canada Italy* Switzerland
164
2007 CATEGORY 3: CANADA

Canada
Tli Cho Community Services
Tli Cho Community Services Agency, Canada
Description
Increasing the well-being of indigenous communities by involving all stakeholders
in the decision-making processes and management of health, education and other
related social issues.
Summary
The Tlicho Model of Integrated Service represents a new and unique institutional
mechanism the only one of its kind in the Northwest Territories, based upon: an
integrated service delivery approach; a wellness model; refining the services to make
them more culturally relevant; and a community development approach based upon
identifying individual and community strengths and building upon them.
The Problem
For centuries, the Tlicho had lived a very independent, nomadic lifestyle on their
land, in what is now part of Canadas Northwest Territories (NWT). But in the later
1950s, with the crash of the fur market, the Tlicho people could no longer sustain
themselves by living their traditional lifestyle. They moved into settlements run, for
the most part, by the federal government, the church and the Hudson Bay Company.
Like many other aboriginal groups that had a similar experience, the Tlicho found it
difficult to adapt to this new way of life. They entered a period of their history that
they often refer to as The Time of Darkness a period when there was a sense of
helplessness from the loss of independence that they had had for so many centuries.
The changing lifestyle, the overcrowded housing, the increased exposure to alcohol
and the lack of meaningful employment, led to various illnesses and social problems,
especially in regard to family life. This was also the time when a whole generation of
children were taken from their families and shipped off to schools far from their
homes. In many cases, their culture was ridiculed, they were forbidden to speak their
language, and they were sometimes physically abused.
The Solution
In 1971, Chief Jimmy Bruneau seeing what was happening to the children, requested
that the Government of the Northwest Territories allow the Dogrib to set up their own
school board in Rae-Edzo. The government agreed. Responsibility for education was
165
transferred to the Dogrib and the Rae-Edzo School Society was established. In the
following years, the other Dogrib Communities witnessed the success of the school
society in Rae Edzo and they petitioned the government to allow them to take control
of their local schools. The government agreed and, in 1989, the Dogrib Divisional
Board of Education was established. It created a new service delivery model that
combined education, health, family and childrens services within one organisational
structure under one community elected board of directors. It is the only example of
an agency providing this broad range of services in the Northwest Territories and, to
the agencys knowledge, in Canada. It is ideally suited to rural and remote areas of
Canada and perhaps to similar areas in other countries as well.
In the early 1990s the Dogrib leadership became increasingly concerned about the
quality of health and social services provided in their communities. The service did
not meet the needs of the residents and they were not culturally responsive. Com-
munities had to deal with increasing health and social problems. In 1996, with the
Dogrib treaty 11 Chiefs requested that the government allow them to take over con-
trol of these services and integrate them into the existing school system structure.
Once again, the government agreed. In 1997, the Government of North Western Ter-
ritories (GNWT) and the Dogrib 11 Councils established a partnership and created
the Dogrib Community Services Board (DCSB). The Dogrib Divisional School
Board was expanded to include responsibility for the delivery of health and social
services. Board members were elected representatives of the four Dogrib communi-
ties. This was the beginning of a new and unique institutional mechanism the only
one of its kind in the Northwest Territories. In the following years, the Board and
staff began developing what has become known as the Tlicho Model of Integrated
Service. It is based upon: an integrated service delivery approach; a wellness model;
refining the services to make them more culturally relevant; and a community devel-
opment approach based upon identifying individual and community strengths and
building upon them. In 1999, the representatives of the Dogrib communities held a
series of meetings and created the vision and mission statement for the DCSB. The
organisation now had a clear direction into the future. In 2005, the Dogrib succeeded
in negotiating their land claim and gain the right to set up their own aboriginal self-
government under the Tlicho Agreement. The Dogrib Community Services Board
became the Tlicho Community Services Agency (TCSA). Within the past year the
TCSA continues to refine and expand services and develop the Tlicho Model of Inte-
grated services. It also continues to build capacity and develop its own people. At
present more than two thirds of the agencys 200 staff are Tlicho citizens.
The Tlicho Community Services has shown that innovative approaches to gover-
nance and successful delivery of education, health, and social services, with a strong
emphasis on tradition and culture can greatly benefit all citizens. The success of the
166
TCSA in delivering culturally-relevant services stands as a model for the delivery of

services elsewhere. The TCSAs dedication and innovation is making a difference in
improving the health and well being of all residents in the Tlicho community, and
their emphasis on educational achievement, has contributed to both increased high
school graduation rates and postsecondary enrolment.
In August 2006, the Tlicho Community Services was awarded the Silver Award for
Innovative Management by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)
for their managerial initiatives.
167

Switzerland
e-Government Project (e-voting)
Statistical Ofce Canton Zurich
Ministry of Justice and Interior, Switzerland
Description
Making it easier and faster to cast votes in elections.
Summary
The Zurich e-voting system is a unique solution characterized by its modular and
service-oriented architecture, which allows the integration of all types of media for
e-voting, including Internet, mobile phone, TV, Palm or any other digital technology.
It promotes the implementation of e-voting because its architecture can easily be in-
tegrated in existing software solutions, without compromising its high security stan-
dard. Both national and local authorities have embraced the system because it can be
used both in a centralized and in a decentralized manner. The broad range of tech-
nologies promotes citizen involvement in public decision making processes, while
the full integration of the digital system with the traditional ballot box system pre-
vents the possibility of a digital Divide among the population.
The Problem
Not all citizens were able to easily cast their vote either because of their age or social
situation. In June 2001, the Swiss Parliament created the legal basis for e-voting pilot
testing. This legal basis authorizes the Swiss Government, in conjunction with interested
cantons, to conduct e-voting tests. All e-voting systems had to guarantee: (1) voting
rights; (2) voting secrecy; (3) capturing of all votes; and (4) avoidance of any abuse of the
system. At the same time, the parliament required that the tests be monitored scientifi-
cally. Special contracts to conduct e-voting tests were signed between the Federal Chan-
cellery and three cantons, one of them being Zurich. The cantons were required to take
into account the following four considerations: (1) electronically cast votes cannot be
intercepted, changed or rerouted; (2) no third party can obtain knowledge of the cast vote;
(3) only registered citizens can vote; and (4) every registered person can vote only once.
After signing the contract for e-voting tests, many of the 171 Zurich communities
expressed their strong desire to participate in the test phase. However, the restriction
by the Swiss Government to allow only 10% of the electorate to participate in e-
voting created quite some disappointment among many communities. Nevertheless,
the enthusiasm of the three selected communities was extremely high.
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2007 CATEGORY 3: SWITZERLAND
The e-voting system had to be tailored to the Swiss decentralized voting structure,
allowing each of the 171 communities of the Canton Zurich to manage their own
voting register in a decentralized manner. Moreover, it had to take into account all
other relevant features of the Swiss elections and referenda rules. For majority elec-
tions, the system not only had to accommodate a predefined list of candidates, it even
had to allow for the situation where all citizens are eligible to be elected. Also, the
system had to allow individual definitions of the opening times of the electronic bal-
lot boxes. Each community individually had to encode votes. The election officers
had to receive the decoding keys with all the passwords to decode the votes on voting
day. To prevent citizens from casting their vote multiple times, several safety features
had to been installed, and to be activated by the communities.
The Solution
The Canton Zurich has the largest population of all 26 Swiss cantons, approximately
1.2 million. The Statistical Office of the Canton Zurich (www.statistik.zh.ch) is part
of the Ministry of Justice and Interior. It is the authority responsible for planning and
conducting federal and local elections and referenda. As part of this responsibility,
the Statistical Office must provide the technological means for citizens and local
authorities to conduct and participate in elections and referenda.
Five years ago, the Statistical Office introduced a fully computerized election and
referendum system that connected all 171 communities, which enabled it to monitor
the progress and assist the communities on voting days. Two years later, the Statisti-
cal Office started the e-voting pilot-project, which was successfully completed in
spring of 2006. Of the 45 employees of the Statistical Office, about 20 are involved
in elections and referenda, including planning and technological support for com-
munities, forecasting during elections and referenda, analysis of the results immedi-
ately after closure of the ballot boxes, and training of community officers for all is-
sues regarding elections and referenda.
The Statistical Office has a leading role in the design and implementation of various
e-government projects. This refers to the introduction of election and referendum
software systems, the Zurich e-voting system, but also database technologies to
merge different citizen registers, which are scattered over various government agen-
cies and local communities. Another important ICT-based assignment is to report the
results of data analysis, including predictions and results of elections and referenda,
in geographical information systems on the Internet. For its newest GIS solution, the
Statistical Office recently received the Prix Carto, issued by the Swiss Cartographical
Association for the most innovative solution in 2006.
The Zurich e-voting system is ideal since it covers the full range of voting con-
cepts, including national votes on referenda, votes on citizen initiatives with coun-
169
ter referendum and contingency plan, as well as majority elections and propor-
tional elections with predefined party lists. For majority elections, the system not
only accommodates a predefined list of candidates, it even allows for elections
where all citizens are eligible to be elected, since the full electorate is stored in the
system. Moreover, the system allows individual definition of the opening times of
the electronic ballot boxes. Even the coding of the votes can be done by each com-
munity individually. The voting officers receive the decoding keys with all the
passwords to decode the votes on voting day. To prevent citizens from casting their
vote multiple times, several safety features have been installed, which are activated
centrally or by the local authorities.
The development of the Zurich e-voting system has cost a total amount of 2.5 million
Swiss Francs and has annual reoccurring operational costs of 0.5 million Swiss
Francs, which amounts to approximately 4 Swiss Francs per e-vote. The e-voting
system for Internet voting and elections can be found at: evoting.zh.ch. A fully work-
ing emulation of the Zurich e-voting system for Internet and mobile phone elections
and referenda can be tested at: evotingdemo.zh.ch
The Zurich e-voting system has been successfully tested and applied for federal, lo-
cal and organisational elections and referenda. It was first tested by the Zurich Uni-
versity board election in 2005, followed by a national referendum. The testing phase
was concluded with a proportional election in April, 2006. Since then, e-voting Zur-
ich is in use in three communities in the Canton Zurich; however, all 171 communi-
ties could be linked up instantly, as soon as the Swiss Government lifts the 10%
electorate restriction for e-voting. Moreover, its service-oriented structure can ac-
commodate any other Swiss canton, or any public and private organisation in the
world whishing to employ e-voting. This world-wide unique solution to e-voting,
which was developed in conjunction with Unisys, was awarded the prize for best
software in 2005 by the Swiss ICT society. Its compelling features include flexible
compliance with complex voting concepts, service-oriented modular structure allow-
ing for flexible extensions, and remarkably high security standard.
The broad range of integrated technologies promoted citizen involvement in public

decision making processes, while the full integration of the digital system with the
traditional ballot box system prevented the possibility of a digital divide among citi-
zens. Clearly, some initial increase of participation in elections and referenda is due
to the novelty of the system. However, it is expected that e-voting Zurich will con-
tribute to a higher citizen involvement in public decision making issues.
The Zurich e-voting system was awarded the Swiss ICT prize for best software in 2005.
170
2006
United Nations
Public Service Awards Winners
Category 1 pg 172
Rwanda Singapore Netherlands
Category 2 pg 179
Zambia India Canada Brazil
Category 3 pg 187
Australia Belgium UAE
Special Award pg 194
Rep. of Korea
171
2006 Category 1


Africa Rwanda Assessment and Evaluation Providing equity in the educational system by 173
for Reconciliation, RNEC increasing transparency and accountability
Asia and Singapore Integrated Work Permit Online Meeting the business community needs by creating an 175
the Pacic Services, Work Pass Division online work permit system
Europe and Netherlands Rinjland Internet Election Deepening democracy by enabling free and 177
North Am. System, Rinjland District transparent Internet elections (RIES)
Rwanda Singapore Netherlands
172
Africa
Rwanda
Assessment and Evaluation for Reconciliation
The Rwanda National Examinations Council (RNEC)
Rwanda
Description
Bringing equity in the educational system by creating a national commission
responsible for reforming the education system in the community.
The Problem
The Rwandan education system was riddled with corruption and discrimination
based on religion, ethnicity, nepotism, and regionalism. The government faced the
challenge to reduce injustice and corruption in the public service system, and bring
equity to the community. The mission of the Rwandan government was to examine
educational needs and introduce necessary changes to the education system.
The Solution
Before 1994, primary school results and records had never been disclosed. 85% of
the entrants were selected based on their ethnic and regional quotas, 10% were se-
lected by churches, and 5% were selected by the Minister of Education.
Ethnic quotas were allocated based on a national population of 90% Hutu, 9% Tutsi,
and only 1% Twa. The concept of respect for diversity was not integrated into the
educational system.
In 1998, the cabinet set up the Rwandan National Examinations Council (RNEC)
as a special national commission to be responsible for test development, and the
administration of examinations.
The priorities and purposes of the RNEC were to ensure that individual candidates
are given the rights to select schools or institutions that have appropriate educational
standards. The RNEC is mandated by law to respond to public concerns and queries
in an appropriate manner. By disclosing the information to the public, stakeholders
gain satisfaction and acknowledge the RNECs accountability.
In addition, the RNEC has a resident auditor who inspects whether the Councils
activities are undertaken as planned, and are within the budget. The RNEC has been
collaborating with the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), es-
tablished after the Rwandan genocide of 1994, to promote national unity and recon-
173
ciliation among all Rwandans. As a result, since its establishment, the RNEC has
been improving transparency, accountability, and responsiveness in the Rwandan
public service. For the first time in Rwandas educational history, school records and
examination results have become available to the public as a sign of equity and trans-
parency. By doing so, parents, students and the community acknowledge their indi-
vidual rights and the right to equal treatment within the system.
The RNEC has been also making efforts to fill the gap between rich and poor, urban
and rural. This effort gave a chance especially to the orphans of the 1994 genocide
and children from poor families. Examinations have become open to everyone, and
have resulted in equity for all. Moreover, since the establishment of the RNEC, many
Rwandans have completed their secondary education, and pursued higher education
degrees. Thus, the establishment of RNEC contributed to the fulfillment of the na-
tional education policy, by making it available to all citizens.
For more information, please contact:

Mr John Rutaisire,
Executive Secretary of Rwanda National Examination council
[email protected]
174
Asia and the Pacic

Singapore
Integrated Work Permit Online Services
Work Pass Division, Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
Singapore
Description
Meeting the business community needs by creating an online work permit system.
The Problem
The challenge for the government was to comprehensively address the foreign work-
ers immigration status and respond promptly to business needs in a rapidly changing
economic environment.
The Solution
Singapores Ministry of Manpower (MOM) introduced the Work Permit Online
(WPOL) system, which allows the business community to apply for the work permit
(WP) of their foreign workers. WPOL responds to the application process within
one day.
The WPOL allows all the employers to submit online renewal or cancellation of
work permits for their foreign workers through the the internet, and the procedure
can be done by the next working day, which is the desirable world standard. The
online cancellation is instantaneous, and immigrants can print out the special social
visit pass within ten minutes. Also, they can even pay overstay fines with credit card
payments through the WPOL system. The system requires a minimum adequate
knowledge and supervision. The WPOL system also allows employers to check their
foreign worker quota entitlements, and provides employers with a justification of
why their applications are refused.
The WPOL system works with other government agencies to efficietly deliver pub-
lic services to the community. As a result, MOM has become one of the leading
government agencies to increase efficiency and effectiveness of its procedures, and
has brought great benefits to both business communities and government agencies
in Singapore.
In order to better understand the expectations and needs of businesses, and to im-
prove its services, MOM requested feedback from the employers and employment
agencies. According to the usability survey conducted recently, 90% of respondents
found the WPOL system easy to use.
175
Before the establishment of the WPOL, employers were forced to wait up to seven
business days before getting response to their work permit application for their for-
eign workers. Now, the entire process can be completed in one business day; cancel-
lations can be processed within one hour of submission. The WPOL has streamlined
and substantially shortened the processing time of work permit applications, and
lowered volume of paper work, resulting in a higher level of productivity and in-
creased user satisfaction.
For more information, please visit: www.mom.govt.sg
176
2006 CATEGORY 1: THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands
Rinjland Internet Election System
Rinjland District Water Board, The Netherlands
Description
Deepening democracy by enabling all to participate in free,
transparent elections by installing the Rijnland Internet Election System (RIES).
The Problem
In the Netherlands, public authorities were struggling to make voting systems more
efficient.
The Solution
In order to reduce the cost of holding elections, and allow the maximum number of
voters to participate in them, the Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland introduced the
Rijnland Internet Election System (RIES) in the fall of 2004.
RIES does not require voters to install new hardware or software; no special com-
puter equipment is required. The system is user friendly, enabling easy access to ev-
eryone, even those with limited computer literacy and skills. The purposes of RIES
are to achieve cost efficiency, ensure greater flexibility of the electoral system, as
well as to improve the overall participation rate in the election.
The Public Water Board election is the largest formal internet election in the world
so far. There are many factors and risks that need to be considered when it comes to
creating an online voting system: computer viruses, usability, confidentiality and
protection of voters personal information, as well as accessibility for the large per-
centage of the population. The new voting system had to take into consideration the
fundamental requirements of democratic elections: no person should be allowed to
vote more than once; the vote should be confidential; each valid vote should be
counted; the voters should be able to trust the system.
The mission of the Rinjland District Water Board is to solve all foreseeable problems
related to the installation of RIES. Introduction of this online election system needs
to ensure that all eligible voters can access it and that the system functions in a flaw-
less manner. Additionally, an alternate mode to cast the vote needs to be provided for
those who are unable to access or use the online system. The RIES project was suc-
cessful in meeting all of the above goals.
177
The participation in RIES is neither mandatory, nor the only option for casting a vote.
The eligible voters can choose between voting online and via mail. The system gives
an easy access to the handicapped, allowing them to cast their votes from anywhere
without getting additional help.
One of the benefits of RIES is its transparency: voters are able to check the process-
ing of their votes; they can verify the tally process; non-eligible voters can also check
the updated results of an election.
RIES has proven to be highly effective. In 2004, a survey was conducted to collect feed-
back about the e-voting system; 79% of participants preferred casting their votes via the
internet, while only 9% of voters favored the traditional ballot box voting system.
One of the major factors contributing towards the success of RIES was the multidis-
ciplinary character of the team, which was not only extremely dedicated, possessed
the right legal and technical expertise, but was also flexible and open to new ideas.
Any formal government election can adapt RIES with minimal expense and modifi-
cation; its introduction proved beneficial for both the voters and the government of-
ficials as it enabled citizens to become participants in policy-making processes. It
also aided the government to hold elections in a cost-effective, responsive, and trans-
parent manner.
178
2006 Category 2

of Public Services

Africa Zambia Masaiti District Health Mgmt. Making service delivery more efcient and responsive 180
Board, Copperbelt Province to the populations health crisis needs
Asia and India Online Delivery of Land Improving e-Government service delivery by serving 182
the Pacic Records, Govt. of Karnataka on a rst-come-rst-served basis
Europe and Canada Domestic Violence Project, Bringing justice to all citizens in an appropriate 183
North Am. Manitoba Provincial Court timely manner
Latin Am., Brazil Self-Sustainable Sanitation Efcient providing water supply to the community 185
Caribbean Systems Programme of Bahia
Zambia India Canada Brazil
179
Africa
Zambia
Masaiti District Health Management Board
Masaiti, Copperbelt Province, Zambia
Description
Combating health crises by making health services more efcient, accessible and
responsive to the needs of the population.
The Problem
HIV/AIDS has become one of the biggest public heath problems in Zambia and sub-
Saharan Africa. It is not only the main cause of premature death, but it also affects
peoples ability to work and maintain a decent standard of life.
The Solution
The primary objectives of the Masaiti District Health Management Board (MDHMB)
are to reduce maternal and infant mortality, and to decrease the high ratio of malaria,
HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis infections.
In 1997, the Masaiti District Health Management Board was appointed by the Min-
ister of Health to oversee the provision of health services. In order to improve public
services, and to enhance their quality, the Board built partnerships with other profes-
sional associations, collaborated with various organisations and enlisted support
from the community.
The Public Service Capacity Building Program (PSCAP) and the Public Service Re-
form Program (PSRP) two important initiatives of the Government of the Republic
of Zambia (GRZ) intended to transform the public service sector in order to make
it more effective and efficient.
The objectives of the programs were to improve government capacity to formulate,

implement and analyze national policies for social and economic development, en-
hance ministerial capacities to effectively manage public expenditure programs and
meet fiscal stabilization objectives, as well as make the public service more efficient
and responsive to the needs of the countrys population. The MDHMB and Planned
Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ) have been working together in order to
provide quality health services to the Masaiti community.
The PPAZ has worked in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Japanese Or-
ganisation for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP), the Zambia
180
2006 CATEGORY 2: ZAMBIA
Flying Doctor Services, the National Food and Nutrition Commission, the Tropical
Disease Research Centre, the University of Zambia, and the Ministry of Health to
implement integrated family planning, as well as nutrition and parasite control
programs. These initiatives resulted in the reduction of maternal mortality from
660 per 100,000 to 330 per 100,000 and the reduction of infant mortality from 54%
to 84%. As for health performance improvements, the TB cure rate has increased
from 63% to 74%; in family planning new patients rate has increased from
46/1,000 to 129.7/1,000; and the antenatal coverage went from 50% in 2000 to
84% in 2005. Increasing the number of professional staff was also a contributing
factor in the success of the project.
181
Asia and the Pacic

India
Online Delivery of Land Records
Government of Karnataka, Revenue Department, India
Description
Improving transparency and service delivery through e-Government by serving
citizens on a rst-come-rst-served basis.
The Problem
Two-thirds of Indias population of 53 million people live in rural areas. The primary
objectives of the Bhoomi was to improve the quality of service delivery by recording
online citizens property assets.
The Solution
The government of Karnataka implemented a project, known as Bhoomi (meaning
land in Hindi), to provide information about land records to all citizens. Before the
development of Bhoomi, 20 million records were maintained by approximately
9,000 village accountants, and it had become increasingly difficult to administer this
data. Moreover, not all the data were available. Since the land records are instruments
of social justice, they are extremely important for citizens. There are two types of
records that the administration maintains: the first type is the record of Rights, Ten-
ancy and Crops (RTC), which is used for various purposes such as obtaining crop
loans, hypothecation of land, government concessions, and subsidies; the second
type are village maps that reflect the boundaries of land parcels.
In 1999, the Indian government initiated a program to computerize the land records
across the country. The purpose of this project was to improve transparency of the
record administration, protect the records from manipulations, and increase the use-
fulness of data in the records. By doing so, the district administration would be able
to use the records for complex planning and development activities.
The government also mandated information disclosure to the public to improve trans-
parency, and to reduce corruption and manipulation at the lower government levels.
Between 2001 and 2002, the state of Karnataka finally implemented the project.
The Bhoomi project was a great success and it has recently proven to be very useful
and efficient. By March 2002, all 177 Bhoomi centres became operational and citi-
zens were able to check their land record data at a first-come-first-served basis.
182

Canada
The Domestic Violence Front-End Project
The Provincial Court of Manitoba, Canada
Description
Bringing justice to all citizens in an appropriate and timely manner.
The Problem
The criminal justice system of the Provincial Courts was ineffective, costly and
overburdened. In cases involving allegations of domestic violence, it took on aver-
age 19 months from the time a defendant made his/her first court appearance until
the date of the trial. The Provincial Court of Manitoba faced the challenge of intro-
ducing changes to its system in order to improve the quality of services and increase
their efficiency.
The Solution
In 1993, the Winnipeg Police Service implemented mandatory arrests in cases of
domestic violence as a result of a new policy aimed at ending violence against wom-
en and others who found themselves in an abusive relationship. This resulted in a
dramatic increase in the number of domestic violence cases in the Provincial Court
system, and the delay in processing these cases became a significant problem.
In 2003, the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court implemented the Domestic Violence
Front End Project. The Chief Judge formed a consultation committee across organi-
sational borders to determine how the system could be run more efficiently and more
effectively. The consultation committee involved the judiciary, the Crown prosecu-
tion, legal aid, defense bar, senior court personnel, victim services and the Winnipeg
Police Services.
This innovative project promotes public understanding of the system, reduces the
number of court appearances and the time necessary for processing charges. The first
phase of the project focused on defendants held in custody for domestic violence
charges. By March 2004, the project expanded to include defendants who were out
of custody. As a result, the number of cases brought to court has been cut in half even
though the total number of cases has remained constant.
In February 2004, there were 2,861 charges for domestic violence, and by the follow-
ing year, that number was reduced to 1,263.
183
The time between the first appearance in court to trial was reduced within one year
to an average of 14 months from 19 months. The average trial delay for a defendant
out of custody has been reduced to 11 months from 22 months. On average, a defen-
dant held in custody goes to trial six to eight weeks earlier. Overtime costs for
transporting defendants in custody were reduced by US $158,000 during 2004-2005
fiscal year.
The project has also provided counseling at the early stages of the prosecution pro-
cess to those accused of domestic violence assaults, so as to prevent repeating the
offence. In the meantime, the project ensures early contact between the prosecutor
and the victim by assigning one Crown attorney. The Front End Project has brought
significant changes into the criminal justice system in the city of Winnipeg, province
of Manitoba. The innovation has been successful and has been beneficial to both the
government officials and the community.
184

Brazil
Implementation of the Self-Sustainable
Sanitation Systems Programme
Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Humano do Estado da Bahia, Brazil
Description
Efcient providing water supply to the community of Bahia.
The Problem
The majority of the population in Bahia consists of low income households. The
local government that maintained the water supply system, was not very effective
due to a lack of resources and high maintenance costs. The challenge of the gov-
ernment of Bahia was to improve the water supply system to enhance the quality
of services to the people in Bahia.
The Solution
The Government of Bahia started the Self-Sustainable Systems Program to address
the communitys concerns and alleviate problems related to water supply and sew-
age systems maintenance. The project was sponsored by the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany through a loan agreement with Kreditanstalt Fr Wie-
deraufbau KfW Bank.
In 1995, a civil society organisation called Central, formed by the communities of

Jacobina and Seabra in Bahia, established two maintenance facilities. The organisa-
tion was responsible for educating community members in the operation and main-
tenance of the system; it also provided information about the prevention of water-
borne diseases.
In order to improve the quality of the water supply and sewerage systems, the gov-
ernment requested communitys participation in management, maintenance and
installation of the systems. The contract with the German Bank (KfW) was signed
in 1983, however little was done till 1992. The total investment was R$19.1 mil-
lion, allocated between the KFW (R$11.7 million), and the State Government
(R$7.4 million).
Since the inception of this programme, 182 simplified and conventional water supply
systems with distribution networks were installed. Also, the new project improved
the condition of 12,704 existing hygienic privies. This achievement brought positive
change to the lives of 76,000 people or 15,000 families. After ten years since the
185
programmes inception, the communities of Bahia show stable economic and finan-
cial improvement.
In addition to the ongoing efforts, a new contract with the KfW Bank contributed an
additional R$2.2 million for training of technicians. The State of Bahia invested a
total of R$700,000 to the project.
For more information, please visit: www.sedur.ba.govt.br
186
2006 Category 3
Application of Information and

Communication Technology (ICT)
in Government: e-Government

Asia and Australia Businesses Entry Point, Promoting transparency for the business community 188
the Pacic Tourism and Resources by increasing access to information
Europe and Belgium Crossroads Bank for Creating an online portal aimed at delivering 190
North Am. Belgium Social Security consolidated information on social security matters
Western United Arab e-Government Municipal Using electronic government to provide high level 192
Asia Emirates services, Dubai Municipality services to industries and businesses
Australia Belgium UAE
187
Asia and the Pacic

Australia
Businesses Entry Point
Australian Government Department of Industry
Tourism and Resources, Australia
Description
Promoting transparency for the business community by increasing access
to information.
The Problem
Unlike the private sector and non-profit organisations, government are cautious in
providing information online because of their preoccupation with privacy matters
and security issues. This was also the case in Australia.
The Solution
In late 2003, the Australian Government Department of Industry improved its trans-
parency by developing the Business Entry Point (BEP) Transaction Manager (www.
business.govt.au) to allow business communities and stakeholders to deal with gov-
ernment in an easier, cheaper, and faster way.
By using the BEP Transaction Manager, businesses can manage, find, and complete
government forms online, and access more than 5,500 transactions in federal, state,
and local governments directly on the internet. The Transaction Manager success-
fully brought together approximately 5,900 forms from federal, state, and local gov-
ernments that can now be filled out online.
The 2004 review indicated that since the setting up of the BEP, the total value of
time and cost savings were approximately US$50 million a year, which represents
fivefold more than the current BEP annual investment of around US$9 million. Cur-
rently, approximately 120 organisations are representing 180 BEP websites on a
daily basis.
This portal provides business communities and stakeholders with significant ben-
efits, and makes service delivery efficient and effective. The highest priority for
government is to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. Although BEP
does not reduce regulation itself; by providing information and various resources
online, it allows small businesses to fulfill their obligations in a much easier and
rapid way.
188
In 2004, the BEP website was used by 20% of the small business sector. The vast
majority of those users was just starting up a business and was searching for informa-
tion about the Australian Business Number (ABN), which is required by all busi-
nesses. Also, over two million users search for information about the Australian
Business Register (ABR) per month. The use of new technology and e-government
to deliver services to the private sector has added great value, and it benefits both the
government and business community.
For more information, please visit: www.business.govt.au
189

Belgium
Government Program of the Belgian Social Security
Crossroads Bank for Social Security, Belgium
Description
Creating an online portal aimed at delivering consolidated information on social
security matters.
The Problem
The main challenge was to reduce the costs and increase the efficiency of the admin-
istration of social security benefits.
The Solution
In 1991, the Crossroads Bank for Social Security (CBSS) was created to organize
efficiently and transparently information related to social security benefits by reduc-
ing administrative formalities and costs, and by providing stakeholders and politi-
cians with statistical information on social security issues. This information is rele-
vant for sound social policy-making.
The primary objective of this e-government program is to improve and reorganize

radically the service delivery processes amongst the actors in the social sector, and
between those actors on one hand and the citizens and the employers on the other
hand. This initiative also promotes information security and privacy protection so
that all the involved actors, citizens and employers, can have justified confidence in
the system.
The CBSS manages all social security offices that are connected to the network, and
that share their data through a secure system. All citizens and companies social data
are exchanged using unique identification cards. Since 1998, each Belgian citizen has
been holding a single identification number on a social identity card (so called SIS).
By 2009, all citizens should have an electronic identity card (EID), which is designed
based on SIS. The EID contains private keys and certificates used for electronic au-
thentication and the generation of electronic signatures. This national project was
initiated by the CBSS, the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry for ICT
(FEDICT). Also, since 1 January 2003, all companies have been provided with a
single identification number by the Company Register. As a result, in 2004, 380 mil-
lion electronic messages were exchanged by the direct electronic data exchange be-
tween the actors in the social sector. Citizens and employers did not have to request
190
2006 CATEGORY 3: BELGIUM
any longer forms from different offices. According to the Belgian Federal Planning
Bureau, the data exchange processes between the employers and the social security
orifices through e-government has led to an annual saving of administrative costs of
more than 1 billion a year for the employers.
The use of technology simplified administrative duties for citizens and companies,
increased efficiency of administrative procedures, and protected private information
of users.
For more information, please visit: www.ksz-bcss.fgovt.be
191
Western Asia
United Arab Emirates
e-Government Municipal Services
Dubai Municipality, The United Arab Emirates
Description
Using electronic government to provide high level services to industries
and businesses.
The Problem
A majority of this citys revenue is generated from tourism and the Jabel Ali Free
Zone (JAFZ) that offers an economic zone with profitable business and tax incentives
to corporations. The challenge faced by the government was how to develop and
improve service delivery to industries and businesses.
The Solution
Dubai City is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates with
a population of approximately one million. The purpose of the Dubai Municipality
e-services is to deliver quality services to the residents, businesses, and government
partners and clients. It also intends to reduce internal operational overhead, enhance
revenues and promote Dubais image as a commercial and touristic centre in the
Gulf region.
The implementation of DM started in July 2001, and since the launch of e-services
in October 2001, the Dubai Municipality IT Department has started offering e-ser-
vices to improve a range of service delivery for customers and clients. Currently, the
Dubai Municipality e-services programme has over 24,000 registered user organisa-
tions and online businesses, and provides 186 transactional and 195 informational
services with more than 1.4 million transactions.
The e-services cover all aspects of the Dubai Municipality such as Demarcation,
Zoning, Laboratory, Health and Environment. These services can be provided
through mobile phones as well. The Dubai Municipality also improved its assistance
services for e-service users.
According to ACNielsens online customer satisfaction study in 2004, 42% of the

users were strongly satisfied and 50% of the users were somewhat satisfied with the
support facilities that were provided for using e-services. More than 75% of the e-
services users commented that e-services of the Dubai Municipality met their re-
quirements. This Customer Satisfaction survey was conducted in order to improve
192
2006 CATEGORY 3: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
the quality of future e-services and meet the users demand. Since Dubai Citys major
revenue comes from tourism and the JAFZ, it is significant for the Dubai Municipal-
ity to improve partnerships between government agencies and business communities.
In order to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness for the users, the new objec-
tive is to deliver 90% of services through e-services by summer 2007.
For more information, please visit: www.dm.govt.ae
193
2006 Special Award
2006 Special Award in Innovation

Asia and Republic The Government Measuring the level of innovation in the public sector 195
the Pacic of Korea Innovation Index (GII) through a user-friendly web-based system
Rep. of Korea
194
2006 SPECIAL AWARD: REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Asia and the Pacic

Republic of Korea
2006 Special Award in Innovation Winner
The Government Innovation Index (GII)
The Ministry of Government Administration
and Home Affairs, Republic of Korea
Description
Measuring the level of innovation in the public sector through a user-friendly
web-based system.
The Problem
Innovation must be oriented to achieving measurable progress. The Ministry of Gov-
ernment Administration and Home Affairs developed a diagnostic tool to measure
the level of innovation in the public sector.
The Solution
The Government Innovation Index (GII), developed by MOGAHA, is a tool to mea-
sure the level of innovation achieved in the public sector. The GII is a compound in-
dex consisting of various elements that ascertain innovation efforts and results by
scientifically diagnosing numerous dimensions of innovation.
The core components of the GII include Foundation Readiness for Innovation,
Level of Active Innovation and Innovation Results. Each institution can use
the web-based system to measure and diagnose their level of innovation at vari-
ous standpoints.
The web-based system is easy to use, enables the accumulation of data and is a
superior method, advantageous for statistical analysis. The basic concept for the
GII emerged in 2004 in response to the need to assess the level of innovation in
governmental organisations. It was eventually conceived in 2005. A total of 496
public institutions, including the central government, local government agencies,
local office of education, took part in the voluntary diagnosis to measure their in-
novation level. The first round of diagnosis resulted in comprehensive information
on the level of innovation for each respective agency and their weakness in pro-
moting innovation in government. It also provided statistical, narrative explana-
tion on the innovation level according to specific areas and the innovation level in
comparison to similar agencies. Furthermore, it helped the MOGAHA, an innova-
tion-managing agency, to establish appropriate innovation strategies by under-
standing the public sectors overall innovation level and what causes successful
195
innovation. The GII is continuously improving its model and working hard to
enhance users convenience.
By conducting a comparison with other subjects, including private companies and

other countries, the future innovation index may be utilized to identify the character-
istics and level of innovation not only between the public and private sector, but also
between countries.
For more information, please visit: www.mogaha.go.kr
196
2005
United Nations
Category 1 pg 198
India Canada
Category 2 pg 202
Morocco Spain Mexico
Category 3 pg 209
Singapore Canada Mexico
197
2005 Category 1
Improvement of Transparency, Accountability,

and Responsiveness in Public Service

Asia and India Citizen-Govt. Partnership: Creating networks of local groups to discuss problems 199
the Pacic Bhagidari. NCT, New Delhi with government representatives
Europe and Canada The Vancouver Agreement, Innovative partnerships between government agencies 200
North Am. City of Vancouver and NGOs at all governmental levels
India Canada
198
Asia and the Pacic

India
Citizen-Government Partnership:
Bhagidari in New Delhi
Bhagidari Cell
Ofce of the Chief Minister
Government of NCT of Delhi, India
Description
Involving people in the decision-making processes by creating networks of local
groups to discuss policy issues with government representatives.
The Problem
The lack of public participation in formulating and/or evaluating government poli-
cies, which often results in administrative processes working in isolation and having
little impact on citizens lives.
The solution
In 2000, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi decided to in-
volve all stakeholders in transforming Delhi into a world-class capital destination.
Bhagidari, a citizen-government partnership with an innovative approach to gover-
nance was initiated. Through the Bhagidari Cell, networks of local groups such as
Resident Welfare Associations, Market and Trade Associations, Industrial Associa-
tions and non-governmental organisations have emerged as new, collective decision-
making actors. The initiative has grown from 20 citizen groups in 2000 to more than
1,600 citizen groups representing about three million people today. These networks
discuss problems hampering effective delivery of civic services with government
representatives, and then propose solutions to improve their general quality of life.
As a result, communal plans of action pertaining to civic needs, such as water supply,
sanitation, school system, power supply, urban transport, protection of the environ-
ment and security have been developed and implemented, leading to vast improve-
ments in public services benefiting all citizens.
For more information, please contact:

Mrs Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister
[email protected]
199

Canada
The Vancouver Agreement
City of Vancouver, Canada
Description
Building innovative partnerships between government agencies and non-
governmental organisations at the federal, provincial and city levels.
The Problem
By 1990, Vancouvers downtown Eastside, once a vibrant commercial and entertain-
ment district was completely paralyzed in the economic and social sense. The reason
behind was a public health crisis rampant drug use and dealing on the main streets
of the area.
The Solution
The Vancouver Agreement is an urban development initiative that promotes partner-
ships between governments, community organisations and business to make the city
a healthy, safe and economically and socially sustainable place to live and work. The
Agreement was created by the Governments of Canada, British Columbia and the
City of Vancouver, and signed in March 2000 for a five-year term; it has been subse-
quently extended till March 2010.
The Vancouver Agreement is a unique example of how greater collaboration between

governments, communities and business can be achieved. The federal, provincial and
municipal governments are working together, coordinating resources and reaching
out to the private and non-profit sectors to implement a comprehensive strategy, pro-
moting and supporting sustainable economic, social and community development.
Decisions and actions under the Vancouver Agreement are guided by principles of:
Informed decision-making that is supported by ongoing research and analysis;
Innovation in delivering solutions to improve the lives of citizens;
Respect for diverse communities in program planning and implementation;
Community engagement in decision-making processes;
Collaboration among government, business and community stakeholders; and
Accountability for public funds and transparency of processes and procedures.
The Agreements initial focus was the inner-city Downtown Eastside and its eco-
nomic, social, public health and safety challenges. Additional priorities in the Agree-
200
ments second phase are the 2010 Inner-City Inclusive Initiative in partnership with
the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter
Games and the Accessible/Inclusive cities and Communities Project in partnership
with the non-profit 2010 Legacies Now.
The Agreement is working towards the following goals in order to add value to the
collective work of the three government partners and their related public agencies
the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, British Columbia Housing and the Public
Health Agency of Canada:
Coordination: increasing the coordinated efforts of the three governments and
related public agencies towards desired changes in communities;
Innovation: increasing innovation and creativity to achieve changes in the way
public agencies carry out their mission and partner with the private and non-
profit sectors;
Policy change: identifying government and public agencies policy barriers, to
inspire community change and action, and remove or reduce these barriers;
Investment: increasing public and private investments (financial and human
resources) towards desired outcomes in community change and action; and
Monitoring and evaluation: identifying key indicators as benchmarks to moni-
tor progress and concrete accomplishments.
In pursuing these goals, the Vancouver Agreement focuses on several strategies, in-
cluding the facilitation of forums and intergovernmental task groups, the initiation of
joint public agency planning processes, and the investment of funds in specific public
agency projects.
The Agreement was formed because governments recognized that by coordinating

efforts and working more closely with each other, and with community and business
groups, they could achieve long-term, sustainable solutions.
For more information, please visit: www.vancouveragreement.ca
201
2005 Category 2

of Public Services

Africa Morocco Autonomous Estab. of Exports Quality monitoring process of fruits & vegetables for 203
Control and Coord. (EACCE) export by decentralizing exports control
Europe and Spain Public Employment Service A public employment service responsible for training 205
North Am. of Castile and Leon and promoting employment
Latin Am., Mexico Secretariat of Water, Public Work Coordinating and monitoring the hydraulic 208
Caribbean and Infrastructure Development policy to address water shortage
Morocco Spain Mexico
202
Africa
Morocco
Decentralization and expansion of the quality monitoring
process for fruits and vegetables intended for export
Autonomous Establishment of Exports Control and
Coordination (EACCE), Morocco
Description
Quality monitoring process of fruits & vegetables for export by decentralizing
exports control.
The Problem
In a hyper-competitive liberalized trade environment there was a strong need for
companies involved in export from Morocco to reduce costs and delays of supplies,
and enhance the competitiveness of domestic products.
The Solution
With the creation of the Etablissement autonome de contrle et de coordination des
exportations (EACCE) or the Autonomous Establishment for the Control and Coor-
dination of Exports, in 1986-1987, the quality control of fruit and vegetables in-
tended for export was confined to three regional centres in the port-cities of Casa-
blanca, Agadir and Nador. 800,000 to 900,000 tons of perishable products, provided
by almost 500 processing plants, were shipped to these centres. Products that did not
meet the quality standards were either returned for re-processing at the plants, or
simply rejected, with the rate of rejection varying between 10% and 50%.
By 2002-2003, however, the number of regional centres had increased to 21 and the
rejection rate had been cut to zero. The additional transaction costs had been com-
pletely eliminated with quality control of 100% of the exports taking place free-of
charge at the location of the processing plants.
With scientific support, a high tech network of laboratories and a reliable information
system that provides detailed information on export of produce and related products,
as well as trade regulation, the decentralized quality control system has managed to
reduce costs and delays of supplies thus enhancing the competitiveness of domestic
corporations. Recently, the European Union acknowledged that conformity with
marketing standards applicable to fresh fruit and vegetables had been attained by
granting EACCE the authority to perform checks prior to importing products to the
European Community.
203
The makeup of staff was revitalized by limiting recruitment to highly skilled employ-
ees, such as engineers and specialized graduates. In order to facilitate such a selective
recruitment practice, in 1997-1998 EACCE took action by offering training to staff
and voluntary early retirement. In 1999-2000, the number of specialized staff had
increased from nine in 1986-1987 to 46 in 2003-2004 while the number of adminis-
trative staff had decreased from 110 to 60 over the same period of time.
Between 1988-89 and 2002-2003, EACCE opened 18 new regional centres bringing
critical government services closer to the enterprises in need. The new control facili-
ties strongly contributed to the improvement of the working conditions at the pro-
cessing plants as well as the general hygiene in the different production processes. In
addition to these centres, laboratories conducting chemical and micro-biological
analysis and controlling packaging have been established one in each primary dis-
trict of processing.
Only through EACCEs sustained effort, and its collaboration with the private sec-
tor, has it been possible for the domestic producers of fruits and vegetables to gain
a viable access to international markets. By initially targeting priority issues, EAC-
CE employed a gradual approach to innovation. It first focused on refrigerated prod-
ucts, considered as having the greatest potential for return on investments. The de-
centralized control system was part of a second stage of this strategy where a further
developed system of control of quality and traceability was integrated into the pro-
cessing itself.
Considering that tight control measures are necessary for exporting fresh fruit and
vegetables to foreign markets, the facilitating role of EACCE in enhancing the com-
petitiveness of domestic business is likely to be of increasing importance in the fu-
ture. Moreover, the administrative innovations brought about by EACCE have
spurred similar endeavors by other agencies of the government.
The decentralization of the quality control of fruits and vegetables for exports in
Morocco shows that abandoning a previously centralized control system may have a
significant impact on the international competitiveness of domestic enterprises.
For more information, please visit: www.eacce.org.ma
204

Spain
Public Employment Service of Castile and Leon
Spain
Description
Improving the role of the public sector through the creation of the public
employment service, responsible for training prospective employees and
promoting employment.
The Problem
Castile and Leon is the largest region in Europe with a population of 2.5 million,
representing nine provinces and 2,249 municipalities. The regions vision of the fu-
ture was laid out in the Modernization Program, which aimed at involving citizens in
the administration of Castile and Leon, while building consensus and maintaining a
continuous dialogue between all of the interest groups.
The Solution
In 2003, competencies were transferred from the National Institute of Employment
(INEM), an agency under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, to the Autono-
mous Community of Castile and Leon. Set up with an initial budget of 2.6 million
provided by the State, the Modernization Program 2004 was launched to facilitate
the regional Public Employment Service (ECYL) in achieving full employment,
while at the same time providing an opportunity for Castilians and Leonese to live
and work in the region.
The Autonomous Community of Castile and Leon, the geographically largest region in
Europe, is now serviced by ECYL, which is responsible for promoting employment,
offering employment training, providing orientation and mediation in the job market.
Through the implementation of the European Employment Strategy and the Third
Regional Plan of Employment 2004-2006, the local government designed a new con-
cept for public service delivery, where human resources would be the principal en-
gine for involving citizens.
The new vision of ECYL established a holistic approach to service delivery, in which
the Service Life Cycle (SLC) became the central concept. The SLC approach com-
prises seven key actions including job market research in collaboration with private
enterprises, public organisations and various other entities in 34 of the employment
offices in the region, integration of smaller employment offices in rural areas, etc.
205
ECYLs Modernization Program of 2004 has succeeded in formalizing new methods

and services, increasing user satisfaction, improving results in employee placement,
providing new communication tools and technologies and deploying them around
the Autonomous Community.
In developing the design, deployment and assessment of the Modernization Pro-

gram, the management team used a methodology called RADAR based on the Ex-
cellence Model developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management
(EFQM). The team utilized this method to facilitate the analysis and continuous
follow-up to the planned activities, including the Service Life Cycle. As part of the
RADAR methodology, extensive assessments and reviews were conducted, thus
documenting achievements and developing a body of good practices used as a foun-
dation for the planned reform in 2005. The direct participation of the technical per-
sonnel of ECYL in the Programs design together with the ideas from interest
groups, especially the social and economic entities, allowed the management team
to respond to societal demands.
A number of actions mapped out by the RADAR methodology focused on the

importance of personal attention as a means to appropriately match demand and
supply. People who attended ECYL for the first time entered a personalized pro-
gram designed to match their specific needs and qualifications as job seekers.
The emphasis was put on identifying specific groups that had been away from the
labour market for a longer period of time, in order to target their needs. Finally,
efforts were made to provide job seekers with more detailed information about
available job profiles, thus matching the prospective employer with an appropri-
ate candidate.
A number of factors were identified as critical for the successful implementation of

the Modernization Program of 2004:
The assimilation of existing employees and the Modernization Team, consist-
ing of 83 technicians and 20 administrative assistants, through encouragement
of team work, which was imperative to the success of the Program;
The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
through a technological platform (www.empleocastillayleon.com), which en-
hanced the efficient use of resources in the Community the area is larger than
neighboring Portugal;
Active employment management adapted to the characteristics of each group,
especially those that are socially less favored, via collaboration with other in-
stitutions that will allow the optimization of available resources. This improve-
ment in inter-institutional coordination makes citizens better prepared for fu-
ture employment regulations;
206
An agile, dynamic attention to the demand and supply identified during the
first few weeks increased the ratio of candidate placement. The personalized
service, via validation of the profile demanded when choosing a position, al-
lowed for minimal resource involvement, which in turn increased the possi-
bilities of success in labor insertion; and
Standardization via documented procedures of good practices identified, tak-
ing advantage of the new technologies, allowing for an efficient deployment in
a large number of Employment Offices, all of which were deployed by the
second largest community in Europe.
For more information, please visit: www.jcyl.es
207

Mexico
Secretara de Agua
Obra Pblica e Infrastructura para el Desarrollo
Mxico
Description
Addressing the issue of water shortage by creating a government entity aimed
at coordinating and monitoring the hydraulic policy in the state of Mexico.
The Problem
The State of Mexico is the most populated region of the country. A serious water short-
age had become a critical issue due to the over-exploitation of its water-bearing strata.
The Solution
To address this crisis, and to coordinate and monitor the hydraulic policy of the State
of Mexico, the Secretara de Agua, obra Pblica e Infraestructura para el Desar-
rollo was established. This initiative led to the development of the Programa Hi-
draulico Integral del Estado, which looks at the problem in a long term perspective
and determines the approach towards water policy for the next 25 years. Up to date,
the Secretariat has successfully increased and improved water supply to the popula-
tion of the state of Mexico on a daily basis.
The initiative has vastly improved the delivery of water and now serves 13.64 million
people with an emphasis on sustained service that is equitable and reliable. Due to
the continued efforts of the Secretariat, an additional 1.9 million people have gained
access to potable water; the quality of the water is guaranteed by 1,812 testing sys-
tems. In addition, the initiative has provided millions with the benefit of a new sew-
age system.
The Integral Hydraulic Program of the State, the only one in Mexico, has created an
innovative formula, which enabled the department to improve service delivery ac-
complishing 217 public projects at the speed of one per week. They have also installed
961 kilometers of pipelines and constructed 151 systems for potable water. The pro-
gramme has initiated the construction of a macro-circuit for the distribution of potable
water, spanning the distance of 123.5 kilometers, and servicing 2.100 million citizens.
A knowledgeable staff certified for hydraulic services works efficiently, and organizes
awareness contests and exhibitions to educate students about water management.
208
2005 Category 3
Application of Information and

Communication Technology in Government

Asia and Singapore Online Application System for Using ICT to favor a positive business environment: 210
the Pacic Integrated Services (OASIS) the creation of an online platform
Europe and Canada The Canadian Consumer Online source of inter-jurisdictional information to 212
North Am. Affairs Gateway (CCIG) restore efciency in the market place
Latin Am., Mexico Government Unit of Electronics Enhancing transparency and accountability 214
Caribbean and Technological Information through technology
Singapore Canada Mexico
209
Asia and the Pacic

Singapore
Online Application System for Integrated Services (OASIS)
Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore
Description
Using ICT to favor a positive business environment: the creation of an
online platform.
The Problem
The process of visiting various agencies and filling out forms was not only cumber-
some and time consuming, but it also opened the door to red tape and lack of coordi-
nation among offices. Many of the difficulties faced by businesses resulted from
compartmentalization, i.e., individual agencies working in silos. Due to the absence
of a common platform and infrastructure, agencies lacked an effective channel for
communication and coordination.
The Solution
In order to foster a pro-enterprise environment for businesses in Singapore, the gov-
ernment initiated the Online Application System for Integrated Services (OASIS)
project. Entrepreneurs often have limited knowledge of the licenses required to start
a business. The OASIS project was initiated to create a common platform to establish
greater collaboration among agencies for the application of business licenses, as well
as a customer-centric portal of choice for users to interact and transact with the gov-
ernment to acquire licenses. The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and In-
dustry and more than 30 government agencies collaborated to present a more united
and coherent front to businesses.
A comprehensive review of the existing government policies was undertaken to re-

engineer the process. Regulatory frameworks were challenged to reduce red tape since
it was a drag on business. After the re-engineering process was completed, the average
processing time for licenses was reduced from three weeks to 12.5 days. Coupled with
the revised fees structure, savings accrued to businesses exceed $1.8 million per year.
The effective and innovative use of technology enabled agencies to perform back-
end verifications and use central databases to share information across agencies elim-
inating the duplication of information.
The Online Business Licensing Service allowed the user to search for licenses by
selecting the appropriate business activity. If the user applied for more than one li-
210
cense in one visit, the system generated a single integrated application form. The
system then intelligently routed such information to various agencies. Applicants
could pay for all the license or processing fees in one consolidated payment via on-
line credit and debit payments. Concurrent processing of different licenses reduced
the time for the applicant to receive all the required approvals saving much time.
Once an application had been approved, the email and SMS alerted the applicant of
the change in status.
The initiative provides an effective platform to purge bureaucratic inefficiencies

within many government agencies. Extensive policy reviews were conducted and
systems re-engineered to allow the average processing time for licenses to be re-
duced from three weeks to 12.5 days. In Singapore, 80% of all new businesses, ap-
proximately 30,000 enterprises annually, can now apply online through the OBLS
for one or more of the 69 licenses, which are commonly needed to start their busi-
nesses, without resorting to offline means. Equally important, throughout the entire
business-licensing process, entrepreneurs will need to access only this single portal
for all their needs. As a natural extension to the online application service, the OBLS
allow applicants to complete license renewals, updates and terminations online. Fi-
nally, 8,000 businesses have benefited from the OBLS project by applying for their
licenses online. 87% of the feedback received has been positive.
For more information, please visit: www.mti.govt.sg
211

Canada
The Canadian Consumer Affairs Gateway (CCIG)
Industry Canada, Ofce of Consumer Affairs, Canada
Description
Providing consumers with information about services, tools and resources related
to fraud, telephone scams, debt problems, product and food recalls, antenna
structures, satellite broadcasting, among others, by creating a comprehensive
online portal.
The Problem
Canadian consumers expected better access to high-quality services, as well as infor-
mation and tools to protect themselves against fraud and other related issues. Thus,
the challenge facing the Canadian Government was to make information available to
consumers regarding standards and regulations, as well as providing advisory ser-
vices. With more than 14 organisations involved in consumer protection, it was very
hard and confusing for citizens to know where to turn to.
The Solution
Globalization is not only causing rapid change and innovations in technology, but it
is also bringing about unfamiliar marketing and contractual practices. The dizzying
array of new complex products and services and unfamiliar suppliers is making it
difficult for the consumers to make informed decisions. It is also difficult to validate
the reputation of the suppliers entailing a higher financial risk. Moreover, the risk of
identity theft and other types of fraud multiplies as more commerce moves online.
The Government in Canada has been trying to restore balance to the marketplace, but
the results were not bearing much fruit as the efforts were hampered by the maze of
jurisdictions and organisational barriers that the consumers faced.
The Canadian Consumer Information Gateway was developed to deliver essential

information to the consumer via the internet. It is Canadas most extensive online
source of inter-jurisdictional information for consumers with information from
more than 450 government and non-government organisational partners. Due to a
pioneering approach to multi-jurisdictional partnerships, consumers can cut across
federal/provincial/territorial boundaries to access services through a single win-
dow. Equally important in the worlds second largest country, which spans six time
zones, is that service to consumers is offered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, re-
gardless of location.
212
The Gateway provides a menu of relevant topics, access to timely highlights and
tools to help consumers save time, money and better protect themselves from fraud
and deception. Consumers can now turn to a single Web portal and access mote than
7,000 programs, services and subjects from more than 450 government and NGO
partners. A powerful search engine and a menu of relevant topics make access to
information easy and fast. The Gateway is also equipped with telephone and in-
person service delivery channels. Each link to a partner Website is preceded by an
innovative Standard Portal Document, which is an easy to print page containing
background information on the source of the program, service or subject and con-
tact information, including telephone number, mail and, where appropriate, in-per-
son service.
The Gateway is an innovative online tool providing education and information re-
sources to consumers. Features like interactive quizzes, animated features, and cal-
culators enable consumers to do more in less time. The most powerful tool of the
Gateway is the Consumer Complaint Courier a bold transformation of how govern-
ment agencies handle consumer complaints. The Courier teaches the consumer what
steps to take to log a complaint with a business, links them to relevant information
and connects them instantly to an appropriate agency. This specific feature provides
enormous empowerment to consumers. Its innovative letter wizards help citizens to
prepare complaint letters by simply filling in a complaints template and the com-
plaints database automatically forwards the complaint to the concerned department.
The Gateway integrates knowledge from all relevant sources, and cuts the costs of
publishing and distributing information by using a one-stop shop. Citizens are em-
powered as they are better informed to make wise choices, and can complain when
services are not provided. Furthermore, they are able to protect themselves from un-
necessary risk and fraud. Despite a limited marketing budget, the Gateway received
over 350,000 visits in 2004 and in a recent online survey, 2/3 of respondents ex-
pressed a significant level of satisfaction with the Gateway. Moreover, in the same
survey, 72% of users said they would definitely return to using the portals services;
and the Complaint Courier is fast becoming the preferred complaint channel tool for
both consumers and partners alike.
It is important to mention that the initiative received the following Awards in the past:
2001: Two GTECH Distinction Awards (Gold) for both Leadership and Inno-
vative Partnerships and Alliances;
2002: Head of the Public Service Award for Excellence in Service Delivery
Service Transformation;
2002: Finalist Innovation Awards of the Commonwealth Association of Pub-
lic Administration Management; and
213
2004: CGR eAwards (Silver) for Citizen-Centric Inter-Jurisdictional Initiatives

CCIG, CCIG has also sparked significant international attention and many aspects
of the project are considered good practices of government portal development.
The CCIG case study has been presented to audiences in South Africa, Singapore,
New Zealand, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of
China and Malaysia.
For more information, please visit: www.ic.gc.ca
214
2005 CATEGORY 3: MEXICO

Mexico
Unidad de Gobierno Electronico y Politica
de Technologias de la Informacion
Government Unit of Electronics and Technological Information
Mxico
Description
Enhancing transparency and accountability through technology.
The Problem
How does the state machinery identify and implement a programme that yields mul-
tiple results counter lack of accountability, improve transparency, enhance access
of public services to millions of people and make policies more citizen-centred?
The Solution
In 2001 the Mexican Government implemented a digital governance strategy to mod-
ernize the government. One of the main goals of the Good Government Agenda was
to improve the transparency and efficiency of governance. The working programme
that was adopted had four objectives: to satisfy the social necessities of the citizen; to
convert the government into a competitive entity; to reconnect with the citizen and the
private sector; and to collaborate with a view to creating a good government. This
initiative has enhanced efficiency and led to a more citizen-centred approach to ser-
vice delivery. The programme has successfully integrated e-processing into govern-
ment operations and enhanced access to services for millions of citizens. The re-engi-
neering of the governmental process has brought in change, ensuring government
accountability and participation of citizens.
215
2004
United Nations
Category 1 pg 218
Morocco Canada Brazil
Category 2 pg 226
Cameroon Australia Austria Brazil
Category 3 pg 235
South Africa Malaysia
Category 4 pg 240
Philippines
217
2004 Category 1
Improvement of

Africa Morocco Program Provisioning Drinking Increasing school enrollment and reducing disease by 219
Water to Rural Populations providing clean water to rural populations
Europe and Canada Information Service for Responding to entrepreneurs needs by creating 221
North Am. Business Community a single-window information service
Latin Am., Brazil Citizen Assistance Creating a One-Stop-Shop centre offering full service 223
Caribbean Service Centres (SAC) for citizens administrative documents
Morocco Canada Brazil
218
Africa
Morocco
Program for Providing Water to the Rural Population
(PAGER), Secrtariat dEtat Charge de lEau
Morocco
Description
Increasing school enrollment and reducing disease by providing clean water to the
rural population.
The Problem
The country was facing the challenge of providing drinking water in the remote,
rural areas.
The Solution
The PAGER program (Program for Providing Water to the Rural Population) was
initiated in 1995. Implemented by the Secretariat of State in Charge of Water, the
programs aim was to provide drinking water to 90% of the rural population, which
translates to 31,000 villages consisting of 12 million people, by 2007. The cost of the
investment was estimated at US$1.0 billion, of which the government funded 80%
through various means.
Rural communes were responsible for the operation and maintenance of the water equip-
ment, while the implementation was undertaken by the Directorate General for Water and
the National Office of Drinking Water (ONEP). Teams at the provincial level, consisting
of three to four technicians, including one liaison, provided technical know-how and as-
sistance, as well as training in setting up associations and managing water installations.
The implementation of the PAGER has produced dramatic results. The rural popula-
tion with access to drinking water has increased form 14% in 1994 to 55% at the end
of 2003. Apart from the obvious benefits of accessibility to clean water and adequate
sanitation, such as rapidly declining waterborne diseases, PAGER has also had a
huge impact on primary school enrollment in rural areas (especially for girls).
Similarly, women in rural areas are no longer limited by tasks related to procuring
water. Also, 500,000 workdays have been so far created each year because of the
proliferation of PAGER projects.
A financial partnership was forged between the State, the rural communes, and the
users to implement PAGER. Of the 80% contributed by the State, 25% originated
219
from the general budget, 45% was foreign capital in the form of loans or grants, and
10% was paid by a national fund financed by surtaxes levied on the use of water by
urban population. 5% was contributed by users themselves. Although this may have
not seemed significant, it was crucial to create ownership among the users and it
guarantees sustainability of the initiative.
PAGER engaged rural communities by getting them to participate, thus conferring

the responsibility of operation and maintenance to the rural communes as primary
users of services. Community members were actively involved throughout the
process of establishing installations by expressing their needs and opinions on
technical proposals. These proposals were the result of a dialogue, which took
into consideration the circumstances, resources, and organisational capacities of
the rural communities.
The process gave local communities a sense of ownership and at the same time pre-
pared them to operate and maintain the installations autonomously. The latter is stip-
ulated in the contract agreed on between the community and the people on one side,
and the provider of the services and the State on the other. The contract also defines
the prerequisites that must be fulfilled, such as the establishment of an association of
users, and the collection and mobilization of financial resources before the actual
implementation of the project.
To ensure the sustainability and maintenance of the infrastructure, the government

has decided to involve the National Authority of Potable Water (Office national de
leau potable ONEP) in managing the project.
For more information, please visit: www.matee.govt.ma
220

Canada
Information Service for Business Community
The Network of Canada Business Service Centre (CBSC)
Description
Addressing the needs of the business community through the creation of a
single-point information service delivered across multiple channels aimed at
responding to Canadian entrepreneurs needs.
The Problem
In accordance with the Canadian Constitution, government programs, services and
compliance requirements for the business community are dealt with by federal or
provincial/territorial levels of government making it difficult for entrepreneurs to
easily access information from a panoply of sources.
The Solution
The CBSC was created to address the needs of the business community, mostly small
and medium enterprises, for a single-point information service delivered across mul-
tiple channels. The overarching achievement of the network of Canada Business Ser-
vice Centres is facilitating access to government programs, services and compliance
requirements for the business community. It is estimated that 150,000 new busi-
nesses are created every year; 2.4 million citizens representing 14% of the total la-
bour force are self-employed, with 1/5 being new Canadians. Therefore, most of the
new businesses have little knowledge of all the regulations and procedures for start-
ing an enterprise. They need a one stop centre with comprehensive and accurate in-
formation about issues such as: how to start a new business, what are the regulations
and legislation pertaining to a specific sector, how and where to apply for financing,
how to contact suppliers, how to export, etc.
The CBSC addresses the need for obtaining information through a single-window
information service delivered across multiple channels. This service is dynamically
developed with input and feedback from:
Advisory Boards with representatives from a spectrum of business interests;
Periodic evaluations that take a consistent national look at the views of clients,
partners and staff regarding gaps and relevance of the service; and
Service standards and complaints/feedback mechanisms for each access
channel.
221
The CBSC has a variety of strategies to ensure equity of service access to all entre-
preneurs:
Teletypewriter/Telephone Service for the hearing impaired: Braille, audio and
enlarged print format on request; wheelchair friendly locations; graphic-free
view capability on websites;
Special outreach activities directed to audiences that may be unaware of or
uncomfortable accessing government services, e.g., new Canadian and native-
Canadian entrepreneurs; and
Services are free of charge.
In recent years the CBSC has grown to become a large network involving all levels
of government with a database on regulations and other types of information acces-
sible to customers. The CBSC has also created some online courses to better educate
the business community in areas such as development and implementation of a busi-
ness plan, or preparation of a request for bank loan.
Speed, courtesy and accessibility are key principles of CBSC service delivery. Cli-
ents choose their preferred access channel: self-service website and web tools or as-
sisted services such as toll-free info line, e-mail, or customer service, called Talk to
Us. CBSC service standards pledge courtesy, respect, timeliness and accuracy. It is
in that respect that the CBSC aims at answering each telephone inquiry within three
rings and with one day for an e-mail request.
For more information, please visit:

www.cbsc.org/English/services.cfm#standards
222

Brazil
Citizen Assistance Service Centres (SAC)
General Board for Development of Public Services
and Public Service Delivery, Brazil
Description
Innovating public service delivery by creating a One-Stop-Shop Centre, to provide
citizens with easy access to administrative documents administrative documents.
The Problem
Bahia is the poorest state in Brazil, with 13 million inhabitants, covering 564,273 sq.
km and 417 municipalities. Providing adequate coverage in public services has al-
ways been a challenge in this vast territory.
The Solution
In 1995, the Bahia State Government started the implementation of the first SAC
Unit. The SAC is a pioneering initiative that introduces an innovative concept in the
delivery of public services. By horizontally integrating functions of public services
and forging partnerships with the private sector, One-Stop-Shop Centres have been
created to offer citizens the services they need most.
The SAC are multi-purpose complexes, with partners ranging from federal, state
and municipal agencies, to private companies that offer various services to citizens.
They provide quality services by housing different public service agencies in the
same space, with a common area for support services. The centres comprise of a
back-office, a service delivery area where offices belonging to multiple agencies
are located, an area for ancillary services, and a reception to identify, and organize
the requests for each and every of the services offered. They have been placed in
convenient locations such as shopping malls and major public transportation hubs.
They offer tremendous time savings, while delivering services with greater cour-
tesy and professionalism.
The Mobile SAC Documents unit provides highly sought-after services such as issu-
ance of birth certificates, ID cards, and labor IDs. It not only delivers services to re-
mote areas, but also takes into account the general lack of government resources the
government cannot open units everywhere and mobility means economy and flexibil-
ity. The Mobile Health SAC unit offers ophthalmology services, including eyeglass-
es assembly, a general clinic, gynecological services with cytology lab, and dental
223
services. The mobile units, which remain for two weeks in each visited community,
carry PCs that contain patients data. The SAC system comprises of 22 fixed units,
two Mobile Sac Documents units and nine Mobile Health SAC units.
The SAC was created to render services to everyone in a fair manner, and to elimi-
nate any form of discrimination based on social status, culture, race or religion. All
citizens have equal access to services offered by SAC, which are provided in an ef-
ficient, timely and courteous manner. SAC has proven great efficiency with some
units attending to more than 10,000 requests a day.
State-of-the-art technologies and an innovative approach were used by the govern-

ment agencies involved in the project. An informational campaign appraised citizens
of the availability of the SAC services; it also provided information about the phi-
losophy and identity of the SAC. Surveys were conducted to find out about the ade-
quacy, design and standard of the services rendered. Communication was crucial for
the success of the entire process: the language used was simplified and customized
for each specific service.
Different SACs were created to address different community needs and their vary-
ing characteristics. Provision of services was tailored to meet the needs of users in
both form and content. Special importance was given to the improvement of the
quality of service delivery and to innovative ways of bringing services to people
through new technology and partnerships with other agencies. These initiatives took
into account the needs of people in the remote areas through developing outreach
and community liaisons.
With a focus on human resources, the management board stimulated each state agen-
cy to select the best and most motivated personnel. Training courses in human re-
sources, psychology and logistics, increased staffs knowledge and efficiency. SACs
philosophy was integrated into the partners management system.
Over the years, SAC centres have become extremely popular with the public as they
provide an easy and regular, reliable access to services. The great success of the SAC
stems from the fact that it operates through mobile and specialized units.
The SAC technology has garnered praise and recognition around the world. Since
1997, 15 Brazilian states have implemented public services delivery centres using
SAC know-how or copying its model. Once implemented, positive outcomes, higher
levels of citizen satisfaction and greater efficiency in delivering public services are
readily apparent wherever these techniques have been adopted.
Other organisations have adopted SAC techniques, especially in the realm of cus-
tomer service. Satisfied users include the Department of Public Security and OSID,
an NGO providing health services.
224
Many countries, such as China, Belgium, El Salvador, Cape Vert, Trinidad and To-
bago, Morocco, Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, So Tom & Principe, Honduras, Ni-
geria, Mozambique, Philippines, Angola and Guinea Bissau, have shown an interest
in SAC techniques. Technical cooperation agreements have been signed with Portu-
gal, the city of Bogot, Nicaragua and the Provincia of Misiones in Argentina to
implement similar projects. Portugal opened its first centre in April 1999 in Lisbon
with the assistance of SAC staff. Today there are operating eight Lojas do Cidadao,
so-called citizen stores.
For more information, please visit: www.saeb.ba.govt.br
225
2004 Category 2
Improvement of the Quality

of the Public Service Process

Africa Cameroon The AQUARIUM Minimizing corruption in public service through a new 227
Project of Sigipes HR management system
Asia and Australia Professionalism in Financial Enhancing accountability and promoting excellence in 229
the Pacic and Personnel Management public employment management
Europe and Austria Administration Reform project, Making each citizen a King by promoting 231
North Am. District Admin. Zell am See a client-oriented mentality
Latin Am., Brazil Participatory Budget in the Dening priorities in the citys budget by 233
Caribbean City of Belo Horizonte involving citizens in budgetary process
Cameroon Australia Austria Brazil
226
2004 CATEGORY 2: CAMEROON
Africa
Cameroon
The AQUARIUM Project of Sigipes
Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reform
Cameroon
Description
Simplifying the process of human resources management, promoting transparency
and minimizing corruption in public services.
The Problem
The government was faced with a variety of issues, including problems related to
administering and paying employees, and managing individual personnel and gen-
eral human resources.
The Solution
In 2000, the Cameroon Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reform (MIN-
FORPA) launched a project named AQUARIUM of SIGIPES to decentralize the
management of civil service personnel and enable civil servants to obtain informa-
tion related to their payments, leave, etc. AQUARIUM of SIGIPES is an electronic
space (physically symbolized by a public room) where SIGIPES makes information,
payments and administrative files available.
This innovation has not only simplified the process of dealing with personnel cas-
es, but also promoted transparency and minimized the incidence of corruption
among public servants. The project is part of the overall reform of Cameroons
public administration aimed at modernizing the civil service in order to increase
flexibility, accountability and transparency. There are four main principles behind
this initiative:
Boosting efficiency and achieving results that match the expectations of public
service users;
Implementing good governance in public service;
Raising the responsibility and responsiveness of civil servants; and
Rationalizing public sector organisations and the management of their employees.
Note that SIGIPES is a working tool for civil servants whereas AQUARIUM helps
public service clients access information on their profession and payments from any-
where, either Cameroon or abroad. AQUARIUM operates as down-top architecture
227
where users access the information they need, such as copies of administrative acts.
SIGIPES data is grouped in three categories: profession and payments of petitioning
clients, circulation of files for petitioning clients and information for the general
public, such as vacancy notices.
Finally, it is no longer necessary for clients to be physically present to get their files,
promoting a maximum degree of transparency in government.
For more information, please email: [email protected]
228
Asia and the Pacic

Australia
Stronger Accountability and Professionalism in Financial
and Personnel Management in Australian Public Service
Australian Public Service Commission, Australia
Description
Modernizing the public service by creating an employment framework that
enhances accountability and promotes excellence in the public sector.
The Problem
The major challenge of the government was to increase efficiency, transparency and
effectiveness of the public service.
The Solution
The Australian Government embarked on a major re-conceptualisation of the role of
government. New Public Management was the guiding theory adopted by the gov-
ernment to reinvent itself, especially in light of pressures exerted by the rapid pace of
technological advances, as well as ensuing economic, social and political changes.
National institutions were expected to be agile, flexible and innovative in order to
accommodate these changes. Within this context, the Australian Public Service Com-
mission took a leading role in a range of supportive initiatives to create a public ser-
vice system that is robust and sustainable. Among its initiatives, it reinforced the
devolution of authority enacted by previous administrations and emphasized the im-
portance of accountability, capacity building and promotion of excellence in the pub-
lic sector.
In 1996, the Federal Government entrusted the Commission with the responsibility
of promoting a public service employment framework that would engender public
confidence in public administration. After an extensive review, in 1999, the Com-
mission developed and implemented the Public Service Act, which provided for
increased devolution and flexibility of APS agencies, balanced by accountability
within a clearly defined set of shared APS Values and a Code of Conduct for all
APS employees.
The Public Service Act reinforced the devolution of authority brought about by pre-
vious financial and personnel management reforms and provided the flexibility and
agility needed for a strongly performing public service. It also promoted stronger
accountability and ensured continued professionalism and enhanced capacities. Each
229
agency in the Australian Public Service was entrusted with the power to manage di-
rectly employment processes and was encouraged to align its staffing, its perfor-
mance management systems and service delivery arrangements against the business
objectives set by the elected government. Each agency was made accountable for its
performance, through its Minister, to Parliament.
The Commission focused on improving leadership capacities to respond in an effec-

tive way to the rapidly changing external environment and increased complexity, and
to bolster public confidence in the APS. A Human Resource Capability Model was
developed to enhance the skills of APS employees and to improve HR outcomes for
individual agencies. In particular, the programme intended to help HR people focus
on their development needs and to assist Agencies in defining the skills required
when looking for HR people.
Service Charter Awards were initiated to recognize and encourage agencies high
standards of service to the public. APS agencies, which provide services are required
to implement a service charter. The Client Service Charter Principles require, inter
alia, client service standards and complaints and feedback mechanisms in all service
charters. The principles also focused on monitoring and reporting performance
against client service standards, and recognizing the needs of diverse client groups.
The State of the Service Report was used as a tool to strengthen the evaluation pro-
cess. The employee survey provided a reality check against the expectations of man-
agers. The Commissions strategy was centred on practical products and guidance for
improvement across the Australian public service in leadership capability and suc-
cession management, performance management, learning development, work force
planning, and human resource capability.
For more information, please visit: www.apsc.govt.au
230

Austria
Administration Reform Project
Zell am See District Administration, Austria
Description
Every Citizen is King: Treating citizens the way they deserved by transforming
public administration into a client-based organisation.
The Problem
The district administration had to undertake a thorough modernization in order to
become more citizen-oriented.
The Solution
The Zell am See District Administration has undergone a remarkable transition from
a public office to a customer-oriented service centre for public affairs. The adminis-
tration has been widely recognized for the quality of services it provides to the public
and for bringing innovation to the public sector, for instance by utilizing advanced
cost-benefit analysis techniques.
The Zell am See District Administration is the decentralized organisational unit of

the central and regional government of the province of Salzburg, responsible for ap-
proximately 60,000 inhabitants. Over the past decade, concrete efforts have been
made to thoroughly and consistently modernize the administration. Today all of the
administrations activities and processes are citizen-oriented and make ample use of
modern management strategies and tools. Among the many factors that brought
about this change, adopting a broad, holistic approach to the whole modernization
process was certainly the most important ingredient of success. Specifically, this in-
volved examining all the processes, procedures and personnel and deciding upon the
optimum level of resource deployment to achieve the objective of serving the public
in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Other steps included adopting
advanced cost and management accounting techniques to ensure that measurement
of costs and benefits could be carried out in a scientific and objective way.
The aim of this project was to make the administration a citizen-friendly service en-
terprise, which delivered its services in a cost-conscious manner. An integrated ap-
proach to reform was adopted, transforming the administration into a learning or-
ganisation. A culture of trust, openness and partnership was fostered.
In addition to classic personnel development measures and incentive systems, real
231
emphasis was placed on a culture of trust. Buy-in from all executives and employees
was imperative; this was obtained through a consultative and inclusive process. All
employees were empowered by being actively integrated in the modernization pro-
cess and encouraged to contribute ideas. Delegation of tasks at appropriate levels
created a real sense of empowerment among the employees. Offering training in
relevant areas (such as conflict resolution) enhanced the knowledge base of the indi-
viduals who had to carry out specialized tasks.
The use of information technology was seen as a central enabler, and back in 1996
(long before the internet was widely used) the administration launched their own
website. The website not only provides information and downloadable documents,
but also allowed some applications to be completed online. By implementing the
objective Every Citizen is King the administration transformed itself into a custom-
er-focused organisation where staff thought of citizens as customers.
For more information, please visit: www.salzburg.gv.at
232

Brazil
Belo Horizonte Participatory Budget
Belo Horizonte City Hall, Brazil
Description
Involving citizens in the municipal administration by creating a Participatory
Budget project.
The Problem
Citizens were becoming increasingly disinterested in public affairs, leading to feel-
ings of isolation and disengagement.
The Solution
Belo Horizonte created the Participatory Budget in 1993, a unique example of con-
ceptual innovation, in which regular citizens and regional delegates participated in
defining the citys spending priorities. The project mainly benefited the lower social
economic classes and sought to engage citizens in municipalities and states governed
by the Workers Party. As a result, the municipal administration developed policies
and city services that were more alert to peoples needs and helped vulnerable citi-
zens in poorer areas.
Citizens suggested hundreds of projects to develop service delivery and improve

overall quality of life. Tours were organized so that city representatives could evalu-
ate proposed projects and choose the best candidates for funding. Citizens voted on
investment priorities in various areas such as education, health, housing, infrastruc-
ture, recreation, sports and culture. After creating a short list, the Regional Work
Plan, Inspection and Follow-up Commissions (COMFORCAS) worked to guarantee
that the projects were properly implemented. Individual projects in cities and slums
improved access to public services like garbage collection and public transportation,
and also helped remedy social problems, minimize the impact of natural catastrophes
and eradicate diseases generated by poor sanitation.
Thanks to Belo Horizontes efforts, children and adults can enjoy new public spac-
es for sports and leisure activities. Moreover, the construction of health centres and
schools has greatly improved access to better health and education opportunities.
The Participatory Budget initiative required changes to existing budget rules and
the implementation of new planning instruments. By including wider sectors of
society in budgetary discussions and deliberations, the project team was also able
233
to elaborate a variety of indicators related to social vulnerability and quality of life.

In addition, this initiative required the entire municipal administration to look at
problems on a more local level. By some estimates, Belo Horizontes Participatory
Budget has mobilized over 220,000 people, the majority belonging to the less priv-
ileged classes.
Belo Horizonte is administered by a coalition of political parties, social militants and

civil society leaders. Today the city has a democratically elected administration,
which counts among its principles popular participation in city management. Citi-
zens identify needs, help allocate resources and prioritize investments, all of which
helps to orient city planning.
The institutional reforms behind the Participatory Budget programme has helped
solve the crisis of representative democracy. The project stands as an important op-
portunity for direct community participation in local administration.
For more information, please visit: www.pbh.govt.br
234
2004 Category 3
Innovations in Public Service

Africa South Mobile Community Service Centre, Establishing a rural mobile community safety centre to 236
Africa Limpopo Province Police provide visible and accessible police services
Asia and Malaysia NPC Interactive e-Benchmark Developing an IT-based benchmarking system 238
the Pacic Database for Benchmarking to speed up data collection and computation
South Africa Malaysia
235
Africa
South Africa
Mobile Community Service Centre
South African Police Service
Limpopo Province
Description
Establishing a Rural Mobile Community Safety Centre to provide citizens with
reassurance through a more visible police presence.
The Problem
The Northern Province of South Africa is one of the poorest areas in the country
where 89% of the population lives in rural areas and 46% of its inhabitants is unem-
ployed. The province had a preponderance of social crimes, many of which were
committed against women and children. The challenge was how to deal with these
crimes given the limited presence of police in many rural areas, which additionally
lacked infrastructure and other resources.
The Solution
The objective of the governmental program was to deliver services efficiently, while
avoiding any discrimination against particular groups. The government worked un-
der the premise that making public services available to all citizens is a fundamental
pillar of a civilized and democratic society. Therefore, meeting the basic needs of all
citizens was one of the five key programs of the governmental Reconstruction and
Development Program (RDP).
In July 1999, the South African cabinet resolved to make improvements in public
services a key priority. Particular importance was given to improving services in rural
and remote communities. One of the main objectives of the Ministry of Public Ser-
vices was to empower civil servants to operate in a more flexible way by working in
collaboration with the private sector and NGOs.
Social and political transformations in South Africa required a new vision for establishing
a safe and secure environment for its citizens. Since the police was facing budget cut-
backs, building new stations and recruiting new members was not possible. The challenge
was to do more with less, and it was precisely this principle, which informed the deci-
sion to establish the Rural Mobile Community Safety Centre as a sort of police station on
wheels. The Rural Mobile Community Safety Centre is a realistic, long-term solution to
provide a more visible and accessible police presence within rural communities.
236
Since resources were not available to hire more police officers in the rural areas nor
were police stations reallocated or built near rural areas, older vehicles were modi-
fied to reach these distant locations, bringing justice to the door steps of the people.
Officers assigned to the Mobile Services visited villages on a prearranged schedule
to address residents problems and also provided additional services such as crime
prevention, victim empowerment, registration of case dockets in rape cases and mak-
ing arrests for social and other crimes.
These mobile community centres were designed especially to service long time mar-
ginalized communities. The projects aim was to restore hope and trust in the govern-
ments capacity to reach out to people in rural areas and fight crime. Village chiefs
were consulted during each visit and kept visit registers, which officers signed on
their daily visits. The program was so successful that when the time came to move
mobile units to the next village, chiefs eagerly requested extensions.
For more information, please visit: www.saps.org.za
237
Asia and the Pacic

Malaysia
National Productivity Corporation Interactive
e-Benchmarking Database for Benchmarking Communities
National Productivity Council Corporation, Malaysia
Description
Developing an IT-based system of benchmarks to speed up data collection to
improve public and private sector performance.
The Problem
Prior to the introduction of the e-benchmarking system, data collection was mainly
accomplished using the postal system, via questionnaires that were delivered by
mail. Data verification and validation was conducted through telephone interviews
and site visits. Data entry, computation, ranking and benchmarking were done manu-
ally by research assistants using spread sheets. These processes were time consum-
ing, costly and subject to human error. As a result, benchmarking reports could not
be delivered effectively to the participating industries for immediate use in decision
making processes.
The Solution
The government of Malaysia realized that in the age of ICT applications and internet,
innovation, creativity and more efficient ways of data collection are instrumental to
ensuring that only accurate data are used in decision making processes. Therefore,
the government decided to allocate development funds to promote benchmarking in
the private and public sectors through the National Productivity Corporation (NPC).
The objective of this initiative was to develop world class companies in Malaysia, to
promote a culture of excellence, and enhance productivity.
Since 1998, the NPC has been promoting benchmarking and working closely with
various industry associations and government agencies. To assist the industries
achieve higher productivity and strengthen their international comparative advan-
tage, the NPC created a web-based database tool to improve data collection, facilitate
effective communication among the benchmarking communities, and benchmark
productivity in manufacturing and agriculture, as well as extend such services to
other sectors of the economy. This new system allows industries to conveniently type
in data, compute indicators, rank performance and benchmark comparisons online.
Confidentiality of industry data is secured by a password.
238
2004 CATEGORY 3: MALAYSIA
NPC champions the promotion of benchmarking of good practices in the public and
private sectors using various approaches, such as training, system development, sem-
inars, best practice forums, case studies, surveys, and networking, both locally and
internationally. Sharing of knowledge, including international good practices was
further enhanced by the application of a Benchmarking Online Networking Database
(BOND), e-benchmark, posters and publications. The interactive e-benchmarking
system is a database developed within the Benchmarking Online Networking Data-
base (BOND). As a web-based tool, the e-benchmarking system was able to expedite
data collection for real time comparisons. BOND provides the industries with infor-
mation on the benchmarking processes, terms and definitions. The BOND database
aggregates data on productivity statistics and benchmarks, and categorizes it accord-
ing to the industries, sectors, processes and years of reference. It facilitates sharing
of industry good practices by displaying practices of past award winners, best in
class, case studies and TQM best management practices.
To ensure continuous improvement in the public sector, the Malaysian Administra-

tion Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) of the Prime Minis-
ters Department created a brochure entitled Guidelines on Implementing Bench-
marking in the Public Service, which outlined the importance of benchmarking for
the Malaysian public sector. It became the main driver of benchmarking activities in
public agencies and local governments.
Furthermore, the NPC consultants were sent for training to leading benchmarking
establishments such as the American Productivity and Quality Centre in United
States and the Centre for Inter-firm Comparisons in the United Kingdom. An Austra-
lian benchmarking consultant was also commissioned to assist NPC in initiating
benchmarking processes. This pool of benchmarking experts became the prime mov-
ers in the Malaysian Benchmarking Service (MBS).
For more information, please visit: www.npc.org.my
239
2004 Category 4
Application of Information
and Communication Technology
in Local Government

Asia and Philippines i-Governance, Creating an electronic governance programme aimed 241
the Pacic City Government of Naga at encouraging participation in governance
Philippines
240
2004 CATEGORY 4: PHILIPPINES
Asia and the Pacic

Philippines
i-Governance
City Government of Naga
Philippines
Description
Creating an electronic governance programme to encourage participation in
governance processes and improve governmental transparency.
The Problem
Naga is currently one of the Philippines fastest growing local economies, with an
average household income 42% higher than the national average. Yet in 1988, Naga
was stagnating. Business confidence was low, unemployment was on the rise and tax
collection was in decline. Low economic growth resulted in steep increase in crime;
approximately 20% of the citys population was homeless. The delivery of basic
health and education services was negatively affected.
The Solution
The citys transformation to become one of the most livable cities in the country
can be attributed, in large part, to the government policies implemented over the past
15 years. The Empowerment Ordinance, passed in 1995, established a functional
framework for partnerships with more than one hundred NGOs and civic organisa-
tions in the Naga City Peoples Council (NCPC). NCPC representatives sat in all
local bodies and legislative councils. They could observe, propose legislation, vote
and participate in policy discussions, as well as design, implement and evaluate city
government programs. Individual citizens were encouraged to participate in deci-
sion-making processes, in order to promote long term sustainability and community
ownership of local initiatives. Despite participatory systems put in place by the Em-
powerment Ordinance, many Nagueons remained, however, uninvolved in local gov-
ernance issues. Since for operational reasons working partnerships were biased to-
wards organized groups, many citizens remained removed from the activities of the
city government. The i-Governance sought to overcome these limitations by inviting
public dialogue and civic participation in governing the city.
The i-Governance initiative of the city government of Naga is a people-driven

program that promotes participation of all groups in society, especially the vulnera-
ble, with the objective to improve governance processes, local service delivery and
overall attractiveness of the city.
241
i-Governance engenders citizen engagement by improving access to information on

government policies and operations through ICT and non-ICT tools. For example,
the Naga City Citizens Charter is a guide book providing information on the proce-
dures for obtaining various services, the response time for their delivery and the of-
ficers responsible for the service. The Charter catalogs more than 150 services and
contains maps showing locations of the offices responsible for a specific service. The
information is also disseminated through local newspapers and broadcast media.
Naga was among the very first local governments to use the internet, which was cho-
sen as an engagement tool because of its robust growth the number of internet con-
nections in the city grows by at least 91% annually. The NetServe is the web equiva-
lent of the citizens Charter containing downloadable forms used in transactions with
various agencies; Share Naga promotes information about the city government op-
erations; Sell Naga provides essential information about the citys marketability and
competitive edge, by extensively discussing the citys investments and tourism as-
sets; Star Naga provides information on awards accorded to the city government,
publicizes governance innovative practices and serves as a forum for discussing the
citys governance advocacies.
Transparency and accountability is increased through improved access to information

regarding the responsibilities of government agencies, processes and the operational
standards for the delivery of services. Citizens are encouraged to monitor govern-
ments and officers performance. By enhancing transparency mechanisms, the pro-
gram has contributed to savings of at least PhP 10M a year in the city procurement
system. By enhancing consciousness about performance standards, it has allowed
Naga to do more with less. In fact, despite budget reductions in 2003, the city was
able to more actively pursue its growth plan and address the equity-building concerns.
In sum, i-governance has become a tool for equitable service delivery and has involved
a number of strategies, including promoting progressive development, with growth
with equity as its core philosophy, and fostering equal access to public services.
For more information, please visit: www.naga.govt.ph
242
2003
United Nations
Category 1 pg 244
Singapore Greece Bolivia Oman
Category 2 pg 253
Spain Mexico Egypt
Category 3 pg 261
Zambia Rep. of Korea Canada Italy Chile Lebanon
243
2003 Category 1
Improvement of

Asia and Singapore Infocom Development Building condence amongst businesses and 245
the Pacic Authority, TrustSg Programme consumers so as to spur e-Commerce growth
Europe and Greece Call Centre 1502, Obtaining ofcial documents made easy by integrating 248
North Am. Ministry of Interior services into a One-Call-Shop
Latin Am., Bolivia National Customs Introducing a client oriented service culture by 250
Caribbean Services of Bolivia reforming the countrys Custom Administration
Western Oman Cleanliness of Dealing with the issue of urban cleanliness by 252
Asia Muscat Municipality providing and maintaining municipal services
Singapore Greece Bolivia Oman
244
Asia and the Pacic

Singapore
Infocom Development Authority (IDA)
National Trust Council and TrustSg Programme
Singapore
Description
Building condence amongst businesses and consumers in order to spur
e-Commerce growth in Singapore.
The Problem
To encourage accreditation of reliable e-commerce websites through the use of trust
marks and third-party certification processes.
The Solution
The process started with the establishment in 2001 of the National Trust Council
(NTC) and the conceptualization of the TrustSg Program, a nationwide trust mark
initiative aimed at addressing the private sectors concerns. Since the launch of the
TrustSg Program, NTC and IDA have been actively accrediting online businesses as
well as organizing and supporting various marketing activities to boost consumer
confidence in online transactions. Existing and potential Trust Mark providers such
as trade associations, chambers of commerce and businesses are encouraged to ac-
credit themselves under the TrustSg Program. If their Code of Practice meets the
standards set by NTC, they will be appointed as Authorized Code Owners (ACO) and
given the authority to award the TrustSg seal to the online businesses within their
industry. NTC, with the support of IDA, has also put in place an effective system to
answer questions and complaints. ACOs affiliated in the TrustSg Program are re-
quired to come up with a way to address questions involving its accredited busi-
nesses. The mechanism must include either internal procedures for answering com-
plaints or other procedures facilitating Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
methods. NTC is charged to specifically look into areas of trust marks, risk and fraud
management, as well as good practices in e-commerce.
Its main objectives are to:

Help businesses and consumers increase trust and confidence in e-commerce;
Develop and promote the TrustSg Program;
Develop and promote the best e-business practices and trustworthy e-com-
merce environment;
245
Develop a Risk Management Framework to reduce breaches in information

security in e-commerce transactions;
Identify and make recommendations for policies to promote trust and reduce
fraud in e-commerce transactions;
Enhance consumers and businesses confidence in e-commerce through semi-
nars, case studies and research.
The strategic goal of the Infocom Development Authority (IDA) is to promote a

vibrant and competitive Infocom industry in Singapore, one that attracts foreign
investment and sustains a long-term GDP growth through innovative Infocom tech-
nology development.
IDA seeks to achieve these objectives as the national Infocom master planner and
developer, and the Government CIO:
The Infocom Industry Champion: One of IDAs key responsibilities is creat-
ing a conducive, innovative, and competitive Infocom environment that is both
pro-consumer and pro-business. The IDA develops policies, standards, codes
of practices and advisory guidelines for the Infocom industry. One main objec-
tive is to encourage effective competition in the telecommunications market in
Singapore. It monitors local and global Infocom market trends and regulatory
measures, while remaining technologically neutral, to ensure that Infocom
policies and regulatory frameworks remain effective and relevant in a dynamic
and rapidly changing world;
The Infocom Master-Planner and Developer: Singapore has an internation-
al reputation for the effective use of Infocom technology to drive economic
development and social growth. As part of the Infocom master-planning for
Singapore, IDA ensures that a robust national Infocom infrastructure is in
place to meet the needs of the government, businesses and people. Moving
forward with the iN2015 master-plan, IDA seeks to build the next generation
national Infocom infrastructure that combines complementary wired and wire-
less networks. The wired broadband network or Next Generation National
Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) will deliver ultra-high broadband sym-
metric speeds of 1Gbps and above to all homes, offices and schools, while the
Wireless Broadband Network (WBN) will offer pervasive connectivity around
Singapore. IDA promotes the adoption of Infocom technology as a key enabler
to enhance Singapores economic competitiveness. It works with both public
and private organisations to spearhead the strategic use of Infocom, encourag-
ing innovation as well as research and development in emerging areas such as
digital media. IDA has an excellent track record for master planning Infocom
projects for the government. It also works with the industry to harness Infocom
246
technology to enable development in education, healthcare, manufacturing, lo-

gistics, tourism, entertainment and finance; and
The Government CIO: The IDA functions as the Chief Information Officer
(CIO) of the Singapore Government. In this capacity, it helps in the running of
an effective and efficient government. As the Government CIO, the IDA is re-
sponsible not just for master planning, but also for project management and
implementation of various Infocom systems. It oversees IT standards, policies,
guidelines and procedures, and manages the security of critical Infocom infra-
structures. This key role involves conceptualization, development, implemen-
tation and management of government-wide IT infrastructures and application
systems.
For more information, please visit: www.ida.govt.sg
247

Greece
Call Centre 1502, Ministry of Interior
Public Administration and Decentralization, Greece
Description
Obtaining ofcial documents by integrating services into a One-Call-Shop.
The Problem
Before 1998, in order to obtain any official document, including birth certificates,
passports, etc., citizens had to go to specific offices, and this was especially difficult
for the disabled, elderly and people living in remote areas.
The Solution
The 1502 Call Centre, which gives citizens the opportunity to submit applications
over the phone, was first launched in February 1998. Initiated by a decree of the
Greek Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization, the service
provides citizens with certificates and other administrative documents through a
one-call shop.
Initially, the service provided the five most frequently requested certificates; that
number has later increased to 21. By the end of 2001, citizens submitted more than
870,000 applications, and by September 2003, the Call Centre had received more
than 2,860,000 calls, while the total number of applications rose to 1,430,000.
The four certificates most often asked for are: criminal/police records (30%), recruit-
ment status (15%), birth, death, marriage and family status (10%) and passport ap-
plications (5-8%). In integrating services by consolidating operations into a single
point of entry, the Call Centre has significantly enhanced public service delivery. It is
much faster, cheaper and more convenient to move forms around electronically and
by fax rather moving citizens around from office to office.
The process begins as soon as a telephone request is received by a special service of

the National Telecommunication Agency (OTE) where operators provide informa-
tion regarding available services and current procedures. Standardized electronic
forms are used to fill in the applicants data, which are immediately transmitted on-
line and through fax to the competent agency. The agency then issues the document
and sends it to the postal address of the citizen by registered mail. In the case of
passport applications, the applicants need to provide various documents to the ap-
propriate agency.
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2003 CATEGORY 1: GREECE
The agencies are required to take swift action within a specific timeframe. If the
stipulated service-deadline is not met, users may appeal to a special commission of
the relevant region or the Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentral-
ization for reimbursement of fees.
The Ministry has made special arrangements with OTE and the postal services in
order to ensure the affordability of postal services to the public. Thanks to OTE,
postal service partnerships with state agencies, and the use of simple, existing tele-
phone and telecommunications technology, the 1502 Call Centre has made govern-
ment services accessible to nearly everyone. The only barrier is access to a telephone.
Since its launch in 1998, the 1502 Call centre has experienced a tremendous growth
in scope and scale, form four to more than 20 different documents. The number of
applications submitted has been steadily growing over the years. An evaluation
made by the National Centre for Public Administration assessed user satisfaction
and found that:
82% of respondents said they were satisfied with the delivery time;
94% of respondents received the requested documents in a timely fashion;
88% of respondents expressed an overall satisfaction with the operation of
the system;
95% of respondents agreed that the initiative was very useful; and
98% of respondents said they would use the system again.
In 2004, a new law (Law 3,242/04) was introduced to simplify administrative proce-
dures. The law stipulates that several official documents generated by public agen-
cies would be issued automatically, without citizens needing to take action at all. For
example, a citizen hired in the public sector will no longer have to procure a criminal
record to document his/her status.
So far, the new law applies to 26 certificates, which could gradually diminish the
necessity for the public to use the 1502 Call Centre. However, whenever citizens do
need documents, the call centre still makes the process simpler, faster, and easier.
For more information, please visit: www.ypes.gr
249

Bolivia
Aduana Nacional de Bolivia
National Customs service of Bolivia
Description
Introducing a client oriented service culture by reforming the countrys
Customs Administration.
The Problem
Early in 1998, a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was sent to La
Paz, Bolivia, to diagnose the state of the Bolivian Customs Administration and out-
line a plan for its reform. The IMF diagnostic concluded that the institution was cor-
rupt and politically driven, operating under a complex legal structure, outdated in its
practices and procedures, overstaffed with more than 300 people working without
proof of registration, lacking in information systems for monitoring and control of
operations of foreign trade, lacking in basic infrastructure and equipment and totally
devoid of a customer oriented approach.
The Solution
The Customs Administration underwent comprehensive reforms aimed at increasing
the efficiency of customs collections, halting traffic in contraband goods, and facili-
tating foreign trade. The core elements of the reform programme included the review
of human resources policy and practices, application of modern technology, stream-
lining of custom tariffs, and adoption of new customer-service initiatives.
Since 1999 the Bolivian Custom Administration started an intense process of institu-
tional reform. To that end, it established a five point agenda for change:
To dismiss all the ad honorem personnel and replace all political appointees
with qualified personnel selected through competitive procedures undertaken
by private sector firms specialized in mass recruiting;
To develop new procedures for all customs operations, so as to give importers
and exporters judicial security;
To introduce state-of-the-art information technology for customs administra-
tion and control of operations;
To improve the infrastructure and equipment; and
To establish a client-oriented culture.
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2003 CATEGORY 1: BOLIVIA
To undertake this reform a financial package of $35.0 million was secured, with con-
tributing parties such as World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Nordic
Fund, Japanese Government and Bolivian Government.
After nearly four years of hard work, the results have been quite positive. Just to give
some examples, 97% of all existing customs personnel were hired through competi-
tive recruitment processes run by private sector firms; all agents can process their
import or export declarations over the internet; and all the infrastructure of the new
Customs Administration has slowly been refurbished and made more accessible to
foreign trade operators in an effort to facilitate the interface with customs officials.
One of the most important changes undertaken under the reform process has been the
introduction of a client-oriented service culture.
251
Western Asia
Oman
Cleanliness of Muscat Municipality
Muscat municipality, Oman
Description
Promoting the highest level of cleanliness in the city by boosting efciency in garbage
collection and disposal, and promoting awareness campaigns among the population.
The Problem
Apart from projecting an image of ones own culture, cleanliness is also a health and
environmental concern. By promoting high standards of hygiene, communities pro-
tect themselves from diseases and epidemics.
The Solution
In the 1970s, Muscat Municipality, along with other government units, started to
implement plans aiming at developing and modernizing the city: building roads and
bridges, expanding the network of street lights and green spaces and constructing
public parks and utilities. The municipalitys responsibility was also extended to the
maintenance of the highest level of cleanliness, as well as preservation of the citys
utilities. Thus, Muscat became a model example of beauty and cleanliness dazzling
the residents and visitors alike.
Specifically, the city has adopted measures to ensure high standards of cleanliness
within the municipality including boosting efficiency of its internal operations,
staging campaigns to promote awareness in public and individual health, enlisting
the support of schools in environmental cleanups, keeping roads clean, and giving
attention to timely collection and disposal of garbage.
The subject of cleanliness is the top priority facing the municipalities. Territorial expan-
sion and population growth present their own set of challenges, and make keeping cities
clean a difficult task. High population concentration in a relatively small area requires
efficient waste removal and management processes. The difficulties lie not only in the
collection of garbage, but also in its disposal in a proper manner, in order to reduce its
environmental impact and health hazards it creates. For this reason, Muscat Municipal-
ity concentrated its efforts on this aspect. Therefore, cleanliness became an apparent and
deeply rooted feature of the city of Muscat, enabling the Municipality to win many Arab
and international awards and gaining high reputation among modern cities.
For more information, please visit: www.mm.govt.om
252
2003 Category 2
Improvement of the Quality

of the Public Service Process

Europe and Spain Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas, Improving relationships between citizens and the 254
North Am. Local Council of Alcobendas municipal govt. by launching an online portal
Latin Am., Mexico Integral Family Development Creating a govt. entity to coordinate and monitor the 256
Caribbean System of Tamaulipas State hydraulic policy, addressing water shortages
Western Egypt The Ministry of State for Admin. Providing faster service to citizens by 258
Asia Development (MSAD) Automating Service Request procedures
Spain Mexico Egypt
253

Spain
Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas
Local Council of Alcobendas, Spain
Description
Improving the relationship between citizens and the municipal government by
launching an online portal (ITACA) dedicated to the needs of local communities.
The Problem
The Municipal Government of Alcobendas in Spain wanted to improve the quality of
dialogue between the citizens and the municipal government.
The Solution
In 1995, the local council began work on a strategic plan for the modernization of the
municipality of Alcobendas, a part of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain,
with about 100,000 inhabitants and almost 1,200 public service employees. In 1997,
the initial stages of ITACA were drawn, and in 1999 the project was formally
launched. In 2003, the second stage of the ITACA was implemented as part of the
Municipal Action Plan (PAM).
The projects aim is to facilitate and improve the relationship between citizens and
the municipality by simplifying the tools that citizens use to obtain information and
communicate with public institutions. The first stage of the project focused on three
basic services for citizens: the Alcobendas Card, an expanded website, and an inte-
grated 24-hour telephone information service, called Servicio de Atencion Ciudada-
na (SAC).
The Card, marketed as the local council in your pocket, has drawn the most atten-
tion. It provides a free-of-charge form of personalized identification and allows for
interaction and the exchange of information with other cardholders. The card will
gradually eliminate the need for different local forms of ID by bringing all services
together, cutting waiting time for citizens down to an average of less than four min-
utes when personal attention is required. Furthermore, the card provides universal
access to ICTs at the recently established self-service points. In 2004, more than
16,000 Alcobendas Cards were handed out, and 16 self-service and administration
points were established.
The expanded website has seen the number of visitors increased almost tenfold, from
about 27,000 in 2000 to approximately 267,000 in 2003. As a result, in the same
254
period, the government was able to tackle many more reported problems: 125,000
cases in 2002 compared with only 85,000 in 2000.
Furthermore, the introduction of the 24-hour telephone service resulted in a tripling

of phone calls to the Alcobendas government from about 24,500 in 2000 to almost
88,000 in 2003, with a high customer satisfaction rate. A study conducted in that re-
spect in 2003 by the Research Department revealed that the overall rating of the
municipality scored close to 8.7 out of 10, with the behavior of the staff scoring well
above the overall rating.
The Alcobendas card used new technology to integrate several other cards into one
and improve access to services through a secure system guaranteeing citizens pri-
vacy. The improved web portal took advantage of the internet, which 34% of the
municipalitys population, excluding students, already accessed regularly. The portal
excelled in delivery of information and services such as a guide to living in the mu-
nicipality, customer service, information on services offered, and proceedings of the
municipality, as well as information on local media sources and associations all in
real time (INFOCIUDAD).
By providing a 24-hour telephone information hotline, integrating information and

services for citizens, enlarging and decentralizing existing offices (where possible),
and extending office hours to afternoons, evenings, and Saturdays, the municipality
was able to integrate offices and services, increase accessibility, enhance the quality
of service, and reduce waiting times.
For more information, please visit: www.alcobendas.org
255

Mexico
Integral Development of the Family System
of the State of Tamaulipas
State of Tamaulipas, Mexico
Description
Addressing the needs of vulnerable groups by integrating services.
The Problem
The government faced the challenge of providing social assistance and supporting
the needy and underprivileged.
The Solution
The Integral Development for the Family System in Tamaulipas (DIF) is a govern-
ment institution that provides support to the underprivileged, especially families,
children and the disabled. For the past three years, the DIF Tamaulipas has under-
gone a radical change in the coverage of its programs and the scope of its benefits.
DIF Tamaulipas has demonstrated that it could radically transform public institutions
into entities capable of providing quality service at levels comparable to those at-
tained by their private sector counterparts.
It devoted particular attention to specific demands of different demographic groups.

Providing social services to maximum number of citizens and alleviating inequalities
is considered a main target of DIFs activity. The DIF Tamaulipas helps around
300,000 people per year. Its infrastructure allows covering all the State through 43
offices that are spread in every borough of Tamaulipas.
In August 2001, DIF Tamaulipas was the first institution to be certified in ISO 9001
system in Mexico under the 2000 version. The certificate includes six central institu-
tions, as well as providers of nutritional programs, the rehabilitation centre and a
special education and management centres.
The initiative of the General Directorate ensured the efficient use of the public re-
sources. The quality of services has been maintained, a new information system has
been introduced and institutional reengineering has taken place. The initiative has
resulted in the following changes:
Reduction in costs;
Transparency in the administration of resources and services;
256
2003 CATEGORY 2: MEXICO
Creation of a customer-oriented culture (in substitution for the bureaucratic

culture); and
Extension in the coverage of social programs.
DIF Tamaulipas has demonstrated that it can radically transform the official institu-
tions and reach the same standards of quality that private sector organisations have.

www.un.int/mexico/2003/interv_062303_ing.htm
257
Western Asia
Egypt
The Ministry of State for Administrative
Development (MSAD), Egypt
Description
Providing faster service to citizens by Automating Service Request Procedures.
The Problem
Citizens had to queue for hours during work days at government offices to pay taxes
and fines or to obtain documents, such as driving licenses or birth certificates. Infor-
mation on how and where to find rules and regulations has often been hard to find,
and it has often involved making inquiries at several different ministries or govern-
ment agencies. The government continuously faced a challenge in delivering services
in an efficient manner.
The Solution
In 1976, the Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD) was estab-
lished. Its objective was to enhance and increase the efficiency of government by
adopting new techniques and mechanisms to better serve citizens.
The Egyptian government continually faces the challenge of delivering services ef-
ficiently: citizens often experience the frustration of waiting in lines for hours at
government offices to pay taxes and fines or to obtain documents such as drivers li-
censes or birth certificates. Information on how and where to find rules and regula-
tions has often been hard to obtain.
The government took the first steps to modernize government services in 1998, with
the aim of simplifying delivery of services to customers by introducing new tech-
nologies such as voice mail service, automated fax services, and internet. Depending
on ones location within or outside the greater Cairo, three different service numbers
can be used to request services or make inquiries. This system works also for request-
ing various applications and forms, which can be sent directly to an appropriate of-
fice by an automated fax service.
Citizens can also use the Ministrys website to reach a variety of government ser-
vices. This efficient way to obtain information and services has since been greatly
extended by the E-government portal.
Improving services depended on three basic approaches:
258
2003 CATEGORY 2: EGYPT
Integration prevented doubling requests for the provision of documentation by

the applicants;
Specifying the required fees according to laws and regulations, thereby re-
questing only the minimum rate and ensuring that the fee scale is uniform
throughout the country; and
Indicating the timeframe for obtaining any service.
To achieve these steps, it was necessary to unify rules and requirements by preparing
forms for each service. Consequently, any citizen seeking a service receives a receipt
listing all the procedures and steps required, the agencies to direct complaints to, and
the time necessary for completion.
The ministry continues to develop E-government services, thus demonstrating a sus-

tained commitment to innovation and improvement of public services. In January
2004, the Ministry launched the countrys integrated e-Government Portal for online
services. The bilingual portal in Arabic and English enables all stakeholders to
browse government announcements, search for information related to particular ser-
vices, and access online services all at a single user-friendly one-stop-shop. Since
2007, some government services are available online.
For more information, please visit: www.edara.govt.eg
259
2003 Category 3
Innovation Initiatives
in the Public Service

Africa Zambia Patents and Companies Reducing business cost by privatizing the Patents and 261
Registration Ofce (PCRO) Companies Registration Ofce
Asia and Republic Public Procurement Service Introducing an electronic procurement system 263
the Pacic of Korea to improve procurement services efciency
Europe and Canada Neighborhood Integrated Service Empowering citizens by integrating services at city 265
North Am. Team (NIST), Vancouver level to address difcult community issues
Europe and Italy Efciency in Admin. (PADEA) Creating a Department open to innovation 267
North Am. Department for Public Admin. in public administration
Latin Am., Chile Servicio de Impuestos Internos Innovating the tax system so that ling taxes becomes 269
Caribbean (SII), Internal Revenue Service easier and less costly for all citizens
Western Lebanon Education Centre for Research Reforming educational structures and creating an 271
Asia and Development, Lebanon educational centre to respond to changing needs
Zambia Rep. of Korea Canada Italy Chile Lebanon
260
2003 CATEGORY 3: ZAMBIA
Africa
Zambia
Patents and Companies Registration Ofce (PCRO)
Zambia
Description
Reducing the cost of doing business by privatizing the Patents and Companies
Registration Ofce.
The Problem
In 1995 the government instructed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Com-
merce, Trade and Industry to commercialize the departments operations, raise its
own financial resources, fund its entire budget without any dependence on the central
treasury and to upgrade the quality of its services.
The Solution
The Zambian Patents and Companies Registration Office has successfully achieved a
self sustaining financial autonomy and has utilized this autonomy to transform itself
into a revenue generating institution, driven by customer satisfaction and improve-
ment in the quality of its services. The PCRO is responsible for managing the coun-
trys system of protection of industrial property and registration of enterprises under
the Companies Act and Registration of Business Names. The greatest achievement
was the sustained effort, in the absence of past precedents, to implement the govern-
ment directive to fully privatize the departments operations. The PCRO was among
the first 17 public agencies selected by the government for commercialization.
Since there was no past precedent for this kind of transition, management consultants
were hired to make recommendations and they advised privatization as the best op-
tion. The staff had to be trained to adjust to the demands of a work culture oriented
towards profit generation in a commercial market, as compared to the purely service
oriented approach of the civil service. All personnel underwent induction and secu-
rity seminars. Staff training was initially sponsored by the World Bank Financial and
Legal Management Upgrading Project (FILMUP).
The PCRO had three main priorities:

The first one was building self-training capacity. The mandate to commercial-
ize the department and grant it a limited autonomy was given by the govern-
ment on the condition that once the department was ceded from the mainstream
civil service, it would no longer expect any funding from the government.
261
Rather, the government would be expected to fund its own operations entirely
from its own resources and to enter, after three formative fiscal years, into an
arrangement with the Central Treasury, wherein the commercialized entity
would be required to contribute a certain percentage of its annual income to the
Central Treasury;
The second priority was the immediate relocation of its offices from the minis-
terial block. The need to relocate was also a condition stipulated in the inter-
governmental agreement with the Norwegian government, through NORAD,
for the computerization of its offices; and
The third priority was the establishment of a viable institution with its own
processes and system of internal control. As a consequence of relocation of the
offices, the agency was detached form the principal services of the parent min-
istry. The department was faced with the challenge of setting up a functioning
accounting and administrative units to look into matters of management of
material and human resources, which prior to this, had been managed by the
parent ministry.
One of the several achievements of the department was an increase in the quality of
the service delivery under the Companies Act. The enactment of the current Compa-
nies Act in 1994 simplified significantly the national system for incorporation of
entities. Despite the tremendous increase in the customer volume per day since the
privatization, measures had been taken to shorten the service turnaround time, and
attend promptly to customer concerns. The waiting time for processing applications
was shortened to two days.
Service delivery was further enhanced by harnessing ICT. The electronic database
enabled the office to quickly retrieve information for both its internal use and its
many customers. Moreover, information was disseminated effectively through the
disclosure of patents, trade marks and industrial design data in the Zambia patent and
Trade marks Journal. Acquisition of the organisations own office block saved the
department over $80,000 per year. For a small organisation with no financial assis-
tance from the Central Treasury, this saving was a tremendous boost.

www.pacro.org.zm, www.pacro.org.zm/lco.html
262
Asia and the Pacic

Republic of Korea
Public Procurement Service, Republic of Korea
Description
Introducing an electronic procurement system in order to improve procurement
services efciency.
The Problem
Public Procurement Service (PPS) of the Republic of Korea administers procure-
ment of goods and services for about 30,000 Korean public institutions. The previous
paper based system was slow and caused the users a great deal of inconvenience. In
addition, a series of corruption scandals had hurt the reputation of the PPS.
The Solution
Given this backdrop, PPS launched a government e-procurement system. It was es-
sentially an e-mall, a combination of an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system
and an internet shopping mall. The e-mall has proved to be a big success. Cur-
rently, about 92% of the procurement transactions, involving 24,000 public organisa-
tions, flow through this system. The process is greatly streamlined, making it more
efficient to use by the customers and suppliers alike.
Previously, the PPS was dealing with 4.2 million documents per year. The introduction
of an electronic system drastically reduced this amount. The streamlined system is not
only much more efficient and effective; it has also proven to be very user-friendly.
The introduction of online bidding has improved the efficiency of the entire procure-
ment process. The initial concerns about security were resolved thanks to the intro-
duction of such innovative solutions as e-signatures and authentication. A very posi-
tive result of online bidding, coupled with participation of third-party experts such as
NGOs, increased the level of transparency of the whole procurement system, which
was necessary given the recent corruption scandals.
Another strategy involved in the new system was its focus on customer satisfaction.
In addition to the technological innovations, a fundamental shift in the mindset was
introduced to turn the PPS from an ineffective, public sector entity to a lean, custom-
er-focused service provider. Increasing customers convenience became one of its
central goals. The PPS re-engineered its structure form an item-centred organisation
to customer-oriented one, and started running mobile offices and help desks to bring
itself closer to its customers.
263
Under a skillful management, the new system has proved to be remarkably sustain-
able. Achieving excellence in all levels of its performance became the inner drive:
once a superior service is rendered to its users, they generate positive feedback,
which in turn encourages the systems personnel to work harder and provide even
better service. Two recent awards, one for best government organisation, the other for
customer satisfaction, confirm that going back to the old system is not an option.
The e-procurement system of the PPS can be utilized in other public institutions in
Korea and foreign procurement agencies with little customisation. As of now, the
online bidding system is being used by as many as 1,400 public organisations. In ad-
dition, G2B system of PPS is ideal for generating integrated bid notices. It has re-
moved redundant registration procedures and document submissions by connecting
itself with other information systems within the government.
264

Canada
The Neighborhood Integrated
Service Team (NIST)
City of Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada
Description
Empowering citizens by integrating services at the city level to address difcult
issues in the residents communities.
The Problem
Vancouver is the third largest city in Canada, and serves as the gateway to the Pacific
Rim. With a budget of $636.0 million, the citys 8,000 employees provide hundreds
of services to an increasingly diverse community of more than 550,000 residents.
The Solution
The Neighborhood Integrated Service Team (NIST) program is the city of Vancou-
vers initiative helping residents address difficult issues in their communities. These
might be issues relating to the infrastructure, waste removal, noise management,
crime control, health services or safety. The NIST program mission statement is to
lead, to provide and to facilitate integrated community-based service delivery. In a
nutshell, NIST takes city government to the streets.
The program was developed in 1994 and implemented in 1995. It is based on two
simple premises:
Local problems should have local solutions; and
Cooperation and information sharing are essential to achieving effective
solutions.
The program established 16 Neighborhood Integrated Service Teams (NISTs), which

helped Vancouver residents solve a variety of problems in their communities. More
than 200 municipal employees participate in the 16 teams, each of which represents
a particular area of Vancouver. The teams include police officers, firemen, city engi-
neers and planners, community organizers, librarians, healthcare professionals and
social workers. These city officials work together, sharing information and coordi-
nating their efforts to solve problems in a holistic and multidisciplinary manner. The
teams meet regularly in and with their communities.
265
The NIST program is a unique and effective model of service delivery for Vancouver.
Not only has it resolved dozens of difficult problems for Vancouver residents in the
eight years since its inception; NIST has also succeeded in breaking down barriers
between city departments, improved inter-departmental communication and coop-
eration, and empowered citizens who have participated in the process.

www.canada.com/cityguides/vancouver/index.html
266
2003 CATEGORY 3: ITALY

Italy
Efciency in the Administrations (PADEA)
(Riforme e Innovazioni nella pubblica amministrazione)
Department for Public Administration, Italy
Description
Creating a Department open to innovation in public administration.
The Problem
Public administration reforms in Italy were centralized and did not address the needs
of citizens and businesses.
The Solution
The Department for Public Administration was set up in 1983 as part of the Prime
Ministers Office in response to the modernization needs of the Italian public admin-
istration. Renamed Public Administration Department for Efficiency in the Admin-
istration (PADEA) in 2001, the department is responsible for innovation and effi-
ciency in public administration.
Although the administrative system has seen some reforms in the past decade, chang-
es in the institutional and administrative environment increased the demand for fur-
ther reform. For example, the European Union has assumed several important admin-
istrative functions, while others have been transferred from the state to the regional
and local bodies. At the same time, the need to improve the conditions of the private
sector and the marketplace has been growing.
In response to these challenges, PADEA has gradually been transformed into a fa-
cilitator for cooperation between administrative institutions, and a centre for admin-
istrative innovation. Today, PADEA is committed to continuing the dialogue with
various governmental agencies. The general objective for all stakeholders is to
achieve a consensus and bring about innovation in a smooth, organic way.
PADEA has sponsored three different projects aimed at creating a network of op-
erators, who actively collaborate for the improvement of public administration and
services. The operators compare and share good practices and are encouraged to
adopt the latest management techniques used in the private sector. PADEA has cre-
ated a knowledge management and diffusion system through websites dedicated to
the three main projects, where the interested parties obtain information and ex-
change experiences:
267
The Quality and Efficiency Project is a plan of collaboration with major busi-
ness organisations for the establishment of working groups to promote effi-
ciency and quality in public administration;
The Governance Project is aimed at initiating collaboration between minis-
tries, regions, and local bodies to plan and implement systems that facilitate
effective public administration; and
The Cantieri Project provides coordinated central government support for in-
novation in the public sector.
Today, PADEA is committed to promoting and introducing modernization processes
in public administration through consensual methods. The objective is for innovation
of the administrative system to become a shared goal amongst stakeholders rather
than it being perceived as a centrally imposed change. Local authorities have begun
to come together to share their know-how and expertise or to exchange experiences
gathered in specific fields. Training seminars, distance learning, and the establish-
ment of professional communities are central to the spread of the initiatives. With
this in mind, PADEA has initiated an important program for strengthening two of its
principal training institutes, SSPA (School of Public Administration) and Formez,
which are directly involved in the implementation of the three projects.
For more information, please visit: www.funzionepubblica.it
268
2003 CATEGORY 3: CHILE

Chile
Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII)
Internal Revenue Service of Chile
Description
Innovating the tax system so that ling taxes becomes easier and less costly for
all citizens.
The Problem
The government was faced with the challenge of making the tax structure easier to
comply with, and lowering the operational and processing costs.
The Solution
The Internal Revenue Service of Chile (SII) has developed a unique means of using an
e-government application, which encourages compliance with filing requirements,
lowers costs, and increases trust in government. Unlike most online tax sites, the Chil-
ean site automatically calculates taxes for each taxpayer, based on information already
on file. Users then have the opportunity to accept or modify the existing form.
In 1993, the SII undertook a fundamental change in its modernization process by

adopting open information technologies (TCCP/IP in network protocols and UNIX
incorporated systems) and relational databases. In 1995, the SII adopted the internet
as a platform for interacting with taxpayers, and for its internal use. In October of
that year, the SII website was launched (www.sii.cl).
In 1997, a fundamental change took place the first online transactions were pro-
cessed, allowing taxpayers to access directly the SII databases to check on the status
of their tax dues. As the next step, the PIN codes for each tax payer were introduced,
allowing users to check on the status of their fiscal statements.
When first launched, the SII website served primarily as a provider of information,
introducing an easier way to comply with fiscal obligations. Since 2001, citizens
were provided with an access to the Proposed Income Tax Return, which is prepared
by and placed on the website of the Internal Revenue Service of Chile or the Servicio
de Impuestos Internos de Chile (SII). Taxpayers can confirm or modify the form,
sending it through the internet to the SII.
This innovation has had a large impact on approximately half of all taxpayers re-
quired to submit the Annual Income Tax Return (roughly 2,100,000 contributors),
269
saving them from having to fill in the declaration themselves. The new system pre-
vents miscalculations or omission errors that can be subject to fines imposed by the
SII. The innovation has made it easier to collect fiscal dues, and produced savings for
the SII, which no longer needs to spend resources on data entry and needless audits,
thereby increasing its effectiveness.
The central aspect of SIIs function involves the management of large quantities of in-
formation. In this sense, the effectiveness of different processes largely depends on the
adequate administration of the information involved in taxpayer registry, the registry
and audit of filed documentation, periodic tax filing and tax collection, etc. With this in
mind, the SII puts an emphasis on the development of adequate support services.
In April 2000, an option to pay fiscal dues via internet was introduced. One year
later, in April 2001, a fundamental landmark was achieved, when the SII website
started offering other transactions, such as the Proposed Income Tax Return forms.
Roughly 60% of all taxpayers required to file in 2002 used the newly available web
application while filing their income tax statements. This innovation made a signifi-
cant impact on the simplification of tax filing system, and significantly reduced the
associated costs.
One of the most important lessons learned through this initiative is how an already
available resource in this case previously collected data can be creatively used to
provide a valuable service to a significant portion of the population. Tax administra-
tions often have the tendency to focus more on prevention of tax evasion and develop-
ment of control systems, rather than on assisting the taxpayer. The SII initiative aims
to support compliance with the fiscal regulations by making the filing process simple
and readily accessible. By displaying the income information on file, the SII relies on
the taxpayers to declare additional sources of income, promoting mutual trust.
For more information, please visit: www.sii.cl
270
2003 CATEGORY 3: LEBANON
Western Asia
Lebanon
Education Centre for Research and Development
Lebanon
Description
Reforming the educational system to respond to the evolving needs of the
employment market by creating an Education Centre.
The Problem
To reform the educational structure in Lebanon.
The Solution
The Education Centre has created a new structure based on the principles of clarity,
flexibility, and compatibility. The reform increases students freedom of choice and
facilitates flexibility in changing between areas of interest. It also welcomes financial
sponsorships by private companies and improves the education systems ability to
respond to the needs of the employment market. The new teaching structure is ex-
pected to have positive impact on the educational sector as a whole, including the
students and those employed in the field.
For more information, please visit: www.crdp.org
271
Part Three:
Lessons Learned
273
The Impact of the United Nations Public Service Awards
Introduction
Improvements in the delivery of public services contribute greatly to good gover-
nance for the achievement of international development goals. The UNPSA Pro-
gramme inspires public servants all over the world to work towards perfecting their
approaches, methodologies, practices, systems and processes, in the delivery of pub-
lic services. Coupled with the United Nations Public Service Day celebrations, the
Awards Programme has enhanced the visibility and transferability of innovations, as
well as opportunities for sharing experience on the improvement of public service
performance. Increasing knowledge about successful experiences in public adminis-
tration is a catalyst for change in other public organisations.
The UNPSA Programme is the only global recognition, which acknowledges and
encourages public organisations and agencies around the world at national or sub-
national level; as well as public-private partnerships to achieve excellence in the
public service.
As in the private sector, the public sector has to be able to unleash the creativity, re-
sourcefulness and initiative of its employees to be able to keep pace with our rapidly
changing world. The Public Service Awards are an important instrument to encour-
age this trend in all countries of the world.
As mentioned by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Migiro, at

the UNPSA Ceremony held during the 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government
in Vienna in June 2007:
The winners of the 2007 UNPSA have made countless efforts and shown a strong
commitment to the search for new means, approaches, and work methods to improve
the performance of the public sector. Their imagination and determination in finding
effective solutions to governance challenges should be an inspiration to all of us.
Since its launching in 2003, governments around the world have shown and ex-
pressed their strong interest for the UNPSA Programme: not only has the number of
applications received year after year by the Division for Public Administration in-
creased, but the division has also provided positive feed-back questionnaire, sent
every year to evaluate and assess the impact of winning the UNPSA Awards.
Most of the answers received highlighted that awarded institutions became more
prone to innovation, and all of them developed other innovations since they received
the UNPSA Award. Winning the UNPSA also greatly enhanced the morale of the
winning institutions personnel and thus encouraged a positive environment for
change. Organisations, and their success has been featured in many newspapers and
275
broadcast on local and/or national networks. Winning institutions generally seek in-
novations to replicate among other winners successful practices. Besides, many in-
novations are either replicated, or studied so that the process may be replicated by
others. For more information about the UNPSA media coverage since 2003, please
go to: www.unpan.org/dpepa_psaward.asp
How Winning the UNPSA Promotes Further Innovations in Government:
Putting People at the Centre of Decision-making about Poverty

Alleviation: the Ubudehe Initiative in Rwanda
The Ubudehe initiative, which promotes citizen engagement and participation in
governance programmes for poverty alleviation, has been replicated by other local
development organisations. Moreover, the Ministry of Local Government is dis-
cussing with the Ministry of Cooperatives how to expand the Ubudehe initiative so
that it is transformed into a village cooperative at the local level throughout the
country. Preliminary discussion has also been initiated with Burundi, a neighboring
country, which intends to replicate this new approach. Since winning the United
Nations Public Service Awards in June 2008, the Ubudehe has increased its national
and international recognition as demonstrated by the fact that it has received addi-
tional funding from the European Development Fund in the amount of 375,000.
Other donors and various NGOs partners are now using the Ubudehe approach in
different sectors. For example, the Ministry of Health is using the Ubudehe ap-
proach to identify the poorest people trough Ubudehe mapping so that they can re-
ceive an insurance health card.
The winning of the 2008 UNPSA was celebrated at the national level together with the
ceremony for the best implementation of the Ubudehe at the village level. One village
and one household per district were selected for best Ubudehe practice and received
an Award. Moreover, three villages and three households (Ubudehe best practice) re-
ceived an Award from the European Development Fund. Around 2,000 people from all
over the country were invited to Kigali to celebrate this event presided over by the
President of the Republic, cabinet members and donors; took part and received the
United Nations Public Service Award and testimonies from different districts.
Giving Citizens a key to Their Own Business: the Economic

Development Bank (EDB), The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
With La llave para tu negocio, the EDB has provided new entrepreneurs with a
key to realize their dreams. This initiative has strengthened Puerto Ricos econ-
omy by providing new entrepreneurs with up to 100% funding for their project up
to $50M, without any initial deposit or guarantee with a fixed interest rate for ten
years. It has also created over 1,000 businesses increasing employment rates. For
276
THE IMPACT OF THE UNPSA ON INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT
companies that were already doing well at the local level, but wanted to export
their goods, the EDB has provided them with a new opportunity to become more
competitive internationally.
As a result of being one of the finalists of the 2008 UNPSA Programme, the EDB has
become more prone to innovation and has registered an increase in the morale of its
staff. Moreover, the EDB has further innovated its programmes and services. For
example, it has launched a new programme, which goes beyond the mission of the
Bank, entitled: The Other Side of Our Bank. As part of this programme, the EDB
is seeking to collaborate with other government agencies, including the Puerto Rican
Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), to promote companies based on tech-
nology, and it has widened the spectrum of industries it serves.
In addition, the EDB has highlighted that this initiative has opened up new ways of
doing business, and that it is presently seeking to promote community development
through entrepreneurship. In fact, the EDB has created new avenues to sponsor
corporate responsibility programs. First, it is creating the first Microfinance Insti-
tution in Puerto Rico, a public private capital investment program to finance mi-
cro entrepreneurs who are not able to access traditional banks or even the programs
of the EDB. This new programme is aimed at financing products and services of
the disadvantaged, an economic sector of the Island, which needs to have a par-
ticular approach in order to prosper. Therefore, EDB intends to enable the poor to
become positive agents of change in their own lives. This initiative is supported by
Puerto Rico Emprende, an EDB program, which promotes collaboration among
NGOs, the public and private sectors working together with one mission and vi-
sion: to amplify and link the distribution channels of the private sector by support-
ing entrepreneurship through programs that offer technical support (NGOs), men-
torship (Private and Public) and financing (Microfinance Institution) to new
entrepreneurs. This Programme aims at transforming the community where entre-
preneurs work, but at the same time, it intends to guarantee that the products and
services that companies receive are of high quality. The case studies EDB is work-
ing on currently are in the following economic sectors: agriculture, tourism, manu-
facturing and services.
The EDB is also bringing together the government, private sector and universities to
strengthen an entrepreneurial culture by providing potential entrepreneurs with tech-
nical knowledge, funding and mentorship. By 30 June 2008, the EDB has managed
to approve funding for more than 1,000 keys (going beyond its 100% target) to
potential entrepreneurs, with over 82% of that funding has already been disbursed.
More than 45% of those who have received funding for their own business are wom-
en. These new activities have created approximately 9,000 new jobs.
277
After being recognized by the UNPSA Programme, the President of the Economic
Development Bank of Puerto Rico, CPA Annette Montoto, received the Public Ser-
vant of the Year Award for the program La Llave para tu Negocio by a private busi-
ness and entrepreneurs association. Until now, Puerto Rico is the only nation that has
provided high risk financing to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs, contributing
directly to the economic growth of the Island, but is more than willing to share its
knowledge on how to implement this initiative in other countries of the region.
As a result of being one of the finalists of the 2008 UNPSA Programme, the EDB
received significant national media coverage and had the opportunity to present its
initiative in local newspapers such as El Nuevo Da (the main newspaper on the Is-
land), El Vocero, Primera Hora, Caribbean Business and San Juan Star, as well as on
television networks, including Telemundo Channel 2, Wapa Amrica Channel 4, the
Public Broadcast System on Channel 6 and Univisin, Channel 11.
Bringing Health Services to the People in Remote Areas:

The Phelophepa Train of South Africa
The Phelophepa Health Care Train is a special case in its ability to provide mobile
health services that go beyond the treatment of diseases and illnesses and provide
health education as means of prevention while covering a vast geographical area.
Winning the UNPSA in 2008 has energized the Management of this public-private
initiative that is now seeking new ways to continue to innovate and use technology
effectively in new and technology, and public service delivery areas. The Phelophepa
has also won the Impumelelo Award from Impumelelo Innovations Awards Trust, a
South African organisation.
e-Public Procurement Service, Republic of Korea

Winner of a United Nations Public Service Award 2003 in the category Innovations
in the Public Service, the Public Procurement Service (PPS) has undergone a major
reform to reduce inefficiency and eliminate irregularities.
Since receiving the UNPSA, PPS promoted several innovations. First, they have in-
troduced a series of new services more convenient and available to customers to
make their business lines more customer-oriented. PPS also developed a custom-
tailored service for construction services. In the past, PPS used to provide bidding
and contract services only. Customer agencies without technicians were having dif-
ficulties planning, designing, analyzing cost, and assessing through the whole pro-
cess. PPS qualified technicians are now performing those services on behalf of the
customer agency, according to its needs.
Second, they further improved their e-procurement system by adding more conve-
nient features among others such as, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) mobile ser-
278
THE IMPACT OF THE UNPSA ON INNOVATION IN GOVERNMENT
vice, e-catalogue services, e-mall for the public procurement, and Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID).
Last, PPS adopted a performance based personnel management policy to motivate

employees to be more prone to innovation. The more they achieve, the more they will
be compensated in terms of monetary benefits or promotion. To implement this pol-
icy in a transparent and objective way, PPS built a Balance Score Card (BSC) system,
to evaluate each employee by the scores of this system.
Many public organisations in Korea benchmarked the PPS successful practice.

Though it has not been strictly replicated due to different environments and services
provided, the processes implemented and the way obstacles were overcome have
inspired these organisations.
Many countries have also benchmarked KONEPS the official brand name of the
Korean government e-procurement system. Officials from more than 90 countries
studied it, either by visiting PPS or by attending trainings. Vietnam and Pakistan led
a feasibility study conducted with PPS to adopt the e-procurement system, and
Vietnam recently passed a law aiming at introducing e-procurement.
Etablissement autonome de contrle et de coordination des exportations

(EACCE), Morocco
Winner of the United Nations Public Service Award 2005 in the category Improving
the delivery of services, the Autonomous Establishment for the Control and Coordi-
nation of Exports (EACCE), implemented innovative strategies to conduct more effi-
ciently the quality control of fruits and vegetables for exports. These strategies in-
cluded in a revitalization of human resources, decentralization and enhancement of
control facilities, and collaboration between public and private entities. These reforms
significantly impacted the international competitiveness of domestic enterprises.
Since receiving the UNPSA, EACCE promoted two innovative projects. They imple-
mented the e-eacce system, an online system allowing the user to perform, from
home, administrative requirements for the establishment of their business, and over-
sight services for operators to carry out in-house controls aiming at significantly
lessening official controls.
The Moroccan government took advantage of this successful initiative: a similar proj-
ect promoting e-government is being implemented in Morocco and it will enable citi-
zens nationwide to download major administrative documents through the Internet.
South African Police Service, South Africa

Winner of a United Nations Public Service Award 2004 in the category Innovations
in the Public Service, the South African authorities decided in July 1999 to make the
279
public service more efficient and to make the delivery of services, especially in rural
communities, faster.
The general weakness of policing in the Northern Province (comprised of 89% rural
area) were overcome thanks to the introduction of a service delivery program based
on innovative strategies: to do more with less, to improve Police visibility, to en-
sure equal access to justice for all and to forge partnerships.
Implementing this program was not isolated from other fundamental changes within
the public service. Improving service delivery called for a shift away from inward-
looking, bureaucratic systems, processes and attitudes. New ways of working, which
placed the public at the centre of public administration processes, enabled a better
and faster response to citizens needs. The objectives of service delivery included
welfare, equity and efficiency.
Since receiving the UNPSA, the South African Police Service remained innovative
and promoted creative solutions in fighting crime. Inspired by their successful prac-
tice, the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Labour have built Mo-
bile Units for rural areas. This innovation has been featured in local newspapers and
has been broadcasted on national networks, and won the Impumelelo Platinum
Award, South African Chamber of Commerce Limpopo region Award for Public Sec-
tor and Centre for Public Service Innovation-Standard Bank Award.
280
GOOD PRACTICES AND INNOVATIONS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Lessons Learned on Innovation in Public Governance

By examining the successful cases of the UNPSA, a number of key principles and
strategies for innovation emerge as prominent. Although each case has its own spe-
cific challenge and solution, it is important to mention that common denominators
can be identified in all innovations.
In order to understand what are the necessary ingredients that turn an innovation
into a success, it is important to review what are the steps an innovation has to fol-
low on the way to success. Innovation in government involves agents of change,
processes, and mechanisms, as well as value systems and normative orders, technol-
ogy and resources (not necessarily financial). The will of the people implicated in
solving a problem as well as leadership are critical components of the process. In
order to learn from and adapt an innovation to ones own context, the following
steps can be taken:
Definition of the problem;
Establishment of a strategic plan framework;
Agreement upon and adoption of guidelines;
Documentation (circumstances, characteristics, results) in broad and diverse
forms (through, for example, on-line databases; analytical case studies, video
cameras to document the innovation, etc.);
Dissemination of results;
Monitoring of implementation;
Coordination and integration into the policy framework;
Sustainability of the innovation (institutionalized rather than linked to a par-
ticular person).
The experience of the UNPSA exemplifies that in order to consolidate democracy,
public services need to be efficient and accessible to all. In order to foster innovation
in public service delivery, the following factors are critical to building an enabling
environment for innovation, including:
Effective leadership: Leaders at all levels should be committed to enhance the
quality of citizens lives. Their decisions and actions should constantly focus
on promoting the well-being of citizens.Therefore, innovation should only be
pursued if it has a positive effect on society. Leadership usually means going
against the traditional way of doing business; bringing people along to a new
way of thinking, or recognizing what needs to be done that nobody else recog-
nizes. Leaders should be determined to take risks and tolerate uncertainties that
any change brings about. They should embrace change as an abiding philoso-
phy and focus on innovations as a new thrust for the public service. Leaders
281
commitment to innovation will motivate public sector employees, encourage

creativity and inspire enthusiasm in them.
Interaction with citizens: Public sector organisations should constantly moni-
tor citizens needs and expectations in order to respond to citizens priorities for
improvement. They should adopt a citizen-centric focus in reviewing and im-
proving the quality of service delivery. This approach is most likely to lead to
innovations that ensure citizen satisfaction. Consulting with citizens and con-
stantly seeking their feedback will allow public service providers to review suc-
cesses and past performance, and set out effective improvements in the future.
Organisational culture supportive of innovation: It is a culture conducive to
risk taking, initiative, creativity, learning and change. In order to build a culture
supportive of innovation, peoples involvement in the organisations business
should be optimized. Employees should not simply execute commands from
the top, but share in the organisations vision, mission and strategy. Employees
should be empowered to take charge, take the initiative and participate in deci-
sion-making. In this culture, managers do not categorically reject new ideas as
interruption, thus giving a strong negative message. Instead, they welcome new
ideas and new approaches and are ready to consider their potential value. Also,
they encourage innovators by giving them rewards, recognition and latitude to
experiment. In an innovative culture, middle management and front line staff
are frequently initiators of innovations, not only implementers. An innovative
culture also assumes a fair performance appraisal system, because innovation
depends on excellent performance by many people of different disciplines a
culture that tolerates inadequate performance not only begins to destroy inno-
vation but too often destroys careers.
Promotion of teamwork: Teams bring together people with complementary
skills and experiences that exceed the capacity of any one of the members, or
of the members collectively, but working independently. Teams facilitate the
breaking down of barriers between genders, age groups, races, ethnic groups,
and geographic biases. The communication skills and network that successful
teams develop, creates the capacity to respond quickly and flexibly to new
problems and changing environment.
Promotion of lifelong learning: A key success for development and diffusion
of innovation in public service delivery is well-educated and well-trained pub-
lic sector employees. Public officials should be trained to embrace a culture of
learning and to see themselves as active agents of change. It is impossible to
introduce innovations in public organisations without continuous upgrading of
employees knowledge and skills, as well as without them having access to
recent developments in their respective areas of expertise. Currently, distance
282
LESSONS LEARNED ON INNOVATION IN GOVERNANCE
learning offers enormous cost-effective opportunities for continuous educa-

tion. In particular, public sector employees should keep abreast of successful
practices in public service delivery in other organisations, both public and pri-
vate, and in other countries.
Promotion of diversity: Because innovation often depends on the ability to
see things differently, diversity in terms of the backgrounds and ways of think-
ing of an organisations members will enhance its innovativeness. An organisa-
tions diverse workforce is a valuable source of innovative ideas and creative
solutions to problems.
Knowledge management: Experience and knowledge in an organisation should
be documented in such a way as to be of use in the future. Knowledge gained
through daily work must be viewed as an organisational asset, which needs to be
protected and disseminated. It is a source of valuable information about an or-
ganisations operations, culture, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Organi-
sational collective wisdom should be tapped into when considering to introduce
new practices it provides opportunities for not reinventing the wheel.
Knowledge-sharing and networking: There should be exchange of informa-
tion on innovative practices within and among organisations by publicizing
them, organizing meetings, conferences, study visits or establishing award pro-
grammes. Creating databases of successful practices is an effective way of
disseminating them. Not only will publicizing these good practices help build
confidence in the taxpayers that their hard-earned money is being spent wisely;
it encourages public organisations to learn about the latest innovative tech-
niques and to identify improvement opportunities in their own areas.
Development of exible processes: Innovation cannot take place within a
rigid interpretation of rules and regulations. Innovators need freedom to act.
Without some fairly high level of freedom, not much innovation will occur. At
the same time, there is no doubt that in doing this, employees should not vio-
late rules nor should they violate the organisations code of conduct.
Monitoring the implementation of innovation: Innovation must be oriented
to achieving measurable progress. Without a well-planned and managed ap-
proach, the routine of day-to-day operations takes over. One response to this
may be developing benchmarks, against which to judge the success of innova-
tion efforts. Moreover, comprehensive documentation of an innovation effort
can provide material for future reference to other innovators, who can learn
from successes and avoid mistakes.
In todays world, greater demands are being made on public servants who are faced
with the challenge to do more with less. For this reason, innovation is the best option
for the public sector to cope with its tasks in a demanding environment. It should be
283
noted that innovations are context specific. In other words, it is a relative phenome-
non because what constitutes innovation in one cultural or organisational setting may
not be so in another. What works here may not work there.
Therefore, good practices, which were successful in one country, should not be
blindly reproduced in another. Rather, their merits should be studied and tailored to
local circumstances. Otherwise, hasty application of such practices will result in con-
siderable costs to developing countries that are struggling with severe resource scar-
city and (often) extreme poverty, and may not produce the desired results.
Innovations in public governance can often lead directly and/or indirectly to eco-
nomic and social development by introducing changes in the following areas:
Delivery of services: changes in access, coverage and speed of service deliv-
ery often have an immediate client-oriented culture. These changes often have
an immediate effect and get recognized by the citizenry;
Processes and working methods of an organisation: simplification of proce-
dures, computerization, improvement of inter-office communication and over-
hauls in performance appraisal systems have immediate and long term positive
effects on reducing budget expenditures and the costs of running an organisa-
tion, as well as increasing the efficiency of operations and performance;
Mindset, behaviour and skills: innovation efforts cannot be sustained without
changing the mindset and behavior of public servants. Changes in midset, be-
havior and skills require willingness and committment to continuous learning,
and capacity to adapt to different circumstances;
Structure: initiatives that introduce major reforms in the structures of govern-
ment by, for example, creating new governmental entities, eliminating existing
ones and/or shifting reposnibilities, usually take longer to implement and may
require a substantial amount of resources; and
Legal framework/constitution: these are major changes, which have a far-
reaching impact on a countrys economic and social development, affect all
stakeholders and determine the direction of public policies.
The ultimate purpose of all the aforementioned changes should be directed at eradi-
cating poverty, promoting people-centred development and ensuring optimal mobili-
zation and use of resources.
284

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This publication provides an overview of 85 successful innovations in governance

Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2009

Published by the United Nations

Department of Economic and Social Affairs

New York, 2009

In order to sustain efforts towards a better public administration, it is paramount to sup-

Case studies and information about the UNPSA winners

UNPAN is designed to help countries, especially developing countries and countries in

John-Mary Kauzya, Chief of the Governance and Public Administration Branch,

Part One: An Overview

Part Two: Success Stories 2009-2003

Part Three: Lessons Learned

UNPSA Winners and Finalists 2009-2003 At a Glance by Catogory

Improving Transparency, 2007 Category 2*: 2005 Category 3:

Public procurement accessibility 137 Citizens One-Stop-Shop centre 223

Equity in the educational system 173 2008 Category 3:

Application of Information and Speeding up data collection 238

2009 UNPSA Winners and Finalists

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Europe and Sweden City of Pite, A comprehensive benchmarking system to promote 23

Category 2: Improving the Delivery of Public Services

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Western Egypt e-Tanseek, University Comprehensive web-based application assisting 29

Category 3: Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 4: Advancing Knowledge Management in Government

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

2008 UNPSA Winners and Finalists

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 2: Improving the Delivery of Public Services

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 3: Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

2007 UNPSA Winners*

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 2: Improving the Delivery of Public Services

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 3: Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

* 2007 finalists initiatives details are not covered in this publication

2006 UNPSA Winners

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 2: Improving the Delivery of Public Services

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 3: Application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Govt.: e-Govt.

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Special Award in Innovation

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

2005 UNPSA Winners

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 2: Improving the Delivery of Public Services

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 3: Application of Information and Communication Technology in Government

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

2004 UNPSA Winners

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 2: Improvement of the Quality of the Public Service Process

Region Country Initiative Description Pg

Category 3: Innovations in Public Service

Region Country Initiative Description Pg