Blind spots or Black Holes? Common Mistakes in Smart Governance

Failure to address execution, the people factor, and the long tail impact – it’s a small oversight that can turn into a broken hinge of even the strongest doors towards the future

Does the name Alexandre Gustave ring a bell? Hint – He was an accomplished engineer of his era. Nope? Okay, another hint – He made Paris memorable for something really special. Nothing? Ok, fine – His last name was Eiffel.

Got it now! Yes, the man who made the blueprint of the historical imprints of the Eiffel Tower. But do you know the most interesting bit about this engineer? It’s not the part that he made a structure with almost 18,000 unwieldy parts that were nothing on their own (and would fall apart) until they came together. It’s not the part that he chose to work with iron instead of the emerging sensation called steel in those times. It’s not even the part that this tower became the tallest building in the world until the Chrysler building came about. Nah! As Bill Bryson unravels very wittingly, it is the less-known fact that while Frederic Bartholdi is known for designing the great Statue of Liberty, it was Alexandre G Eiffel who created the complex inner engineering and pioneered the curtain wall construction approach inside it- which could hold the massive structure well.

The future of India, where everything runs smooth and uninterrupted in an intelligent and intuitive way, lies in the plumbing being laid out now.

If you are wondering why we are suddenly rambling into the past, it is because nothing prepares us well for the future than the vestiges of wisdom lying buried under the thick gravel of history. We seem to forget, and conveniently so, the real underpinnings of any masterpiece. But that’s where the magic, the engineering, and the architectural dexterity lie.

And the future of India – where everything runs smooth and uninterrupted in an intelligent and intuitive way- from cars, court cases, documents, planes, brains, waste management, electricity to real-time data, water, fresh air- lies in the plumbing being laid out now. In the form of smart governance.

It took more time for Mr. Eiffel to design the tower than to erect it—just two years and a few laborers – and with no mishaps. So, if he was around, he would appreciate the planning part of the ambitious transformation of governance in a red-tape-heavy country like India. But how much time is good mapping time? And are the myriad parts coming together in the right way – or would they tumble at the big moment of truth? Are we making the right choice between iron or steel, when it comes to technology? There is a lot that we need to mull over when we check the progress meter of our smart governance projects – if we look at Eiffel’s playbook.

And there is a lot that pops out as a missed brick in this huge wall that is being spackled with the latest IT and cemented with the strongest infrastructure work. Let’s look at it the way Mr. Eiffel would have recommended. By looking beneath the ground first. By starting with how many feet deep have we bolstered it so far – so that one day it can stand tall and proud like a new world-wonder. To do that we will have to confront some basic blocks – time, people involvement, technology, and the pandemic’s impact.

We Don’t Have All The Time in The World

As Apeksha Kaushik, Principal Analyst at Gartner observes, “Gartner predicts by 2023, over 60 percent of governments will have tripled citizen digital services, but less than 25 percent will be integrated across organizational silos. The failure of government projects is endemic all over the world. That is not to suggest that projects don’t also fail to meet expectations in the commercial world. But in government, failures gain substantial eyeballs. Much of this can be avoided by the development of a carefully crafted project governance approach that defines who the decision-makers are, the decisions they are expected to make and enforce, and the process of bringing those decisions before them.”

Let’s consider here what Rumi Aijaz, Senior Fellow at ORF, delineated well in a report—Just think that less than 50 percent of the projects had been completed at the end of the Smart City Mission’s six-year period – and you will get a sense of the slow pace at which the pages of this calendar are being turned. It was also noted in the report that the management of SPVs needs attention.

The delays have an ugly domino effect, and they create massive, and endless, hassles for citizens. No wonder in some cities, the word ‘smart city’ or ‘smart governance’ has the perception of a nuisance that has toppled the life of an average citizen. Available data, as pointed out in the ORF report, highlights massive delays in smart projects at Amaravati, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, and Shillong.

Kaushik adds that amidst many ongoing disruptions, governments are implementing technologies to empower both citizens and employees across multiple channels and modes of interaction. “But government CIOs must develop a total experience strategy for successful modernization and transformation of services in the long run.”

Another challenge for a developing country like India is a paucity of funds keeping other pressing priorities in mind like Covid, agricultural distress, infrastructure, etc, reasons Dr. Nityesh Bhatt, Professor, and Chairperson, Information Management Area, Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad.

People, People, People –

The Duct Tape We Can’t Miss

A very fundamental argument is that of neglect of basic services and attention to the bottom-of-pyramid level of needs. A report by Housing and Land Rights Network highlighted some time back that – “the critical question is whether the country should first focus on creating 100 high-tech urban enclaves or on prioritizing—for every resident— the provision of sufficient and potable water; adequate sanitation services; the highest attainable standard of health; adequate and secure housing; a clean and healthy environment; safe spaces to play, walk, and work in; accessible public transport; and security for women, minorities, and children?”

The results should ultimately reach people – and all kinds of people, not just the ones with smart devices and in urban India. Look at smart traffic management systems, we still have violations of rules because of a lack of awareness. We need community-based systems where training and awareness can be rightly built up.

Increased proficiency in the use of data and analytics can paint an accurate picture of what the government is doing well, where it is struggling, and what it is doing to improve.

— Apeksha Kaushik, Principal Analyst, Gartner

Shivendra Singh, Head, Government Vertical, Staqo applauds overall government orientation but hopes that the smart governance outcomes should reach every citizen – even those in remote areas. “We need to move from citizens to the era of e-citizens where citizens can access services in a self-run mode without the need to go through more layers of platforms. Although citizen-centric services have cut a lot of red tape and middle-men through technology in areas like taxation, smart metering – we can accelerate a lot with technology and people-centric execution.”

Kaushik reasons that most government project governance is optimized for outdated development methodologies and acquisition practices. “Today's government’s success also requires more innovative collaboration with vendors and ecosystem partners throughout the acquisition cycle and agile development methodologies. Government CIOs planning or implementing digital government transformation programs should use a digital leadership program to build resilience and digital acumen. Build a solid understanding of the ecosystem surrounding the primary service recipients by mapping the ecosystem and applying human-centered design (HCD) techniques to identify the needs and drivers of constituents and system users.”

Technology- A Bermuda Triangle?

Technology is an integral part of any smart governance vision, points out RK Singh, Nodal Officer, Agra Smart City who is confident that all major projects would be executed by May or June this year. In Agra, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and edge analytics, for instance, are being used in ICCC Software, Facial Recognition System, Attribute Search, and 360 Degrees Reconstruction. ICT is also being used in Safety &Surveillance Systems, Intelligent Traffic Management systems, Adaptive Traffic Control systems, Enterprise and City GIS environmental sensors, etc.

Looks like not all is bleak – especially when the power of data jumps in. Despite future uncertainty created by the pandemic, government leaders have an opportunity to turn public perception around by connecting the dots between decisions, actions, and results with data sharing and decision intelligence recommend Kaushik. “Increased proficiency in the use of data and analytics can paint an accurate picture of what government is doing well, where it is struggling, and what it is doing to improve. By clearly demonstrating the relationship between transparency and accountability, governments can hope to regain the public’s trust and confidence.”

Another challenge for a developing country like India is a paucity of funds keeping other pressing priorities in mind like Covid, agricultural distress, infrastructure, etc.

— Dr. Nityesh Bhatt, Professor, and Chairperson, Information Management Area, Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad

They should be engaging stakeholders in a discovery exercise to develop a complete picture of the information required and currently available across the ecosystem to ensure that the needs of all key stakeholder groups can be satisfied, and duplication is minimized, Kaushik stresses. “It is also vital to ensure co-creation is sustainable beyond the initial collaboration by maintaining the commitment to the consultation process throughout the design and improvement phases for new services and enhancements to existing services and demonstrating how the consultation has shaped the design. Most importantly, one should start establishing KPIs that reflect business unit goals and organizational priorities by working with Citizen experience and business unit teams. This should combine individual people, process, and technology metrics to measure the impact of Citizen experience and digital government initiatives and define ‘success’ and ‘failure’ parameters.”

As Shivendra Singh weighs in, IT and ITeS form the backbone of smart governance projects – of every shade and scale. “The command and control systems work basically on technology and data. But currently, a lot of this data and these control systems are fragmented. If they can be unified on a single network and platform, then the results would be way better, faster, and more precise, also decision-making can be augmented in a big way through the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. But for that, we need to work on homogenization of data.”

“Existing context, constraints, priorities need to be considered. In general; IoT, AI-ML, Analytics, and Surveillance systems are deployed. However, technology can only supplement governance, it cannot be a substitute.” argues Dr. Bhatt who is also the Chairperson of the Information Management area, and the Nirma Ltd Chair Professor in Management.

Steve Wray, Sr. Vice President, and Principal, ESI EConsult Solutions Inc. reasons that, of course, the use of technology is only as good as the internet and technology access available to citizens. “The impacts of Covid restrictions—increased numbers of workers working from home, schools providing distance learning, accessing government services online—have exposed the uneven access across cities and the difficulties in meeting those needs. Small towns and rural communities often lack the connections needed to be competitive in a connected economy.”

As RK Singh reflects, creating positive public awareness and bringing a change in attitude are core struggles when it comes to executing a smart governance vision. “But doing meetings behind closed doors does not convey the actual impact that a project or change will bring in real lives. For that, one has to go on actual spots of action and demonstrate everything in an immersive and practical way.” On-site explanation always works better than indoor presentations.

Reset and Re-orient –

The Pandemic Transplant

Should the blueprints of governance change in light of the new implications of distancing, health, hybrid work, etc. that have been imposed by the pandemic? Wray avers that in the past two years, city leaders have been forced to rethink and refine a lot. “A confluence of interconnected health, economic, social, political, financial, and technological challenges have meant that local governments have had to be more flexible and creative as they deliver services, protect their citizens, and invest in their economic futures.”

As pandemic resets services, government leaders should be examining the experiments they put in place during the pandemic and determining what they liked and want to keep, what they didn’t like and should abandon, and what needs to change, he adds. “A lot of challenges have been exposed during the past two years – now is the time to take stock and reset expectations and plans for the future.”

And the post-pandemic world would need a different lens, wiped well with the clarity of new imperatives like social distancing and hybrid work. As ESI Econsult Solutions notes that in 2022, it is imperative to view investments in quality of place more broadly as the qualities and characteristics that people value in where they chose to live have shifted. These include – “The shifting norms in virtual/remote work have accelerated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And also the increasing spotlight on diversity and inclusion requires cities to be more intentional and equity-focused in their growth strategies.”

Consider The impacts of Covid restrictions—increased numbers of workers working from home, schools providing distance learning, accessing government services online.

— Steve Wray, Sr. Vice President and Principal, ESI EConsult Solutions Inc.

Incidentally, decentralisation and democratisation are emerging as promising answers for redefining governance. But how, and how much? Fang Low, CEO, and Founder, of Figment Metaverse, notes that the decentralization of government authority will allow for unprecedented levels of voter engagement and hence ultimately stronger identification with the organization in question. “Rather than having elections once every four years or once every year in the case of corporate AGMs, we will see tighter and faster feedback loops and hence more responsive organizations that will have no ‘choice’ but to better serve the needs of its stakeholders.”

What Next?

Wray lays down some suggestions that can pave the path well if we want to build momentum in light of all these challenges. “Technology providers should be clear about how their applications will help city governments and citizens to deal with the multiple challenges they are facing – health, technology access, economic inequality, sustainability, and uncertain financial futures.” And yes, we should put emphasis on Citizen engagement with their government leaders on how technology is deployed, how data is used, and what their communities need is crucial for successful smart city strategies.

By 2023, at least 85% of governments without a total experience (TX) strategy will fail to successfully transform government services. A Total Experience strategy will help governments create synergies and optimize resources across CX, EX, UX, and MX disciplines. Collaboration among related teams can uncover new opportunities for significantly improved services that increase both citizen and employee satisfaction and help achieve mission outcomes. (Source: Gartner)

With clarity, consistent efforts, and objectivity – all challenges can be ironed out, adds RK Singh. Inter-departmental coordination and public involvement/support are crucial challenges but they can be addressed with solid and smart communication, he explains.

For instance, we can learn something from the playbook of governance in a Metaverse environment. “Provably unique NFTs can act as durable building blocks for our digital identities and can be supplemented by DAO structures and functionality that will allow us to frictionlessly govern the virtual spaces that comprise the Metaverse. That can only improve coordination across networked parts and will quickly usher in the possibility of virtual nations in the coming years.” Explains Low

That reminds me of another fascinating part about the making of the Eiffel Tower. When it was conceived, it was hugely dissed as a useless building – not a palace, not a military structure, not a wok of art, not a storage place, nothing. It was actually true then. The tower was nothing but a wireframe of iron – brilliantly constructed, but, alas, just a tower.

Yet look at what it stands for today. Did Mr. Alexandre Eiffel know it then? Do we know anything about what the smart governance groundwork would mean someday?

The point is – to build it well. For not today. For tomorrow.

By Pratima Harigunani

pratimah@cybermedia.co.in