Trinidad and Tobago appointed a new minister of digital transformation two weeks ago for greater focus and expertise. Previously, the Ministry of Public Administration and Digital Transformation merited the separation, as technology transformation for a country cannot be treated as an add-on.
It's a worthwhile consideration for Jamaica to revisit the leadership structure for our digital society initiatives. Much is still left to be done in our transformation. Our leadership's focus and energy may be spread too broadly to move things along with the required velocity.
There is government-level leadership in place with the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET). We also have e-Gov, the agency focused on serving the government's transformation needs. But is this enough?
Countries like Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago are betting on the idea that by having a singularly focused ministry in place they will deliver results for key digitisation projects that have separate funding and an agenda driven by the technology needs of their citizens.
On the other hand, Estonia has opted for a focused e-council of experts, supported by their Office of the Chief Information Officer. They both work directly with the prime minister to identify and implement projects to move the digital economy agenda forward. Japan's digital transformation approach, led by their minister appointed in 2020, is run like a startup — focused, agile and delivering value to stakeholders.
For Jamaica to galvanise the support of the wider society and step fully into building momentum around a digital economy, we must reconsider the structure of the leadership and transformation implementer. The original idea of having a Jamaican chief information officer was to provide leadership to e-Gov to align governments systems and processes. This role is currently open and does not embody the same principles modelled by the examples mentioned earlier.
A couple of commonalities observed across the various approaches include:
- They're relatively new. These ministries/agencies were launched over the past three years, particularly in response to the pandemic.
- Their leaders are technology experts and typically report directly to the prime minister on specific projects. They are allowing for a hopefully more objective approach and unbridled traction.
- They have their budget. Allocating funds to defined outcomes is always a great idea.
- They have clear deliverables. There are no competing agendas, so reporting on progress can be efficient and transparent. Projects like the national identification system (NIDS), the nation's digital literacy, and other digitisation ideas from Vision 2030 are great examples of initiatives that could thrive here.
A transformative culture, expert leadership, and a focused digital transformation strategy delivered through an innovative unit is a worthwhile experiment to undertake.
---
Quelle/Source: Jamaica Observer, 28.07.2021
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
