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Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan
Tshering Cigay Dorji, PhD
June 2014
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Copyright © June 2014. QED Group. Permission is granted for reproduction of this file, with attribution to QED Group.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutani
About the AuthorTshering Cigay Dorji has a Masters and Ph.D in computer engineering (informatics) from the University of Tokushima, Japan, plus Master of Management from the University of Canberra, Australia, and over 14 years’ combined experience in programming, teaching, information system design, database administration, research and senior level management in the corporate sector. His first degree was B.E. Electrical Engineering (First Class Honours) from the University of Wollongong, Australia, awarded in December 1999. He currently works as the Chief Operating Officer of Thimphu TechPark Pvt. Ltd
AcknowledgementsThis study is an extension of the initial research carried out as part of the author’s policy report submitted to the University of Canberra in January 2014 in partial fulfilment for the award of Masterof Management degree. The author wishes to express his gratitude to the University of Canberra for the guidance for the initial research and to the QED Group, Bhutan Foundation and International Repuplican Institute for their support in bringing out this updated report.
The views expressed here are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Thimphu TechPark, University of Canberra or the funders.
About the Author/Acknowledgements
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutaniii
Executive SummaryThis research is the first independent study of the Government to Citizen (G2C) Project (G2C 2010), the first major e-Government initiative of Bhutan, that was undertaken as one of the activities under the ‘Accelerating Bhutan’s Socio-Economic Development’ (ABSD) program started in 2009 (GNHC 2010). The two phases of the G2C Project costing about USD 1 Million started in June 2010 and ended in June 2013. The objective of the G2C Project was to deliver the 200 plus Government services to the citizens ranging across 10 Ministries, 12 agencies and 20 Dzongkhags in the fastest and most efficient way and had the following three key aspirations:
• Provide every citizen access to a variety of government to citizen services within a maximum of one day’s reach of his location
• Reduce the turn-around time by 70% of G-C services and allow citizens to file their complaints and issues
• Achieve the best-in class ratio of civil servants employed in G2C services to population
Since about 70% of Bhutan’s population live in rural areas, the G2C services are made accessible to the rural people through the Community Centres (CCs). The Government has built 185 Community Centres at a cost of Nu 280.7 Million (Rinzin 2012). As of 6 June 2014, 131 CCs reportedly had access to the Internet. The operation and management of the CCs is outsourced to Bhutan Post for the first five years at a cost of Nu. 28 Million (approx. USD 0.56 Million) (Dorji G. K. 2013). The Government launched the first set of 62 G2C Services from 23 CCs connected to the Internet on 29 December 2011 (BBS 2011). As per the final simplified list of 159 G2C Services, 82 services are available through CCs, 45 through Govt. departments or agencies and 32 from anywhere with Internet connection.
Positioning the G2C Project as a case study in the broader framework of the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve the delivery of public services by the Royal Government of Bhutan, this study has been carried out by collecting primary data through interviews and surveys of key stakeholders such as some key members of the G2C Project Team, Software Developers, Citizens (users of G2C services), CC Operators and Service Providers (relevant Government officials) and analyzing secondary data available in official documents and media reports. Analysis is carried out using theoretical frameworks such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis 1989, Venkatesh & Davis 2000, McFarland and Hamilton 2006), resistance to change (Del Val & Fuentes 2003, UWM 2014), De Bruijn’s (2006) perverse effect of performance measurement and Higgins’ 8S Model of strategy implementation (Higgins 2005) in coming up with the findings on the achievements, challenges, lessons learnt and recommendations.
Our initial surveys conducted in November 2013 and the follow up interviews with the key stakeholders including the CC operators conducted in June 2014 reveal that only 17 out of the 159 G2C services are used so far by the citizens our surveys covered directly or indirectly. Only nine out of 76 people (11.84%) surveyed in Thimphu had used at least one G2C service other than application for Security Clearance. 6 of the 13 govt. officials interviewed felt that the G2C project had decreased
Executive Summary
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan iv
their workload or had the potential to do so when fully implemented, and all the citizens who had used a G2C service felt that it was an improvement over the conventional mode of public service delivery. Despite the implementation challenges and slow adoption rate, the G2C Project has helped put in motion the e-government initiatives in Bhutan.
This study has come up with some key findings and recommendations which we hope would help improve Bhutan’s future e-Government initiatives as the Government has plans to not only improve the existing
Executive Summary
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutanv
ContentsAcknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... i
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... v
Glossary and Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... vi
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1Background on the adoption of ICTs for development in Bhutan ....................................... 1
1.2 Introduction of the G2C Project ......................................................................................... 2
1.3Objectives of the study ....................................................................................................... 3
2. Literature Review...................................................................................................................... 4
3. Methodology of Study .............................................................................................................. 5
3.1 Research methodology ...................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Sampling procedure ........................................................................................................... 5
4. Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 6
4.1Data received from G2C Project Team ................................................................................ 6
4.2Data received from the Manager of Community Centres ................................................... 7
4.3Analysis of the survey results of Community Centre Operators ......................................... 7
4.4 Analysis of rural users interviewed ................................................................................... 10
4.5 Analysis of responses from urban residents ...................................................................... 12
4.6 Analysis of responses from Government officials .............................................................. 13
4.7 Analysis of Secondary Data from official press releases and news reports ........................ 15
5. Summary of Key Findings ......................................................................................................... 17
5.1 Key achievements .............................................................................................................. 17
5.2 Achievements of the three key aspirations of the G2C Project .......................................... 17
5.3 Challenges .......................................................................................................................... 18
5.4 Lessons learnt and recommendations ............................................................................... 19
6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 20
References .................................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................................... 25
List of G2C Services (G2C 2010) .................................................................................................... 25
Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................................... 31
Tools, Technology and License for G2C ......................................................................................... 31
Contents
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan vi
Glossary and Abbreviations11FYP – 11th Five Year Plan (2013 – 2018)
ABSD – Accelerating Bhutan’s Socio-Economic Development
BBS – Bhutan Broadcasting Service
BR – Birth Registration
CC – Community Centre, used interchangeably with Community Information
Centre
CIC – Community Information Centre, used interchangeably with Community
Centre
COS – Committee of Secretaries
CT – Census Transfer
DCSI – Department of Cottage and Small Industries
DITT – Department of Information Technology and Telecom
Dzongkhag – District (Bhutan has 20 Dzongkhags).
G2B – Government to Business
G2C – Government to Citizen
G2G – Government to Government
Gewog – An administrative division of a district which consists of a few villages grouped
together. Bhutan has 205 Gewogs.
GG Unit – Good Governance Unit under Gross National Happiness Commission
GNHC – Gross National Happiness Commission, the apex planning body of the Royal
Government of Bhutan
Gup – The elected head of a Gewog
HIV – Household Information Viewing
MoIC – Ministry of Information and Communications
MTL – Micro-trade license
RAA – Royal Audit Authority
RFP – Rural Firewood Permit
RICBL – Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan Limited
RTP – Rural Timber Permit
SC – Security Clearance
Glossary and Abbreviations
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan1
1. Introduction1.1 Background on the adoption of ICTs for development in Bhutan
The process of planned modern development in Bhutan began with the first Five Year Plan in 1961 under the visionary leadership of His Majesty the Third King of Bhutan. Road constructions began soon after and the first rudimentary telecommunications network was set up in 1963 with India’s assistance. In 1970, the Royal Government of Bhutan established the Ministry of Communications with two departments: the Department of Telecommunications and the Department of Civil Wireless. But it was not until 1984 that Bhutan‘s first link with the outside world was established, with an analogue microwave link from Thimphu to Hasimara in India (Dorji T.C. 2010).
Bhutan’s first modern telecommunication network connecting all the major towns of Bhutan was established with implementation of the National Telecommunications Development Plan (NTDP) between 1991 and 1998 with Japanese assistance. People in Thimphu could call their relatives in Trashigang for the first time in September 1993 when the first phase of the project was completed. When the NTDP implementation was finally completed in June 1998, Bhutan had for the first time a national telecommunications network that linked together the head offices of all the 20 Dzongkhags (Dorji T.C. 2010).
The Internet and television were introduced into Bhutan for the first time on 2 June 1999, coinciding with the Silver Jubilee celebration of the golden reign of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo (Dorji T.C. 2011b). To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of telephone and Internet service delivery, the Department of Telecommunications was transformed into a wholly state-owned corporation called Bhutan Telecom Limited (BTL) in July 2000.
BTL successfully introduced the cellular phone services for the first time in Bhutan in November 2003 under the brand name ‘BMobile’. With the aim of liberalising the market and allowing healthy competition, the government licensed Tashi InfoComm Limited (TICL) on 6 October 2006 as Bhutan‘s first private mobile operator though a competitive bidding process.Presently, BTL and TCL have coverage of all the Dzongkhags and almost all the villages of Bhutan. As of 2012, it was estimated that Bhutan with a population of about 720,000 had 535,000 mobile subscribers, 27,600 fixed phone line subscribers and 20,000 fixed internet line subscribers (Budde.com 2012).
In keeping with the proactive role it has played in harnessing the power of ICTs for development, the Government has provided financial subsidies to the two operators through the ‘Rural GSM Project’ to take mobile coverage to the remote villages (Dorji, T.C. 2011a). Likewise, the Government is presently undertaking the National Broadband Master Plan Implementation Project (DITT 2014) to connect all the 20 Dzongkhags and 205 Gewogs through fibreoptic cables. As of June 2014, 18 Dzongkhags are connected through OPGW (Optical Ground Wire) fibres and the remaining 2 Dzongkhags plus 187 Gewogs are connected with ADSS (All Dielectric Self Supporting) fibres. The government has also undertaken a Nu. 2 Billion ICT capacity building project called Chiphen Rigpel (Zangpo 2014) and built around 185 Community Centres for information access and service delivery.
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With all such infrastructure firmly in place, the Government is now keen on taking e-Government initiatives such as the G2C Project to the next level.
1.2 Introduction of the G2C Project
The history of computing in government organizations can be traced back to the beginnings of computer history though the term e-Government emerged in the late 1990s (Grönlund and Horan 2004). e-Government did not take long to pick up speed, and by the turn of the century, e-Government initiatives had become a policy priority with governments around the world (Von Haldenwang 2004). Gartner (2013) projected that the worldwide Government IT spending would reach USD 449.5 Billion in 2013.
In 2009, the first democratically elected Government of Bhutan adopted the “Accelerating Bhutan’s Socio-Economic Development” (ABSD) program by engaging an international consultancy firm, McKinsey & Co. at a cost of USD 9.1 Million with the following three objectives (GNHC 2010):
• Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services• Generating a substantial portion of the employment target of the Tenth Five Year Plan• Enabling and Managing Change to ensure real and sustained impact
The Government to Citizen (G2C) Project (G2C 2010) was one of the key initiatives under the ABSD program. The key objective of the G2C project was to deliver the 200 plus Government services to the citizens ranging across 10 Ministries, 12 agencies and 20 Dzongkhags in the fastest and most efficient way. The 3 key aspirations of this project are:
• Provide every citizen access to a variety of government to citizen services within a maximum of one day’s reach of his location
• Reduce the turnaround time by 70% of G-C services and allow citizens to file their complaints and issues
• Achieve the best-in class ratio of civil servants employed in G-C services to population
In order to implement the G2C Project, a cross-sectoral project team was set up under the direction of a Project Director who reported to an e-Governance Council comprising the Committee of Secretaries. The e-Governance Council was responsible for monitoring the performance of the G2C project and its end to end implementation (GNHC 2010).
The G2C Project (www.g2c.gov.bt) which is estimated to have cost about USD 1 Million in total started in June 2010 and ended in June 2013. The G2C software platform and applications were developed by the consortium of two companies – one from Bhutan and one from India, after winning the work through a competitive bidding process. By the end of Phase 1 of the project in May 2012, 88 G2C services were implemented. In Phase 2, which started in June 2012 and ended in June 2013, 71 services were implemented, taking the total number of services successfully implemented to 159. As per the final simplified list of G2C Services given in Appendix 1, there are 82 services which are available through the Community Centres (CCs), 45 services through Govt. departments or agencies
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan3
and 32 services which are accessible to anyone with Internet connection.
Since about 70% of Bhutan’s population live in rural areas, the G2C services are made accessible to the rural people through the Community Centres (CCs) which are equipped with Internet-ready computers, digital cameras, scanners, photocopiers and printers. “The government chose Bhutan Post to operate and manage the CCs for a period of five years, and has provided them with a subsidy of Nu. 28 Million (approx. USD 0.56 Million) to develop a sustainable business model” (Dorji G. K. 2013). The Government launched the first set of 62 G2C Services from 23 CCs connected to the Internet on 29 December 2011 (BBS 2011). So far, the Government has built 185 CCs at the cost of Nu 280.7 Million (approx. USD 5.6 Million) (Rinzin 2012). According to the Department of IT & Telecom, 131 CCs have access to the Internet as of June 2014.
After the project came to an end on 30 June 2013, the task of providing continued technical support and overseeing the various G2C applications developed by the G2C Project has been taken over by the Application Division of the Department of IT and Telecom. This is reflected in the G2C Governance and Reporting structure (DITT 2013) given in Figure 1. The Department of IT and Telecom is currently trying to improve the G2C services through a project entitled Public Service Delivery (PSD) Project (DITT 2014) that would also look at automating G2B (Government-to-Business) and G2G (Government-to-Government) services.
Reflecting the present Government’s support for e-Government initiatives, the ‘e-Government System’ document (RGOB 2013) states, “Good governance is a key pillar of GNH and it is desirous that effective, accountable and transparent administrative process within the government is further enhanced through the use of ICT”.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study are as follows:
• To position G2C Project as a case study in the broader framework of the adoption of ICTs to improve the delivery of services to the public by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
• To analyze the achievements, challenges and lessons learnt from the G2C Project by collecting primary data through interviews of key stakeholders such as the Project Team, Software Developers, Citizens (users of G2C services), CC Operators and Service Providers (relevant Government officials).
• To analyze secondary data collected from official documents, press releases and public news media.
• To come up with the lessons learnt and recommendations for future as the present Government has plans to not only improve the existing G2C Services but also expand them in the 11th Five Year Plan (DITT 2013a, Kuensel 2013).
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Figure 1. G2C Governance and Reporting structure as per the e-Government Master Plan 2013 (DITT 2013a).
Figure 2: Picture of how the inside of a Community Centre (CC) looks (Photo by Mr. Kezang, Infoage Consulting, Thimphu, Bhutan)
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2. Literature ReviewAccording to Grönlund and Horan (2004), the term e-Government emerged in the late 1990s. By the turn of the century, e-Government initiatives had become a policy priority with Governments around the world (Von Haldenwang 2004). Like other developing countries, Bhutan has joined the e-Government bandwagon with the ambitious G2C Project started as an initiative under the Accelerating Bhutan’s Socio-Economic Development (ABSD) program in 2010 (Wangchuk 2010, Dorji, S. 2012).
In his master’s thesis submitted on 18 July 2012, Dorji S. (2012) has researched Bhutan’s G2C Project (G2C 2010) which was an ongoing project at that time as a case study. He has warned that the project may not be able to achieve its goals because of the issues at the implementation level despite the strong commitment at the ministerial and secretarial levels. This is the only independent study on G2C Project that we came across so far besides the media reports analysed in Section 4.7. However, his study was done before the project was completed and hence does not contain any analysis of achievements and lessons learnt. Miyata (2011) has studied the impact of computerization of vehicle registration in Bhutan on efficiency and governance. But that was an e-Governance initiative implemented before the G2C Project.
Various frameworks for evaluating e-Governance projects have been developed. For instance, Madoson (2005) uses Amartya Sen’s notion of ‘Capabilities’ as an evaluative space for e-Governance assessment. Panopoulou et al. (2008) has developed a framework for evaluating the web sites of public authorities while Sakowicz (2003) examines different methodologies and methods for evaluating e-Government. However, it was observed that these generic frameworks and models would not be useful for coming up with an impact assessment and evaluation specific to Bhutan’s G2C Project. Therefore, this research is based on a set of research questions, and analysis is done using theoretical frameworks such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis 1989, Venkatesh & Davis 2000, McFarland and Hamilton 2006), resistance to change (Del Val & Fuentes 2003, UWM 2014), De Bruijn’s (2006) perverse effect of performance measurement and Higgins’ (2005) 8S Model of strategy implementation.
Studies have indicated that many e-Government initiatives in developing countries fail to achieve their desired objectives (Dada 2006). The high failure rate of e-Government projects in developing countries has been attributed to the fact that a vast majority of them are based on imported concepts and designs which have their origin in developed countries (Heeks 2002). Despite this, according to the United Nations (2012), many countries have initiated e-Government projects and are in various stages of providing online services. The United Nations’ e-Government Readiness report (United Nations 2012) ranks Republic of Korea at the top while Bhutan is ranked at 152 and its position is unchanged from the 2010 survey.
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3. Methodology of Study3.1 Research methodology
This research has been conducted mainly on the basis of primary data collected through surveys and interviews of relevant stakeholders conducted towards the end of 2013. An analysis of secondary data from official documents and media reports also shed useful light on the outcome of the G2C Project. Analyses are backed by relevant theoretical frameworks. A follow up survey was then conducted in June 2014.
We developed three sets of questionnaires: one for the citizens, the users of G2C Services, one for the 23 CC Operators of CCs with Internet Connectivity, and one for the service providers, the Govt. officials.
3.2 Sampling procedure
Table 1 shows the sample selection and interview procedures used in this research.
Table 1: Sample selection and interview procedures used in this research
Sample Sample Selection Procedure Mode of Interview
G2C project Team
Key people of the G2C Project Team Face to face interview and exchanges of mails.
Manager of CCs Manager of CCs at Bhutan Post Interview over phone and mails.
Rural Citizens Convenience sampling of the heads of 20 rural households in the villages of Mongar Gewog and Trashigang Gewog in Eastern Bhutan. The 20 respondents were selected randomly using Microsoft Excel Randbetween function from over 50 contacts shared by the Gups (Elected head of Gewog) of the two Gewogs.
Given that the villages of Bhutan are scattered among the rugged mountainous terrain and the limited time available for the project, we interviewed the respondents by phone.
Urban Citizens A convenience sample of 76 urban citizens living in Thimphu were selected and interviewed.
The surveys were conducted face to face by the surveyors.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan7
CC Operators All 23 CC Operators who were managing the 23 Community Centers with Internet Connection as of September 2013
Since the 23 community centres with the Internet Connection are scattered all over Bhutan, it was not possible for us to visit all of them and interview one by one. Except for one CC that we visited, the remaining 22 CC Operators were surveyed through phone.
Service Providers
Convenience sample of 13 government officials from 13 different government agencies
Survey by meeting face to face and asking to them to fill up a questionnaire.
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4. Data Analysis4.1 Data received from G2C Project Team
According to the G2C Project Team, the usage statistics of G2C Services applications between 1st March 2011 and 30th June, 2013 are as given in Table 2. This was received on 17th October 2013. Table 2. Overall usage statistics of G2C services between 1 March 2011 and 30 June 2013.
Sl. No. Name of service No. of applications received % of total
Birth Registration 16,676 33.77
Census Transfer 5,838 11.82
New CID/ SRP Issuance 7,035 14.24
Rural Timber Permit 2,107 4.27
Micro Trade Registration Certificate 1,492 3.02
Online Submission and Selection of Scholarships 1,285 2.60
Registration of Tertiary Students 337 0.68
Passport Issuance 14,617 29.60
Total 49,387 100%
When asked why some of commonly used services like Security Clearance was not included, the official said, “Security clearance and Audit clearance systems are the initiatives of the agencies themselves and we provided technical support in terms of HR capacity and infrastructure”.
Our follow-up survey in June 2014 revealed that the Department of IT & Telecom is trying to
improve the G2C services through a project titled Public Service Delivery (PSD) Project (DITT 2014), but the DITT officials admitted that there was no change in the number of G2C services used by the people between November 2013 and now.
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4.2 Data received from the Manager of Community Centres Table 3 below lists the number of G2C services applied for through the Community Centres between January 2013 and June 2013. This data was received on 21 October 2013 from an official of Bhutan Post responsible for managing the community centres.
Table 3. Usage statistics of G2C services from the Community Centres between January and June 2013.
Agency Service No. of applications % of Total
a. DCRC Birth registration 442 76.21
b. DCRC Census transfer 3 0.52
c. DCRC Death registration 25 4.31
d. DoT Micro trade license 20 3.45
e. DoFPS Rural timber permit 60 10.34
f. DoFPS Permit for flag pole,,fencing pole,,firewood 0 0.00
g. DoFPS Removal of forest produce from private land 0 0.00
h. DCRC Security clearance 30 5.17
TOTAL 580 100%
In our follow up interview with the same official in June 2014, she said that there was no change in the number of G2C services used by the people through the CCs. She said that only four services are commonly used – birth registration, rural timber permit application, death registration and application for micro-trade license. However, she said that the number of CCs with internet connection has risen to 113, which is lower than the DITT official’s report of 131 CCs with Internet connectivity.
4.3 Analysis of the survey results of Community Centre Operators
All 23 CC Operators who were managing the 23 Community Centers with Internet Connection as of October 2013 were interviewed. According to the 7th ABSD quarterly joint review by the Cabinet and Committee of Secretaries held on 11th May 2012, “23 Community Centers with 62 Government to Citizen Services was launched in December 2011” (GNHC 2012). Some important findings from the interview of 23 CC Operators is summarized in Table 4.
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As per the final simplified list of 150 G2C Services given in Appendix 1, there are 82 services which are available through CCs, 45 services through Govt. departments or agencies and 32 services which are accessible to anyone with Internet connection. In order to avail G2C services through a CC, an applicant (citizen) comes to a CC with all relevant documents. The CC scans the supporting documents and makes the application for a service through the G2C e-Governance platform on behalf of the applicant. The application then goes to relevant authorities, for instance to the Chief Forestry Officer in case of Rural Timber Permit and to the District Census Officer and the relevant official in the Department of Civil Registration in case of Birth Registration, who have to approve the application. Once the approval is granted, the CC operator issues the permit or confirms the birth registration. The CC operator charges a nominal fee for their service. However, they are not yet authorized to collect any applicable fees payable to the Government for the service.
Table 4. Important findings from the interview of 23 CC Operators of the 23 CCs with Internet Connectivity as of October 2013.
Description Number Percentage
No. of CC Operators interviewed 23 100%
No. of CC Operators who has not given any G2C service 3 13.04%
No. of CC operators who feel that delivering service through CCs is faster than how it used to be before 23 100%
No. of CC operators who said that the online G2C application system is user-friendly 20 86.96%
No. of CCs that can be reached within one day by all the citizens in the Gewog it is meant to serve 23 100%
No. of CC Operators who feel that there is a lack of awareness among the people about G2C Services 20 86.96%
Total No. of people served by 23 CCs as of November 1,587
Average number of people served by a CC between December 2011 to November 2013 (22 months) 69
No. of G2C Services provided from the CCs so far 7 7 out of 82 services = 8.24%
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The following are the only G2C services that the CC Operators have rendered so far.
SC – Security clearanceMTL – Micro-trade licenseBR – Birth RegistrationRTP – Rural Timber PermitRFP – Rural Firewood PermitCT – Census TransferHIV – Household Information Viewing
The community centres are also providing other services like:
Photocopying serviceScanning servicePrinting servicesInternet access and email serviceInsurance premium collectionComputer training for studentsPlayground learning station
Main challenges listed by CC Operators:
1. Internet connectivity issues2. Server and application errors3. Taking too long for authorities to approve applications submitted online4. Lack of proper training for the CC operators on how to use the system.5. Power is not a major issue in most places, except for a few places like Bumthang.
When asked how reliable the Internet connectivity is, one of the CC Operators replied “Very unreliable. Last year we had broadband and was supposed to be replaced with fibre optic but is yet to happen. No internet for quite some time.” Another CC Operator added, ‘Birth registration has 7 -8 pages of forms to scan and submit online while rural timber permit has 7-8 pages of forms to submit. It takes ages to process this application with very slow internet”.
When asked why people do not come to avail G2C services through CCs, a CC operator replied, “Lack of awareness, electricity breakdown, internet connectivity problem, etc;” Another CC Opeator added, “Dzongkhag and gewog office gives free photocopying service while we take Nu. 5 per page. So people feel it is expensive”.
This is what one of the CC Operators had to say, “Not a single one came to use G2C services. Except for security clearance”.
From the CC in Khaling, there was only one application for birth registration besides few applications for Security Clearance. The CC Operator said that the birth registration took 4 months to get approval from higher authorities.
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One CC Operator said, “Most people come to me for micro-trade license application. But I could not register as I didn’t get User ID for the G2C system. So I informed my group leader. Now, I got my user id since two weeks back, but the micro-trade license application system is not working”.
How useful the CC is for the community they are meant to serve is totally dependent on how active and responsible the CC Operator is. We found that some CCs are proving very useful to the community because they are manned by very active and responsible CC Operators. The opposite is the case with many other CCs.
My follow-up interview with the CC operators in June 2014 found that there was neither improvement nor increase in the number of G2C services used by the people.
Figure 3. Picture of newly recruited Community Centre (CC) Operators at the induction course in June 2012 (BBS 2012).
4.4 Analysis of rural users interviewed
A convenience sample of the heads of 20 rural households in the villages of Mongar Gewog and Trashigang Gewog in Eastern Bhutan were interviewed. Some of the important findings from this survey is summarized in Table 5 and Table 6.
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Table 5. Important findings from the interview of 20 rural citizens
Description Number Percentage
No. of rural people interviewed 20 100%
No. of people who own a computer at home 0 0%
No. of people having no formal education 20 100%
No. of people who said they never heard of G2C service 10 50%
No. of people who never used any G2C services 14 70%
No. of people who has used at least one G2C service 6 30%
No. of people who reported that they think that an initiative like G2C services to ease availing services is a good idea
20 100%
No. of people who are able to reach a community centre (located near the Gewog Administration Office) within less than 6 hours
20 100%
No. of G2C Services used by the people interviewed
5 (Rural timber permit, birth registration,
rural firewood permit, application for citizenship
ID Card and security clearance)
Table 6. Analysis of G2C services used by rural people
Description Number Percentage
No. of people interviewed 20 100%
No. of people who responded that they have used at least one G2C service 6 30%
No. of people who have applied for rural timber 350% of those
who used a G2C service
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 14
No. of people who have applied for rural firewood 467% of those
who used a G2C service
No. of people who have applied for birth registration 233% of those
who have used a G2C service
No. of people who have applied for security clearance 233% of those
who have used a G2C service
No. of people who feel it is better than the old way of providing services 6 100%
No. of people who accessed the services through Community Centre 6 100%
Two respondents have suggested that all services related to census and land transactions should be made easier and faster through online G2C services. Two users said that more awareness should be raised about the G2C services and that the Govt. should monitor how the services were being delivered by different stakeholders.
All users said that CC Operators help them with service and vital information which the villagers are not aware of. All users said that sometimes, the Gup and Mangmi (Assistant Gup) are not in office. At that time, the CC Operators are helpful in giving some of the services.
One of the respondents said, “Birth registration has become very easy. I just had to pay Nu. 30 as fees. Even for rural timber permit, there was a lot of running around to do before. Now it has become much easier”.
The following are the only G2Cservices availed so far by the six rural people through the Community Centre:
• Rural Timber Permit• Rural Firewood Permit• Security clearance• Birth registration• Application for Citizenship ID Card• In addition, they have also used non-G2C services like photocopying and getting passport
photograph printed.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan15
4.5 Analysis of responses from urban residents
A convenience sample of 76 urban citizens living in Thimphu were interviewed. Out of these, 35 were female and 41 were male. From the interview, it was found that 62 participants out of 76 (81.57%) had heard about G2C services but only nine people out of 76 (11.84%) had used at least one G2C service other than security clearance. Including security clearance, 51 out of 76 (67.11%) had used at least one G2C service. It was also found that a significant number of respondents think that services like internet banking as G2C service.
Tables 7 to 9 show the demographic composition of the 76 respondents. The actual findings of the usage of G2C services by 51 respondents in Table 10 show that about 98% of them have actually used only security clearance.
Table 7. Age composition of respondents
Age (in Years) No. of Participants % of total
< 18 5 6.76
18-24 19 25.68
25-34 34 45.95
35-44 11 14.86
45-54 5 6.76
> 55 0 0
Total 74 100
Note: 2 participants did not provide age data
Table 8. Distribution of respondents by occupation
Occupation No. of Participants % of Total
Unemployed 10 13.51
Private Co. 22 29.73
Civil Service 24 32.43
Business 6 8.11
Other 12 16.22
Total 74 100%
Note: 2 participants did not provide occupation data. Majority of participants who provided their Occupation as Other are students.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 16
Table 9. Distribution of respondents by education background
Education No. of Participants % of Total
None 3 3.95
Primary 10 13.16
High School 31 40.79
University 32 42.11
Total 76 100%
Table 10. Analysis of G2C services used by the respondents
Service (Used) No. of Participants % of Total (51) who have used at least one service
Security Clearance 50 98.04
Job Portal – Job search and online registration of job seeker and posting profiles
3 5.88
Audit Clearance 4 7.84
Trade License 3 5.88
Census 1 1.96
Forest Clearance 1 1.96
Firewood Permit 1 1.96
License Change 1 1.96
Labor Net - 1 1.96
Other Observations:
A majority of the participants who have used the services feel that it’s an improvement over the older/offline method of delivering the service. The primary benefit of the G2C services is the lesser amount of time taken in receiving the service. The time taken (turnaround time) for receiving the services is between few hours to 3 days.
A majority of the participants have accessed G2C services from a computer at home, office or an internet-café. A small minority has accessed the services from a CC. Most of the participants have used the G2C service only 1 or 2 times.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan17
Other services (Currently Offline), which the participants feel should be, included in future G2C project are – water bill payment, doctor appointment, school admissions, electricity bill payment, telephone/internet bill payment, e-voting and parking fee collection.
4.6 Analysis of responses from Government officials
We interviewed 13 Government officials involved in providing G2C services from relevant departments and agencies. Table 11 lists the summary of responses received from them.
Table 11. Summary of responses received from the 13 Government officials interviewed
Respondent No.
Department/Agency How successful is G2C Project? (out of 10)
Technical challenges
Changes Reduction in manpower?
1. National Land Commission
10 limited no. of technical persons (ICT)
Reduction in manpower
20%
2. Scholarship Information Management System
5 Auto notification at times does not work
Easy registration (no need to visit office), Correct data available
No changes, in fact has increased Data manger’s workload
3. Agriculture Services (Department of Agriculture)
3 Internet connectivity in most of the locations
Can’t say as it is still in pilot phase
May reduce when formally implemented
4. Scholarship Information Management System
6 Students can’t reapply once their application gets rejected
Saved time for students and service providers as well
Has definitely increased workload
5. Issuance and renewal of driving license
8 Nil Reduced paper work
No changes in manpower
6. Issuance of Lagthram (Land ownership certificate)
10 limited no. of technical persons (ICT)
Has reduced cost and manpower requirement as well
20%
7. Land Acquisition and Substitution
8 Lack of technical know how
Efficient working environment
Has reduced manpower requirement
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 18
8. Scholarship Information Management System
5 System error from time to time and slow net connectivity
Convenient report generation
No changes
9. Issuance of Passport 6 Sometimes server down
Has made convenient to apply
No changes
10. Vehicle Registration 7 Few Reduced manpower requirement
30%
11. Issuance of Citizenship ID Card
7 No, very much user friendly
Working procedure has changed completely
Nil
12. Rural Timber Allotment
8 Lack of trained staff
Reduced paper work
Same as of now
13. Trade & Industry License Services
5 Poor ICT infrastructure at regional offices
Accessible at community level, reduced turnaround time
Work of 3 persons can be done by 1 alone now
Average rating 6.76
Table 12 summarizes some important observations on how many officials think that the G2C Project has helped reduce workload (Manpower requirement).
Table 12. Significant observations from the interview of Government officials
Description Number % of Total
Average rating for how successful the officials think G2C Project has been in their organisations 6.76 out of 10
No. of officials who believe that G2C Project has helped reduce workload (manpower requirement)
5 38.46
No. officials who believe that workload (manpower requirement) has increased due to the G2C Project
2 15.38
No. of officials who believe there is no change in workload (manpower requirement)
6 46.15
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan19
Some important observations:
• Two officials both working in the National Land Commission have given a rating 10 out of 10 for user-friendliness for the system.
• Five of the 13 officials surveyed said that the G2C project has helped to reduce their workload and one said that it has the potential to reduce workload when fully implemented. Two said that it has actually led to increase in workload while six officials said that it has remained the same. An official from the regional trade and industry office said, “The workload of three persons have been now reduced to workload of one person because the same system can verify, process and approve the same application” An official from the Department of Forestry said, “Staff strength is likely to reduce in future as the system has all records without having to dig out past records from register”.
• Some of the officials interviewed said that it has become easier for them to generate reports• Technical problems like server problems, software bugs and slow internet connectivity are the
major challenges listed by the officials. An official from the National Land Commission said, “G2C has been more promising since its inception. It has a long way to go to attend most successful stage since its introduction is still at infancy”. A data manager added, “If the system works smoothly without slowdown of server, it will surely make our work easier”.
Challenges listed by Government officials interviewed:
• Server problems• Lack of sufficient training in using the system• Poor ICT infrastructure in regional offices• Slow internet connectivity• Lack of skilled IT professionals to troubleshoot problems• Technical problems and bugs in the software applications
4.7 Analysis of Secondary Data from official press releases and news reports
In May 2010, Bhutan Observer (Pelden 2010) quoted the then Communications Minister Lyonpo Nandalal Rai as saying that out of 110 G2C services identified, about 20 to 25, which are most important to people, would be operational by June 2011 when the fibre optical broadband network and one-stop shops would go nationwide. But it was not until December 2011 that the services could be launched. Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS 2011), the national TV and Radio station, reported that Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley launched the G2C Services from the Community Centre in Eusu Gewog, Haa on 29 December 2011. On the same day, the government launched 23 such CCs and 62 G2C services.
The 6th ABSD Off-site Update to Media held on 25 November 2011 reported that 80 community centres were completed, of which 23 community centre had access to the Internet (GNHC 2011). The 7th ABSD quarterly joint review by the Cabinet and Committee of Secretaries held on 11th May 2012 reported, “23 Community Centers with 62 Government to Citizen Services was launched in December 2011” (GNHC 2012).
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 20
The media have been fairly quiet on the G2C Project for nearly a year since its launch. Then in the the Kuensel issue of 28 December 2012, Rinzin (2012) reports, “G2C Project officials said there were not many people taking advantage of the services offered. This was attributed to a lack of awareness about such a facility among villagers.” She quoted the Project Director of G2C Project as saying, “Of the 37 services available online, most availed only 17 services, like civil registration, forestry and community permits”. The report added that the Project Director agreed that “more awareness among the community was needed to make use of services available at the community centres”.
Pokhrel (2013) reported in March 2013 that “two of the community centres offering G2C online services in Samdrupjongkhar remain underutilized, more than a year of being launched”. The report added, “Citizens never turned up to inquire about it, nor availed one service of about 32 public services, which have been put online”. CC operator Hari Maya Gurung was quoted as saying that not a single person had come to the centre to inquire about the services they provide.
In the Kuensel issue of 11 March 2013, Dorji G.K (2013) reported, “non-availability of frequently used public services on the G2C (government to citizen) online platform is the reason behind its low utilisation by rural communities”. It was also pointed out in the same news report that the “lack of a legal framework and clear cut guidelines between Bhutan Post and the government is impeding G2C service delivery through CCs, and has actually lengthened the time taken to avail some public services, instead of shortening it”. The report also quoted a DITT official as saying that 131 CCs would be connected to the internet by the end of March 2013. In reality, according to the manager of CCs at Bhutan Post, even as of 13th January 2014, only 63 CCs out of 176 operational CCs are connected to the Internet.
The e-Government Master Plan (DITT 2013a) released in May 2013 laments, “Currently, less than 20 of the 89 deployed e- Services are functioning”.
The harshest criticism on the G2C project came with the release of the Royal Audit Authority’s Audit Report in November 2013 which claimed that the quality of services McKinsey and Co. provided for the ABSD was not commensurate with the amount paid (Dorji T. 2013a, Lamsang 2013). The audit report also highlighted that the CCs were established without pre-requisites, such as optical fibre services and manpower, because of which the facilities remain underused. According to Lamsang (2013), “A key ABSD initiative was the Government-to-Citizen (G2C) services to provide online public services. However, RAA found that the lack of adequate awareness programs has hampered the success of the G2C services as the public still rely on the normal procedures to get their work done. Some of the procedures are also very tedious and people resort to the earlier system of using the post.”
The Kuensel (Dorji T. 2013b) issue of 9th December 2013 quoted Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay as saying, “It appears that most of the services (G2C services) aren’t reaching to the intended people, in an intended manner. Therefore we need to improve the whole system.”
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan21
5. Summary of Key Findings5.1 Key achievements
Firstly, our study revealed that the following 17 G2C services are in use by the citizens as shown in Table 13.
Table 13. List of 17 G2C services used by the citizens
Security clearanceBirth RegistrationDeath registration Census TransferNew CID/ SRP card issuanceHousehold Information ViewingPassport IssuanceRural Timber PermitRural Firewood Permit
Micro Trade Registration CertificateChange of business licenseJob Portal – for job searchJob Portal –online registration of job seekerAudit ClearanceLabor NetOnline Submission and Selection of Scholar-shipsRegistration of Tertiary Students and BSA mem-bers
The following are the key achievements of G2C Project:
• Almost all the citizens who have used the services feel that it’s an improvement over the older/offline method of delivering the service. The primary benefit of the G2C services is the lesser amount of time taken in receiving the service.
• 6 of the 13 govt. officials interviewed felt that the G2C project has decreased their workload or has the potential to do so when fully implemented.
• As the first large scale e-Government project, the G2C Project helped put in motion the larger e-government initiatives in Bhutan. Subsequently, the government has come up with the e-Government Master Plan (DITT 2013a) and the e-Government System document (RGOB 2013).
5.2 Achievements of the three key aspirations of the G2C Project
• Provide every citizen access to a variety of government to citizen services within a maximum of one day’s reach of his locationThis can only be achieved when most of the 159 G2C services are available from all the 205 CCs in 205 Gewogs. As of June 2014, according to DITT officials, 131 CCs are connected to the Internet, but our random survey of some of the CCs revealed that they offer no additional services from what they used to offer when the first survey was conducted at the end of 2013. Also, G2C services are currently available from only a small percentage of the CCs.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 22
• Reduce the turnaround time by 70% of G-C services and allow citizens to file their complaints and issuesThose who have used G2C services reported that the turnaround time has been reduced in most cases, but in some cases it has also lengthened as reported by CC Operators and by Dorji G. K (2013). According to CC operators, the service is delayed mainly because the higher authorities take too long to grant approval to the applications. For instance, birth registration application has to be approved at two levels – at the Dzongkhag and then at the Department of Civil Registration, MoHCA.
• Achieve the best-in class ratio of civil servants employed in G2C services to populationOnly 5 out of 13 civil servants (38.46%) interviewed believe the G2C Project has helped reduce manpower requirements. and one said that it has the potential to reduce workload when fully implemented.
5.3 Challenges
The following are some of the major challenges faced by the G2C Project:
• Eight out of 13 civil servants (61.54%) interviewed believe the G2C Project has not helped reduce manpower requirements. 2 of the 13 civil servants believed that it had actually increased their workload. The problems they face in using the G2C system include server problems, lack of sufficient training in using the system, poor ICT infrastructure in regional offices, slow internet connectivity, and the lack of skilled IT professionals to troubleshoot problems.
• The CC Operators listed Internet connectivity issues, server and application errors, authorities taking too long to approve applications submitted online and the lack of proper training for them on how to use the system as the main challenges. Some CC operators reported that they could give provide G2C services because they had not been given user id and password to login to the G2C system.
• The level of adoption of the G2C Services by the citizens is dismally low. Our surveys and interviews revealed that only 10.69% (17 out of the 159 G2C Services) have been used so far. The average number of people served by a CC between December 2011 and November 2013 (22 months) is only 69. That means, the average number of people served by a CC per month is only 3. Only 11.84% (9 out of 76) of urban residents surveyed had used at least one G2C service other than security clearance while 30% (6 out of 20) of rural people surveyed had used at least one G2C service. The e-Government Master Plan (DITT 2013a) released in May 2013 laments, “Currently, less than 20 of the 89 deployed e- Services are functioning”. The same state of affairs has been reflected in various media reports (Rinzin 2012, Dorji G. K. 2013, Pokhrel 2013, Dorji T. 2013a, Lamsang 2013).
• Most of the people who had used a G2C service said that it was faster and easier compared to earlier mode of service delivery. However, in some instances, the service delivery time had rather lengthened as Dorji G. K. (2013) reported that the “lack of a legal framework and clear cut guidelines between Bhutan Post and the government is impeding G2C service delivery
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan23
through CCs, and has actually lengthened the time taken to avail some public services, instead of shortening it”. Likewise, some CC Operators interviewed also pointed out that they are not able to deliver the services in time as the higher authorities take too long to approve the online applications.
• Technology Acceptance Model (Davis 1989) suggests that the acceptability of an information system is determined by two main factors: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Perceived usefulness is defined as being the degree to which a person believes that the use of a system will improve his performance. Perceived ease of use refers to the degree to which a person believes that the use of a system will be effortless. How do these apply to G2C Services? The survey reveals that all citizens who are aware of the services and all CC Operators interviewed perceive the G2C services as useful. On the other hand, among the Government officials interviewed, only 38.46% (5 out of 13) actually felt that the G2C system helped reduce their workload. As for ease of use, the CC operators as well as the Government officials listed a host of problems starting from internet connectivity problems, server problems, application errors and the exceptionally long time taken to get approval of applications from higher authorities. So, there is no doubt why the level of adoption of G2C services is quite low now.
5.4 Lessons learnt and recommendations
1. Delivering services through the G2C platform brings about a big change in the existing process and procedures. Therefore, people resist such changes for many reasons (Del Val & Fuentes 2003). UWM (2014) lists the following reasons: the reason for the change is unclear, the proposed users have not been consulted about the change and it is offered to them as an accomplished fact, the change threatens to modify established patterns of working relationships, the communication about the change, timetables, personnel, monies, etc., has not been sufficient, and the change threatens jobs, power or status in an organization. Many of these reasons are true for why G2C Project has not been so successful in its implementation. The civil servants are the most important people to make the G2C Project successful. Steps should be taken to motivate them to adopt the new procedures of working to make the G2C services successful.
2. De Bruijn (2006 p. 17) warns that an organisation may increase its output in accordance with the criteria for performance measurement though this may have negative significance from a professional perspective. This form of strategic behaviour is sometimes called ‘gaming the numbers’. From the media reports and primary data collected, it becomes clear that the G2C Project has focused more on automating as many services as possible and operationalizing as many Community Centres as possible rather than focusing on institutionalizing the changes that implementing G2C services entail and making a real impact on the ground. 159 G2C Services have been automated and 185 Community Centres have been built. But only about 17 services have actually been used by the people. Most people are not even aware of the existence of the G2C services. It would be better to focus on a smaller number of services that have high demand from the people and make these services as user-friendly as possible. For instance, Online Security Clearance and Audit Clearance implemented before the G2C Project by the agencies concerned based on demand have had much higher adoption rates as compared to the G2C services.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 24
3. Higgins’ (2005) 8S Model of strategy implementation which is based on the McKinsey Seven S’s proposed in 1982 (Peters and Waterman, 1982 cited in Higgins 2005) argues that the seven contextual ‘S’s—strategy and purposes, structure, systems and processes, leadership style, staff, resources and shared values—must all be aligned for strategic change to be successfully implemented. Applying this to the implementation of G2C Project which is a big strategic change in the delivery of public services, we find that the 8 S’s are not properly aligned. Very little or no effort has been made to align the staff (civil servants and their attitude), organizational structure (no changes in structure made to reflect the change in processes) and systems and processes with the new strategy and purpose. As Dorji S. (2012) suggests, the presence of sound policy and strong government commitment at the top is not matched by the equivalent institutional capacity at the implementation level to operationalize the policy objective. For instance, already CC Operators complain that the higher authorities are not approving the applications filed in time. This is a case of not aligning the 8 S’s. Going forward, aligning the 8 S’s would be crucial for the G2C services to gain near full scale adoption and usage.
4. Lack of awareness about the G2C services by the citizens has come out very strongly in both the primary data collected through surveys as well as in the secondary data in the form of news reports. Therefore, the Government would need to step up its awareness campaign about the G2C services.
5. As suggested in the e-Government Master Plan 2013 (DITT 2013a), efforts should be made to make the G2C services anywhere, anytime (including on mobile platforms). Presently, only 32 out of 159 G2C services 32 services which are openly accessible. The rest can be availed only through the CCs or a Govt. agency.
6. The required legal frameworks, data security on the Internet and privacy of personal information should also be given due consideration.
7. The way forward for making G2C Services a success is spelled out on pages 49 and 50 of the e-Government Master Plan 2013 (DITT 2013a p. 49-50), along with recommended G2C Governance and Reporting structure as shown in Figure 1. The roadmap looks practically sound. However, the challenge would lie in actually implementing it unless we draw on the lessons learnt from the past and do not repeat the mistakes.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan25
6. ConclusionThis is the first independent study of the G2C Project, the first major e-Government initiative of Bhutan. As of 6th June 2014, an official from DITT reported that 131 out of 185 CCs had access to the Internet. As for the adoption rate of G2C Services and its impact, our surveys and follow-up interviews with the stakeholders including the CC operators revealed that only 17 out of the 159 services are used even as of June 2014. The e-Government Master Plan (DITT 2013a) released in May 2013 laments, “Currently, less than 20 of the 89 deployed e- Services are functioning”. Only nine out of 76 people (11.84%) surveyed in Thimphu had used at least one G2C service other than application for Security Clearance. The average number of people served by a CC between December 2011 and November 2013 (22 months) is only 69. That means, the average number of people served by a CC per month is only 3. Our study also revealed that there is a serious lack of awareness among the people about the G2C Services. Overall, the G2C Project has miles to go before it can achieve its three key aspirations. However, despite the implementation challenges, it has been observed that the project has made an impact in setting Bhutan’s e-Government plans in motion in a big way and raising people’s expectation. Most people who have used a G2C Service feel that it has made availing services faster and easier.
This study has come up with some key findings and recommendations. Since the Government has plans to not only improve the existing G2C Services but also expand them in the 11th Five Year Plan (DITT 2014; DITT 2013a, Kuensel 2013), it is hoped that these findings and recommendations would be helpful in some ways to improve our future e-Government initiatives.
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 26
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References
Appe
ndix
1Li
st o
f G2C
Ser
vice
s (G2
C 20
10)
Min
istr
yDe
part
men
tSl
.no
Nam
e of
Ser
vice
1st p
hase
G2C
se
rvic
es
Dept
. of C
ivil
Regi
stra
tion
& C
ensu
s(DC
RC)
CCO
pen
Agen
cy/D
zong
khag
/G
ewog
Onl
ine
Min
istry
of H
ome
and
Cultu
ral
Affai
rs(M
oHCA
)
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Civ
il Re
gist
ratio
n an
d Ce
nsus
(DCR
C)1
Birt
h Re
gist
ratio
n1
1
2Du
plic
ate
Birt
h Ce
rtific
ate
11
3Fi
rst T
ime
CID/
SRP
Card
Issu
ance
11
4Re
plac
emen
t of C
ID/S
RP C
ard
11
5De
ath
Regi
stra
tion
11
6Du
plic
ate
Deat
h Ce
rtific
ate
11
Appe
ndix
129
7Ce
nsus
Tra
nsfe
r (In
ter/
intr
a Dz
ongk
hag
& In
ter G
ewog
)3
3
8N
ame/
DoB
Cha
nge
11
9Ce
nsus
Upg
rade
/Dow
ngra
de1
1
10N
atur
aliza
tion/
Regu
lariz
ation
11
11H
ouse
hold
Info
rmati
on1
1
12Ci
tizen
Indi
vidu
al In
fo R
eque
st1
1
13Is
suan
ce o
f Nati
onal
ity D
ocum
ent
for
Min
ors
11
14Ch
ange
of C
itize
n In
form
ation
11
15Ch
ange
of S
pous
e In
form
ation
11
16Ch
ange
of H
ead
of H
ouse
hold
11
Appe
ndix
130
17N
ation
ality
Doc
umen
t Ser
vice
11
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Cul
ture
(D
oC)
Min
istry
of H
ome
and
Cultu
ral
Affai
rs(M
oHCA
)De
part
men
t of
Cultu
re(D
oC)
18Ap
prov
al fo
r Con
stru
ction
of
Relig
ious
Stru
ctur
e1
1
19Ap
prov
al fo
r Ren
ovati
on o
f Re
ligio
usSt
ruct
ure
11
20Se
arch
for M
onum
ent
11
Bure
au o
f Law
and
Ord
er
(BLO
)
Min
istry
of H
ome
and
Cultu
ral
Affai
rs(M
oHCA
)Bu
reau
of L
aw a
ndO
rder
(BLO
)
21Ap
prov
al fo
r Exp
losiv
e Pu
rcha
se1
22Ap
prov
al fo
r Exp
losiv
e De
stru
ction
1
23Ap
prov
al fo
r Exp
losiv
e Tr
ansf
er1
24Ex
plos
ive
Purc
hase
at A
genc
ies
1 Appe
ndix
131
25Ex
plos
ive
Usa
ge R
epor
ting
1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Pr
otoc
ol(D
oP)
Min
istry
of
Depa
rtm
ent o
f26
Issu
ance
of P
asss
port
11
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Ag
ricul
tur(
DOA)
Min
istry
of
Agric
ultu
re a
nd
Fore
st(M
oAF)
Depa
rtm
ent o
fAg
ricul
ture
(DoA
)27
Mac
hine
Rep
air a
nd M
aint
enan
ce
Serv
ice
1
28Fa
rm M
echa
niza
tion
Serv
ice
1
29M
achi
ne In
stal
latio
n Se
rvic
e1
30Pl
ant P
rote
ction
Ser
vice
1
31Pl
ant P
rote
ction
On-
dem
and
Serv
ice
1
32Pe
st R
epor
ting
Serv
ice
1 Appe
ndix
132
33So
il Se
rvic
e1
34Su
pply
See
d Se
edlin
g Fe
rtiliz
er
Serv
ice
1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Liv
esto
ck
Min
istry
of
Agric
ultu
re a
ndFo
rest
(MoA
F)De
part
men
t of
Live
stoc
k(Do
LS)
35In
put S
uppl
y of
Liv
esto
ck1
36In
put S
uppl
y of
Fee
d &
Fod
der
1
37An
imal
Hea
lth1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Fo
rest
and
Par
k Se
rvic
es(D
oFPS
)
Min
istry
of
Agric
ultu
re a
nd
Fore
st(M
oAF)
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Fo
rest
and
Par
k Se
rvic
es(D
oFPS
)
38Ru
ral T
imbe
r Per
mit
11
39fir
ewoo
d Pe
rmit
11
40N
on-w
ood
Fore
st P
rodu
cts
Perm
it1
1
Appe
ndix
133
41Pe
rmit
for R
emov
al O
f For
est
Prod
ucts
from
Priv
ate
Land
11
Depa
rtm
ent
of C
ottag
e an
d Sm
all S
cale
In
dust
ries(
DCSI
)
Min
istry
of
Econ
omic
Aff
airs
(MoE
A)
Depa
rtm
ent
of C
ottag
e an
d Sm
all S
cale
In
dust
ries(
DCSI
)
42
Issu
ance
of S
mal
l & C
ottag
e Sc
ale
Indu
stria
l Lic
ense
s fo
r 42
loca
tion
clea
ranc
e ex
empt
ed a
ctivi
ties
and
othe
rne
w a
ctivi
ties.
1
43
Rene
wal
of S
mal
l & C
ottag
e Sc
ale
Indu
stria
l Lic
ense
s fo
r 42
loca
tion
clea
ranc
e ex
empt
ed a
ctivi
ties
and
othe
rne
w a
ctivi
ties.
1
44Is
suan
ce o
f Dup
licat
e In
dust
rial
licen
se1
45Ch
ange
of L
icen
ce1
46Re
voke
Lic
ence
1
47Ca
ncel
latio
n of
Indu
stria
l lic
ense
1
48Is
suan
ce o
f Lic
ence
for 1
7 De
lega
ted
Activ
ities
1
Appe
ndix
134
49Re
new
al o
f EC
1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Tr
ade(
DoT)
Min
istry
of
Econ
omic
Aff
airs
(MoE
A)
Depa
rtm
ent o
fTr
ade(
DoT)
50M
icro
Tra
de R
egist
ratio
n1
1
51M
icro
Tra
de R
egist
ratio
n Re
new
al1
52Is
suan
ce o
f Dup
licat
e M
icro
Tra
deRe
gist
ratio
n Ce
rtific
ate
1
53Re
tail
Trad
e Li
cenc
e Is
sue
11
54Re
tail
Trad
e Li
cenc
e Re
new
al1
55Ca
ncel
latio
n of
Ret
ail T
rade
Li
cens
e1
56Is
suan
ce o
f Dup
licat
e Re
tail
Trad
e lic
ense
1
57W
hole
sale
Tra
de L
icen
ce Is
sue
11
Appe
ndix
135
58W
hole
sale
Tra
de L
icen
ce R
enew
al1
59Ca
ncel
latio
n of
Who
lesa
le T
rade
Li
cens
e1
60Is
suan
ce o
f Dup
licat
e W
hole
sale
Tr
ade
licen
se1
61O
wne
rshi
p Tr
ansf
er in
lice
nses
1
62Es
tabl
ishm
ent N
ame
Chan
ge1
63Lo
catio
n Ch
ange
1
64U
pgra
datio
n an
d do
wn
grad
ation
of
sca
leof
bus
ines
s.1
65Im
port
Hou
se R
egist
ratio
n1
66Is
suan
ce o
f Im
port
Lic
ense
1
67Is
suan
ce o
f lett
er fo
r Har
d Cu
rren
cy1
Appe
ndix
136
Depa
rtm
ent o
f In
dust
ry(D
oI)
- Ind
ustr
y De
velo
pmen
tDi
visi
on
Min
istry
of
Econ
omic
Aff
airs
(MoE
A)
Depa
rtm
ent o
fIn
dust
ry(D
oI)
68FD
I Pro
ject
App
rova
l1
69M
ediu
m &
Lar
ge D
omes
tic P
roje
ctAp
prov
al1
70Is
suan
ce o
f FDI
& o
ther
med
ium
&
larg
ein
dust
ries
licen
ses
1
71Re
new
al o
f FDI
and
oth
er M
ediu
m
and
Larg
e In
dust
ry L
icen
ses
1
72Du
plic
ate
Lice
nce
1
73Ch
ange
of L
icen
ce1
74Re
new
al o
f EC
1
75Co
mpa
ny N
ame
Sear
ch1
1
76Co
mpa
ny N
ame
Rese
rvati
on1
Appe
ndix
137
77N
ew C
ompa
ny re
gist
ratio
n1
78Co
mpa
ny N
ame
Chan
ge1
79Su
bmiss
ion
of Q
uart
erly
In
form
ation
(Indu
stry
Info
rmati
on S
yste
m)
1
Drug
Reg
ulat
ory
Agen
cy(D
RA)
Auto
nom
ous
Agen
cies
Drug
Reg
ulat
ory
Agen
cy(D
RA)
80Re
gist
ratio
n of
Com
pete
nt P
erso
n1
81Re
new
al o
f Com
pete
nt P
erso
n1
82Re
gist
ratio
n O
f Med
ical
Pro
duct
s1
83Re
new
al o
f Med
ical
Pro
duct
s1
84Te
chni
cal A
utho
rizati
on1
85Re
new
al o
f Tec
hnic
al
Auth
oriza
tion
1
Appe
ndix
138
86Ch
ange
of T
A De
tails
/Mar
ket
Auth
oriza
tion
Hol
der
1
87Im
port
Aut
horiz
ation
for D
rug
1
88Ex
port
Aut
horiz
ation
for D
rug
1
2nd
Phas
e G
2C
Serv
ices
641
25
Roya
l Aud
it Au
thor
ity
Roya
l Aud
itAu
thor
ity
Roya
l Aud
itAu
thor
ity (F
ollo
w-
up D
ivisi
on)
89Au
dit C
lear
ance
Sys
tem
11
Roya
l Bhu
tan
Polic
e
Roya
l Bhu
tan
Polic
eRo
yal B
huta
n Po
lice
90Se
curit
y Cl
eara
nce
syst
em1
1
Nati
onal
Pen
sion
&
Prov
iden
t Fun
d (N
PPF)
Nati
onal
Pen
sion
&
Prov
iden
t Fun
dN
PPF
91Pe
nsio
n Cl
aim
s fo
r Mem
ber
Retir
emen
t1
Appe
ndix
139
Appe
ndix
140
92Pe
nsio
n Cl
aim
s fo
r Mem
ber
Disa
bilit
y1
93Pe
nsio
n Cl
aim
s fo
r Sur
vivi
ng
Fam
ily1
94Pe
nsio
n Cl
aim
s fo
r Orp
han
1
95Pe
nsio
n Cl
aim
s fo
r Dep
ende
nt
Pare
nt1
96N
on-R
emar
riage
Cer
tifica
te/
Oth
ers
1
Bhut
an C
ounc
il fo
r Sch
ool
Exam
inati
ons a
nd
Asse
ssm
ents
(BCS
EA)
Min
istry
of
Educ
ation
Bhut
an C
ounc
il fo
r Sc
hool
Exa
min
ation
an
d As
sess
men
t97
Issu
ance
of d
uplic
ate
exam
inati
ondo
cum
ents
11
98Is
suan
ce o
f re-
plac
emen
t do
cum
ents
11
99Is
suan
ce o
f Eng
lish
lang
uage
pr
ofici
ency
certi
ficat
e1
1
100
Publ
ishin
g cl
ass
X an
d XI
I ex
amin
ation
Resu
lts1
1
101
Cler
ical
Re-
chec
k of
pap
ers
11
102
Serv
ice
char
ge c
alcu
lato
r1
1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Adu
lt &
Hi
gher
Edu
catio
n (
DAHE
)
Min
istry
of
Educ
ation
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Ad
ult
& H
ighe
r Edu
catio
n
103
Onl
ine
subm
issio
n an
d se
lecti
on
ofsc
hola
rshi
p1
1
104
Paym
ent o
f sch
olar
ship
fees
/ sti
pend
11
105
Regi
stra
tion
of te
rtiar
y st
uden
ts
and
BSA
mem
bers
11
106
Reim
burs
emen
t of f
ees
11
107
Subm
issio
n of
aca
dem
ic
tran
scrip
ts1
1
108
Man
agem
ent o
f BSA
Pro
posa
ls1
1
Cons
truc
tion
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
(CDB
)
Appe
ndix
141
Min
istry
of W
orks
an
d H
uman
Se
ttle
men
t
Cons
truc
tion
Deve
lopm
ent B
oard
109
Regi
stra
tion
of n
ew c
ontr
acto
r1
110
rene
wal
of C
DB C
ertifi
cate
1
111
upgr
adati
on o
f con
trac
t lic
ense
1
112
nam
e, o
wne
rshi
p an
d lo
catio
n ch
ange
of
cont
ract
ors
1
113
regi
stra
tion
of a
rchi
tect
s1
114
Rene
wal
of A
rchi
tect
1
115
Issu
ance
of D
uplic
ate
CDB
certi
ficat
e1
116
Canc
ella
tion
of C
DB C
ertifi
cate
1
117
regi
stra
tion
of c
onsu
ltant
1
118
addi
tion
of c
ateg
ory
for
cons
ulta
nt1
Appe
ndix
142
119
Regi
stra
tion
of s
peci
alize
d tr
ade
1
120
Addi
tion
of c
ateg
ory
for
cont
ract
ors
1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Em
ploy
men
t
Min
istry
of L
abou
r an
d H
uman
Re
sour
ces
Depa
rtm
ent o
fEm
ploy
men
t12
1O
nlin
e re
gist
ratio
n of
job
seek
er
and
posti
ng p
rofil
es1
1
122
onlin
e re
gist
ratio
n of
em
ploy
ers
11
123
Job
Posti
ng1
1
124
Onl
ine
sele
ction
of p
oten
tial
empl
oyee
s1
1
125
Man
agem
ent o
f Nati
onal
Em
ploy
ee b
yem
ploy
er1
1
126
Job
Appr
oval
by
Empl
oym
ent
Offi
cer
11
127
Job
Sear
ch a
nd A
pply
11
Appe
ndix
143
128
Man
agem
ent o
f tra
inin
gs1
1
Depa
rtm
ent o
f Lab
our
Min
istry
of L
abou
r an
d H
uman
Re
sour
ces
Depa
rtm
ent o
fLa
bour
129
Issu
ance
of F
resh
Wor
k pe
rmit
11
130
Issu
ance
of A
dditi
onal
wor
k pe
rmit
11
131
Appr
oval
of F
orei
gn W
orke
r Re
crui
tmen
tag
ent a
nd la
bour
offi
cer
11
132
Resu
bmiss
ion
of A
pplic
ation
11
133
Fore
war
ding
of A
pplic
atio
for L
RC(L
abou
r Rec
ruitm
ent c
omm
ittee
)1
1
134
Rene
wal
of w
ork
perm
it1
1
Thro
mde
y
Min
istry
of W
orks
an
d H
uman
Se
ttle
men
tTh
rom
dey
135
Build
ing
Cons
truc
tion
11
Appe
ndix
144
136
Issu
ance
of B
uild
ing
Occ
upan
cyce
rtific
ate
11
137
new
wat
er li
ne c
onne
ction
11
138
wat
er p
ipel
ine
shift
ing
11
139
wat
er p
ipel
ine
mai
n sh
iftin
g (N
EW)
11
140
Disc
onne
ction
and
reco
nnec
tion
of w
ater
(NEW
)1
1
141
repl
acem
ent o
f wat
er m
eter
(N
EW)
11
142
Upg
rada
tion
/ dow
nsiz
ing
of
wat
erco
nnec
tion
capa
city
(NEW
)1
1
143
sew
er c
onne
ction
to m
ain
sew
er
line
11
144
vaca
nt ta
nker
ser
vice
s1
1
145
Onl
ine
grie
vanc
e m
anag
emen
t1
1
Appe
ndix
145
146
man
agem
ent o
f per
sona
l gr
ieva
nces
11
147
auto
mati
on o
f misc
ella
neou
s fu
nctio
ns o
fH
uman
Res
ourc
e gr
oup
11
148
City
Lib
rary
11
Depa
rtm
ent o
f En
gine
erin
g Se
rvic
es
Min
istry
of W
orks
an
d H
uman
Se
ttle
men
t
Depa
rtm
ent o
fEn
gine
erin
gSe
rvic
es14
9Co
nstr
uctio
n ap
prov
al fo
r bui
ldin
g1
150
Publ
ishin
g of
Bhu
tan
Stan
dard
Ra
tes
1
Nati
onal
Hou
sing
Deve
lopm
ent
Corp
orati
on L
imite
d
151
Onl
ine
subm
isssio
n an
d se
lecti
on
ofH
ousin
g Al
lotm
ent a
pplic
ation
s1
152
Onl
ine
subm
issio
n an
d pr
oces
sing
ofho
usin
g m
aint
enan
ce a
pplic
ation
s1
153
Man
agem
ent o
f mon
thly
rent
alre
mitt
ance
1
Com
mon
Serv
ices
154
Voic
e of
Cus
tom
er1
Appe
ndix
146
155
Paym
ent T
rack
er1
156
Onl
ine
Serv
ice
Mon
itorin
g1
157
G2C
Por
tal
1
1831
2073
Not
e: 3
3 N
ation
al L
and
Com
miss
ion
Secr
etar
iat s
ervi
ces
and
11 T
hrom
de s
ervi
ces
rela
ted
to la
nd a
nd re
venu
e w
ere
drop
ped.
Com
mun
ityCe
nter
Ope
nAg
ency
/Dzo
ngkh
ag/G
ewog
1st P
hase
641
25
2nd
Phas
e18
3120
Tota
l82
3245
159
Appe
ndix
147
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan 48
Appendix 2Tools, Technology and License for G2C
Component Type Component/Platform Name Development Version
Development Platform J2EE JDK 1.6.22
Database MySQL Enterprise Edition MySQL Community Edition 5.1.53
(MySQL CE is license to GPL ): http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.htmlMySQL Enterprise Edition: Oracle provides its MySQL database server and MySQL Client Libraries under a dual license model designed to meet the development and distribution needs of both commercial distributors (such as OEMs, ISVs and VARs) and open source projects. Comparisons are in Appendix section A.
Application Server JBOSS Application Server Community Edition
JBOSS Application Server Community Edition 5.0.1.GA
ESB WSO2 WSO2 CE
Single Sign On CAS CAS 3.0.7
Portal Framework Liferay Portal Liferay 5.2.3 CE
LDAP Server Open DS Open DS 2.2.0
CMS Alfresco Alfresco 3.4 C
(LGPL License) http://www.gnu.org/licenses/
lgpl-2.1.txt
Web Server Apache Web Server Apache HTTP Server 2.2.17
(Apache License) http://www.apache.org/
licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
MVC Platform Struts Struts 1.3.10
Appendix 2
Achievements, Challenges and Lessons from the G2C Project, an e-Governance Initiative of Bhutan49
(Apache License) http://www.apache.org/
licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
Web Service Engine AXIS AXIS 2.0
(Apache License) http://www.apache.org/
licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
Document Repository Alfresco Community Edition 3.3
Alfresco Community Edition 3.3.0(g286)
(GPL License + FLOSS Exception): http://www.
alfresco.com/legal/licensing
Comparaisons of various licences are in Appendix
section C.
UI Scripting Framework JQuery jQuery 1.4.2
(GPL License): https://github.com/jquery/jquery/blob/master/
GPL-LICENSE.txt
Reporting Solution Jasper Report Jasper 3.7.2iReport 3.7.4
(Eclipse private license) http://www.eclipse.org/
legal/epl-v10.html
Operating System Cent OS Cent OS 5
Appendix 2