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Capacity Building projects
eGovernment Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain
Bahrain

The Problem

Paying electricity, traffic contraventions, or requesting for birth certificates can be a burden for many citizens, and another herculean task to substitute concepts, skills and behaviors in order to achieve this noble goal that has been implemented by the eGovernment Authority (eGA).

It’s always not a matter of the data saying that changes are necessary in using the eServices so people alter their behavior. Instead, it’s subtler and deeper. It’s a loud sound that catches attention of those unsophisticated citizens who weren’t given the chance to touch a computer screen or even know the purpose of a mouse!

Those could be our parents or even first line government employees, such as drivers, postmen or messengers who have spent their life educating their children till the technology outrun them with miles.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The eGovernment Authority found the Capacity Building Project which is more than just a Training Project. It is long term, continuing process, established in March 2009, in which all stakeholders participate (Ministries, General Authorities and General organizations and others in the Kingdom of Bahrain).It can be also defined as creation of an enabling environment and appropriate policy legal frame work with community participation, human recourses development and strengthening of managerial skills and competencies. CB consists of 7 projects. They are Government employee awareness, Citizen Digital Literacy, Leadership, Micro Learning, Customer Care, Employee Computer Literacy and Project Management.

The eGovernment Authority is a non-profit organization, accordingly all the returns of the investments in capacity building project is not seem clearly through figures or percentage but in providing employee and citizen with skills and competencies as it is the greatest value . One of the goals is to make people utilize the e-services which will reduce traffic jams, pollution and the whole environment that will reduce the cost on the community.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The eGovernment Authority proposed the project, which was established officially in March 2009. The Director of HR, Finance and Capacity Building has implemented it with the help of his professional team.
All stakeholders participate (Ministries, General Authorities, General organizations, NOG’s and citizens in the Kingdom of Bahrain).

(a) Strategies

 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.
Capacity Building is considered as one of the key enablers to support effective implementation of the strategic priorities to ensure successful and timely implementation of the eGovernment strategy in Bahrain.
Capacity Building main target is to train 2000 citizens until the end of 2009 and 13,000 citizen in 2010. In terms of human resource development; it is planned to train 5100 employees in different specializations needed by the market and governments.
The key performance indicator (KPIs) explains the project goals and how are they measured:


1- Government employee awareness.
2- Citizen Digital Literacy.
3- Leadership.
4- Micro learning.
5- Customer care.
6- Employee Computer Literacy.
7- Project Management.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
KPIs 2009 2010
GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES AWARNESS 600 1000
COMPUTER LITERACY 485 2015
LEADERSHIP 100 200
CUSTOMER CARE 150 200
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 100 100
MICROLEARNING 25 125
CITIZEN AWARENESS 2000 13000

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The main obstacle was the difficulty for citizens to have the training services in 5 particular areas only (5 Governances), so we thought about new innovative approach which is the adoption of “go to market”. Because we want to deliver our goals by efficient methods, cost effective and high-quality, we succeeded in reaching the nearest possible 34 training centers and evaluates the understanding of citizen knowledge one by one. So now, people get the services in a proper time and nearest place.

(d) Use of Resources

 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
We have used two types of resources; internal and external resources. The internal includes four administration coordinators; and the external consist of the trainers and the supplier. The total project cost is one and half million Bahraini Dinars per year. The technical part is concentrating on the qualification of the trainers as they should be holding a BA in IT or Computer Science, in addition to two years experience in teaching. Also, the computer labs is one of the major reasons behind this project success, which suppose to be accommodated with good condition computers that links to internet connections.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Since the project belongs to a semi government authority. The beginning of the project is very strong and based on a well studied plan. Also, it is adapted financially for two years by the HR, Finance & Capacity Building Directorate. There are four employees in the Capacity Building project. The total budget of the project is BD 2000 monthly. So creating this project wasn’t an odd idea. On the contrary, it fitted perfectly with the directorate towards its mission & vision.

There was a need for the workshops and training courses the project is offering, so the public was highly cooperating with the eGovernment Authority in this concern.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The feedback of all workshops and training courses were inducted so far are very good. We learned a lot from their feedback and we know that we learned more when we face challenges. Choosing convenient timing for each group of people and different employees’ needs are examples of those challenges.

After doing the first evaluation survey for the first trained group, we collected some of the following quotes below:

“Thank you for teaching my wife, since then she helps our children in using the computer”. “ getting an Internet line was a nightmare for me, but now no worries about the kids after their mother learned how to surface the internet!”, a husband of one of the former trainees said.
“I used to wait in a queue for an hour or more to pay the electricity bill, now it takes me few minutes while watching T.V”, said another former trainee.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   eGovernment Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Rashed Al Hammad
Title:   Director of HR, Finance and Capacity Building  
Telephone/ Fax:   +973 17388241
Institution's / Project's Website:   +973 17388338
E-mail:   ralhammad@ega.gov.bh  
Address:   10th Floor, Euro Tower, Bldg No 485, Road No 1010
Postal Code:   PO Box 75533
City:   Sanabis
State/Province:  
Country:   Bahrain

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