| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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MOI have followed a strong and comprehensive strategy to implement the E-services portal through a master plan that implemented based on extensive survey conducted internally and externally. Planning begun with assessment action that addressed reviewers and visitors impressions, elements that hinders transaction completion within appropriate timeline, employee’s performance, indexing flexibility, bureaucracy impact and the daily life rhythm across major cities, villages and regions.
Furthermore, MOI opened channels of communication with other concerned government firms, NGO’s, private sector entities and community service associations to point out their suggestions and relative problems to ensure utmost integration of the portal action plan.
In taking public impression, a number of inquirers and visitors complained about traffic jams and mileage of distance crossed to reach desired point of service. Others had complained about queuing for long time and ruin the advantage of finishing other duties due to time wasted in the queues.
The third complain addressed majorly was conventional paperwork which expose’s people interests to lose, inaccuracy and fraud because of bad indexing or human possible error.
The counterpart survey conducted by MOI has focused on employee’s performance and department’s applicable framework to highlight channels of negative elements that should be avoided and covered within the portal execution plan.
In consequence to MOI’s phase 1 action plan which represented with internal and external surveys and feedbacks, concerned department at MOI conducted the plan of routing out and categorize the surveys and feedback results as to booting basic, secondary and extra-secondary sections that should be applied in the portal.
Following this, the concerned department and working teams at MOI held a number of meetings with a pre-selected prestigious and reputed websites and portal designing firm. This came in term to address all concerned points of the portal design, structure, monitoring, technical support, update and overall security and privacy.
After guaranteeing completion of launching frame, MOI portal administration and monitoring team conducted the portal soft run which witnessed unparallel success and turnout by citizen and residents from all regions of the country.
Accordingly, MOI have officially announced the launch of its E- services portal.
Additionally, the MOI E-services portal worked as an interactive link between the departments of the Ministry of Interior and other Ministries across the country.
Transaction like permission issuance for Haj (pilgrimage), issuance/renewal of passports, personal identification card, driving license, re-entry visa, etc, had become just clicks away to be approved and completely done.
In addition to that, MOI inaugurated a number of inquirers service offices which are open and available for public after the official working hours. The offices provide all inquirers with typical services that could be found within the Ministry’s main premises.
Following few clicks and acceptance of transaction, applicant could receive his renewed document at his doorstep thanks to the designed MOI postal delivery service. Accordingly, business providers, employers and document clearance officers would have the advantage of completing their applications without the need to visit any MOI departments.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Despite all concerned government firms, NGO’s, private sector entities, public service association and work teams who contributed in the success of this project, MOI believes that every single citizen and resident in Saudi Arabia is a stakeholder of its unique E-service portal.
MOI would like through this to thank all field workers, department workers, participated individuals from social, commercial, public service facilities and all those who have contributed in putting this national development plan into action.
MOI undertakes the responsibility to further strive toward improving delivery of its services which represent a pillar of community development.
MOI believes that improving of service is an improving of humanity and appreciation to everyone involved in making a better tomorrow for all.
Worth mentioning that many public and private sector firms and bodies were involved in putting this national project into action. At the level of technology, companies such as IBM, NCR, Microsoft and Oracle were stakeholders who involved in the implementation in parallel to efforts delivered by many insurance companies, banks and the (EFADA) medical database system which run and supervised by the Ministry of Health.
Saudi Postal Services were also one of the initiative’s stakeholders that heavily contributed in the implementation through logging and delivery services linked with the MOI portal.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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As addressed above, MOI planned to use every possible resource to put its initiative into action. The framework involved every single element that could contribute in making the initiative successful and error free.
Also, MOI ensured that concerned resources are completely legal, formal, and correct and based on accurate statistics.
At infrastructure setup manner, the Ministry of Interior E-services portal project was completely funded by the government of Saudi Arabia with a cost of nearly 360M SAR. The MOI stressed and keen on using the most sophisticated and high quality hardware and software in term to rationing all operation-wise setup and to ensure best placement for the overall structure.
The portal contains 10 of the most modernized and developed security devices, 100 virtual machines, 34 physical servers which combined in 10 different racks with 20 network devices.
Moreover, the portal premises and facilities have been completely built to match all current and future requirements and equipped with utmost security, safety and operative systems.
The resources included for example but not limited to, the Ministry of labour, the Ministry of Social affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Investment, The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, private sector firms, NGO’s and hundreds of public service association.
The mobilization of the initiative begun with extensive public awareness campaign that include ministries, public facilities, schools, universities and all possible firms that would help and contribute in putting the initiative at the best level required.
The campaign included TV commercials, radio spots, outdoor banners, rollups, posters, flyers, social network spots, mobile phones SMS’s and visual presentation.
MOI believes that all the awareness campaign elements delivered a good impact within all spectrum of the Saudi community and helped the Ministry in planning and implementing the initiative.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The MOI E-service portal witnessed unparalleled success based on its post-launch assessments conducted. The MOI portal administration and monitoring team have indicated several outputs that translate effectiveness, integrity and overall benefits delivered through the portal.
The most successful outputs were the huge increase of daily accomplished transactions, reducing beneficiaries burden in regard to multi official transaction required for one or more service, improve employee’s pace of work and performance, improve the base of information delivery for both government, citizens and residents alike, as well as raise the overall satisfaction and productivity of individual and system users.
Addressing the first output, it is logically proved that data entering and processing is much faster when done using electronic systems. As queuing use to waste visitor and employee time and effort, the MOI E-services portal saved time and effort and allow both sides to increase their productivity, and allow MOI departments to delivered portal users transaction in faster and comprehensive manner.
Consequently, MOI in cooperation with assigned monitoring committees have concluded that electronic applications received hails of positive reactions by the system users. Statistics also showed noticeable gab between hand to hand service and electronic entry service. As a result, transactions such as RP renewal, license renewal and amendment of profession (to name few) became completely easier, faster and helpful.
Before, citizens and residents have to move between departments and other governmental and non-governmental bodies, in regard to complete a single desired transaction, a barrier that already vanished following the launch of the portal.
Taking into consideration the employee’s morale disparity during accepting huge number of face to face transactions every day, their physical condition, absence, etc., but using the portal ensures better delivery of service and more improvement of data handling and processing.
Indexing, recording, reporting and information tracing are the elements which form’s the fourth most successful output delivered by the E-services portal. MOI, other ministries, citizens, residents and all involved firms would have the advantage of recall any transaction within a click of finger tip. MOI portal monitoring team have the ability to retrieve all necessary information to complete, approve, renew, issue or even update information within seconds.
Eventually and when we address the term of productivity and satisfaction, the MOI portal, has succeeded in increasing vast part of community productivity, commitment to better working and achieved nation-wide satisfaction in regard to improvement of government service delivery.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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As previously indicated, the MOI E-services portal systems has been pre-structured and equipped with enumeration criteria that allow portal administration team to monitor, assess, evaluate and update all services and channels involved.
The portal automatically receives, accepts and count’s every single log-in occurred within the system in term to continuously work on technical setbacks, improvement needs and most importantly monitoring flexibility of database inputs and outputs.
Nevertheless, the MOI portal administrator team is holding consecutive meetings and conducting workshops to ensure reliability and round the clock technical efficiency.
Also, the portal administration team is pursuing a periodical framework of public feedback, which includes electronic and paper questionnaires. Such questionnaires would help in developing and improving all services provided through the MOI portal.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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The implementation of the MOI portal faced a number of obstacles that were encountered to ensure best operation and flexibility. Initially, data gathering, categorization and system response and convenience were the most important issues that needed to be solved during implementation process of the portal.
As MOI conducted vast and accurate feasibility study in prior to launch the portal, such obstacles were pre-indicated and had its overcome plan. To gather required data, the MOI portal administration team held an intensified workshops and meetings to use all possible resources that provided by official and semi-official bodies to ensure integrity and accuracy of gathered information, a move that requested extra mental and physical efforts. Upon approval of information, the team begun to categorize it in term to code them into segments that will form the portal structure afterward.
During the process of putting the information into segments, the technical support team in coordination with the portal administration team conducted the portal soft launch to ensure best levels of response while inputting and outputting and how the system is easy to use by targeted segment.
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