National Capacity Building Workshop on Accelerating Digital Transformation in Sri Lanka

A National Capacity Building Workshop to Accelerate Digital Government Transformation in Sri Lanka was successfully conducted from June 7-8 with the objective of building the capacities of key government officials to contribute to accelerating the pace of digital governance for sustainable development in Sri Lanka.

The training was organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), through its Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) and its Project Office on Governance (UNPOG), in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka (SDCSL) and the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) with support from United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Sri Lanka.

E-governance is one of the modern initiatives to ensure efficient, effective and transparent governance for sustainable development. Sri Lanka must upscale the public service delivery through an improved e-governance system by accelerating the digital transformation of key sectors across the country, which will deliver the desired sustainable development outcomes.

In general, digital transformation in government frequently focuses on IT infrastructure and digital solutions. However, research has shown that (Richard Heek ,) human infrastructure such as knowledge, skills, attitudes, and mindset of public employees are the main indicators of public administration readiness to implement and sustain e-government. Digital transformation requires a digital mindset and inculcating a digital mindset among public officers requires new skills, work reorganization, and continuous training.

Digital mindset is not just the ability to use technology, but a set of behaviors and attitudes. It is a change in the capabilities of public institutions to keep abreast of technological developments and to understand the benefits and risks of digital technologies to solve complex problems. The contribution of key government officials, especially Chief Digital Information Officers (CDIOs) is crucial for this acceleration and adaptation process.

Considering the necessity, the workshop was organized for the key government stakeholders for furthering their capacities on digital governance and strategy by providing them with knowledge on recent trends and practices in e-governance systems across the globe as well as to contribute to the development of the data policy framework.

Senior Government Representatives from Korea and Singapore presented their national strategies and innovative practices on the digital transformation journey, and the key policies and frameworks including data policy that boosted and quickened the efficiency of citizen-centric service delivery. Further, the knowledge and experience of e-governance strategies from country, regional and global levels were presented and discussed by panelists including the representatives UNDESA, UNESCO etc.

The outcome of the workshop is expected to feed into the National Digital Economy Strategy formulation process initiated by the government.