United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Reference to the eGovernment strategy we deliver eKiosk as another delivery channel to deliver the portal eServices to Citizens through different approach, eKiosk is a self-service machine which resembles and works much in the same way as ATM machines, thereby allowing customers to use the eServices with complete ease. The eKiosk doesn’t restrict the End user to have computer and Internet connectivity to utilize the eGovernment services, eKiosk came as a separate Delivery channel through 35 Stand Alone machines across the country that Integrated with Very user friendly Touch screen Interface Design that Brings the Core eGovernment services (Payment & None payment Services) to Citizens through a variety of 35 locations such as (Shopping Malls, Post offices, Universities, Hospitals, Banks, government entities) and much more.
The main objective eGA seeking of implementing the eKiosk idea is to deliver the eServices smoothly to expand the amount of people using the eGovernment services, apart from that people who’s not computer Literate, Mid-Average Income people, Uneducated people used to go to government entities to make their payment and they have to stay in Long queues waiting for their turn to make the transaction, while the government representative have to manage to Deliver the service to all of them, A lot of complains we’re raised by customers to those government Entities for the Long time spent by Individuals to process their Bills, eGovernment had to do something about it since they are Integrating those governments Services through one Portal, here is where the eKiosk Idea was created to provide a high level eServices that can be done in a short time without waiting in the queues.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
There are many key benefits the eGA gained of implementing the eKiosk and distributed different 35 eKiosk in many locations, the main Key benefit is to have the eServices available to the citizens in different locations deployed on a user friendly easy to use machines. The eGA distributed the eKiosks After studying the market Locations and the Traffic of people in different areas, eGovernment decided to distribute 35 Kiosk machines in different locations, where you can find many people coming and going at which gives better chances for Citizens to explore the simple way of using the eKiosk, 30 important eServices was developed already for the citizens to experience the many uses of those Payments and None Payments eServices. Right now any user can pay his electricity and Water Bill, pay his traffic contraventions by Debit/Credit card and use all the other useful eServices that are available on the eKiosk. We are also moving towards integrating private sector eServices, Such as eTicket which will allow users to purchase their airline tickets through the same 35 Kiosks and they will be able to pay through Debit or Credit cards. The Improvement was measured by two ways, first is the back End transactions processes by the Site Remote admin through calculating the total Amount of transaction happening on each Kiosk, and the number of successful transactions Among the List, apparently the number came to be very Positive with almost 97.5 % successful Payment transaction Done at the first phase, and this number started increasing by Time as we did a new Case study to reduce the Amount of failure transactions happening till we reached to a success of 100% successful transactions , Customers were happy and satisfied and the Government Entities Traffic started reducing . eGovernment marketing Team played a major Role in Distributing the Idea of kiosks through Mass Media advertisements, Road Shows, questionnaire Events with valuable prizes, to educate individuals about the eServices available on the eKiosk, how easy to use the eKiosk and give the people the proper background and knowledge. eKiosks provide a massive help to the citizens to end up the long waiting queues and allow them to use proper high level easy eServices in easy simple way that will help them save their time and effort. The eKiosks make the eServices easy to use in many different locations.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
As the eKiosk main purpose is to deliver the eServices through easy to user machines available in different locations, the eGA cooperated with the biggest Local Credit Cards Provider in Bahrain in order the enhance the exposure of the Portal services and facilitate the deployment of the eService on the eKiosk based on the Idea. Since they hold the Biggest Payment Gateway the Integration started with one Demo machine to test the connectivity between the POS and the payment gateway through GPRS Logic, this was the first step of the Implementation and it was done by three entities, (Credit Cards Issuer- eGovernment -third party vendor) . This was eGovernment first (PPP) Public Private Partnership. The Credit Cards Issuer being the Private Partner is responsible for the designing, building, delivering, installation including testing and training of Kiosk Project via carrying out different activities such as Supply and maintenance of eKiosks, Development of the user interface for eKiosks, Integration with backend systems of ministries, Management Information System (MIS) reports, Designing the technical and network architecture for the functioning of the kiosks, Renting space for kiosks at various locations, Tie ups with telecommunication providers for connectivity, Tie ups with various entities in consultation with the eGovernment for advertisements and cost sharing, Branding of kiosks as per eGovernment brand guidelines and campaign theme and Managing sub-contractor. On the other hand, eGA is responsible of designing the agreed eServices, developing the agreed eServices and assist Credit Cards Issuer to secure the eKiosks different locations and this all will be done with the assist of the third party vendor. Corporation between the stakeholder and defining each partner responsibilities is the main reasons for the eKiosk project success.

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 eKiosk project has been designed to deliver government as well as private eServices (in the future) in different places using standalone, self-service, touch-screen based machines known as eKiosks. The eKiosk project has special objectives and strategies to follow. It is a Build, Operate and Provide services type of project executed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The Credit Cards Issuer is the Private Partner solely responsible for building, operating and delivering eGovernment services. The eKiosk are to be placed in convenient different easy to reach Places. They Primarily focused to deliver Payment as well as Status tracking government services via a formal agreement between the Credit Cards Issuer and the eGA which has been signed to describe scope of work, roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders involved. Objectives of the project implemented through different phrases designing and developing the eServices, lounging the eServices and distributed the 35 eKiosks in different easy to reach locations. Reaching our objective of implementing the target eServices on the eKiosk was easy to implement using the key issues and mitigation strategy.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The eKiosk project has been through many development and implementation. The eGA formed a team of experts to perform a feasibility study to identify the services that can qualify to deliver through the eKiosk. The team recommended 30 eServices to develop. At the later stage, the detailed scope of the project was defined and eGA tie up with the credit card provider in early 2009. The project was divided into three phase implementation approach. Following is a list of major milestones achieved during the course of the project. - Develop a POC and lounge of the first batch online eServices and installation of eKiosks at 1st quarter. - Lounging of the remaining eService and installing all the 30 eKiosk at the 2nd quarter. - Finalizing the project at the 4th quarter.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The eKiosk has come across a many of challenges during the course of its project duration. The project was kicked off with time base delivery challenge that requires delivering 30 online eServices and installing 35 eKiosks. The challenge was overcome by the dedication of eGovernment Authority team who closely worked with the credit card provider, development vendor, telecommunication providers and ministries to ensure the target meets its deadline, by fast tracking the project development and by forming working group teams within ministries to get timely buy-ins from their side to the project. Following are some of other obstacles faced during the lifetime of project and the respective mitigations adopted. Challenges - Connectivity issues, Internet connection was not stable and there were many disconnections and some eKiosk always goes out of service. - Performance and speed issues, during transactions some eKiosk was perform slowly and stack sometimes. - People awareness is low and they are afraid of using ePayment services through the eKiosk as they prefer the ordinary payment. - Chose location was a big challenge as we need to spread the eKiosk over the five governorates. Solutions - To solve the connectivity issues, the eGA negotiate with the many telecommunication providers and it gets the perfect telecommunication provider with the suitable option. - To solve the performance and the speed issue, eGA arrange for a monitoring activity on regular bases and we can easily specify the technical problems and fix it. - eGA lounged several marketing campaigns and road shows to improve the awareness about the eKiosk project. - eGA search about the best places to install the eKiosks in, eKiosks are installed in governmental and nongovernmental premises, we have eKiosks at Ministries, Post Offices, Hospitals, Community Centers and shopping malls.

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
eGA has taken the part of acquiring the needed resources from the IT side to the business Side, they have deployed all necessary resources such as Project manager, and there was no financial resources needed. Following are the main resources eGA needed for the eKiosk project: Human Resource Used 1. Project Manager 2. Subject matter experts 3. Technical team lead 4. Development team 5. Infrastructure and operational teams Technical Resources 1. Payment gateway services through the credit card provider 2. Telecommunication services Financial recourses The project funded by the credit card provider, there were no financial resources from the eGA Other recourses The eGA formed a dedicated project team to manage the delivery of the eKiosk project. The resources availability from external stakeholders, e.g. ministries, was ensured using working group team concept. The agreement with credit card provider and telecommunication ensured the quality of service and support required from them during integration stages. The agreement with development vendor ensured to get on-site project manager and technical resource presence whilst the development work was agreed to be off-shore.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The eGovernment eKiosk is one of the PPP initiatives of Bahrain. This model is one of the most sustainable initiatives for the following reasons: • The number of kiosks can be increased to provide the services • The services can be increased to provide any upcoming services • Since the Kiosks are placed at business locations, location specific services can be provided in future • Other private services are also envisaged to be delivered through the Kiosks.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
There are many important aspects that made the eKiosk project a successful initiative. After this project is rolled out we have discovered that we have contributed in easing peoples, governments Life through Kiosks and its uses, people don’t need to stand in any Queue anywhere, and they can make their payment from any Locations, governmental and nongovernmental in a short time with the least effort. The collaboration between all the stockholders at all levels is one of other important aspect that made the initiative a success. Expert team dedicated for the project also contributed to make the project a success story. During the eGA internal study of the project, eGA finds that people are paying more attention toward using the eKiosk in their daily important transaction payment and nonpayment. The reports, monitoring activities and random inspections show a huge number of users as well as huge number of transaction, total payment amount through the eKiosk is really satisfying and assuring that the eKiosk project is a successful initiative.


Institution Name:		eGovernment Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Maher Alkhan
Title:		Asst. Director, Channel Enhancement
Telephone/ Fax:		+973 17388300
Institution's / Project's Website:		+973 17388338
E-mail:		malkhan@ega.gov.bh
Address:		Building no. 145, Road no. 2403, Block no. 224
Postal Code:		PO Box 75533
City:		Muharraq
State/Province:
Country:		Bahrain

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