Transforming SA’s digital government services

Genesis Analytics, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the South African Presidency, is spearheading the three-year Digital Innovation in the Public Sector programme.

The programme aims to catalyse and coordinate digital government transformation in South Africa, including through digital payments, digital identity and data exchange.

International experience from peer countries such as Brazil, India and Rwanda shows that these digital public infrastructures (DPIs) can enhance service delivery, accelerate and broaden access to government services, reduce red tape, foster citizen engagement, improve public transparency and more.

The programme will provide technical assistance, help to convene and support government role-players, and pilot DPIs in pro-poor government services. The programme will build on and support ongoing progress in these areas. The programme is divided into two components.

• Implementation Sandbox: This component will fund and pilot data exchange, digital identity, and digital payments use cases. Data integration and analysis pilots will merge siloed administrative datasets. This will improve the visibility and understanding of vulnerable South Africans to improve policy and programme design and innovation as well as tactical decision making. Identity and payments pilots will focus on enhancing existing benefits and services onboarding, verification, authentication, disbursement and reconciliation to improve their efficiency, accuracy and reach.
• Supporting the IDWG: This component will assist the South African Presidency in establishing an Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG) and provide technical assistance and secretariat support to the IDWG. The IDWG will coordinate digitisation efforts across government role-players who design, fund and deliver pro-poor government services. The IDWG will also establish an integrated roadmap for using fit-for-purpose and standards-based technology in the design and delivery of pro-poor government services.

The programme represents a significant stride towards leveraging technology and data for efficient and inclusive government services for South Africa’s vulnerable populations.