Agile Government:

A Citizen-Centric
Approach to Growth
By engaging citizens and the private sector in policy
and service design, GCC public institutions can have
a powerful effect on the regions growth.

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 1

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has achieved in one decade what took most other nations
several decades: making the leap from a resource-based to an emerging global economy. The
region has grown at a staggering pace. Government policies have opened up markets to evolving
resident and business demographics, more foreign talent and companies operating in the region,
and new technologies. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media have led to more-engaged,
connected citizens with more access to information.

Todays citizens and private-sector organizations have clearly benefited from the regions
improvement initiatives, including efforts to ramp up e-government services, but they are
inevitably raising their expectations of government. People want transparency, have grown
impatient with service problems, and are scrutinizing financial targets more than ever. They
want to work together to make a difference, and they expect their voices to be heard.

The government is not a power

over the people. It is a power to serve
the people. Therefore, the ultimate
governments success is measured
by its citizen satisfaction.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

To meet these expectations and deliver on the economic diversification and manpower develop-
ment promises set out in future visions, GCC governments will need to become more responsive,
putting citizens and the private sector at the core of everything from process and systems
to organization and culture. Developing an agile, citizen-centric government will be vital to the
regions economic growth. Indeed, there is a strong correlation between agility in government
institutions and a countrys competitiveness (see figure 1 on page 3).

In our 2013 GCC Citizen-Centric Government study, the regions current performance is largely
viewed as mediocre (see sidebar: About the Study on page 3). On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10
being world-class, participants gave the region a 6.4 when asked how well citizens are
engaged in policy making and service delivery. When asked how performance had evolved
over the past five years, the region earned a 6.5. The region is poised to move from the league
of rising stars to world leaders.

As the GCC moves toward becoming more focused on the needs of its citizens, an agile
government holds the key to sustained growth and development. Agility means quickly taking
the right actions in a perpetually changing environmentengaging citizens, understanding their
needs, and partnering with the private sector to design citizen-centric policies and services.

Citizen-Centric Policy Design

Policy making is a cyclical process, and citizen and private-sector contributions can be important
at every step. It all begins with identifying issues (while involving all people and organizations

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 2

in the process) and developing policy options and government objectives. The issues are best
gauged through multiple communication channels, from workshops with members of internal
policy think tanks to targeted surveys of business leaders and the general public. Almost 23
percent of our private-sector study participants say they are involved in one way or another in
policy making, either before or during policy formulation, while 85 percent have a strong interest
in being involved and believe they can add the most value in the early stages.

Figure 1
When government agencies are agile, a country tends to be more competitive

World leaders
High Switzerland
United States
Denmark
Sweden
Singapore
France Canada
Rising stars Australia
United
GCC
average1 Kingdom

Country
competitive-
ness

Laggards
Low

Low Government agility High

1
GDP weighted average of GCC performance in competitiveness and agility
Sources: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2009, Worldwide Governance Indicators 2009, Institutional Profile Database 2009;
A.T. Kearney analysis

About the Study

A.T. Kearneys 2013 GCC Citizen-
Centric Government study
measures the level of agility of
GCC governments and public-
sector institutions. With input
from leaders of more than 140 of
the most advanced public and
private organizations, the focus
was on four dimensions: strategy,
organization, processes, and
systems. Study participants
include agency leaders and
senior-level civil servants and
policy makers of ministries,
service providers, customs, and
municipalities. Initial results have
been compared to global data on
public-sector performance and
benchmarked against interna-
tional best practices.
The study also examines the
private-sector perspective on
agility in GCC public institutions.
Participants from more than 120
companies from various sectors
were asked to rate public-sector
performance in engaging
citizens and private companies
in policy making and service
design, cite the enablers and
obstacles incurred when dealing
with government institutions,
and recommend ways to improve
citizen centricity.
The survey took place through
social media sites, including
Facebook and LinkedIn.

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 3

All final policy recommendations are best determined after consulting with citizens and the
private and public sectors about the various options. Public awareness campaigns can then be
run via websites, private-sector forums, and other media, along with targeted communications
campaigns. Ideally, new policies are formally announced to the general public before being
implemented across all relevant departments and authorities. Finally and importantly, feedback
from citizens is captured and reviewed against a countrys own key performance indicators (KPIs).
This is a crucial step as our findings indicate that nearly half of all GCC government agencies
do not have processes or dedicated teams in place to capture citizens expectations. And of those
that do, the information is not always reflected in government activities (see figure 2).

A Saudi Arabian chamber of commerce offers a good example of how seeking input from citizens
and the private sector can help shape public policies. In 2012, the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce
Communication and Information Technology Committee launched an initiative to nurture the
development of its local information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in Saudi
Arabia. The committee wanted to move the ICT sector from one dominated by foreign players
and dependent on imports to one driven by homegrown innovation to support Saudi ICT exports
worldwide. Recommended initiatives were prioritized, and the role of various stakeholders
in implementing these initiatives was defined.

During the development process, a number of venture capital funds and private-sector companies
were contacted to gather their opinions and identify bottlenecks that hinder the development
of small and medium-size enterprises and startups in the countrys ICT sector. The chamber also
held a workshop with representatives from both the public and private sectors, including repre-
sentatives from leading Saudi companies. The objective was to seek alignment on prioritizing
initiatives, ownership, and implementation. Valuable feedback helped shape the new initiatives.

Figure 2
Nearly half of GCC government agencies lack processes for capturing citizen expectations

No dedicated team to review citizen

and private-sector feedback

22% 22% Dedicated team to review citizen

and private-sector feedback

22%

78% 33%

22%
0%

No defined Most expectations Most expectations Some

processes to captured; some captured and expectations
capture expectations reflected in activities reflected in activities captured

Sources: GCC public sector survey; A.T. Kearney analysis

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 4

Citizen-Centric Services
By engaging and seeking input from citizens, services can be tailored based on a real under-
standing of what people want and need. One of the most important aspects of citizen-centric
government is delivering quick winsremoving a known bottleneck, for examplewhile also
considering the emerging needs of citizens and the private sector, their changing expectations,
and new market dynamics. This allows government to quickly respond to its constituents.
One noteworthy example can be found in Australia, where the Department of Human Services
is working closely with its citizens to improve the way services are delivered (see sidebar:
Australia Reforms its Service Delivery on page 6).

Becoming citizen centric is accomplished in four stages, moving from citizen neutral to citizen
aware to citizen motivated and finally to citizen centric (see figure 3). Performance in four
dimensions is central to reaching the goal:

Strategy. The organization has a clear, well-defined strategy for becoming citizen centric.

Organization. The organization is citizen focused; dedicated teams review citizen feedback
and performance is measured consistently against strategic objectives.

Processes. Processes are designed to involve citizens and businesses and to anticipate their
evolving needs.

Systems. Citizen feedback is systematically captured and analyzed via social media and the
Internet; communications with citizens takes place in real time.

Figure 3
Governments move through four stages to become citizen centric

Citizen neutral Citizen aware Citizen motivated Citizen centric

Strategy No clearly defined Citizen needs Citizens seen as primary Citizens at the center
strategy for anticipating acknowledged strategic element of strategy
citizen needs Short-term strategy but Partial link between Clear, consistent link
no long-term vision strategies and objectives between strategies and
Crisis-influenced objectives
decision making

Organization No team to manage Limited resources to Citizen service desk with Central citizen relation-
citizen relationships handle citizen concerns clearly defined roles ship team across divisions
No collaboration or Limited collaboration Collaboration and with well-defined roles
information sharing with and information sharing information sharing with Maximum collaboration
other organizations with other organizations other organizations and information sharing
No KPIs to measure Some elements of service Consistent tracking of some with other organizations
service performance KPIs measured but not elements of service KPIs Well-defined and disclosed
systematically tracked service performance KPIs

Processes No process for receiving Limited process for Well-defined process for Optimized process for
and analyzing citizen receiving and analyzing receiving and analyzing receiving and analyzing
feedback citizen feedback citizen feedback reflected citizen feedback
on organization effectiveness Continuous process
and efficiency improvement

Systems No use of media, Limited use of media, Opportunistic use of media, Systematic use of media,
social media, Internet, social media, and social media, and Internet, social media, and Internet
or other mechanisms Internet to communicate mainly to communicate to capture feedback
to communicate with with citizens policies and services (pull model)
citizens (push model) Integrated tools and
systems for real-time
communication with
citizens

Note: KPIs are key performance indicators.

Source: A.T. Kearney analysis

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 5

Figure 4 illustrates where the GCC region is relative to Western Europe and Singapore.
Countries are largely citizen motivated in the areas of strategy, organization, and processes but
still not where they should be in terms of systems. Moving toward citizen centricity will largely
depend on harnessing the power of the Internet to continually communicate with citizens,
using tools such as online surveys to better understand citizen and private-sector expectations.
As more people get connected, the Internet opens the door for faster, easier access to an even
broader range of citizens.

For example, the UAE launched a new education strategy in 2010 and, in a first for the Middle
East, asked the general public for comments. The strategy was downloaded 14,000 times and
generated more than 700 comments. Several workshops were conducted with rulers, experts,

Figure 4
Most GCC governments are becoming citizen motivated

GCC
Citizen Citizen Citizen Citizen
Area neutral aware motivated centric Western Europe

Singapore

Strategy

Organization
and structure

Processes

Systems

Source: A.T. Kearney analysis

Australia Reforms its Service Delivery

In Australia, local governments
are using blogs to interact with
citizens, explaining issues and
then soliciting feedback in a
two-way conversation that allows
agencies to tailor services to
meet citizens needs.
Australias Department of Human
Services started an ambitious
program called Service Delivery
Reform to deliver Medicare,
Centrelink (disbursement of
social security payments),
and child support to its citizens.
The goal was to better meet
Australians social, health,
and economic needs. The
department worked with citizens
to co-design the new delivery
model. In 2010, the department
ran a series of forums with
customers, staff, and community
groups across the country to
develop the programs agenda.
The forums provided insight into
how people experience the
departments services, the
obstacles they face, and their
daily frustrations. This was an
important first step in improving
service delivery.
The reform package was guided
by international best practices
with a focus on how world-class
services can be adapted to work
for Australia. The first phase
of the program has been
successful, and the department
plans to continue engaging the
community to further shape
services in phase two, which is
now under way.

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 6

teachers, parents, and students to validate and refine the strategy; the prime minister personally
responded to some comments. From 756 written comments, the government gleaned 945
constructive suggestions, which were then linked to specific strategic initiatives.

Social media can also be used to shape the service-delivery model. Public institutions around the
world are demonstrating the success of this approach. One example: San Francisco residents use
Twitter to report issues about government services, including the need for graffiti removal, road
repairs, garbage pickup, and street cleaning. Facebook has 70 percent penetration in the UAE
and 80 percent in Qatar. Much like companies use social media to listen to their customersone
quarter of the search results for the worlds 20 largest brands is derived from user-generated
contentgovernments are beginning to understand and listen to their citizens.

Speed, Flexibility, and Responsiveness

GCC countries have built a firm foundation of strategic visions and plans. Now speed, flexi-
bility, and responsiveness are necessary to execute the plans while responding to citizen and
private-sector expectations. The next leap of economic development, and another opportunity
for the GCC to improve its competitiveness, will occur as a result of the governments ability
to implement its strategy. Four goals in particular will be important:

Design an organizational structure that allows decisions to be made quickly and implemented
effectively. The organization structure should meet a countrys long-term vision, strategic
outlook, customer expectations, and economic dynamics. Avoid setting up multilayered
management hierarchies that create excess administrative positions, are inefficient, and delay
decisions. This will only reinforce the perception that the public sector takes a passive, reactive
role hindered by inferior organizational principles rather than an active economy-shaping role
(see figure 5). A good government structure has an unobstructed flow of information and clearly

Figure 5
GCC governments are seen as being passive instead of actively shaping the economy

Type of Activities
intervention
Korea Service design
Singapore Policy shaping
Proactive Anticipation
(shaper)
France

Malaysia

Service provision
GCC Transactional
Reactive and back office
(doer) Reaction
Egypt
Lebanon

Building Building Integrating and Coordinating Stages

capabilities know-how innovating complexity of maturity

Source: A.T. Kearney GCC Citizen-Centric Government study, 2013

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 7

defined roles and responsibilities. Resources are allocated to meet citizens changing needs,
and the culture makes room for improvements, especially by listening to and incorporating
constructive feedback from citizens.

We will continue to diversify the basis

of our economy, increase job opportunities,
improve the administration, and remove
idleness. This requires the effective partici-
pation of citizens and the state, relying
on God almighty.
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the custodian of the two holy mosques

Develop skills by regularly training public servants, especially for customer service.
A skilled and motivated staff tops the list to improve government performance (see figure 6).
Greater investment should be made in establishing strong government-related education
systems and creating opportunities for continued learning for public servants. The UAE, for
example, invested in this area in 2005 when it established the Dubai School of Government
to improve the quality of public administration and the effectiveness of policy making. More work
can be done to increase public servants technical understanding of industry-specific needs.
Another option is to establish a mechanism for continuous collaboration with the private sector
to develop and test policies and service-delivery models before releasing them. This is especially
important now that GCC countries are embarking on a journey of industrial diversification.

Figure 6
Staff skills, transparency, and new processes can help the GCC become more citizen centric

Percentage of survey participants

0 10% 20% 30% 40%

Skilled and motivated staff 34%

Disclosure of information (transparency) 28%

Process reengineering 26%
Private-public partnerships 25%
Independent monitoring of governance 23%

Clear strategy 22%

Definition and tracking of key performance indicators 21%

Technology 17%

Source: A.T. Kearney GCC Citizen-Centric Government study, 2013

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 8

Improve performance by measuring, tracking, and disclosing KPIs. Customer satisfaction
KPIs are especially important for agencies dealing with citizens and the private sector. While
GCC public institutions have made tremendous improvements in transparency and in
measuring some aspects of their performance, many improvement opportunities still exist,
particularly in the effective tracking and disclosure of relevant KPIs. In addition, using some of
the best practices learned from global organizations, including rewarding high performers with
financial incentives and with awards handed out in a public setting, could go a long way toward
improving efficiency and establishing accountability.

Reengineer and optimize processes to meet customer needs. Standardizing and streamlining
government processes, eliminating unnecessary or overlapping tasks, and removing bottle-
necks is crucial. Perhaps most important is a focus on enabling and supporting strategic goals,
taking into account the capabilities and services that may be required in the future. Simply
reshaping or automating an existing process might work in the short term but almost never
works in the mid to long term. Planning the future organization and designing processes that
can adapt to new demands is the ideal strategy. There is also a need for a mechanism to capture
feedback from citizens and the private sector and a process to continuously analyze, aggregate,
and identify opportunities to improve.

Sustaining the Momentum

The GCC has experienced rapid growth in a short amount of time, and this hyper-speed
evolution has brought a wealth of economic benefits. However, making the next leap of
economic development will require an agile, citizen-centric government. Forward-thinking
public institutions will engage the regions citizens and private sector in policy and service
design to deliver both an immediate impact and a longer-term growth advantage.

Authors

Bob Willen, partner, Middle East Maurice Zuazua, partner, Middle East
bob.willen@atkearney.com mauricio.zuazua@atkearney.com

Alessandro Massa, principal,

Middle East
alessandro.massa@atkearney.com

Agile Government: A Citizen-Centric Approach to Growth 9

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