A rejoinder for the new Government of Mauritius in its Digital Transformation journey, building on existing initiatives and future ambitions.

Mauritius has huge potential to become a digitally empowered nation, where all government services are accessible online, streamlined, and focused on citizens’ convenience. The Digital Transformation agenda for the new government should aim to foster a robust digital ecosystem to support economic growth, improve government transparency and efficiencies, and enhance the quality of life for Mauritian citizens.

Citizens increasingly expect services to be available online, and those services should be efficient, user-friendly, and cater to their needs.

In this rejoinder, I will explore how to overcome the challenging rollout of service delivery in public sector institutions in Mauritius to be more efficient, transparent, and responsive to the needs of its citizens. The emphasis will be on upskilling a DIGITALLY CONFIDENT Public Service WORKFORCE and creating a DIGITALLY ENABLED public service WORKPLACE.

The Current State of Mauritius Public Service Digitalization Process.

Mauritius, like many countries, faces challenges in modernizing its public sector services. Despite some early e-government initiatives, many public sector services still rely on paper documentation and in-person visits. This creates inefficiencies and delays for citizens who often experience complex, slow, and repetitive processes. A prime example is at the National Land Transport Authority (NLTA), where citizens must queue up as early as 6:30 AM to secure an appointment for a simple transaction. Similarly, the process of getting an ID card when someone turning 18. This analog approach stands in stark contrast to the expectations of today’s digital consumers, who demand 24/7 access to government services that are fast, convenient, efficient, and user-friendly.

The gap between government services and citizen expectations is widening, with citizens increasingly frustrated by outdated systems. The challenge, therefore, is not only to provide services online but to ensure that those services meet the criteria of being accessible, proactive, secure, and transparent. This transformation must focus on Data-Driven Policymaking, citizen-centric processes, and improved technology adoption to create seamless, end-to-end experiences.

The 7As: Key Mega Trends Shaping Citizen Expectations

To address these challenges, the following trends from a citizen’s behaviour perspective, which I termed the 7 “Mega Trends", should be embraced by Public sector Institutions. These trends reflect the evolving expectations of citizens and provide a roadmap for building more efficient, inclusive, and resilient public services:

• Awareness and Promotion: The government must engage in proactive efforts to educate citizens about the availability of digital services. Social media and emerging digital channels can be used to raise awareness and encourage wide adoption of digital platforms.

• Availability and Accessibility: Citizens expect 24/7 access to services, regardless of location. Government services must be available from any device, ensuring ease of access for all.

• Automation and AI: progressive adoption of AI-powered tools, such as chatbots and robotic process automation (RPA), can enhance the efficiency of service delivery by automating repetitive tasks and providing real-time assistance.

• Agility and Adaptability: Public services must be agile and capable of evolving in response to the changing needs of citizens. This requires flexible systems and processes that can adapt to new challenges.

• Accountability and Transparency: Transparency builds trust. Government services should be transparent in their operations, with clear data privacy policies and mechanisms to hold service providers accountable.

• Acceptability and Inclusivity: Services should be designed with inclusivity in mind, ensuring that all citizens, regardless of age, ability, or access to technology, can easily use digital platforms.

• Augmented Citizen Engagement: Government should actively involve citizens in shaping services. For example, participatory budget meetings and feedback mechanisms allow citizens to voice their needs and expectations.

By addressing these interconnected trends, Mauritius can create a holistic, citizen-centered approach to digital service delivery. When these principles are implemented in tandem, they enable the public sector to offer services that are not only efficient but also responsive and proactive in meeting citizen needs. Embracing these 7As allows government to build efficient, citizen centric, and resilient services.

The Triple Play Approach: Big Data, Design Thinking, and Digital Transformation

To effectively implement the 7As Mega Trends, the 'Triple Play' convergence from a government perspective that integrates Big Data, Design Thinking, and Digital Transformation is essential. These three components are interrelated to enable better service delivery and a more responsive government: The three interrelated components are:

• Big Data: Data-driven governance enables the government to better understand citizen needs and service usage patterns. By leveraging data analytics, the government can anticipate citizen demands, improve service efficiency, and create personalized experiences.

• Design Thinking: This approach places the citizen at the heart of service design, focusing on solving real problems with user-friendly, human-centered solutions. By centering services around 'life events'—specific moments in a citizen’s life when they need to engage with public services—Mauritius can ensure that government services are relevant, timely, and accessible.

• Digital Transformation: Digital technologies enable seamless integration of services across departments, reducing redundancy and making service delivery more efficient. By embracing cloud computing, automation, and AI, Mauritius can modernize its public sector and offer a unified platform for citizens to access services.

Developing a Data-Driven Governance Model

Towards the Creation of a Centralised Data Management Office

A crucial element of the digital transformation journey is developing a data-driven governance model. Big Data is the first stage in the process – it is a combination of Deep Data and Data Ubiquity. Deep Data is the effort to get meaningful Data insights whereas Data Ubiquity is simply the mechanism available to collect data, safeguarding and dissemination within the legal framework.

While government agencies collect vast amounts of data, the question remains: Are they using it effectively? Currently, each Institutions are collecting their own Data and there is an absence of Data sharing regulations. For instance, sharing data from the Electoral Office with the Police Department could facilitate seamless access to verified residential address of a citizen. Another example is that the electoral office should connect to the Immigration office to have a more updated list of Mauritian citizens not in Mauritius at the material time of an election whereby to remove their credentials in the voting list. However, a significant challenge remains: data sharing across departments is limited due to a lack of centralized data-sharing mechanisms and appropriate Governance structure.

A proposed solution is the creation of a Centralized Data Management Office that can facilitate efficient data sharing between government departments. This will reduce the need for citizens to repeatedly submit the same information and streamline administrative processes. Furthermore, initiatives like Open Data can make citizens data collected by government publicly accessible, fostering innovation and improving governance transparency. Just like a citizen’s bank account which can be accessed by a bank consumer.

Real-time data analytics can further improve service delivery by enabling government agencies to track performance and citizen feedback in real-time. This allows the government to respond quickly to evolving citizen needs and improve overall public service quality.

Design Thinking: Centering Services Around Citizen Needs

The concept of Whole-of-Life-Events

Design Thinking will help to provide the shift from the current government-centric process model of service delivery to a more Citizen Centric engagement. By focusing on life events - key moments in a citizen’s life when they require government services - public services can be tailored to meet real-world needs. For example, services like birth registration, school enrollment, and the issuance of driver’s licenses can be designed to be seamless and efficient, addressing the specific needs of citizens at these moments. Policy makers should understand that an individual has several life events which when added together will become “whole of life events” whereby Government institutions are concerned. For example, when a woman gives birth, the life event starts from the baby – being vaccinated, going to school, application for an ID card at age of 18, going to university, application for a driving learner’s licence, getting a job, etc.

Think of a life event as a specific interaction of each citizen from birth to death, like registering for school or getting a driver’s license. These events are integral to government services. Some are compulsory, like vaccination and school registration, while others, like driving licence or passport applications, are optional. By capturing data from each life event, the government can take a 'whole-of-government' approach, using data to push relevant services proactively to citizens, making service delivery seamless and personalized. To achieve this requires a shift from governing for citizens to governing with citizens.

Taking a whole-of-government approach to service delivery will ensure that services are proactive, personalized, and aligned with citizens’ life events. This requires moving away from a "one-size-fits-all" model to one that prioritizes individual needs and anticipates citizen demands.

To achieve this requires a shift from governing FOR citizens to governing WITH citizens.

Almost no one truly rejects digital solutions, they just have to be good solutions that effectively address real citizen needs and offering a seamless experience.

An online service that is exactly as complicated as the offline alternative will not get many people excited.

But if the online service truly solves a problem for citizens, then it will gain traction and ultimately encourage wide adoption

Digital Transformation: Moving Toward an Immersive Government

The ultimate goal of Mauritius’s digital transformation is to achieve an Immersive [proactive] Government model, where government services are not only automated but proactive and anticipatory. Instead of requiring citizens to initiate service interactions, the government takes responsibility. In an Immersive Government archetype, the government reaches out to citizens, offering services and reminders before they are even requested. For example, rather than requiring a citizen to initiate a vehicle registration renewal, the government could send an automated reminder and allow the transaction to be completed with a single click. This can only happen if policy makers embrace the Whole-of- Government approach.

This proactive approach works especially well for high-demand services, like healthcare, social security or issuing of an ID card when turning 18 creating a seamless experience for citizens.

The four evolution stages of government modernisation are as follows:

STAGE 1. Analog Government: Minimal technology use with manual processes.

STAGE 2. E-Government: Early automation of basic services.

STAGE 3. Digital Government: Full automation, offering a unified platform for accessing services. One-stop-shop

STAGE 4. Immersive Government: A proactive model where the government anticipates citizen needs and offers services proactively. No-stop-shop

Mauritius is currently transitioning from an analog Government stage to the e-Government. We are lagging behind in this transformation process. It must bring substantial efforts to evolve into the Digital Government to subsequently adopt an Immersive Government archetype within which can be achieved within 3 years if the right policy frameworks are adopted with professionals at the forefront. Achieving the Immersive Government model will facilitate the adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the process which will bring more efficiencies and effectiveness in Government service delivery.

Additional Policy Orientations for Successful Digital Transformation

In addition to the above initiatives, the following policy orientations should be prioritized:

• Citizen-Centric Digital Government Platform: A unified, mobile-first platform will allow citizens to access various government services, from tax filings to healthcare information, in one place.

• AI-Driven Automation: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI-powered chatbots can help streamline repetitive tasks and provide 24/7 citizen support. Complaints and service requests also can be integrated.

• Digital Identity and Cybersecurity: A secure digital identity system, combined with robust cybersecurity measures, will ensure that citizens can trust online services and that their data is protected.

• Inclusive Access and Digital Literacy: Establishing community digital hubs and launching nationwide digital literacy programs will ensure that all citizens, regardless of their background or access to technology, can confidently engage with digital platforms.

• Smart Cities and Data-Driven Urban Planning: Mauritius should integrate smart city technologies to improve public services like transportation, waste management, and energy usage, creating a more sustainable and efficient urban environment.

• Upskilling the Workforce: Government employees must be trained in AI, data analytics, and digital transformation. The Mauritius Civil Service College should play a central role in this upskilling initiative. The new Government should make it mandatory that ALL public officers including parastatal bodies employees from the grade of MSO upwards should go for a compulsory training in Digital literacy comprising of Data, Digital Transformation and AI. This should include higher officers in the hierarchy who are called upon to make decisions.

Case Study: The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA)

The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) offers a successful example of a government agency that has embraced the principles of digital transformation. By focusing on user experience and transparency, the MRA has created an efficient, citizen-centric platform that provides taxpayers with easy access to their data and services. Notifications help keep citizens informed, and the platform is intuitive, reducing the need for manual intervention. The success of the MRA provides a model for other government institutions to follow. By adopting the same principles of transparency, user-centric design, and proactive engagement, other departments can replicate the MRA's success and offer world-class services to citizens.

MRA is transitioning in an Immersive Government archetype.

Conclusion: Building a Digital Future for Public Services in Mauritius

Mauritius is at a crossroad in its journey towards a digital government meet the evolving needs of its citizens and businesses. With the new Government in place and having the right people leading it can indeed transform the Public Sector to have the appropriate digitally confident public service workforce and creating a digitally enabled public service workplace. The adoption of the 7As, combined with the integration of Triple Play - Big Data, Design Thinking, and Digital Transformation, will ensure that Mauritius remains at the forefront of digital governance. All these initiatives should be in accordance with a modern Digital Legal Framework for the adoption of emerging technologies.

The transition to a more digital government will require major disruption in major Government ICT Institutions, bold digital leadership, and a focus on citizen needs. Board of Directors for public institutions should also include professionals having Digital skills and Business acumen. Ministries and Public sector bodies should consider of recruiting Data Scientists and Customer Service Professionals.

By "putting citizens online, not inline," Mauritius can set a new standard for public service in the digital age, fostering efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity. This transformation will not only improve the quality of life for Mauritian citizens but also position the country as a regional hub for innovation, business, and digital excellence.