Unlocking Sri Lankan government organisations

Digitalisation of government services is seen as a vital mechanism for cultivating public services, making the government more transparent and accountable, enlargement of public participation and facilitating the sharing of information among the public. The primary purpose of the government organisations is to provide services to the public.

It is vital that they identify as to how they structure the public requirements into their expectations and then reach the intended results in a proper manner. These services will need to be provided to the public whilst efficiently mitigating the overall costs associated with such services. Sri Lanka is an instance in point where this revolution was deferred for a long time. 

Digitalisation of Sri Lankan government organisations 
As a country, it has been some period since Sri Lanka boarded on a journey towards digitalisation of government services. The government organisations would also be likely to improve the overall quality of the services provided to the public through transforming their manual work to online work. Many Sri Lankan government organisations have already taken the steps to move forward with the digitalised services.  

The Registrar of Motor Vehicles (RMV) has been able to digitalise its services with the view of improving the overall quality of services provided to the customers. As a result of this, it has been able to ensure that the customer wait time is minimised and the customers could arrive at their premises with a specific timeframe in order to receive the services they require.

Another example is the Registrar of Companies (ROC). It has transformed its company registration services to an online platform, where anyone who intends to incorporate a company can easily create an account and proceed without waiting in the long queues. 

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has also introduced e-services to the public, so that it paves the way for providing a quality service to the taxpayers. Due to the current adverse economic conditions of Sri Lanka, it has become a mandatory thing to digitalise most of the government services in order to save the consumption of papers for printing, fuel for transportation, etc.

However, it is also important to note that there could be various challenges associated with the digitalisation of the Sri Lankan government organisations. These challenges will have to be evaluated and suitable steps are needed to be taken in order to overcome these challenges in the future. Improving the specific focus on these areas will remain vital when it comes to the development of the specific outcomes accordingly.

Implementing digitalisation process 
When the digitalisation process is implemented, suitable steps are needed to be taken in order to ensure that appropriate focus is in place. There has to be a clear understanding on how the outcomes are needed to be structured. Otherwise, the expected results cannot be achieved. The following are some of the key suggestions that need to pay attention to when it comes to the development of this process in an effective manner.

Step 1 – Identify organisation and stakeholder needs
The organisation and public expectations will have to be identified in a broad way. There has to be a clear focus on them and make sure that they will be able to achieve the expected targets in managing all the challenges. Simultaneously, the objectives related to the digitalisation process have to be developed effectively. They should be able to strengthen the organisational capabilities to provide the government services in line with the public interest.

Step 2 – Engage suitable partners and vendors 
It is important that an appropriate set of vendors should be selected, who can continuously provide the digitalised services and possess a good reputation in the industry. In order to achieve these outcomes, the government organisations will have to identify the nature of the system requirements and then work with the parties to communicate on the specific needs. This should be able to strengthen the capability of the government sector to implement the digitalisation process according to the requirements.

Step 3 – Engage employee ideas 
The employee ideas will need to be gained when it comes to implementing a process of this nature. The employees should be able to provide suitable insights in order to successfully implement these changes. With the engagement of the employee ideas, vendors will be able to modify the requirements and then make sure that the digitalisation process remains highly relevant when the overall stakeholder requirements are considered. Moreover, the challenge that the heads of the government organisations will have to face is that they should be able to handle the pressure given by the government employee unions in this regard. 

Step 4 – Plan out system implementation 
There has to be a clear and a realistic plan in place when it comes to the development of the digitalisation platforms specially in the government organisation. This cannot be done overnight. Unlike the private organisations, many government organisations are providing a social service to the public. Therefore, the resources should be allocated and the timelines should be introduced beforehand without having any interruption to the public services. This will indicate the resources required for the digital platform implementation and how the parties will need to engage in these platforms effectively. 

Step 5 – Evaluate feedback after implementation 
After the implementation of the digitalisation programme, the feedback will need to be evaluated in order to identify as to how the government organisation has been able to achieve the expected results. Once the feedback has been identified, the suitable steps are needed to be developed in order to implement the changes to strengthen the system further. Specially the government organisations should frequently obtain the feedback from the public about the new process to check whether there are any difficulties and any areas for further improvements. 

Conclusion 
The above discussion clearly indicates the importance associated with the digitalisation of the government organisations. This is expected to further strengthen the quality of the services that they provide. Further, they would be able to improve the overall benefits related to the outcomes associated with these services accordingly. As a result of this, these organisations will be able to utilise the resources. 

However, it is important that the different stakeholders participate in the process, so that the expected outcomes through the implementation of the digitalisation can be achieved effectively. With the intention securing the benefits of digitalisation of government services, the political authority should ensure that access to high-speed and inexpensive internet facility is accessible to the public, including in remote areas of the country whilst assuring that the accurate procedures, policies, laws and regulatory frameworks are in place.

(Indrajith Karunarathna is a Senior Chartered Accountant, Fellow Member of Public Accountants Australia, Certified Management Accountants Sri Lanka, Chartered Professional Managers Sri Lanka, AAT Sri Lanka, Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK), a qualified risk management specialist, an authorised tax representative and holds an MBA and a BSc. Business Administration (Special) Hons. degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura)