Transforming public service for a new digital future

Acting on demand from a growing “digital generation”, The Emirate of Dubai shifted public services from a  distributed physical model toward a single digitally serviced center. With a single window system to drive service efficiency

Context

As Dubai ushers in a new digital age and pushes to become a digital-first metropolis, the city’s government services are moving to a more streamlined digitally enabled model. In lieu of this, The Executive Council (the Emirate’s legislative arm) decided to shift most of its 42 physical service centers online; connecting 7 different public service entities into a single service window by the end of 2022.

“We are closing 50 percent of government service centers and turning them into digital platforms within two years, merging 50 percent of federal authorities with other authorities or ministries, and appointing new ministers of states and CEOs of specialist sectors.” -Sheikh Mohammed, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

Challenge 

A rising number of “digitally native” youth in the UAE is leading to a push for public services to move into the digital space. This is particularly evident in the Emirate of Dubai, which aims to change service provision to offer an end-to-end digitized experience that is secure, consistent, and efficient for its customers. As part of this effort, the Emirate decided to transform its physical service centers into a single location, combining services and staff with technologies including AI and robotics.

As this change occurred, the Emirate faced a key challenge – understanding and defining the impact of such a large change on what has been a fairly consistent service for decades. This included understanding the cost of each service center, and transitioning from a distributed to a centralized model.

Another key challenge for decision makers was the staff: over 500 employees were deployed across 40+ locations. The transformation led to a drastic impact on these individuals; with 97% transferred to new departments post-re-training. Measuring how digital transformation is affecting an ecosystem is often more difficult than conducting the transformation itself. In the case of the Dubai Government, this meant measuring costs, consumer opinions, and impact on service provision capability.

The Intellia Approach

Identifying key government entities

Understanding the costs incurred by service centers created a unique challenge for Intellia consultants and stakeholders from the Dubai Executive Council. Working directly with management and executives from the service spaces was a key aspect in solving this challenge. Intellia Associate Eisha Razia noted, “It was crucial for us to work with our partners and understand how day-to-day operations were impacting strategic decisions”.

Using this research, the Council was able to identify a model to understand cost optimization, the selected data points were dependent on their status (closed, operational) and intended inclusion in any future closure plans. This model was able to inform how costs could be eliminated while ensuring well-trained and critical human and information capital was retained in the new digital system. Another dynamic to consider was centers whose remit was too important to be made redundant, such as the Court and Municipal services. Seven remaining entities including Water & Electricity (DEWA), Economy & Tourism, Roads & Transport, Emirate Chambers, Police, Residency & Foreign Affairs (DNRD), and Customs were reviewed with a view toward digital transformation.

Estimating Costs

With the complex nature of services provided across the seven entities, Intellia developed a cost framework taking into account key areas that would be impacted once services become digitized. A key need was to ensure that post-closure human resource impact and costs related to workforce movement were minimized. “We did not feel like digitization means loss of jobs, instead it only creates new opportunities” a Dubai Executive Council member noted. 

The team created independent models for each entity, which considered aspects that had not been considered before the project, including; rent, capital assets, and opportunity costs with regard to system redundancy. Finally, technology costs were added; key in showing how even legacy systems have high technology costs. For example, the separate entities had their own mobile systems that needed independent development and testing.

Impact

Reshaping the future

As a result of the project, the savings proven by digitization were recorded at nearly AED 50 million. Additionally, transferring employees from the service center to new roles led to a 28% reduction in final cost savings which ensured that future services were built off existing knowledge and competencies.

As consumers and facilities continue to adapt to a digital age, the UAE is looking to become a global leader in delivering digital public services. This includes initiatives including VR and AI support and less exciting but possibly more impactful analyses such as the one conducted by the Dubai Executive Council. By understanding the strategic, human and financial implications of the move, the Emirate was able to deliver better services and bring the government closer to its consumers.

Digitization had another environmental impact. The Emirate became the world’s first government at any level to become 100% paper free, saving over a billion pieces of paper previously used in government transactions annually.

Looking ahead

The Executive Council of Dubai set up this cost optimization study as the first phase of a two-part project. Having completed the first phase to understand the cost savings resulting from the closure of service centers, Intellia continued to work with The Council to evaluate the impact of establishing a unified service center to increase the efficiency of operations with reduced costs.