Sharjah24: The General Secretariat of the Sharjah Executive Council (SEC) hosted a 2-day interactive training workshop, on Monday and Tuesday, at the Holy Qur’an Complex in Sharjah, to introduce the Priority Services Design and Development project, which is aimed at raising the readiness of government institutions and agencies in the Emirate to develop their services provided to customers.

The project aims to bring about a qualitative shift in government services in line with the public aspirations and needs and expectations. The project aims to redesign the procedures for government services in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and making them smoother and smarter with the help of modern technology and innovation. The initiative is aimed at increasing the level of satisfaction and confidence of customers and enhancing the quality of life in society in general.

The workshop targeted representatives from the Department of Planning and Survey, the Real Estate Registration Department, the Sharjah City Municipality, the Department of Municipal Affairs, the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority, the Sharjah Digital Office, and the General Administration of Civil Defence. The project targets all entities, bodies and departments in the Emirate of Sharjah in order to activate an integrated and advanced strategy in the government services in the emirate in order to achieve outstanding performance in record time and by employing the latest technologies.

Winning public confidence, enhancing quality of life

The designing and developing government services initiative is an essential part of improving the public or customers’ experience and improving their lives. It involves multiple stages that begin with analysing customers’ needs and expectations and end with designing and providing services in an effective and satisfactory manner as analysing people’s needs is crucial and necessary to identify the challenges that they face in interacting with government services. 

Services are designed based on these needs, taking into account ease of use and universal access. This includes developing innovative user interfaces and simplifying administrative procedures to make access to services more effective and easier.

Five stages of growth

The designing and developing government services project is being implemented in five stages. The first stage involved selecting priority services from the infrastructure and economic sectors. As part of the project, the services provided by government agencies in the Emirate of Sharjah were studied, in order to determine the services and the time period that it takes to complete them.

In the second stage, an integrated practical guide for designing government services dedicated to the Emirate of Sharjah was prepared.

In the third stage, the criteria for selecting the design team from government agencies were determined and trained on the service design guide so that they are the first driver of leadership, in order to achieve a qualitative shift in the provision of services in the emirate.

The fourth stage involved the review of the current state of government services in quantity and quality, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and redesigning services.

The fifth and final stage followed up on the steps and efforts aimed at implementing the improvement initiatives with the relevant teams from government agencies on a weekly basis, in order to ensure work is progressing in accordance with the outcomes of the design workshops, and submitting completion reports to the Sharjah Executive Council.