Improving Digital Governance in MENA: Insights into Shiraka Digitalisation of Governments Training

How can digitalisation improve governance and service delivery in an era of rapid change? Governments, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), are faced with rapid urbanisation, population growth, while grappling with challenges of transparency, cybersecurity, and citizen engagement. Amid this societal and technological shift, strengthening digital governance through digital transformation in the public sector becomes essential in fostering sustainable growth and in improving service delivery and citizen engagement.

By adopting digital governance frameworks, governments can enhance decision-making, streamline public services, and build trust with citizens. Moreover, digitalisation offers a unique opportunity to make services more citizen-centric by enabling real-time feedback mechanisms, personalised digital interactions, and more efficient access to government resources, ensuring that public services are more responsive to the actual needs of the people.

As part of the training Digitalisation of Governments, the Jordanian National Cyber Security Center and the Jordan Open-Source Society Association, engaging in debates on critical issues such as balancing government data collection with citizen privacy rights. These discussions tackled ethical dilemmas surrounding transparency and digital governance. The urgency for transformation was felt by all 21 civil servants who took part in the Shiraka Digitalisation of Governments training, organised in Jordan and The Netherlands in 2024.

In Jordan, the Jordanian National Cyber Security Center and the Jordan Open-Source Society Association presented their work and engaged in debates on critical issues such as balancing government data collection with citizen privacy rights and dilemmas related to transparency. In the Netherlands, participants delved deeper into digital security, interoperability, and service delivery. A study visit to the Living Lab in Scheveningen shows how the city of The Hague experiments with and learns from new technologies, for example for waste management, security and energy. Participants also learned how Dutch government institutions receive support in adopting digital solutions to improve citizen services. They could ask practical questions regarding how to evaluate digital initiatives, enable citizen participation, and adapt systems to local needs.

Implementing digital strategies

As part of the programme, participants identified digitalisation challenges in their institutions. With help of the trainers they designed action plans to addresss these challenges, such  a.o.:

• Enhancing transparency in Moroccan public administration to address key challenges such as bureaucratic inefficiencies, outdated legal frameworks, weak technological infrastructure, and lack of awareness.
• Capacity-strengthening workshops aimed at increasing the use of digital systems and the adoption of e-government for government employees and public awareness through social media campaigns will educate citizens about available digital services.
• Improving departmental coordination in the Greater Amman Municipality to  foster a culture of collaboration, implementing structured training, and developing communication mechanisms.

Collaboration and knowledge exchange

The training concluded with a networking reception in The Hague, where participants exchanged insights with peers, experts, and Dutch officials. Many highlighted the value of cross-regional collaboration in tackling shared governance challenges. As a Moroccan IT Engineer stated, having ‘’different participants from different backgrounds’’ is what truly sets the Shiraka training programmes apart.

By equipping MENA civil servants with practical skills and fostering collaboration, the Shiraka Digitalisation of Governments training exemplifies how localised solutions can address global challenges.

Are you interested in deepening your understanding of the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation and are interested in strengthening digital governance? Learn more about our course on Digital Transformation in the Public Sector here.

The training was designed an delivered by The Hague Academy for Local Governance and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with RVO.