2023 OECD/IDB

Digital Government Index LAC

Red GEALC

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November 26, 2024

Barbara Ubaldi,

Head of Digital Government Unit�Deputy Head of Division, Innovative, Digital and Open Government Division (INDIGO)

OECD Public Governance Directorate

Barbara.Ubaldi@oecd.org

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• Conceptual Framework
• Methodology
• Results
• Conclusions

2023 OECD/IDB DGI LAC

Agenda

DGI Methodological Framework

Innovative

Government

2023 OECD/IDB DGI LAC

OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies

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• The DGI is a policy instrument based on the OECD Recommendation on DigGov Strategies and the OECD DigGov Policy Framework.
• Maturity across six dimensions equips government to enhance internal efficiency, ensure transparency, and enable public services that exceed users’ expectations.
• Mature digital government policies leverage digital technologies and data to advance a proactive, sustainable, and equitable public governance, balancing risks and opportunities. 

Six dimensions of the OECD

Digital Government Policy Framework

From the Framework to the Index

Policy cycle

Quantitative analysis�6-dimension composite score

Qualitative analysis�4 transversal facets

OECD Digital Government Index: 2023 results – https://oe.cd/dgi-2023

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What does the DGI measure?

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• The DGI measures how governments are laying the foundations for a coherent and human-centred digital transformation of the public sector.

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• It comprises 155 data points from 23 LAC countries collected in 2022, covering the period between 01 January 2020 and 31 October 2022.

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• The OECD and the IDB acknowledge that LAC countries may have advanced in the development of digital government policies after the data collection period, which is not reflected in the results of the 2023 DGI LAC.

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What the DGI does not measure?

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• The levels of digitalisation of processes and public services.
• The social, economic or environmental impact of digital government.

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Is it comparable with the 2019 pilot edition?

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• Due to modifications in the survey, the 2023 DGI LAC results are not directly comparable to the previous pilot edition for countries that participated in it. 

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings"

What is the OECD/IDB DGI LAC

• Survey on Digital Government 2.0
• 94 questions and 155 data points.
• Prepared with the OECD Working Party E-Leaders’ Task Force on Digital Government Indicators, including the IDB.
• Data collection: performed during December 2022 and April 2023 by the OECD (7 countries) and IDB (16 countries).
• Data validation: evidence review and clarification of responses by country delegates, conducted jointly by the OECD and the IDB
• Calculation according to the statistical analysis and validation performed for OECD DGI.

DGI LAC Methodological Considerations

DGI LAC Results

Innovative

Government

2023 OECD/IDB DGI LAC

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

• LAC countries are embracing the digital transition, but overall progress remains below the OECD average.
• On average, top performers achieve slightly better results than the OECD average, with balanced scores across all six dimensions of the Index.
• Progress is uneven, and significant efforts are still required to fully harness the benefits of the digital transformation and mitigate its potential risks.  

2023 OECD/IDB DGI LAC– composite score

• LAC countries perform better in laying the foundations for digital government - Digital by design and User-driven dimensions.
• There is a lower performance in the Government-as-a-platform, Open by default and Proactiveness dimensions.
• LAC countries are more effective in adopting a strategic approach and policy levers for digital government. However, more effort is needed in implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation of digital government policies.

2023 OECD/IDB DGI LAC– Regional dimension results

LAC Regional Profile

• Countries in LAC have made progress in strengthening the governance of digital government.
• 96% have appointed an organisation-in-charge for digital government policies
• Room to enhance strategic alignment with other national strategies, more collaborative governance mechanisms, and digital talent.
• 32% have initiatives to attract digital talent and 26% have a strategy related to digital skills within public administration.

Digital by Design - highest performing dimension

Digital

Government

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

Data-driven Public Sector - 3rd best performing dimension

• Room to advance in the concrete implementation of data-driven public sector policies:
• Implementation transversal facet for DDPS reaches 38% in LAC vs 65% in OECD countries.
• Regional progress in enabling data sharing across public institutions, although results remain below OECD maturity levels.
• 48% have implemented data interoperability systems vs 85% at the OECD.
• Scope of shared data through interoperability systems across government could be enhanced.
• Only 22% exchanged all evaluated data categories (identity, residence, civil registry, economic and tax, health).

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

Government as a Platform - 4th performing dimension

• LAC countries have yet to consistently develop common building blocks to deliver and secure coherent processes and services.
• Implementation of GaaP at 27% in LAC vs 60% for OECD.
• The development of digital public infrastructure in LAC countries is progressing.
• 86% digital ID authentication method, 61% interoperability framework, 57% shared networks.
• Most countries still need to adopt a more strategic management of digital investments in the public sector.
• 43% value proposition model, 37% standardised approval system for digital projects, and 35% dedicated fund for digital projects.

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

Open by Default - 5th performing dimension

Innovative

Government

• Progress towards the release and (re)use of high-value datasets could be harnessed further.
• Only 17% of LAC countries make high-value datasets available vs 44% of OECD countries.
• Limited mechanisms for evaluating the impact of open data initiatives hinder the full realisation of their effectiveness and value.
• 96% have not conducted evaluations to assess the impact of open data in the public sector.
• Countries can foster greater algorithmic transparency to support the trustworthy use of AI.
• No open algorithm registers in the region.

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

User-Driven - 2nd best performing dimension

Innovative

Government

• Positive regional efforts on bridging digital divides.
• 83% have an action plan to address digital divides.
• Countries could strengthen efforts towards a more human-centred approach in the design and delivery of public services.
• 96% are not conducting assessments to understand the main barriers for co-designing digital government services with users.
• Integrating user feedback and participatory approaches in public service design.
• 30% have systematic practices to integrate user feedback and testing into the service design process.

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

Proactiveness - lowest performing dimension

Innovative

Government

• A more proactive approach in public services and policies remains a significant challenge in LAC.
• Results for Proactiveness in LAC countries reaches 21% vs 57% in OECD countries.
• Low strategic integration of trustworthy AI in the public sector.
• 22% have established a comprehensive AI strategy for the public sector.
• Countries can improve the effective use of data to anticipate user needs, deliver proactive services, and for policy monitoring.
• Only 19% of LAC countries have initiatives to proactively use data compared to 46% of OECD countries.

Note: The data collection period for the 2023 edition of the DGI LAC is from 1 January 2020 to 31 October 2022.

Source: OECD/IDB (Forthcoming), "2023 OECD/IDB Digital Government Index of Latin America and the Caribbean: Results and key findings“.

Conclusions

Innovative

Government

2023 OECD/IDB DGI LAC

• A shift from e-government to digital government requires scaling up efforts to achieve a human-centred transformation enabled by digital technologies and data.
• Achieving sustainable digital transformation over the long term requires solid foundations, that foster scalability, interoperability and integration.
• Compared to OECD average, the LAC region has room to advance towards a more consistent performance across all six dimensions.
• Further efforts are needed in the region to monitor and evaluate digital government policies.

Key policy messages

• Significant gaps remain in building digital public infrastructure to deliver and secure coherent processes and services.
• Adopting strategic models to manage investments in digital government to secure consistency, value for money and sustainability.
• Improving coverage and scope of data shared across government.
• Strengthening the development and management of digital talent and skills.
• Ensuring that services meet users’ needs and expectations remains a primary objective.
• Harnessing open data through the release and (re)use of high-value datasets.

Focus areas in LAC

*AI-generated image

• Regional priority to establish robust governance frameworks can be a solid foundation to extend progress towards other dimensions.
• Progress in enabling data sharing across public institutions, can be leveraged for more proactive service design and delivery.
• Efforts to bridge digital divides are a strong base for progressing towards human-centred approaches in service design and delivery.

Leveraging strengths

*AI-generated image

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How are governments using the DGI as a tool to support digital government policy reforms

Countries are using the DGI to:

• Monitor the implementation of their digital government strategies (Australia, Estonia, Korea)
• Inform future digital government strategies (Norway, Chile, South Africa*)
• Identify areas of priority and further improvement (Brazil, Chile, Norway, Sweden, Korea)
• Seek political support for more transformative efforts (Chile, Ireland, Belgium)
• Understand and map the digital government maturity across the public secor (Sweden)

*AI-generated image

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Access the Policy Paper

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2023 OECD/IDB �Digital Government Index LAC

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https://oe.cd/23dgilac

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Barbara Ubaldi, ��Head of Digital Government Unit�Deputy Head of Division, Innovative, Digital and Open Government Division (INDIGO)

OECD Public Governance Directorate

Barbara.Ubaldi@oecd.org

​

@BarbaraUbaldi

Thank you!

Responsive and agile governments for all

INDIGO

Innovative, Digital and Open Government Division

Public Governance Directorate

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