Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), a research and teaching institution focusing on public policy in the Arab world, in conjunction with SAP, market and technology leaders in client/server enterprise application software, discussed citizen-centricity in a hyper networked economy at the first session of the Innovation Day series.
 

The panel session was strategically timed to coincide with the recently launched strategy of His Highness Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make the UAE one of the most innovative nations in the world within the next seven years. 

The first day of the thought sessions converged experts from the innovative technology space, including Danny van Heck, General Manager of Public Services - EMEA at SAP, and Steve Hurst, North American Lead for Digital Government at Accenture. The speakers shared insights on engaging citizens in the process of services designs and delivery and meeting the ever-increasing expectations of today’s techno-savvy citizens.
 

The Innovation Day series, aimed at public sector employees, is designed to provide latest updates on the growth and development of smart cities and governments. The sessions tackle topical issues such as the growing importance of mobility, cloud, mobile apps, Big Data, social media, and business analytics in the context of SAP’s forecast that 50 billion devices will be inter-connected via the Internet of Things by 2020.

“Mobile apps are transforming fields such as education, healthcare, job creation, tourism, and government services,” said Danny van Heck, General Manager of Public Services – EMEA, SAP. “Middle East governments can leverage the Networked Economy and new smartphone capabilities to transform citizen-centric mobile apps from transactional, like paying utility bills, to personalized, such as resolving real estate issues via video-conferencing, or providing location-based smart parking services. To further enhance services, government agencies need to break down silos, provide open data, and foster public-private partnerships to meet citizens’ needs.”
 

Dr Ali Sebaa Al Marri, Executive President, MBRSG, said: “Governments need to implement consistent and holistic processes for all services and programs to reduce inefficiency and increase resource flexibility. In light of the changing digital and urban landscape that is diminishing the gap between the public sector and its citizens, we have ensured our Innovation Day session is built around a ‘citizen-centric’ theme. We are confident about the power of collaboration in driving innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable transformation of the UAE - and delighted that this session has drawn the participation of key stakeholders who aspire to achieve the same goals.” 
 

The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government is committed to promoting good governance through enhancing the region’s capacity for effective public policy. The school uses a four-pronged approach, which includes applied research in public policy and management, academic programs in public policy and administration, executive education programs and knowledge forums for scholars and policy makers.