Basic Info

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Nominee Information

Institutional Information

Member State Qatar
Institution Name Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Institution Type Ministry
Ministry Type Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies
Administrative Level National
Name of initiative TASMU Digital Valley
Projects Operational Years 2
Website of Institution https://tdv.motc.gov.qa/

Question 1: About the Initiative

Is this a public sector initiative? Yes

Question 2: Categories

Is the initiative relevant to one of the UNPSA categories? Category 1: Fostering innovation to deliver inclusive and equitable services
UNPSACriteria
NoItems

Question 3: Sustainable Development Goals

Is the initiative relevant to any of the 17 SDG(s)? Yes
If you answered yes above, please specify which SDG is the most relevant to the initiative. (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Which target(s) within the SDGs specified above is the initiative relevant to? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.16 Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, publicprivate and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships

Question 4: Implementation Date

Has the initiative been implemented for two or more years Yes
Please provide date of implemenation (dd/MM/yyyy) 29 Oct 2019

Question 5: Partners

Has the United Nations or any UN agencies been involved in this initiative? No
Which UN agency was involved? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
Please provide details

Question 6: Previous Participation

1. Has the initiative submitted an application for consideration in the past 3 years (2017-2019)? No

Question 7: UNPSA Awards

Has the initiative already won a UNPS Award? No

Question 8: Other Awards

Has the initiative won other Public Service Awards? No

Question 9: How did you learn about UNPSA?

How did you learn about UNPSA? GOVERNMENT

Question 10: Validation Consent

I give consent to contact relevant persons and entities to inquire about the initiative for validation purpose. Yes

Nomination form

Questions/Answers

Question 1

Please briefly describe the initiative, what issue or challenge it aims to address and specify its objectives (300 words maximum)
TASMU Digital Valley (TDV) program was launched in 2017 with a mission to promote and grow Qatar's innovative and vibrant digital ecosystem to enable the realization of sustainable digital sector growth and a smart future. TDV will contribute to Qatar's Digital economy while allowing the achievement of QNV 2030 by becoming the acknowledged co-orchestrator of the digital innovation ecosystem and establishing digital as the ‘core enabler’ of Qatar’s economic transformation. TDV objectives are to: 1) Foster transparency and insights into the composition and trends of the digital ecosystem 2) Facilitate a connected digital ecosystem of stakeholders across all its layers 3) Accelerate digital innovative outputs by supporting companies across the innovation funnel 4) Create the conditions of a preferred ecosystem for attracting foreign companies 5) Track the performance of the digital ecosystem and formulate recommendations accordingly

Question 2

Please explain how the initiative is linked to the selected category (100 words maximum)
TASMU Digital Valley (TDV) program supports the second category, which is to enhance the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the SDGs. This is achieved through various TDV activities and programs. This includes but is not limited to: 1) Work closely with local public institutions to support economic growth by achieving economic diversification through developing mechanisms to support entrepreneurship and enterprise development; 2) Jointly work with institutions to support creation of job opportunities and digital adoption among small-medium businesses to support economic competitiveness and growth; and 3) Partnered with international public and private entities to support and enhance knowledge sharing on areas related to technology, innovation and bilateral trade

Question 3

a. Please specify which SDGs and target(s) the initiative supports and describe concretely how the initiative has contributed to their implementation (200 words maximum)
1) SDG Goal - Decent Work and Economic Growth, Target - 8.2, 8.3: Developed TDV strategy to support economic diversification, technology, and innovation adoption. Activated programs such as SME digital adoption; supported startups, entrepreneurs and SMEs by facilitating them through innovation journey (acceleration and business facilitation services) and identifying suitable opportunities for selling their products and services. 2) SDG Goal - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Target - 9.3: Supported facilitation of services including access to financial support and funding for SMEs through working with financial institutions for the growth of startups and SMEs 3) SDG Goal - Partnerships for the Goals, Target - 17.6, 17.16, 17.17: Successfully created partnership locally and internationally to support the attraction of startups and enterprise expansion, sharing of knowledge and resources to support innovation and technology adoption. Case in point: e.g. working with international partner "Berlin Partner" to support the expansion of Berlin startups to Qatar, thereby increasing sustainable development and increasing job creation and enterprises growth
b. Please describe what makes the initiative sustainable in social, economic and environmental terms (100 words maximum)
The program aims to maintain and improve human capital in society by developing adequate mechanisms to increase entrepreneurship and support SMEs growth and development. Improve and invest in the delivery of business facilitation services in an effective and enhanced way to support business opportunities for all enterprises creating equal opportunities for all. Improve the quality of life by accelerating and assisting technology adoption to enhance economic development and job creation. The program also works towards environmental sustainability goals by supporting economic diversification by promoting digital adoption across various sectors, thereby reducing reliance on hydrocarbon industries

Question 4

a. Please explain how the initiative has addressed a significant shortfall in governance, public administration or public service within the context of a given country or region. (200 words maximum)
One of the key TDV objectives is to "facilitate a connected digital ecosystem of stakeholders across all its layers". Through achieving this objective, TDV works to set up ecosystem-wide and thematically-focused 'change maker' councils to support the development of the digital sector and all its constituent, i.e., entrepreneurs, startups, MNCs. This also includes establishing open collaboration mechanisms for academia, businesses, and government, including measures to ensure accountability of agreed-upon responsibilities
b. Please describe how your initiative addresses gender inequality in the country context. (100 words maximum)
The program supports development of comprehensive digital sector in Qatar and provide equal opportunities to all genders
c. Please describe who the target group(s) were, and explain how the initiative improved outcomes for these target groups. (200 words maximum)
TDV's target groups are tech startups, SMEs and MNCs. TDV provides various support for these tech companies during their journey in Qatar.One of the key support areas is creating central repository to capture all digital opportunities in Qatar for companies to understand the market sizing and opportunities. TDV also providing business facilitation services to support companies set up their business in Qatar, access to funding etc. It also includes working with tech vendors such as Microsoft, Google etc. to support our growing startups/SMEs in building their capabilities. Finally, TDV has partnered with international tech ecosystems to drive collaboration to attract attractive startups and exchange knowledge and insights

Question 5

a. Please describe how the initiative was implemented including key developments and steps, monitoring and evaluation activities, and the chronology. (300 words)
TASMU Digital Valley program was launched in 2017, and since its inception, it has achieved significant momentum and progress to achieve its objective. The program implementation started by developing an ICT adoption strategy to identify key interventions related to increased adoption of technologies by identifying technology market and requirements, Increasing technology FDI, and supporting the adoption of technologies among SMEs. To activate the implementation of these domains of intervention and play the role of an orchestrator to support the growth of the digital sector, TDV activated several key strategic partnerships. This network of partners supports the identification and delivery of key collaboration opportunities to meet program objectives. The program was further enhanced through detailed evaluation resulting in refreshed program strategy to encompass wider national objectives such as QNV2030 to achieve economic diversification and improve quality of life. This resulted in further identifying initiatives that broadly relate to fostering visibility of the ecosystem to provide a full overview of the digital ecosystem, resulting in access to opportunities for companies and businesses. Establish collaboration mechanisms for academia, businesses, and gov., incl. measures to ensure accountability of agreed-upon responsibilities and focused programs, events, and other interventions on specific sectors, technologies and target groups (e.g. SMEs)
b. Please clearly explain the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. (100 words)
Few of the challenges encountered were minimum collaboration among key stakeholders to drive sustainable growth of the sector. This was overcome by developing a comprehensive stakeholder management approach to identify and work with key strategic stakeholders and further identifying joint collaboration to realize benefits for all and ultimately support the development of the sector. The other challenge encountered was to provide real tangible support to startups and SMEs to become an effective part of the economy. A structured, well-defined program was established to support startups through their innovation journey to tackle these challenges. Lastly, another challenge was to support economic development by supporting and attracting the right talent and companies to Qatar. This was overcome by developing an international partnership to support us in attracting best-suited companies to Qatar

Question 6

a. Please explain in what ways the initiative is innovative in the context of your country or region. (100 words maximum)
The program has launched several initiatives to foster innovation in the country. This includes establishing an acceleration program to support technology companies through mentorship, training, and funding to grow and develop more innovative products and services. The program also aims to activate program support local companies to scale and expand internationally. Furthermore, supporting digital adoption among SMEs is also one of the key innovation initiatives as part of the program. Finally, creating an open innovation platform, allowing organizations to put their challenges and innovative tech companies to provide solutions to these challenges, will also contribute to innovation.
b. Please describe, if relevant, how the initiative drew inspiration from successful initiatives in other regions, countries and localities. (100 words maximum)
The program has derived inspiration from many international programs and countries. This includes Netherland's Tech leap program, especially on creating an open database platform to create visibility of the ecosystem. Programs to support the expansion of the startups internationally. Other examples include Singapore's Enterprise Singapore Program, where we have drawn inspiration for supporting digital adoption among SMEs, creating an open innovation platform, and supporting the acceleration of startups
c. If emerging and frontier technologies were used, please state how those were integrated into the initiative and/or how the initiative embraced digital government. (100 words maximum)
The program supports the adoption of digital technologies. One of the program's key aspects was to create a state of the art digital platform to enhance the clarity of the ecosystem for all players to find the right information and support available

Question 7

a. Has the initiative been transferred and/or adapted to other contexts (e.g. other cities, countries or regions) to your organization’s knowledge? If yes, please explain where and how. (200 words maximum)
The program has established an international partnership where the international organizations have adopted various program elements, especially around ways to enhance attractions and support of startups and SMEs
b. If not yet transferred/adapted to other contexts, please describe the potential for transferability. (200 words maximum)
The program has a significant potential to be adopted by other countries. This will include creating job opportunities, business and startup development, and creating a collaborative ecosystem to leverage assets, support, and infrastructure to achieve sector growth and economic sustainability.

Question 8

a. What specific resources (i.e. financial, human or others) were used to implement the initiative? (100 words maximum)
Resources (financial and human) have been allocated to develop program strategy and activate and implement the strategy. This also includes the use of international experts and sector-specific experts to support in delivering the program
b. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (100 words maximum)
The program will become sustainable with time as it will develop the next generation of startups and enterprises to support creating sustainable business environment. Furthermore, at a national level, the program will help developing countries’ mitigation plans and adaptation policies to support diversification of the economy, creation of jobs and adoption of technology and innovation

Question 9

a. Was the initiative formally evaluated either internally or externally?
Yes
b. Please describe how it was evaluated and by whom? (100 words maximum)
Internally, the program is evaluated by various ministry function which includes program transformation and PMO office. The programs is also evaluated by ministry's internal planning and quality department. Externally, various entities such as Planning and Statistics Authority and economic development committee evaluates the program
c. Please describe the indicators and tools used (100 words maximum)
Indicators includes number of business supported, jobs created, number of partners and facilitations through them, contribution towards digital economy & innovation, attraction of international companies to Qatar, services facilitated
d. What were the main findings of the evaluation (e.g. adequacy of resources mobilized for the initiative, quality of implementation and challenges faced, main outcomes, sustainability of the initiative, impacts) and how this information is being used to inform the initiative’s implementation. (200 words maximum)
The evaluation has resulted in the identification of key outcomes that are required to achieve program success. This includes the creation of a central ecosystem player to drive collective change through working with ecosystem players. In addition, identify challenges faced by institutions and companies to support digital transformation

Question 10

Please describe how the initiative is inscribed in the relevant institutional landscape (for example, how it was situated with respect to relevant government agencies, and how the institutional relationships with those have been operating). (200 words maximum)
The program is part of the Digital Industry Development Department which aims to support the development of the ICT sector in Qatar. The Digital Industry Department is part of the Digital Society Office, which comes under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). Internally, the program is well suited to be placed in the Digital Industry Department, where it works along with other programs to increase program implementation. Regarding Digital Society Office, it works with other ministry's initiatives such as TASMU Smart Qatar to support the delivery of the TASMU program by providing enabling layer to deliver innovation support required for the program. Externally, the program works collaboratively with other governmental institutions and programs to deliver on joint objectives

Question 11

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts emphasis on collaboration, engagement, partnerships, and inclusion. Please describe which stakeholders were engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating the initiative and how this engagement took place. (200 words maximum)
Our 2025 vision is to enable collaboration among digital ecosystem stakeholders to realize a unified view of the ecosystem, drive the sector’s growth and promote Qatar as a digital hub. The selected vision allows for TDV to position itself as a facilitator which will collaborate and leverage synergies with all ecosystem stakeholders to advance the sector and its objectives. The key stakeholders that were engaged at a national level are: Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar), Free Zones Authority (QFZA), Qatar Financial Center (QFC), Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), Qatar Foundation (QF), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) and Qatar Development Bank (QDB). The program also work with international partners and companies such as Berlin Partner, City of Tampere, Google, Microsoft, Facebook (Meta)

Question 12

Please describe the key lessons learned, and how your organization plans to improve the initiative. (200 words maximum)
Key lessons learned are related to developing sustainable economic development for the country by diversifying the economy and supporting business opportunities. For this, we will be developing sectors specific digital strategies to increase key sectors competitiveness. Supporting equal and visible opportunities in the sector by developing detailed central repository of opportunities that business could deliver. Create conductive environment to support entrepreneurship and SME

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