Digital skills

Why digital skills are needed?

Today’s ever-changing technology landscape requires a combination of knowledge and skills that is very different from what it was few years ago. Having digital skills enables individuals to fully participate in their social and professional lives. For example, the “new normal” following the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges that still exist when it comes to connecting households and people, and the digital skills required to participate effectively in an increasingly digital world. The need for a digitally competent population and the demand for a digitally skilled workforce have grown even more pronounced today.

Digital Skills

What are Digital Skills?

Digital skills include a “combination of behaviors, expertise, know-how, work habits, character traits, dispositions and critical understandings” (Broadband Commission, 2017). Thus, digital skills could be further divided into multiple different skills as follows:

• Technical skills: the ability to use a smart mobile device, an application, and to navigate online to accomplish a task

• Professional technical skills: the ability to understand various techniques involved in conceptualizing, designing, development, testing, integration, operations & maintenance of software products. These broadly include Software Development Life cycle (SDLC), Project management (Agile), Open Source, Open Data, digital infrastructure including cloud, architecture, and so on.

• Information management skills: the ability to access and use information to make informed decisions

• Online communication skills: communication is crucial to create effective and trustworthy digital channels, especially because interactions among stakeholders are often exclusively remote, with no face-to-face encounters

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills: the ability to use ICT to make informed judgments and choices, and then use the information gathered to solve a problem

• Enterprise Skills: Communication, collaboration, project management, continuous learning, product management lifecycle, problem-solving, digital leadership, and design thinking.

• Other skills supplementary to digital skills: the ability to apply skills in practice, proficiency in the English or the working language, presentation skills, mind-set and behavior in terms of self-motivation to learn, interest in lifelong learning, and a “go the extra mile” mentality.

Technical Skills to support GovStack Approach

GovStack is a unique approach that emphasizes the use of building blocks over existing monolithic solutions. This approach calls for a few more additional skills to what has been described as part of digital skills.

The following are suggested technical focus areas that are recommended for the implementation of the GovStack Approach. These skills may be acquired by various stakeholders as relevant to them.

Software Skills

• Software Reusable components

• Building Blocks / Lego bricks game

• Open Source Solutions

• Workflows

• Interoperability

• Service Standards

• Sandbox environment

• Software Testing

Project Management and Service Design

• Agile Project Management

• User stories

• User experience

• Design thinking

• User journey

Digital Infrastructure

• Cloud Computing.

• Security

• Privacy

• Enterprise Architecture

Non-technical skills

Suggested non-technical focus areas include:

• Understanding the difference between digitization, digitalization and digital transformation

• Awareness at all levels

• Communication/Publicity strategy

• Ethics

• Citizen engagement

GovStack approach of digitilization

How digital skills helps countries to implement the GovStack approach

The proposed behaviour, knowledge, and skills will come in hand at various stages of the stakeholders’ activities lifecycle. For example, a citizen can learn about GovStack through citizen engagement activities and demand for non-listed services. Similarly, a government department can gain a better understanding of what key competencies it needs to conceptualize, design/co-design, plan, and implement various digitalization activities while adopting the GovStack Approach.

Stakeholders Who Support Capacity Building

Stakeholder Responsibility and Roles

There can be different kind of stakeholders (government and internal) and external stakeholders who support capacity building during the digital transformation process. GovStack has identified various internal stakeholder profiles that support the implementation of citizen centric digital government services. The profiles are as follows:

Program Sponsor/Top Management/Policy Makers

Their main function is as decision-makers in national or regional governments, and head government entities. They perform legislative duties and are in charge of the long-term planning for the government ministries.

On the other hand, policy officials research, analyze and develop policies in various public sectors, and shape and implement these policies to improve the existing regulation around the sector. They evaluate effects of existing policies and report findings to the government and members of the public. Policy officers work closely with partners, external organizations or other stakeholders and provide them with regular updates.

Program Implementers

Program implementers, also known as middle managers plan, organize, direct, control and coordinate various departments within the government such as administrative, digital transformation, human resource, public relations, accounting and finance etc. They take directives from the top managers, implement the strategies and supervise the operations of their entities at the national and regional levels. They also coordinate between the top and lower levels of management to ensure the set targets are met.

The ICT professionals undertake various leadership activities (e.g., planning, coordination, and direction) across information technology subfields.

Service Designers

Service designers are responsible for planning the entire lifecycle of a product or service. This may involve creating or transforming the catalog of products and services delivered by different government departments.

Trainers

Trainers are responsible for creating, preparing, and/or delivering professional education programs. These programs are frequently tailored to meet organizational training needs. Moreover, trainers can also carry out research activities and advise policy-makers in connection with education issues.

End Users

These are the actual users of applications. These are people who either a) deliver services directly or indirectly to the end beneficiaries or b) are recipients of the services. These include employees and citizens.

Training Delivery to support digital services

GovStack approach provides different training topics in accordance with user profiles which support to better implement the GovStack approach. In order to establish right approach and move towards digital services first the general knowledge according the GovStack eco system as well digital governance era with respect to digital transformation is needed. GovStack has developed main training topics to each stakeholder who will be involved with the GovStack implantation journey and is involved or assist digital teams. However, many open-source courses are available which can support our approach during the implementation stages.

Tenets of Training Programs

The main tenets of such training programs are -

1. Easily understandable training content

2. Regular, frequent, dedicated support

3. Channels of training support

All training objects and learning materials can be found on GovStack LMS

What kind of training content is needed

For best outcomes, it is advisable to kick off the training plan with a strategic discussion will all the key stakeholders involved with digital transformation activities. This initial stage typically starts by setting a common understanding of the benefits that can be reaped through digitization for all relevant parties. This practice allows us to root everyone’s focus on a user-centric perspective of service transformation. This can then be followed by more encompassing technical training sessions

For example, in e-Chhawani program in India, pieces of training were delivered once every quarter. A special emphasis was laid on ensuring easy access to training materials with repeated reminders of how to access them. In addition, a specific time every quarter was dedicated to training and these trainings were calendarized for the entire year. For example the 2nd week of each quarter.