Summary report, user-centric service delivery, putting citizens and businesses at the centre, SIGMA ministerial, 30 March 2021

SIGMA Ministerial conference for the European Neighbourhood South region on user-centric service
delivery - 30 March 2021
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Putting users - citizens
and businesses - at the centre
SIGMA Ministerial conference for the European
Neighbourhood South region on user-centric service delivery
30 March 2021
Conference REPORT

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“Putting citizens and businesses at the centre”
SIGMA organised a Ministerial conference for the European Neighbourhood South region on
user-centric service delivery on 30 March, in the framework of the OECD-MENA Governance
Forum. This high-level event gathered Ministers, high-level officials, representatives, experts
and practitioners from the ENP South partners, the EC and OECD.
The event included comparative insights from a regional and international perspective, recent
developments, key success stories and common challenges in relation to the service delivery
area.
It was unanimously agreed that good public administration is an essential component in
promoting sustainable and green economies, creating jobs and attracting investors.
Administrative simplification leads to a less burdensome environment for economic growth,
while modern service delivery methods, such as e-government solutions and one-stop shops,
increase the accessibility of services.
Developing good public administration requires political commitment, vision, strategy, the
definition of priorities and the right sequencing of actions. This commitment needs to be
translated into practice, with public services designed, delivered and constantly re-designed
around the evolving needs of the user, rather than for the convenience of the administration.
The demands on the public sector are constantly evolving at an accelerating pace. The
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the pivotal role of the public sector. Public
sector organisations are being reformed in order to provide better, faster and more services.
However, quality, quantity and speed are not the only new competences that society requires
from government. As the pace of societal change is accelerating rapidly, government needs
to be able to respond to changing demands by offering new solutions. Secondly, as reform
has the purpose of re-establishing trust in government, governments need to provide more
choice, democracy and transparency by interacting with citizens/users at all stages of the
policy and service delivery process.
The place and the role of the citizen/user have become of very high importance in these
changes and reforms. Traditionally, the role of the citizens/users was largely passive.
Nowadays, citizens/users are increasingly involved in this policy and management cycle at
different stages (design, decision, implementation and monitoring; and evaluation).
Citizens/customers become co-designers, co-deciders, co-producers
and co-evaluators. Where the traditional relationships were
hierarchical, the new relationships are instead more inclusive. The
approach of many administrations still focuses too much on obligations
and procedures and too little on improving citizens’ quality of life.
Putting the citizen/user at the centre of government’s work is
therefore a true shift in mindset. Mr. Gregor Virant, the Head of the

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SIGMA Programme, stressed that this shift is promoted through SIGMA’s work in the region,
inspired by the Principles of Public Administration.
In her introductory remarks, Ms. Elsa Pilichowski, Director of
Public Governance at the OECD, stated that government’s
competence - its responsiveness and reliability in delivering
public services and anticipating new needs - are crucial for
boosting trust in institutions. She confirmed that the best way to
improve the quality of services and satisfaction of users is to
design services around their needs and expectations. The need
for user-centricity and public service transformation was strongly
revealed during the actual crisis. In parallel, COVID created
opportunities and new ways of doing things: simplified and redesigned processes, the rise of
digital solutions and approaches and the creation of new types of relations with citizens, as a
result of bottom up initiatives. The OECD “Government after shock” event, organised by the
OECD last November, revealed hundreds of big and small initiatives in that sense.
The OECD and SIGMA have been following the developments in this area and there are some
remarkable trends in EU and OECD member countries such as: the “once only principle”,
making services digital by design, designing services around life and business events, tearing
down silos and integrating processes around the needs of users. Recently, the most advanced
countries have started to move towards proactive and invisible services, whereby the state
delivers without waiting for applications from the citizen.
In her quality as a co-chair of the MENA-OECD Governance
Programme, Ms. Hasna Ben Slimane, Tunisian Minister to
the Head of Government in charge of the Civil Service, shed
light on the importance of the co-ordination and dialogue
between the OECD - represented by SIGMA and the MENA-
OECD Governance Programme - and the region. The platform
that the OECD is providing allows a common learning and
exchange of values, standards and practices that help
countries improving their public governance systems and institutions to better respond to
people’s needs and to involve them in decision making when it
comes to public services.
“Building resilience together” is the motto of the New EC
Agenda for the Mediterranean, highlighted Mr. Maciej
POPOWSKI, Director-general, DGNEAR, European Commission,
in his keynote speech. It sets a positive partnership with people
at its core. The Joint Communication of the European college on
the renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood

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adopted in February this year, reiterates the EC commitment to support good governance
and the rule of law, equal access to basic social services, including health and vaccines, fair
distribution of resources, and access to justice in the region.
Increasingly, voices are being raised in order to involve citizens and a range of actors in the
production, delivery and evaluation of public services, said Director-general Popowski. This
will affect the policy and management cycle as a whole, and public administrations need to
adapt to it. Mr. Popowski confirmed that the collaboration with the OECD through the SIGMA
Programme is a testament to the importance the EU places on public governance.
The first panel at ministerial level focused on public service delivery and the changing role
of the citizen/user and how public policies are accompanying this transformation.
Ms. Petra De SUTTER, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister
of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Post
expressed that the coronavirus crisis and the lockdowns it
caused have of course precipitated citizens’ needs for online
services 24/7. This raises new challenges, as government’s task
is first and foremost to deliver the services citizens expect. The
Belgian government is working on linking chatbots at federal
level – so that individuals or companies who have a question do
not need to know in advance which service to contact but are
automatically directed to the right place. Apps such as the e-box are very useful: this app
offers a digital mailbox to each citizen in which they can receive, store and consult their
government documents and correspondence.
“We are going digital”, said Ms. De Sutter, “because it will help achieve the following
ambitions: a better work-life balance, allowing more working from home; improving
sustainability, by reducing traffic to government buildings; by putting in place smart systems
to reduce energy consumption and by saving money, which will enable investment in good
service delivery.”
Not all citizens are digital natives, early adopters or fast learners and government has to stay
accessible for all, so the human touch will always be important. Working for citizens when
developing digital access is important, but also with them when designing and improving
them.
When asked about how she sees the role of the government in the future, Minister De Sutter
expressed that government has to be reliable, an engine of positive societal change, at the
forefront of innovation, test new technologies, co-operate with universities, invest in start-
ups and scale-ups. The government must set a good example. This implies in particular that
public buildings must be greener, but also less energy consuming than others, public transport
must be cleaner than other means of transport in the country. In government, men and

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women should be equally represented at all levels. People from ethnic minorities should find
their way into the labour market as easily as anyone else and should feel welcome when they
join professional teams.
Concerning Egypt, Mr. Saleh EL SHEIKH, President of the Egyptian Central Agency for
Organisation and Administration (CAOA) informed the
audience that the pandemic coincided with the transfer to the
new administrative city, created in Egypt, which forms a great
opportunity to restructure the public sector and services. The
pandemic accelerated changes and transformation within
public sector entities, for instance by moving from “personal
entities” to “human resources entities” and by creating
“digital transformation entities”. All government positions
and vacancies are now published electronically and accessible
on the government and institutions’ websites.
Egypt launched a number of other initiatives such as: (1) the human innovation platform
named “Serve your country with an idea”. Many innovative ideas and insights in a variety of
areas were received and a new entity is being creating now in CAOA for public innovation. (2)
An e-training platform will be launched soon that allows officials to access a large number of
guides and training courses.
Dr. El Sheikh considered that the main challenge that all governments are facing today is how
to preserve and protect people’s health without stopping all other social and economic
activities. The Egyptian government took the decision to decrease the number of officials
present at work places in order to protect them. The government had to offer the same
services to citizens but with reduced capacities and resources. Technology is the only solution
in those situations and its use was accelerated. To raise the morale of the population, the
ministries of culture and tourism organised parties, museum visits and events online. Finally,
the government is now monitoring all initiatives and innovative practices that were designed
during this pandemic in order to preserve them for the next generations. These practices were
not in place when the pandemic struck, but we will do better for our successors.
In Morocco, the new law 55-19 approved in 2020 relating to the
simplification of administrative procedures and formalities
provides for numerous changes aimed at facilitating the
exchange between citizens and the public administration.
Mr. Ahmed LAAMOUMRI, Secretary General, Moroccan
Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform,
Administrative Reform Department, explained that this law aims
to change the negative practices characterising the existing
relations between the administration and the user. It aims to change and modernise the

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approach of public officials and to restore citizens' confidence in public administration, to
simplify administrative procedures and to guarantee transparency with regard to the
reception, processing and delivery of administrative authorisations.
In Morocco, the radical turn that consists in putting the citizen at the centre comes from a
strong political will. Mr. Laamoumri explained that there is need for three revolutions in Public
Administration: a revolution for simplification of procedures, another one related to the
efficiency of the administration and a third one for the ethics principles. A change in the
mindset of the public administration is needed now, as well as openness, transparency and
adaptation to the transformation.
Mr. Ahmed HANANDEH, Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy and entrepreneurship
claimed the importance of digital transformation is a top priority
of the government because of its material impact on citizens’
satisfaction, its positive contribution to the economy, its
encouragement for entrepreneurship and innovation. Today,
surviving is for the “fastest” and not the “strongest”. Jordan is
organising a national unified registry for data, essential to take
decisions and for stakeholders to make sure they have the basic
information they need to come up with the right decisions
related to public and private sectors. Currently, the most
important public services are being identified to be digitised in complete engagement with
the stakeholders and the main beneficiaries.
For the role of the government of Jordan in the future, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a
great learning experience. All sectors and units were put under a hard test without being
prepared for it. Economy, investments plans, expectations of citizens and life all together, are
not going to be the same as before the pandemic. The demand for change of citizens is
growing and the government has to be very fast in responding. The only choice governments
have is looking forward and remaining focused on serving citizens. After the pandemic, the
youth will probably have a stronger role in Jordan to develop recovery plans and the future
of the country.

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The participation and consultation of the citizen in public service design and policies is
considered a key stage in the public administrations’ modernisation process, said
Mr. Belkacem BOUCHEMAL, Director-General in the Algerian General Directorate for Public
Service. The citizens and their well-being are considered the heart
and the purpose of any modernisation in Algeria. Thus, an annual
plan is designed and aims to simulate problems that are
cumbersome for citizens with the aim of involving them in
prioritisation and proposing appropriate solutions. The second
step in this annual plan targets what are called “life events” and it
is about acts that citizens are confronted with very frequently.
Many surveys and workshops were organised with the
participation of citizens to engage them in discussions and
exchanges to involve them as main actors in the transformation
and modernisation process.
COVID-19 has negatively impacted the physical delivery of public services and the relationship
with users due to the reduction in the number of agents at work and closure of some
institutions. During this crisis, many Algerian initiatives were created:
 The establishment of e-learning as an educational means for distance learning and
resuming courses in school and university programmes and the organisation of new
examination methods.
 The acceleration of the deployment of public service portals conveying semi-
transactional online services (face-to-face during the delivery of the service), as well
as the launch of fully dematerialised online services such as the delivery of certain
acts of civil status.
 The massive use of videoconferencing technology for holding meetings, conference
meetings (governmental, interministerial, etc.) as well as the handling of legal cases
before courts and tribunals.
 The development of electronic payment and electronic commerce platforms
(e-payment, e-commerce).
 The launch and consolidation of teleworking platforms for different business sectors,
particularly the financial and banking sectors.

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The second panel that gathered high-level officials from partners focused on Insights on
user-centric service delivery in the ENP South
Ms. Lamia MOUBAYED, President of the Lebanese Institute of
Finance Basil Fuleihan, presented the situation in Lebanon and
many parts of the Arab region, where conflicts and civil strife
have caused major disruptions. The COVID‐19 pandemic has
highlighted the pivotal role of the public sector, where the
State is both the Problem and the Solution. Ms. Moubayed
confirmed that citizens’ demands are constantly evolving at an
accelerating pace, while Lebanon is facing an unprecedented
economic, political and social crisis. She presented two
successful initiatives designed to better serve citizens despite the very challenging situation
in the country:
- The Donor Co-ordination Platform (DCP) that was developed after the 4 August Beirut
blast to shed light on the international efforts to support Lebanon on its path to
recovery, as a step to ensure the highest levels of transparency and accountability in
aid provision and distribution.
- The IMPACT Open Data website that gives access to the data gathered through a
comprehensive, nation-wide, online data collection operation conducted in
collaboration with different ministries and municipalities. IMPACT is an Inter-
Ministerial and Municipal Platform for Assessment, Co-ordination and Tracking,
meant to provide the tools and the evidence to observe, control and audit the
activities of the central and local government.
Mr. Estephan SALAMEH, Advisor to the Palestinian Prime Minister for Planning and Aid
Co-ordination, presented the digital maturity assessment that was conducted before the
pandemic started, which showed that there is still progress
to be made. Decisions on actions were taken and one key
programme, “my government”, that provides information
to citizens and online services was created. Mr. Salameh
stressed the importance of digital services as an enabler.
Digitising should never be an aim in itself but a means to
provide better, faster, cheaper and more reliant service
(delivery). The Palestinian government has therefore
invested in four policy areas. E-health and e-education,
both proven to be crucial during the pandemic, but also
e-justice (case management systems) and initiatives targeting the ease of doing business are
having positive impacts.

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The Moroccan National Business Environment Committee (CNEA) and its approach to put
investors and businesses at the heart of its reform dynamic was presented by Mr. Thami EL
MAAROUFI, Co-ordinator of the CNEA. The committee is in
charge of the public-private sector dialogue aiming at sharing
insights and changing the mindset, especially as this approach has
operated in Morocco for several years. The objective is to
improve the business environment in Morocco by having the best
possible framework conditions to encourage wealth and
employment creation and economic growth. The private sector is
well represented in this committee, as are public institutions such
as the central bank and the competition authority. The
committee is also in charge of co-ordinating the reform programmes among all concerned
stakeholders. This committee helped to review the business legal framework and to integrate
international norms and standards to allow better accessibility of administrative services for
both entrepreneurs and investors. The committee works on simplifying and digitising the
administrative procedures and in parallel modernising the interaction between enterprises
and the public administration through the implementation of one-stop shops and, when
possible, a virtual one-stop shop. Ten years after creating this committee, Morocco's business
environment ranking as measured by “doing business” of the World Bank, had improved by
approximately 75 places. This is a result and not an objective per se, as the aim is to work with
and for the private sector. This proved that when work is done seriously, with the required
implication and continuous evolution, success will be ensured. Mr. El Maaroufi confirmed the
importance of digitalisation as it facilitated the creation of different CNEA business platforms:
the “business dialogue platform” that helped with initiating the dialogue between public and
private sectors but also among the private sector actors themselves, the “business delivery”
that allows the conception and delivery of the reforms on the ground, and finally the
“business barometer” that allows to evaluate if the reform is well implemented and produced
the expected impact.
Ms. Barbara Ubaldi, Head of Digital Government and Data Unit at the OECD, stated that the
examples of initiatives detailed by the speakers during the
conference demonstrated that the region did not wait in order to
make sure that this crisis was not wasted. Digital government as
presented by the OECD has six dimensions, one of them being
user driven. This means moving from the focus of the
government on interpreting the need of the users to an approach
where digital and civic spaces are utilised to create the
opportunity for users to express their needs. This is a radical shift
similar to the ones related to the design and the delivery of the
services. Sometimes, governments are witnessing frustration when services are put online

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and the level of activity from users is not at the level of the expectations of the governments.
In many cases, the users did not want, did not have the capabilities or did not have the
infrastructure to access the services online. That iss why it is not sufficient for the government
to gain citizens’ trust but this trust needs to be maintained and earned through service design.
Ms. Ubaldi presented the OECD Working Party on e-leaders, in which many leaders of the
region are participating, and shed light on the importance of the exchange of good practices
and it emphasised thats transfer among countries but insisted on the fact that the national
context matters. Another important lever is that governments need to embrace a strategic
objective related to the design and the delivery of the services and the problems to solve.
This philosophy implies also the understanding of how can we better engage the users: using
civic spaces to make sure that the integration, the participation and the engagement of the
users happen throughout the entire cycle of the service delivery designing.
For Ms. Claudia WIEDEY, Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation in Morocco, who closed
the event, summarised that public administration reflects the
institutional foundations of how countries are run. Placing users
at the heart of administrative processes helps to consolidate
them. Whether individuals or businesses, users express new
expectations that must be met. This calls for simplification of
procedures, easier and more personalised access to the
administration, more transparency in the processing of requests
and more efficiency in the operation of structures. It is indeed
essential to show citizens that the reforms undertaken actually
contribute to making the administration more efficient, more responsive, more attentive to
the expectations of users.
To achieve this objective, it is important that the public administration thinks, designs and
implements with citizens and not only for them: for this participatory approach to be
successful, it must be initiated from the design of public services, continue during the process,
until the execution of the service. It is not sufficient to concentrate on the last phase when
measuring public satisfaction.
Users are also concerned by the terms of delivery of services: digital, online, or physical. The
pandemic has shown us that digital technology is now an essential tool in the continuity of
services. But this must be accompanied by an adaptation, both of the public and of civil
servants, to this new type of service. The Communication on the new European agenda for
the Mediterranean registered the digital transition as one of our common objectives with our
partners in the South. This transition will translate into supporting the development of
resilient, inclusive, sustainable and connected economies that create opportunities for all,
especially women and youth. On the same day, the Commission presented a vision for the

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digital transformation of Europe by 2030. This transformation can only be sustainable,
however, if it is based on broad international partnerships. The EU will promote a people-
centered digital agenda and encourage alignment or convergence of third countries with EU
standards. It will also ensure the security and resilience of its digital supply chains and help
develop comprehensive solutions. Digital approaches and connectivity are an integral part of
our relations.
A successful public service is the result of the agents and officials who organise it. They must
therefore adapt their vision of public service to these new requirements, but also benefit from
working conditions that encourage this transformation. To do this, their needs, skills,
developments and way of doing things must be listened to and supported.
In his closing words, Mr. Antonio BERNARDINI, Ambassador of
Italy to the OECD, Co-Chair of the MENA-OECD Governance
Programme, praised the importance of the dialogue and discussions
during the conference. He emphasised that, in the future, South-South
and South – EU – OECD discussions and exchanges should be organised
to further share good practices.

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THE OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an
international organisation in which governments work together to find solutions to
common challenges, develop global standards, share experiences and identify best
practices to promote better policies for better lives.
About SIGMA
SIGMA (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) is a joint initiative
of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU. Its key objective
is to strengthen the foundations for improved public governance, and hence support
socio-economic development through building the capacities of the public sector,
enhancing horizontal governance and improving the design and implementation of
public administration reforms, including proper prioritisation, sequencing and
budgeting. SIGMA has been working with its partners on strengthening their public
governance systems and public administration capacities since 1992.
The MENA-OECD Governance Programme
The MENA-OECD Governance Programme is a strategic partnership between MENA
and OECD countries to share knowledge and expertise, with a view of disseminating
standards and principles of good governance that support the ongoing process of
reform in the MENA region. The Programme strengthens collaboration with the most
relevant multilateral initiatives currently underway in the region. In particular, the
Programme supports the implementation of the G7 Deauville Partnership and assists
governments in meeting the eligibility criteria to become a member of the Open
Government Partnership. Through these initiatives, the Programme acts as a leading
advocate of managing ongoing public governance reforms in the MENA region. The
Programme provides a sustainable structure for regional policy dialogue as well as for
country specific projects. These projects correspond to the commitment of MENA
governments to implement public sector reforms in view of unlocking social and
economic development and of meeting citizens' growing expectations in terms of
quality services, inclusive policy making and transparency.

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Nick Thijs
Senior Advisor, OECD/SIGMA Programme
Nick.Thijs@oecd.org
FORUM MINISTERIAL
Roula Sylla
Policy Advisor, OECD/SIGMA Programme
Roula.Sylla@oecd.org
Angélique Dartagnan
Project Co-ordinator, OECD/SIGMA Programme
Angelique.Dartagnan@oecd.org

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Summary report, user-centric service delivery, putting citizens and businesses at the centre, SIGMA ministerial, 30 March 2021