The two-day OCF14 program included discussion panels and breakout sessions on 'Trialing Public Policy', 'Changing Public Sector Culture', 'Public Services and Citizen Engagement', '21st Century Civil Servant' as well as a feature session on 'Enhancing Oman's Competitiveness'.
In his closing speech, Azzan Al Busaidi, Ithraa's Director General of Research and e-Services said: "It is imperative that we re-think how the public sector serves the end-user whether that is a patient, a student, a start-up company, a commuter, an international investor or a tourist if we are to thrive in today's fast-moving global economy."
There is a notable shift underway and the public sector is beginning to scrutinize the services it offers and how they are delivered. According to Al Busiadi, this change is being driven by millennials entering Oman's workforce, new waves of interactive communications technology, environmental, health, education and urban challenges and the need to address these issues with fewer resources and at a faster pace.
"In my view, this is what is driving the public sector to reflect, experiment and innovate. And we created OCF14 to help move that positive thinking forward."
Over the course of the two-days, 40 domestic and international panelists presented on how the public sector could best meet the needs of local communities, enhance public-citizen co-ordination, leverage open data, as well as improve efficiency and national competitiveness.
"Greater engagement, discussion and consultation is key," said Ithraa's Director General of Research and e-Services. "Engaging with people, businesses and organizations is so important. We need greater citizen input and stakeholder participation to help enhance the design and delivery of public services."
Accessing and leveraging publicly available, non-personal open data was a recurring theme at OCF14.
"We are living in the era of big data. We have more data than we have ever had before. Indeed, it is exciting to think, for example, what could be done with data on demographics, transport, education, manufacturing, investment, exports and retail. And how it could be refashioned into mobile applications and web content that could help improve existing public services," remarked Al Busaidi.
It was apparent from discussions held at OCF14 that public service organizations across the globe are going through radical changes and demanding civil servants to be equipped with a different set of skills to those traditionally deployed. And in a fast moving and competitive world, they need to place customers at the heart of everything they do. Be more creative, innovative and prepared to take managed risks. Build partnerships with others and work effectively across the civil service, across sectors and with international partners. "Civil servants need to be flexible and adapt to new priorities and challenges and recognize that they have to keep pace with an evolving and ever more competitive world. This is all new territory," suggests Ithraa's Director General of Research and e-Services.
In response to the recent World Economic Forum's Global Competitive Index Report, OCF14 held a feature session on national competitiveness. Participating panelists agreed that the world has moved on from when competitiveness was based mainly on low cost manufacturing. Today, suggested the panel, it is based largely on a country's ability to source and apply knowledge, attract investment and talent, build sustainable and high-quality infrastructure and transport services, develop an education system that responds to the needs of the twenty-first century, create a regulatory framework led by an informed and proactive civil service and a range of public services that support the growth of Oman's business community.
"If we are to improve the sultanate's competitive levels then these are the areas that require our attention. In the final analysis, public sector innovation isn't about something shiny or new or complex but about something that works better, leads to better results and creates a better pathway forward," concluded Al Busaidi.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Shaza Taher
Quelle/Source: Zawya, 02.11.2014
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