Map

Bahrain

Electronic Government (e-Government)

The E-government strategy is a fundamental element to developing an information society. This

document provides an outline of the country’s e-Government initiative. It also provides an overview of information and communication technology (ICT) developments in other sectors.

IT in the Government is planned and implemented by the Central Informatics Organization (CIO).

Traditionally, Government of Bahrain has been in the forefront of IT developments as compared to other countries in the region. The Government Data Network (GDN) connects various Government Ministries and Directorates and enables seamless information sharing.

The Central Population Register (CPR) System which included unique identifiers for People, Land and Establishments in a central database, which was established in 1984, had been another milestone achievement for the government towards its move to an information society.

The Government of Bahrain is focusing a national effort on leading the region in information

technology. The E-Government strategy undertakes to implement a series of related projects, or program of projects, to improve the effectiveness of information systems and technology within the Government of Bahrain. The strategy provides a framework for planning and action across the whole public sector, covering Bahrain local government and the executive agencies, non-departmental bodies and Statewide Government departments. The overall Bahrain e-Government Program consist of an infrastructure phase and an applications phase, each lasting for two years and will focus on five areas of architecture: security, information, applications and management in will include several strategic projects. which is being implemented by

e-Government Program

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The Government of Bahrain is focusing a national effort on leading the region in information

technology. A significant part of this effort entails enabling all of its current and future computer systems to function over open networks such as the Internet and deploying them using new technology infrastructures(e-Systems). The transformation to e-Government is supported by an e-Government Strategy that maps out a blueprint for the transformation process and gives a high level direction to all communities of the (State, Regional and Municipal) public authorities. The e-Government strategy undertakes to implement a series of related projects, or program of projects, to improve the effectiveness of systems and technology within the Government of Bahrain.

The Strategy is a conventional IT strategy, which proposes technical solutions to a defined set of

business and information needs. The business of government is too varied and complex, and the range of its dealings and contacts too great for that to be easily and quickly achieved. Instead the strategic direction is set for the way the Bahrain public sector will transform itself by implementing business models which exploit the possibilities of new technology. It is informed by the rapid development of new ways of doing business in the wider economy, in the public sector in other countries and by leading-edge practitioners in the Bahrain public sector. It identifies the respective roles of public sector bodies to deliver the benefits of a common approach.

The strategy provides a framework for planning and action across the whole public sector, covering Bahrain local government and the executive agencies, non-departmental bodies and Statewide Government departments. In Ministries and Bahrain Governates, the devolved administrations are responsible for delivering allotted functions and for the preparation of appropriate IT strategies that converge with this main strategy. The overall Bahrain e-Government Program consist of an infrastructure phase and an applications

phase, each lasting for two years and will focus on four areas of architecture: security, information, applications and management.

e-Government Strategy Model

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project. The Program Strategy that include the following active component projects:

(a) Establishment of a program/project office;

(b) Establish the Security Forum. (Security Strategy Implementation Project 1);

(c) Implementation of an Architecture Adherence Policy;

(d) Implementation of the Central Technical Platforms (Hardware and Software Upgrade Project);

(e) Implementation of the required Network topologies, protocols and bandwidth (Network

Upgrade Project);

(f) Establishing the Contents of the National Data Set;

(g) Implementing the National Dataset;

(h) Transforming selected Applications;

(i) Development and Implementation of a new Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) Project;

(j) Implementation of the remainder of the Security Strategy;

(k) Transformation of the remaining Applications;

(l) Government Portal Project;

(m) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Project;

(n) National Call Centre Project;

(o) National Smartcard Project;

(p) National Service Centre Project.

e-Government Responsibility

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There are several government bodies involved in the overall project. The e-Commerce Panel, which consists of consists of cabinet ministers and headed by the Crown Prince, Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) are the three executive bodies driving the e-Government move in Bahrain.

The e-Commerce panel is responsible for creating the necessary legislation to allow e-Commerce to flourish, and for devising strategies to attract prominent players in to the field.

The CIO is responsible for the over all IT strategy and the infrastructure for the entire government.

The CIO hosts the e-Government Web portal (www.bahrain.gov.bh), and is responsible for Arabising the international content management system (CMS) from PostNuke.

Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) was established in April 2000 as an autonomous

semi-private agency – to lure foreign investment in six key ‘economic clusters’ including IT and

telecommunications. The EDB has also been increasingly assisting in the creation of the e-Government. It is charged with formulating and overseeing an economic development strategy for Bahrain, which seeks to turn the island into a hub for global business and investment. With assistance from other government bodies, the EDB has drafted an e-Commerce law to govern online transactions.

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