Malta introduces new Mobile Government Strategy based on once-only principle
Malta launched a Mobile Government Strategy on 21 November 2016, which aims at making public services accessible on mobile devices at any time and from any place. The core of the strategy relies on the once-only principle, which seeks to reduce administrative and bureaucratic burdens by allowing citizens to submit necessary personal information to the public administration once, instead of multiple times.
The strategy will be implemented in three phases, first aiming at providing an initial set of basic public services for mobile devices already by March 2017, followed by the more complex categories of transaction-based services with higher security requirements in 2018, and finally expanding its offering with apps aimed at public services officers.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| mCommunications | Enhanced two-way communication of Government with citizens and businesses, including notifications. |
| mTransactions | Transactional services, including electronic payments from mobile devices, which may require user identification. |
| mDemocracy | Increased citizen participation in political decision making. |
| mAdministration | Tools to increase mobility of public officers and improve provision of personalised public services on location. |
All the while, the Maltese government is fully aware of the challenges to implementing this ambitious strategy. Malta´s Mobile Government services (mServices) will be based on 11 principles, for instance on simplification of processes, the usability of mobile apps, and a collaboration between government departments to provide all the information on one app.
The introduction of mServices shall be accompanied by the streamlining and simplification of processes in order to reduce bureaucracy.
And more concretely:
There are also administrative challenges which we must meet. This is another opportunity to move from data storage to data management, fulfilling another aim: that a person gives information to the government just the once.
The goal of Malta´s e-government efforts is more transparency by increasing opportunities for the public to participate better directly that affect their life, country, and environment. Moreover, the strategy aims at providing incentives for private sector participation in the creation of innovative new mServices to further increase convenience for citizens and promote economic activity.
In order to assure that this bold move toward digitising Malta’s public administration leaves no one behind, the government plans in parallel on providing 250 public services at physical “one-stop-shops” in local communities. In doing so Malta aims to ensure that citizens, not comfortable with accessing these services on their mobile devices, will nevertheless benefit from this new strategy.
Further Information: