Digital Government Strategy Principles

Driven by a commitment to "leaving no one behind," Bahrain's Digital Government Strategy empowers citizens, residents, and businesses through accessible, efficient, and transparent services.

This strategy is guided by the principle of Digital Inclusion, which underscores the importance of providing accessible digital services to all citizens and residents, complemented by ICT training and affordable Internet access. Additionally, the government actively encourages constituents to engage through their preferred digital channels, promoting ease of access and communication.

A central pillar of the strategy is the Digital-First policy, prioritizing digitization in service delivery. Notable examples include the Sijilat portal for commercial registrations and the National Taxation System which was developed in collaboration with the Information & eGovernment Authority, the National Bureau of Revenue (NBR), and Bahrain Customs Affairs. It is the first in the region to use cloud technology by Amazon Web Services. It offers a full suite of VAT-related services including registration, filing, payments, refunds, and audits through a public gateway portal and a SAP backend, ensuring on-demand computing and high availability.

The strategy also embraces Data-Driven Decision Making, harnessing advanced technologies and big data analytics to inform governance effectively. Furthermore, the government advocates for Digital Identity schemes, such as the single-sign-on eKey, to streamline service access and reduce operational costs. Lastly, the commitment to Transparency and Open Data is evident through the Bahrain Open Data Portal, consolidating and providing public access to data for transparency and civic engagement.

Transformative Initiatives

These principles underpin a series of transformative initiatives. Efforts to bridge the digital divide are exemplified by initiatives that improve digital infrastructure, provide laptops to needy students, provide digital training to the elderly, ensure that boys and girls have equal access to technology, and provide specific support to persons with disabilities. The government is also revamping digital channels to enhance security, user-friendliness, and personalization.

Moreover, service redesign projects, like Sijilat and the National Taxation System, streamline traditional processes into efficient digital workflows. To minimize redundancy, the strategy focuses on enabling single data entry for citizens and businesses. Additionally, Bahrain is establishing data centers for advanced data analysis, which includes projects like census data analysis and economic statistics.

The strategy's effectiveness is monitored through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), ensuring prompt completion of high-priority initiatives. A governance structure, including committees like the Executive Committee chaired by HRH, The Crown and Prime Minister, Ministerial Committee for ICT (MCICT) and the respective Ministerial Committees, oversees its coordinated implementation.

The National Enterprise Architecture (NEA) is an aggregation of models and meta-models, governance and compliance mechanisms, technology standards, and guidelines put together to implement and orchestrate Enterprise Architecture (EA) across several government entities.

By prioritizing these principles, Bahrain aims to ensure that no one is excluded from benefiting from the digital transformation and that all individuals can fully participate in the digital economy.

Bahrain Pulse provides an overview of all the national efforts that reinforce the Kingdom’s competitive advantage and achievements that boost its national economy and prosperity.