The Executive Team of the Online Service Index (OSI), an indicator of the 2021 UAE Vision National Agenda, held its second meeting of 2021 virtually, chaired by H.E. Salem Al Hosani, Acting Deputy Director General for Information and e-Government Sector at The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority. The meeting was attended by members of sub-teams representing various local authorities in UAE.

The meeting addressed future trends of smart services, and key milestones adopted in the previous session, which came within the concept of O6. The meeting also addressed the content of United Nations Digital Government Report 2020, discussed key points contained therein, and touched on aspects that need development.

At the beginning of the meeting, the head of the executive team praised the team for having won the Distinguished Team Award in the Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program for two consecutive sessions, adding: “The national team has made great efforts to develop smart electronic services, and we are proud of what we have achieved. At the same time, we are committed to the directives of the wise leadership that urge us to double our efforts to achieve the aspirations of UAE in the next 50 years. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said at the conclusion of the Fifty-Year Retreat, “Those who cannot double their efforts and achievements 10 times will not be part of our government team during the coming period.”

H.E. Al Hosani stressed that innovation will be the key driver of the team’s work in the next phase, adding: “Our vision is for the UAE to be a fertile ground to attract minds, ideas and investments. Innovation is the main driver of government efforts to shape the future, utilize big data for developing unprecedented solutions, as well as promote smart automation and digital transformation. We in the UAE raise the “Innovating to Compete” slogan”

The meeting discussed future trends of smart services, plans to ensure consistency and sustainability in providing services that bring customer happiness, and how to develop a dataset around various segments of society for further growth of innovative digital solutions, share digital knowledge and build digital skills of government employees.

The meeting addressed the updated version of the official portal of the UAE government (U.ae), the unified service portal (in cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office), and the latest developments regarding the preparation for launching two new portals in the coming period in cooperation with the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. These new portals are the data portal and the sustainable development portal.

The meeting reviewed details of the self-assessment campaign to be launched during the next 6 weeks, which is the biggest step for the team in the current session, where the campaign’s methodology, mechanisms, goals and timelines were discussed.

In addition, the meeting touched on UAE’s hosting of the largest United Nations public service conference next November, with participation of an elite group of global e-government experts, which will also announce winners of the Public Service Award.

During the meeting, national team members were invited to evaluate best projects featured in UAE Hackathon 2020 (Data for Happiness and Quality of Life) with the winners to be announced at an official ceremony on March 9th.

The OSI Executive Team comprises representatives of 11 federal and local government entities. Its priorities are to provide a sustainable environment and an integrated infrastructure and to achieve the goals set at the global level. The Team acts in accordance with major global trends in the e-Government Survey, namely: bridging the digital divide, Open Data, promoting use, multichannel services, Connected Government (G2G), and e-participation.