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Nominee Information

Institutional Information
Member State Bahrain
Institution Name Information & eGovernment Authority
Institution Type Public Agency
Administrative Level National
Name of initiative National Suggestion & Complaint System - (Tawasl)
Projects Operational Years 7
Website of Institution www.bahrain.bh

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? Fostering innovation to deliver inclusive and equitable services for all including through digital transformation
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 5: Gender Equality
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Which target(s) within the SDGs specified above is the initiative relevant to? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
9.b Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
9.c Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
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
17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

Question 4: Implementation Date
Has the initiative been implemented for two or more years Yes
Please provide date of implemenation (dd/MM/yyyy) 11 Jan 2014

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? Yes
If yes, please specify name, organisation and year. Salim Al Ali Informatics Award - Kuwait

Question 9: How did you learn about UNPSA?
How did you learn about UNPSA? EMAIL

Question 10: Validation Consent
I give consent to contact relevant persons and entities to inquire about the initiative for validation purpose. Yes

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? Fostering innovation to deliver inclusive and equitable services for all including through digital transformation
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 5: Gender Equality
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Which target(s) within the SDGs specified above is the initiative relevant to? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
9.b Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
9.c Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020
10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
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
17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

Question 4: Implementation Date
Has the initiative been implemented for two or more years Yes
Please provide date of implemenation (dd/MM/yyyy) 11 Jan 2014

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? Yes
If yes, please specify name, organisation and year. Salim Al Ali Informatics Award - Kuwait

Question 9: How did you learn about UNPSA?
How did you learn about UNPSA? EMAIL

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)
Bahrain has emerged as one of the strongest champions of eGovernment in the Gulf Region. Despite its many advances, handling the citizens and residents’ complaints were handled differently in governmental entity and with different service level agreement as well as different customer expectations. There was no data governance at leadership level for the most frequent cases to take the overarching actions and policy making. The National Suggestion & Complaint System been established by Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) under the name “Tawasul” – meaning Be Connected in Arabic – to unify the process of handling citizens’/ residents’ suggestions and complaints related to public service delivery at the respective government entity within a pre-defined and unified service level agreement and standards under direct supervision of the office of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister who have a dashboard showcasing all entities performance in Tawasul. The aim is to empower citizens & residents in resolving their cases anytime and from anywhere and leaving no-one behind, while upskilling the efficiency of government employees in dealing with complaints/ suggestions in-line with the National Development Agenda 2030 and the Government Action Plan. The initiatives also aimed at providing the leadership with a bird-eye view of the most cases that arise in the public service delivery to take the necessary actions and issue the necessary public policies. Tawasul is web-based system and a mobile app through-which the public can submit their cases directly to 42 government entities. The government has taken the necessary measures to ensure complains are been handled professionally and within the pre-defined service level agreement (SLA) through the automated escalation of breached SLA to the Minister directly and the leadership, in addition to the yearly high-level award by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister to honor the entities with excellent performance in Tawasul.

Question 2

Please explain how the initiative is linked to the selected category. (100 words maximum)
Tawasul is a digital tool that has transformed public complaint & suggestion management to a advanced levels. As the complaint handling process is dealing with the case only and monitored at highest level authorities, it has empowered all the citizens and residents, without any descrimintation to be treated equally and with the highest level of fairness and justice. The data within Tawasul has given the government of Bahrain a useful information to build public strategies and policies that are in-line with the public needs and the overall development agenda.

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)
Being a tool to ensure the delivery of professional and fair service, Tawasul has supported the national achievements to SDG goals Gender Equality and Reducing Inequalities through empowering women and all vulnerable groups (e.g. domestic workers), by eliminating any form of discrimination in dealing with their public service needs and leaving no-one behind. All of them have the same opportunity to take advantage of the service and be treated at the same level without the need to identify their social status levels. Tawasul also served the goal no. 9 by providing advanced technological tool supported by a well-structured technical infrastructure that ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the service.
b. Please describe what makes the initiative sustainable in social, economic and environmental terms. (100 words maximum)
Tawasul initiative is a tool that will sustain the development of public service delivery through the continuous improvement of public services based on the cases been received at entity levels as well as at the whole-of-government level. This will help to align national strategies and public policies with the public needs and achieving the sustainable economic development we well as environmental sustainability through paper-less work and less carbon emission to travel to public entities.

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)
As mentioned, Tawasul has provided a unified process among all governmental entities in dealing with public complaints and suggestions after it was handled differently at each public entity. Such differences caused gaps in customer expectation and satisfaction which Tawasul has resolved. Moreover, Tawasul data has provided a one whole window for the government leadership to tap on key issues and issue the related strategies and supportive public policies. For example, user-generated app services like Uber was not allowed in Bahrain due to public security measures. After receiving many related cases at different entities, the government has regulated the service and many similar entities been established later according to such policy. In addition, there are many new online services been established according to the dashboard of the related cases. Moreover, there was many cases related to delays in processing commercial license services at different concerned entities, as a result, the government has launched one system connecting all concerned entities to process commercial license application (www.business.gov.bh).
b. Please describe how your initiative addresses gender inequality in the country context. (100 words maximum)
Tawasul is tool that support e-transformation (end-to-end) in the complaints handling process related to citizens’ & residents’ public service delivery. Hence, it has supported in reducing inequalities through empowering women and all vulnerable groups by eliminating any form of discrimination in dealing with their public service needs and leaving no-one behind. All of them have the same opportunity to take advantage of the service and be treated at the same level without the need to identify their social status levels.
c. Please describe who the target group(s) were, and explain how the initiative improved outcomes for these target groups. (200 words maximum)
The targeted groups of Tawasul is all government entities dealing with the public and all citizens, residents and businesses who deals with government entities for a public service, in addition to the leadership of the Kingdom. Overall, Tawasul has improved the culture of complaints and suggestions within the local society. Moreover, Tawasul has added value in improving the performance and responsiveness of public entities in dealing with the complaints and suggestions and, on the other hand, has accelerated in resolving citizens’ & residents’ issues in a way that satisfy their needs.

Question 5

a. Please describe how the initiative was implemented including key developments and steps, monitoring and evaluation activities, and the chronology. (300 words)
Tawasul system and mobile App is developed internally by iGA resources. It is based on flow management system and hosted on the national portal infrastructure www.Bahrain.bh/tawasul. Each entity in Tawasul has their own platform where user will submit the complaint directly to them. It has all automated tracking, escalation, and processing within the system to ease the communication process with an overarch dashboard for the Ministerial level and one overall dashboard for the leadership. Today, Tawasul has 42 governmental entities, more than 170,000 cases been handled with an overall SLA achievement level of 97% and more than 1500 of suggestions been implemented. 2013 – The launch of Tawasul system (pilot version) with only 2 entities (iGA and Ministry of Health) 2014 – The launch of Tawasul system officially by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, involving 11 public entities 2015 – Launch of Tawasul improvement by adding more features and facilities to the system backend for governmental entities 2016 – Launch of Tawasul Mobile App with more user-friendly features and Fix-to-Go (snap a pic and send feature) 2017 – Launch more of Tawasul improvements and adding all government entities 2017 – Launch Tawasul Award (Excellence in Customer Service through Tawasul) – a high-level award by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister to award entities with excellent performance (achieving 100% SLA) and only 3 entities been awarded 2018 – The entities have boosted their performance in Tawasul and as a results, 11 entities been awarded 2019 – More entities have improved their performance and 16 entities been awarded in 2019 2020 – The total entities awarded with Tawasul Award (100% achieving SLA) reached 23 entities 2021 – Launch of Tawasul 2.0 with more new features and services
b. Please clearly explain the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. (100 words)
Financial obstacles: Tawasul has been developed fully by iGA national resources Technical obstacles: - Technical support to entities: A dedicated team from iGA to support Tawasul remotely - Data storage: Data has been moved to AWS cloud servers Entities Compliance with the SLA requirements: - Initiating Leadership dashboard - Auto-escalation to Crown Prince & Prime Minister Office - Quarterly Reports discussed at Ministerial cabinet on Government entities performance - Tawasul Award (since 2017) to award best performing entities in Tawasul (strictly achieving 100% SLA)

Question 6

a. Please explain in what ways the initiative is innovative in the context of your country or region. (100 words maximum)
The initiative is an end-to-end transformation of complaint management process and with the mobile app features, it allows the user to have a handy version of the system. The mobile app also allows the user to simply snap a pic for a public default and select an icon that represent the default. The icon is already connected to the concerned entity and the location of the default is detected through the built-in GPS. This is in addition to the ability of re-open the case given to the user if he/ she is not satisfied with the given response.
b. Please describe, if relevant, how the initiative drew inspiration from successful initiatives in other regions, countries and localities. (100 words maximum)
Tawasul idea has studies many similar initiatives within the region including the government complaint system in Abu Dhabi. However, Tawasul has given more empowering features to the user as per the recommendations of Bahrain Excellence Center that has been created in 2013 under the Court of Prime Minister.
c. If emerging and frontier technologies were used, please state how these were integrated into the initiative and/or how the initiative embraced digital government. (100 words maximum)
At this stage, Tawasul utilize the data analytics of the complaints received in the system at the leadership level. iGA is putting a plan to embed Artificial Intelligence in Fix-to-Go feature.

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 initiative technical details have been shared to many different countries during UN Study tour and to Kuwaiti delegation during a visit to Bahrain.
b. If not yet transferred/adapted to other contexts, please describe the potential for transferability. (200 words maximum)
Being a flow management system, the implementation doesn’t require massive technical requirements and it is well transferrable, however, the key success factor of Tawasul is the commitment of public entities and the leadership support to attend citizens’ and residents’ complaints. In addition, the awareness of people empowerment through proper awareness and marketing campaign to establish a positive complaint culture that deal with complaint as constructive approach. Moreover, the data that is collected from the system need to be analyzed and converted into action plans that add value to the national development agenda.

Question 8

a. What specific resources (i.e. financial, human or others) were used to implement the initiative? (100 words maximum)
The system has been fully developed and implemented by iGA technical team and marketing team to raise the awareness and build the culture. Tawasul is been implemented in coordination with a team from Crown Prince and Prime Minister office.
b. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (100 words maximum)
Tawasul ensures the sustainability of the public service development over time. It is fully automated process and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister office has took the role of whole of government and has played the role of project sponsor to overlook the performance of all government entities in the system and ensure adherence to standards and policies. In addition, comprehensive training is provided to all system users is planned and implemented to ensure a highly skilled and highly capable complaint management team in every ministry with train-the-trainer model.

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)
Tawasul has been assessed by several entities including entities outside Bahrain such as Salim Al Ali Al Subah Informatics Award in Kuwait, a highly renowned award that remark ICT achievements within the Middle East and North Africa region that consist of international experts in ICT. Tawasul also been evaluated by a local consultancy firm (Intermid Excellence) that measures the maturity of the initiative.
c. Please describe the indicators and tools used. (100 words maximum)
Salim Al Ali Al Subah Award: The initiative been assessed and evaluated based on several criteria such as innovation, sustainability, efficacy and effectiveness, and stakeholders benefits. Intermid Excellence: it has been assessed internally based on the maturity level
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 is this information being used to inform the initiative’s implementation? (200 words maximum)
Salim Al Ali Award: Tawasul have been assessed as the best Mobil App within the region during 2019 Intermid Excellence: High maturity level reaching to 97%

Question 10

Please describe how the initiative is inscribed in the relevant institutional landscape (for example, how is it situated with respect to relevant government agencies, and how have these institutional relationships been operating). (200 words maximum)
Tawasul is a very well known and highly utilized tool within the government agencies in Bahrain and within the public.

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)
Tawasul is in line with the 2030 development agenda through ensuring sustainability, fairness and competitiveness of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its public service delivery. The implementation took place in collaboration with different stakeholders such as Bahrain Excellence Center, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Office, Government entities and the Bahrain Internet Society.

Question 12

Please describe the key lessons learned, and how your organization plans to improve the initiative. (200 words maximum)
Tawasul is developed in an optimum way, but continuous improvements are part and parcel of any large scale project. Throughout the implementation of Tawasul, the government was keen to capture and learn all available lessons. These lessons have been used to improve planning for future whole of government initiatives. Lessons Learned: That can be used in other similar projects Conceptualization: Identifying the right stakeholders and their involvement at all the stages of the project especially during conceptualization is very important. Planning: Planning for exception based on risk factors develops more accurate plans and also helps in planning alternatives during roadblocks. Communication: Timely communication of the status of management as an output of team meetings helps the project gain the confidence of both the development team as well as with management. Quality control Checklist: A detailed checklist used for all unit tests, functional tests and the security tests ensures the system passes all documented quality and validation criteria before it is delivered to the end customer. Improvement Plan: Tawasul future improvement plan has been put together and approved by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Therefore, Tawasul 2.0 will be launched in April 2021.

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