Key to success or e-governance platforms in Armenia
I. WHEN THE GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE
What is the goal of Public Administration Reforms?
The aim is to establish a modern and effective system of state governance, capable of addressing current needs and challenges of the state and the society, and ensuring effective communication between them.
Why does the country need this?
The reforms are anchored around the basic principles of good governance and optimisation of efficient mechanisms. This is crucial for developing public policies and actions to efficiently serve and support the economic development and social welfare.
How do individuals benefit from Public Administration Reforms?
Thanks to Public Administration Reforms, relations between the state and citizens are based on mutual trust, professionalism, efficiency, transparency, accountability and honesty.
How does it work in Armenia?
It aims to build a governance system based on such basic principles as optimality, dynamism, responsibility, innovation and sustainability.
What does it mean?
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Optimal |
The size of the Government corresponds to the volume of its functions and is sufficient to fully and effectively exercise its authority. |
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Dynamic |
The government is agile, responsive, and operates with reasonable administrative procedures. |
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Responsibility |
The governance is based on the horizontal and diagonal delegation of individual and institutional responsibility. |
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Innovativeness |
The leading principle of regulations, processes, and institutions is innovation and the integration of state-of-art solutions in the public administration. The state creates, absorbs, and promotes innovation. |
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Sustainability |
The logic and value of the public administration is the assurance of solidarity among generations, social and environmental responsibility, exclusion of fragmented policies, and perspectives of the policy decisions. |
II. AND NOW ABOUT ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE PLATFORMS
The development of e-governance in Armenia is a cornerstone of Public Administration Reforms.The European Union has been providing significant assistance to the Armenian Government for the development of e-governance tools and implementation of Public Administration Reform agenda.
The main goal of electronic services is to improve the quality of public services and make them more accessible to every citizen.
Since 2016 the European Union has committed over €20m to support Public Administration and Public Finance Management Reforms in Armenia.
Within the framework of these reforms, more than ten e-governance platforms have been designed and introduced in Armenia, including the Electronic document management system MULBERRY, the Electronic system of the State Register for Legal Entities - www.e-register.am, , the Unified website for publications of draft legal acts - www.e-draft.am, the Electronic notary system - www.e-notary.am, the Traffic Police’s one-stop shop for registration of cars and issuing vehicle number plates - roadpolice.am, One-window system for electronic requests - www.e-request.am and others.
Success story. Liana Manusajyan
“As a lawyer, through the www.e-draft.am, , I have expressed my opinion about different bills and legal acts, including those on prevention of and fight against domestic violence and use of car seats in Armenia. I am happy that with the help of e-draft.am, citizens of Armenia can now actively participate in public governance and policy-making.”
One-window System for Electronic Requests www.e-request.am
One-window System for Electronic Requests - www.e-request.am дallows citizens to submit an application, request or complaint to the state or local government bodies authorised to provide information, as well as to track the progress of the application online and receive an answer electronically.During the state of emergency in the Republic of Armenia, declared to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the number of applications sent to state or local government bodies via electronic platforms has significantly increased.
For example, in March 2020, citizens sent a total of 5329 applications via www.e-request.am. There was a major surge in April, too. For comparison, in January of 2020, the number of applications was only 910, meaning that the number has increased more than five times.
This sharp growth indicates that the introduction of the electronic platform is not only an innovative and effective way to apply or submit a complaint or a request to different Government agencies, but is also a useful tool that makes the daily lives of citizens easier.
Success story. Tigran Zakaryan
“I am an entrepreneur engaged in the production of organic food. To get export-related information, I sent a request to the State Service for Food Safety and received an answer within a few days. The system works quite well, and I am glad I didn’t have to spend time on paperwork and visits. Another advantage is that I can track the progress of my request online."
III. HOW IT WORKS IN REALITY
As experience shows, e-governance platforms are increasingly important during a state of emergency, specifically the current COVID-19 reality in Armenia, when the interactions and communications between the Government agencies and citizens are limited.The increasing use of www.e-request.am gives greater insights into the increasing demand for this platform from May 2019 to April 2020 (link https://e-request.am/hy/statistics).
We can track the growth of applications, inquiries and complaints submitted to different Government agencies via this platform.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs received the largest number of applications- a total of 22,698, while Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports received the smallest number - only 404.
One can also track the number of requests, inquiries and complaints from May 2019 to April of 2020. Not surprisingly, most of the applications were submitted via E-request.am in April 2020, conditioned by the outbreak of COVID-19- 17,957 applications, 5,602 requests and 1,188 complaints. Moreover, dynamics in growth in all three categories was reported starting from February this year.LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Public Administration Reforms strategy development and its implementation is based on inclusive and participatory approach, and relevant communication tools and platforms will be available to have extensive consultations with all stakeholders and leave no one unaware of this highly important reform.