The digital transformation In the government sphere it has become a key issue to improve the quality of public services, optimize processes and increase transparency in public management. And although, heThe countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, that are part of the OECD, are moving in the right direction. Its progress “is uneven and requires significant efforts,” in order to take advantage of the benefits that the inclusion of new technologies brings and mitigate the potential risks.
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The above were some of the conclusions drawn by the Digital Government Index (DGI) 2023 presented by the OECD/IDB for the region and the Caribbeana report that evaluates the efforts made by 23 governments in the region to establish the necessary foundations for a coherent and people-centered digital transformation in the public sector.
But before knowing the results, it is worth noting that The DGI evaluates the maturity of digital government policies at the national or federal level. This is how the base took into account six dimensions, which take into account the efforts in the government machinery, the advances in development for access, as well as the tools and infrastructure; the design and delivery of user-centered policies and proactivity.
It is important to note that the DGI does not measure the level of digitization of specific government processes and services.
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Digital transformation
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The highlights
According to the resultsthe five countries with the best performance in the 2023 Digital Government Index for Latin America and the Caribbean they were: Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil and Mexico (with an average score of 0.5 on a scale from 0 to 1). On average, these countries performed “slightly higher” than the OECD average and present similar and balanced results, “reflecting their comprehensive efforts in implementing digital government policies.”
Regarding the dimensions, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean They stood out for measuring efforts and using digital tools to transform processes and services (Digital by Design), for measuring the government’s progress in developing the necessary bases to facilitate access and sharing of data (Data-Based Public Sector) and for evaluating the ability to design and deliver policies and services focused on users (User Centered).
“These efforts have included, among others, strengthening digital government governance, investments in data sharing and cybersecurity, and developing comprehensive action plans for digital inclusion. However, similar to OECD countries, the greater pace of digitalization of government services has not been accompanied by an increase in the ability to understand user needs, anticipate and solve their ultimate problems.”, highlighted the report.
In the Government as Platform dimension, which includes the availability of funds dedicated to digital/ICT projects, guidelines for digital public procurement and digital identity solutions, the five best performing countries were: Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay.
“The results indicate substantial differences between LAC and OECD countries in establishing common fundamental tools and systems for digital government. The gap extends across the four transversal facets, with the strategic approach being the most significant difference: an advance of 33% in LAC countries compared to 70% in the OECD. This variation is explained by a limited integration of cloud technologies, digital investments and GovTech efforts within the National Digital Government Strategies (NDGS) in the region”the report stated.
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Efficiency and availability of data for decision making are advantages in the adoption of new technologies.
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Infrastructure
When examining the development of public digital infrastructure, LAC countries showed promising results. For example, 86% of countries have at least one digital identity authentication method, 61% have an interoperability framework, 57% have shared networks, 48% have common tools for digital payments and shared data centers, and 43% have a common framework to support open source software.
However, gaps remain in the availability of common tools for digital notifications (30%) and base registration frameworks (26%).
Another essential aspect to advance the Government as a Platform approach is the strategic management of digital investments in the public sector. This comprises the comprehensive process to plan, prioritize, finance, implement, monitor and evaluate investments in digital technologies in government.
Work with data
The five countries with the best performance in the Open by Default dimension, focused on the implementation of government open data policies, were Colombia, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Brazil and Peru. These countries not only lead the region in implementing data policies, but also providing high-quality data sets. In addition, they are notable for promoting the use of open source software in government and for providing publicly accessible information on the progress of digital/ICT projects.
It should be noted that the results of this dimension also show the need to establish mechanisms for the exercise of data rights, publish information on the progress of digital projects and adopt algorithmic transparency instruments throughout the region.
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