The Emirates Center for Government Knowledge (ECGK), part of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), has launched the ‘Knowledge Gate’, a unified smart portal. Inaugurated in partnership with various federal and local government entities, including the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) and Dubai Government Human Resources (DGHR), the platform hosts government documents, directories, guidelines, standards, references and best practices that relate to vital areas in public management and administration in the United Arab Emirates.

Designed to be an open and accessible reference source for all members of society, including students, employees, researchers and decision-makers, the platform contains frameworks, guidelines, reports and best practices documentation in government work issued by federal and local government entities in the UAE. The documents cover an array of fields, such as governance and organizational design, strategy and organizational performance, human resources, innovation and knowledge management.

Dr. Ali Bin Sebaa Al Marri, Executive President of MBRSG, said: "As a leading academic institution and in line with our innovative approach to improving government performance in the UAE and the region, we continue to develop exceptional tools and solutions in conjunction with creating an enabling environment to support and empower future leaders. The Knowledge Gate is a step towards exploring the horizons of the future and is an opportunity for decision-makers, government employees, academics and researchers to access guidelines and best government practices in the UAE."

He added: "The UAE is a global model of government excellence and has been a pioneer in many areas. We are now working at transferring this experience to all stakeholders through the Knowledge Gate initiative. We are also expanding our academic and research partnerships with various entities both within and outside the UAE. This platform represents our joint efforts and coordination with various federal and local government entities in the UAE – we will continue to support all programmes and initiatives aimed at building leaders and forecasting the future.”

His Excellency Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General of FAHR and a member of the Board of Trustees of MBRSG, emphasised the importance of the Knowledge Gate initiative as a result of effective cooperation between MBRSG and other local and federal government entities. He expressed his pride in cooperating with MBRSG in what he said was a vital project.

His Excellency said: "Knowledge Gate represents an important step forward in the development of government work in our institutions. It is a vital reference for all stakeholders and those concerned with government work to learn about best practices and implementations."

He continued: "The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources has fully supported the initiative through the regulations and guidelines developed by FAHR and that have been launched on a federal level. This has had a positive impact on realizing our leadership’s vision in developing the federal government and strengthening the UAE’s  global leadership in governmental competence.”

His Excellency Abdullah Ali bin Zayed al-Falasi, Director General of DGHR, stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination between local and federal government entities to enhance government work in the UAE, as well as exchanging knowledge and expertise. He said that the application of the knowledge principle in government bodies leads to greater innovation, creativity, efficiency and excellence in performance, adding that the principles and applications of knowledge are among the key skills adopted by government entities.

His Excellency continued by saying that the department has valuable expertise and experiences to share with local government and federal entities to benefit both the organizations and the wider public. He praised the launch of the Knowledge Gate, which he reiterated aims to promote knowledge dialogue and publish the outputs of various government entities to support the development of government departments.

Sarah Talib, Director of ECGK said: “The Knowledge Gate portal is a comprehensive smart platform that serves as a reference for all those interested in government administration, providing government best practices in the UAE. It will benefit students, researchers and decision-makers in various aspects of public management and administration. The portal provides all these sources in a single and reliable place to save time and effort.”

She added: "The portal contains knowledge outputs from across various specialties of public administration and management. It currently has more than 50 documents and references. The forthcoming period will see expansion through cooperation with various entities in the UAE to increase the number of knowledge references on the portal, in addition to including private sector resources in order to enrich the portal with applied knowledge content.”

Amongst the various entities that have their knowledge outputs on the platform are; the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, Dubai Government Human Resources Department, the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, the Prime Minister's Office, Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, the Executive Council of Dubai, the Abu Dhabi Centre for Corporate Governance, the Museum of the Future, and the State Audit Institution.

The documents hosted at the portal cover numerous public management disciplines, such as staff performance management, training and development, reward and incentive systems, professional behavior and work ethics, volunteering with the government, work environment, evaluation, and many more.