Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Data management and risk communications have been in a constant process of adaptation throughout the pandemic. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has released a summary of the main challenges and learnings for public administrators who manage data and communicate risk across Central America. ECLAC has identified digital government as an essential feature for public administration and disaster management. Consider their recommendations to strengthen the processes run by local government offices during the recovery phase.

Lessons for digital government

• Increase the role and use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in governmental procedures and processes
• Coordinate, through those ICTs, databases across different offices and Ministries, and levels of government
• Invest in the digitalization of society, from schools to public offices, to investment in infrastructure and subsidies for equipment
• Integrate society into a feedback loop of communication through digital tools, as a measure of accountability and as a constant process of evaluation of services

Examples from Central America

• Establish “home office” schemes for government employees during the response and recovery of COVID-19
• Use ICTs to centralize information about the spread of COVID-19 and the amount of resources available across hospitals and clinics. Apps could also be useful to communicate risk to the public and provide medical appointments through video calls
• Use communication apps (e.g. WhatsApp), to continue online classes during the recovery phase, or as part of hybrid, combined online and face-to-face schemes
• Make public procedures accessible through online platforms, so that people do not need to visit public offices during the recovery phase

Challenges to address digital governance

• Integrate digitalization of public services into the wider public agenda
• Identify available infrastructure/resources that are available. Identify new resources needed
• Involve communities in the process of digitalization and government evaluation (see TMB Issue 38 on co-production)
• Generate strategies to support inter-organizational cooperation
• See also TMB Issue 37 Briefing A on risk communications as part of the local resilience capability.