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| Potential of Digitalisation for Good Governance and Effective Accountability Mechanisms |
| Shahid Farooq* |
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| The digital age has changed the way governments work. Use of Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in government is universally perceived as a catalyst for enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability. However, in Pakistan, these catalytic properties of ICTs are underperforming, as evident from World Bank’s index on ‘ICT Use & Govt Efficiency’ where Pakistan ranks at 108 out of 139 countries. This presentation will discuss the implication of technology advancement on governance in Pakistan’s context, focusing on the underlying causes of slow impact of ICTs on government service delivery and citizens’ participation. This will include the linkage of ICTs with governance models, historic bureaucratic practices, issues of trust between citizens and government. The issues of e-participation and transparency & accountability will be particularly discussed with reference to ‘Open Government Data’ and ‘Right to Information’ movements. The presentation will focus on ground realities and suggestions for adoption of ICTs to achieve real ‘public value’.
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Mr Shahid Farooq is Head of Punjab SDGs Support Unit, UNDP Pakistan. He is a public service practitioner having twenty years experience of working in the public, private and international development sector. His work and publications cover the areas of Digital Governance; Smart Cities; Open Government; and Sustainable Development.
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