Dubai eGovernment holds first forum on enhanced Government eServices Statistics System
Forum held under the motto ‘We meet to rise’ brings together senior representatives from different Dubai Government departments
Dubai eGovernment announced that it successfully held today (March 10, 2009) the first forum for government departments involved with the enhanced Government eServices Statistics System (GeSS), at the Police Officer’s Club in Al Garhoud, Dubai. Held under the motto ‘We meet to rise’, the event was attended by senior representatives from various Dubai Government departments as part of the initiative to familiarize themselves with new features of the GeSS. The forum also acted as a venue for the participants to discuss the needs of their constituencies and express their opinions on the system’s new features.
The GeSS, which was launched in 2005, is one of the services provided by Dubai eGovernment. The system provides a secure electronic platform allowing smooth communication and network ties between Dubai eGovernment and the different Dubai Government departments. The GeSS also provides accurate statistics on confidential data of department services which would include the number of operations performed electronically or manually and can be presented in separate departmental reports or as a whole government body report.
Moza Ibrahim Al Akraf, Acting Director of eServices, Dubai eGovernment, said, “We are pleased to see the enthusiasm of the participating Dubai government departments in wanting to learn more about the latest developments of the GeSS. This improved system aims to monitor and measure the progress towards electronic transformation made by Dubai’s various government departments, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed.”
Al Akraf pointed out that Sheikh Mohammed’s eGovernment vision is based on the principle of promoting teamwork and sustainable cooperation between Dubai eGovernment, Dubai Government departments and relevant institutions who are participating in the initiative. To help further achieve this vision, Dubai’s eGovernment Executive Board has been meeting constantly to explore different strategies in improving and developing government services (electronic and manual) that fully comply with the ‘e-transformation’ initiative. Al Akraf also assured the participants that Dubai eGovernment is fully prepared to adopt the requirements of the Executive Board which is necessary for the further development of the GeSS.
The GeSS is powered by a mechanism that is compatible with both English and Arabic text inputs. Government departments will be able to enter important data which will be reviewed by a team of specialists from Dubai eGovernment. After the review, the data will be transferred to a system which will secure the data and restrict further amendments. A sophisticated security and archiving program is applied for each data entry which records any changes made and can only be accessed by officials who have been authorized to handle the information concerned. The GeSS can also provide reports and statistics which can be used as indicators for the electronic services improvement of each department.
Abdul Nasser Ahli, Head of eServices Provisioning Unit, Dubai eGovernment, explained that the system is a vital platform that facilitates electronic communication between Dubai Government and all its departments. To help monitor the progress of this initiative, a team from Dubai eGovernment has been assigned to check the system on a daily basis. The team will be checking on periodic data fed into the system from the different departments which in turn can come up with an accurate report on the status of their e-transformation. The phases of e-transactions in all government departments are determined through three methods - the proportion of service conversion done electronically; the proportion of electronic procedures completed and the proportion of the application or service being requested.
