United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Today, thanks to the strong determination of the successive governments for transformation, the Cape Verdean public administration has indeed become more efficient, more effective, more transparent, more citizen-oriented and with more capacity to offer better quality services.
Over the years, many frontiers have been eliminated and the Cape Verdean public administration is increasingly getting closer to the citizens. State organization was reinvented, by providing tools to better manage the public good and the relationship among State services and between these services and the society have been simplified. The Public Administration is presently able to provide cross-cut public services, involving various agencies, and collaborating effectively and transparently, and be available through multiple channels.
But, for many years, the scenario was quite different. Cape Verde had an inefficient public administration, which did not provide timely response to the needs of citizens and businesses. Bureaucratic requirements and the rigidity and complexity of administrative procedures prevented State services, whether the registration, industry, education, health sectors or others, to offer quick, rapid and less bureaucratic responses.
Public services were provided only through front office attendance and were extremely centralized and time-consuming. Coupled with the issue of territorial discontinuity, in many cases citizens had to travel long distances, from one institution to another, from one city to another, from one island to another, from abroad to the country of origin, and wait in long queues in order to have access to public services. For example, it took an average of 15 days to issue a single certificate and 52 days to open a business.

Public policy-makers, in turn, were deprived of the tools that enabled them to make timely decisions. Papers piled up in archives, official documents circulated through the public administration in hard copies, which made communication very slow and increased the risks of physical manipulation of their content.
Information redundancy was a critical issue, as there was no system linking the organic structures of public administration. Each entity had its own database and services offered were totally disconnected from each other. Management and control of public administration organizational, human, and financial resources and assets were also heavily penalized by the lack of appropriate tools.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
In the model proposed by NOSi - Operational Unit for Information Society, the IGRP (Integrated Government Resources Planning) is positioned as an innovative product that provides an integrated package of solutions for Governance, with the goal of providing quality services to citizens aiming, above all, at efficiency gains in the public sector, improving transparency and accountability in government functions. IGRP proposes instruments that promote reduced bureaucracy and simplification of administrative procedures in all public services, and provides for active collaboration between sectors regardless of their nature, based on a single State communications network. There is a wide variety of products that make up the IGRP, ranging from Financial Management to Health, including areas such as Justice, Elections Management, Registries and Notaries, Municipalities, Education, among others. Indeed, the Cape Verdean public administration is now able to provide various cross-cut public services through multiple access channels, involving several agencies that collaborate in an effective and transparent manner. IGRP has brought tangible benefits in various public sectors, helping to greatly improve good governance indexes in the country: Increased speed and quality in the provision of public services to citizens, by issuing Online Certificates (issuing period went from several weeks to just one minute, both in the country and abroad), Online electronic payments (real-time payment of contributions and taxes), scheduling of hospital appointments online, and creation of a one-stop shop for the provision of various integrated public services to citizens and companies in the country and abroad through the following service channels: Personalized Service (House of Citizens') WEBSITE (www.portondinosilha.cv) Telephone (Contact Center); Improved Business Environment / Promotion of Entrepreneurship, with the establishment of a "Business in one day" (from 52 days to 1 hour); Business Licensing (from 15 days to 48 hours); Greater Transparency in public service provision with the Signature Verification Service, and in financial management within the state apparatus, through mechanisms of citizen participation and contribution in the government program and State budgeting process; IGRP also allowed online monitoring of State collections, transactions and expenditures; Increased efficiency / productivity, employees freed from "time consuming tasks"; Access to online information and public services for communities through free Internet access points established in all municipalities under this initiative, which has increased Internet penetration in the country to 30% (source: itu.int); It brought greater efficiency and transparency to Electoral Processes. Election results are now disseminated in record time (last elections - 2011 - in 2 hours); Greater and better integration of the Cape Verdean Diaspora by allowing for faster exchange with the public administration. Improved good governance practices, conferring greater credibility to the country vis-a-vis donors, for example, the country's selection by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) as Fiscal Agent, its indication as a Case Study and benchmarking for CPLP countries, by institutions such as IMF and World Bank; The IGRP model defends a vision where Public Administration is a single entity with the mission to focus its products and services on the needs of Citizens and SMEs, as the main beneficiaries of this innovation.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
In Cape Verde, it all began over ten years ago when the government elected information and communication technologies as a tool capable of enhancing the country's competitiveness, with the Operational Unit for Information Society (NOSi - www.nosi.cv - set up as the government agency responsible for realizing this vision. IGRP - (Integrated Government Resources Planning) is therefore a proposal of the government of Cape Verde. It was established as the main tool for governance and administrative modernization, boosting the emergence of a new concept of public delivery and a new generation of public services, aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and citizenship, by placing the interests of citizens at the center of public service. One should also note, however, the strong partnership established between the public and private sectors and the civil society. Public Managers, Universities, Municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, private sector, public institutions, among others, were involved in its implementation process. Two international conferences were held on Information Society which served as a broad forum for discussions and sharing with the Cape Verdean society and partners of international repute on the challenges associated with launching the process of building an e-governance in Cape Verde. The SPIS - Strategic Plan for Information Society and the APEG - Action Plan for Electronic Governance were presented and discussed at these meetings. The Action Plan for Electronic Governance (APEG) and the Strategic Plan for the Information Society (ISSP) define the strategic guidelines to be adopted, priority actions, and actions and projects that embody electronic governance. It is translated into a knowledge and information management plan through the sharing and integration of information and knowledge systems of various fields and sectors that are result oriented, through the use of best practices in matters of communication platforms and information systems and network connection.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The implementation of e-governance in Cape Verde has received worldwide praise, mainly because it is different from the models used in most countries. The way how the electronic governance systems were integrated has placed Cape Verde ahead of many countries which, though had started first, only now are solving problems related to the dispersion of organic structures and information systems involved in e-governance processes. In other words, the model adopted by Cape Verde of having as its central assumption the integration of systems on a common technology platform minimizes the challenge of interoperability faced by many developed countries. As a result of this holistic view, IGRP bases all its logic on the principle of "Write Once, Read Many", that is, information is not duplicated within the Administration and can be accessed across departments. Dematerialization and absence of territoriality are other basic principles of this vision. In terms of dematerialization, the starting point was to digitalize all the civil registration archives for the past hundred years with the aim of providing and integrating identity information of citizens, which is key to any e-government service. The incorporation of technology in the public administration was not conceived as a simple installation and spreading of computers, but rather as a means to achieve integration of services. A package that combines hardware, software, training in the use solutions and services provided, the redefinition of processes and, finally, the interaction between the administration and citizens.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
It all started with the creation of the State Financial Administration Reform Unit (RAFE) in 1998. With this unit under the Ministry of Finance, electronic governance (e-Gov), Cape Verde took its first steps to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public administration, through new budget, financial and property management tools supported by a modern technology platform and exiting national capacities. Initially limited to the Ministry of Finance, e-gov quickly spread across public administration services, thus launching the beginning of the modernization of other State sectors. In response to the growing demand and in accordance with the Government's strategic vision, the Operational Unit of the Information Society (NOSi) was created by resolution of the Council of Ministers, in July 2003, as an operational unit of the Inter-ministerial Commission for Innovation and Information Society, chaired by the Prime Minister of Cape Verde. The public administration modernization process in Cape Verde continued thanks to a secure and robust highway of information, comprising a Data Center and a communication network that ensures the interconnection of all nine (9) islands and State institutions, from the organs of sovereignty to simple State services and services with administrative and financial autonomy, including Institutes and municipalities. Today there are in all slightly over 8000 access terminals that enable voice services over the Internet (VOIP), email and applications. In chronological terms, some of the notable milestones are: 1998 - Creation of the State Financial Management Reform Unit (RAFE); 2000 - start of implementation of the Integrated Budget and Financial Management System (SIGOF); 2001, beginning of the expansion of the State Communications Network; Computerization of Records, Notary and Identification; beginning of computerization of Municipalities; 2003 - Modernization of Electoral System; 2005 - Publication of PAGE and PSI; 2006 - Digitalization of books from Civil Registration, Identification and Notary services; 2006 - Start of System Information for Health - SIPS; 2007 - Launch of Konekta Project - Free Internet access in public parks in the country; 2007 - Inauguration of the Contact Center, Opening of the Data Center, Launching of the portal www.portondinosilha.cv Launching of Online Certificates; 2008 - modernization of the electoral process with the introduction of biometrics; Beginning of integration of embassies and consulates into the State communications network; Opening of the House of Citizen's front-office; launching of the Business in One Day; 2009 - National System of Civil Identification and Authentication; Public Administration Human Resources Management Data Base; 2010 - Integrated Social Security System.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Scarce financial and human resources, insularity, and territorial dispersion have been major obstacles to the development process throughout the country. To implement the IGRP (Integrated Government Resources Planning), in addition to these obstacles, we also face strong internal resistance in view of the loss of authority and power due to the dismantlement of sectoral barriers, as well as the rigidity and complexity of administrative barriers. To overcome these challenges, partnerships were established with various institutions within and outside the country, various sectors were involved with view to simplifying administrative barriers in order to promote integration between them; there was strong commitment to training and certification of national capacities and capabilities, heavy investment in equipment. One should underline the strong political patronage of the government of Cape Verde.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
To implement the IGRP it was necessary to raise financial, human and technical resources. The project was funded by the Government of Cape Verde with support from countries with which it has close cooperation ties and international institutions like the World Bank, UNDP - United Nations Development Program , African Development Bank, ICF - The Investment Climate Facility for Africa, among others. Strategic partnerships were established with Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, Hawuei; with local companies and organizations from different sectors. It also necessary to invest heavily in the capacity-building of national cadres. The resources required to materialize the IGRP were high. With the House of Citizens' Project alone, to provide integrated public services in the various components of, front-office, Web and Contact Center, the total amount spent was $ 4,893,271.7, excluding the cost of communication infrastructures and the two Data centers that support the project.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The sustainability of this initiative is guaranteed by the strong capacities and capabilities that our national cadres accumulated over the years and the continuous training process; The robustness and capacity of existing communication infrastructure and the government's strong political will to continue to modernize the Capeverdean public administration to promote the improvement of public service delivery and accessibility, increase opportunities for civic participation and democratic governance, and to make the public administration more effective and efficient, less costly and more accountable. The IGRP Model is adaptable to different situations as long as the assumptions and /or basic requirements are in place: political will to make organizational adjustments as necessary; common technological platform;

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The existence of a single technology platform, the technical competence of national cadres, the government's strong political will, and the public-private partnerships established have contributed so that today we have various service channels, which give greater speed to service provision and comfort to those who seek our public administration. The Service Center is a voice channel of the House of Citizens where useful guidance is provided to all citizens. The House of the Citizens Front-offices is a full cross-cut channel for in-person services in relation to public administration structures. It is a one-stop shop for the various public services. Porton di nos ilha, www.portondinosilha.cv, the Web channel, is the service interface where the user - citizens and businesses - find the main products / services that traditionally would be made available in person at the counters of Public Administration services. SMS, short message channel reserved for mobile phones to interact with the client to inform and warn of the various processes or services. It is also used to receive specific document codes for validation and access. Today, thanks to the IGRP we have a new model of public service delivery translated into high quality goods and services, focused on citizens and businesses whose strategy is based on the following guiding principles: Debureaucratization/Administrative Simplification; Decentralization; Transparency; Accountability; Ethics; Professionalism; Competitiveness; and the Focus toward Citizens and Businesses. The results achieved lead us to conclude that the Public Administration Modernization and Transformation process is essential for consolidating the democratic rule of law and good governance, and is instrumental for the growth strategy. In spite the gains achieved and recognized it is necessary to consolidate governance actions and extend the results to both local and central public administration, so as that each and everyone may take advantage of an efficient and modern public administration


Institution Name:		Núcleo Operacional da Sociedade de Informação
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Jorge Lopes
Title:		Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Telephone/ Fax:		(238) 260 79 80 / (238) 261 55 10
Institution's / Project's Website:		www.nosi.cv
E-mail:		jorge.lopes@nosi.cv
Address:		P.O.BOX 620- Avenida Cidade de Lisboa – Praia – Cabo Verde
Postal Code:		620
City:		Praia
State/Province:		Ilha de Santiago
Country:		Cape Verde

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information