Si3 participated at the 3rd International Conference on E-Governance. ICEG 2005 – International Conference on E-Governance aims to provide a platform to government officials, scientists, faculty, practitioners, and students across the globe to present and deliberate on their research findings, experiences, strategies, policies, technologies and case studies in the field of e-governance. This year, Pakistan had the honor of hosting this world-wide event. It was held from December 9-11, 2005, in Lahore, Pakistan, at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Picture shows Furqan Qureshi presenting a paper on "Scope of Citizen Services in Pakistan", to an audience of 300 delegates. He was amongst 35 other authors/ speakers, who shared their submissions.

Abstract of his paper on "Scope of Citizen Services in Pakistan"

Citizen services can encompass anything from ownership of land and property to vehicle registration, in-country travel, taxes and payments to government, licenses and permits, basic information about facilities, rules and regulations, market information on agriculture and agriculture inputs and produce, weather conditions, health services, education services and the list is a long one. The challenge is where is the starting point?

Recent initiatives in e-Government have been focused on automating the back offices of the government. The accuracy and authenticity of data is a significant impediment in the automation of the back-office. How much value such efforts will contribute to citizen service needs to be reconsidered. Primarily because the plans that are being implemented are introverted to internal systems and do not foresee changes in the processes of the government therefore creating a situation that the energy being expended in this direction may not deliver the results anticipated in the plans. Rework and reinvesting in technology will be inevitable.

The real opportunity for e-Government success is at the Provincial and Local government level. Again the challenge is where is the starting point? Should the governments at these levels also start with their back-office first or start with the front office first. Recall that citizen service is a front-office function. Therefore it is best to start collecting data from scratch at the source - as if nothing existed in the records. This will fulfill the task of data collection and consolidation while also commencing service delivery to the citizen. With this approach in mind, how does the government prioritize the business functions to automate for service delivery? A logical response is the pain point for the citizen and to extend it further to the pain point of the service provider i.e. the government.

E-Government initiative will not be achieved without an appropriate infrastructure. This will include both a physical and technology infrastructure. These physical facilities need to be converted into Citizen Service Centers (CSCs). One will also have to put in place citizen friendly processes around which technology will function. With the massive proliferation of telecom connectivity in Pakistan, the technology infrastructure should be more of an administrative and financial challenge and not a technological roadblock.

Picture shows Furqan Qureshi, SVP, Corporate Strategy & Marketing, Si3, being presented the speaker’s plaque by a Minister of Government of Punjab.

Si3 showcased its services, along with other leading technology companies, by exhibiting at the central atrium of the Conference .The Exhibition provided an avenue for interaction with delegates and visitors, many of whom were unfamiliar with our business model.

Picture shows the Si3 stall at Lahore University of Management Sciences for ICEG-2005.

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