Dubai School of Government addresses stiff challenges facing Arab world

Yousef's comments came at the opening session of the 3rd Working Group meeting on E-Government and Administrative Simplification, and a high level seminar on 'Measuring and Evaluating e-Government'.

In his keynote address, Christian Vergez, Head of Division, Innovation and Integrity, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD, praised the Dubai School of Government as one of the most dynamic groups for innovative governance in the Arab region.

Moosa Al Hashemi, Head of the Delivery Unit at the Executive Office, and Dr. Chang-Kil Lee, E-Government Policy Advisor to the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Korea also addressed the high profile audience.

The two day forum is part of the initiative for "Good Governance for Development in Arab countries", held by Dubai School of Government in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The series is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The convention brings together high level officials and government leaders from 16 Arab countries to build a regional knowledge base that will streamline Arab government procedures and implement e-Government strategies to meet the needs of the global economy.

The first session on Measuring e-Government addressed issues on why governments need to evaluate e-government practices. It also focused on the challenges that governments face in measuring the progress or e-Governance. The presenters included Edwin Lau, Project Leader, OECD e-Government Project, OECD and Dr. Ehab Moustafa, Ministry Advisor, Advisory Council, Ministry of Labour.

Lau said: "The struggles faced by OECD nations are very similar to that of Arab countries. Measuring the effectiveness of e-Government is one of the primary challenges that can be answered by asking questions of what we want to measure, for what purpose, and for whom. This can be examined by comparing average on-line population and e-Government usage of various countries.

Moustafa said: "The model for governance is about making policies and regulating central procedures and delivering service. Most e-Government initiatives around the world focus on procedures that generate very little effect. The challenge, therefore, lies in creating a balance between services and procedures to establish stronger e-Government practises."

The Dubai School of Government convention also included sessions on Toolkits and Methods for Project Evaluation, National and International Indicators for e-Government, and Lessons Learned in Measuring and Evaluating e-Government in the Arab World.

The forum, sponsored by CISCO, the National Bank of Dubai (NBD), and SAS, reflects DSG's long-term strategy to develop a progressive culture of excellence in the region, through the implementation of pioneering technological tools for governments.