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Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

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2007 Category 2: Morocco<br />

municipal service delivery <strong>in</strong>to a modern onl<strong>in</strong>e system. In July 2006, the team successfully<br />

completed a pilot e-government project (eFez) funded by the IDRC <strong>and</strong><br />

implemented <strong>in</strong> the local government of the city of Fez.<br />

By mak<strong>in</strong>g simplified processes accessible through GSM phones (widely used <strong>in</strong><br />

Morocco), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) <strong>and</strong> personal computers, the project<br />

reduced or elim<strong>in</strong>ated bureaucratic delays. It gives all citizens equal access to services,<br />

makes adm<strong>in</strong>istrative procedures more transparent <strong>and</strong> visible, <strong>and</strong> uses government<br />

human resources more efficiently. Besides allow<strong>in</strong>g users to access services<br />

<strong>and</strong> request documents (such as residency certificates, birth certificates, <strong>and</strong> marital<br />

status certificates), the new system also offers general <strong>in</strong>formation about Fez (tourism,<br />

economy, history, architecture, weather, etc.).<br />

To ensure that all citizens can access the portal, the Fez Wilaya (local adm<strong>in</strong>istration)<br />

<strong>in</strong>stalled free public digital kiosks. To determ<strong>in</strong>e which e-government services should<br />

be prioritised, the Alakhawayn University project team conducted surveys <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>terviews<br />

among local citizens. By partner<strong>in</strong>g with Laval University to develop software<br />

for the portal, the Alakhawayn University team was able to benefit from Canadian<br />

e-government expertise. Alakhawayn University provided technical tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to the<br />

Fez Wilaya employees to ensure they ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> the system beyond the two-year span<br />

of the project.<br />

The <strong>in</strong>itiative allows local authorities to make full use of ICT, giv<strong>in</strong>g citizens fast,<br />

easy access to a wide range of government services through a fair <strong>and</strong> transparent<br />

process. This project will serve as a road map for roll<strong>in</strong>g-out local e-government<br />

projects across Morocco. The project will also address important research questions<br />

about the social impact <strong>and</strong> political implications of e-government. These questions<br />

<strong>in</strong>clude: Is e-government viable <strong>and</strong> beneficial <strong>in</strong> a country with a high rate of illiteracy?<br />

Which segments of Moroccan society are most likely to use e-government<br />

services? Which are least likely to use them, <strong>and</strong> why? What political, social <strong>and</strong><br />

economic strategies can give the greatest number of people access to e-government?<br />

How can ICTs have an impact on strategies for design<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> deliver<strong>in</strong>g government<br />

services?<br />

Design<strong>in</strong>g, implement<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> deploy<strong>in</strong>g the project <strong>in</strong> a citizen-centric, participatory,<br />

<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>teractive manner, enabled the research team to build a local e-government<br />

system that matters to the local community, responds to the locally perceived<br />

needs, facilitates citizen-friendly service delivery, <strong>and</strong> thereby fosters local good<br />

governance. The success of eFez has facilitated a grow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />

ICT projects among political decision makers, civil servants <strong>and</strong> ord<strong>in</strong>ary citizens.<br />

The general public is becom<strong>in</strong>g more <strong>and</strong> more aware of the urgent need to promote<br />

ICT diffusion with<strong>in</strong> Morocco’s governance structures, especially at the local<br />

309

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