This article is part of a comprehensive report published by the International Foundation for Customer Experience in Government, which aims to enhance the global dialogue on Customer Experience (CX) in the public sector. Drawing on innovative practices from around the world, the report establishes benchmarks for governments to improve their CX initiatives.
CASE STUDY: UKRAINE’S DIGITAL SERVICES IN TIME OF CRISIS
INTRODUCTION
According to the Ukrainian national survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in September 2022, the adoption of electronic government services in Ukraine is on a steady rise. In 2022, approximately 63% of Ukrainians utilized public electronic services, demonstrating an increase from 60% in 2021 and 53% in 2020, meaning three out of every five adult Ukrainians availed electronic public services during the year 46.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INITIATIVE
In 2019, Ukraine launched the “State in Smartphone” digital service development program47 , inspired by private services. The initiative introduced the Diia (which translates to “the State and Me”) mobile app and web portal in 2020, prioritizing a simple and convenient customer experience. The program aimed to enhance public service delivery and increase trust in the government through positive interactions, resulting in over 2.7 million users on the Diia platform48 .
Diia has provided the following possibilities to citizens (and the list keeps growing constantly):
Offering over 70 services, including tasks like registering a child’s birth, starting a business, and applying for financial support.
Providing access to 14 official documents electronically, such as school diplomas, driver’s licenses, and passports.
Sharing of digital copies of official documents for verification purposes, allowing them to prove their rights to authorities like police officers.
Allowing people to actively participate in public matters, like voting in polls to decide street names.
Amidst the Ukraine-Russia war that began in February 2022, Diia emerged as the primary channel for providing continuous public services due to the closure of physical locations. The well-established digital delivery system ensured the resilience of essential public services in Ukraine. Moreover, with millions of Ukrainians becoming refugees and moving abroad, Diia served as a secure and accessible means to access government and public services from afar. More remarkably, the government has been able to use Diia to respond very quickly to the emergency needs of people in wartime by launching and running new services on the platform.
For example, the following new services have become available in Diia:
Citizens can register war damage to their property and receive compensation from the state.
Entrepreneurs can receive support payments in the regions most affected by war.
People can apply for the status of internally displaced persons and receive financial aid (more than 1 million such applications received on the first day of launching this service) 49.
New official documents available so the refugees can start living abroad with less hassle.
SUCCESS FACTORS
Several key success factors contributed to the effectiveness of the program:
- Vision and Political Prioritization: A clear vision and strong political support from the president and officials allowed for quick results in times of crisis. The leadership’s determination to “hack the bureaucracy” enabled the rapid rollout of new services.
- Organizational Focus: Recognizing that digital transformation is primarily an organizational challenge, not just a technological one, efforts were made to upskill ministries and foster a culture of “simple and convenient interaction with citizens.”50
- Leveraging Existing Infrastructure: Diia was built on top of an already established infrastructure, including the digital ID and secure data exchange platform.
- Adopting Best Practices: Instead of reinventing the wheel, Ukraine adopted practices and solutions from successful implementations abroad. For instance, the Estonian X-road served as the basis for the Ukrainian data sharing platform Trembita, accelerating the development of digital delivery channels51.
- Service Resilience: The focus on essential services during the digitalization journey ensured that critical services remained available, even during times of war or crisis.
MAIN CHALLENGES:
Despite its success, Diia faced several challenges:
- Resilience in Crisis: Maintaining infrastructure and service platforms during times of crisis required protection from physical and cyber-attacks, and preparations for power outages.
- Overcoming Resistance: Initially, there was resistance to moving away from paper documents due to habits and legal concerns. To address this, the government instituted policies and law changes to promote digital document usage.
- Resource Constraints: Continuing service developments during crises, where resources are limited, presented a significant challenge for the state.
TAKEAWAYS
Several valuable takeaways can be drawn from Diia’s journey:
- Strong Leadership and Vision: The combination of strong political leadership, dedicated teams, clear vision, and mandate contributed to successful change management.
- Digital Channel Adoption: Emphasizing digital service delivery, particularly for essential and common services, ensures resilience during times of crisis.
- Agile and Scalable Foundations: Building technical foundations that are agile and scalable allows for quick development and broad accessibility of new services during crises.
- Promoting Digital Uptake: Encouraging people to adopt digital services before a crisis strikes facilitates ease of access and learning during challenging times.
- Robust Delivery Platforms: Ensuring the resilience of delivery platforms, particularly in terms of cybersecurity and scalability, is crucial for effective crisis management.
In conclusion, These factors and lessons from the Ukraine’s experience provide valuable insights for successful digital service delivery and resilience. They demonstrate the importance of strong leadership, agile infrastructure, and a focus on citizen-centric services. As a result, the majority of respondents (79%) who utilized these government electronic services reported a positive or very positive experience 52.
In our final article, dive into Abu Dhabi’s bold CX transformation, where service excellence isn’t just a goal—it’s a way of life! By embedding Direction, Design, Development, and Delivery across all government entities, Abu Dhabi is redefining what it means to deliver world-class public services.
References:
46 “63% of Ukrainians Use State E-Services, User Numbers Grow for Third Year in Row – Survey.” UNDP, January 25, 2023. https://www.undp.org/ukraine/press-releases/63-ukrainians-use-state-e-services-user-numbers-grow-thirdyear-row-survey.
47 Pugach, Olga. “The ‘state in a Smartphone’ – or How Zelensky’s Digital Dream Is Coming True.” GLOBSEC, April 19, 2023. https://www.globsec.org/what-we-do/commentaries/state-smartphone-or-how-zelenskys-digital-dream-coming-true.
48 Bateson, Ian. “State in a Smartphone: Inside Ukraine’s Effort to Replace Bureaucracy with an App.” Rest of World, June 22, 2021. https://restofworld.org/2021/inside-ukraines-effort-to-replace-bureaucracy-with-an-app/.
49 Mamedieva, Sana. Ukraine – Ministry of Digital Transformation. Personal, 2023.
50 Ibid.
51 Paraskevopoulos, Dea. Deployment of trembita system in Ukraine a milestone for Estonian digitisation efforts – e-estonia, November 2, 2021. https://e-estonia.com/deployment-of-trembita-system-in-ukraine-a-milestone-for-estonian-digitisation-efforts/.
52 “63% of Ukrainians Use State E-Services, User Numbers Grow for Third Year in Row – Survey.” UNDP, January 25, 2023. https://www.undp.org/ukraine/press-releases/63-ukrainians-use-state-e-services-user-numbers-grow-thirdyear-row-survey.