Report on Government's Online Services

The Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development welcomes the feedback and recommendations provided through the Office of the Auditor General’s June 2022 Report on The Government’s Shift to Online Services (“The Report”) regarding its eGovernment Unit (EGU).  As with any Government entity there are strengths and opportunities for improvement.

The Deputy Governor, Hon. Franz Manderson, welcomed the Auditor General’s report. He noted, “The report acknowledges some of the successes that the Cayman Islands Government has had in moving to online services. We appreciate the audit and are committed to implementing the agreed recommendations.”

Commenting on the Report, Acting Chief Officer Tamara Ebanks said “The Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development and eGovernment Unit acknowledge the recommendations contained in the Report. In many cases, these relate to areas outside the ambit of the eGovernment Unit, however, we are pleased that many of the recommendations specific to the department are already being complied with or are being actioned currently.”

She continued, “The Ministry and the eGovernment Unit are committed to improving our efficiency and enhancing the security of our data and systems across Government and by extension making it easier to do business in the Cayman Islands.” 

The Cayman Islands Government has made significant advances with making services available through online, digital interfaces – and as the Report observes, “The eGovernment Unit has played an integral role in shifting the Government’s services online.” 

Mr. Manderson added that he was proud that using benchmarks against other jurisdictions, the Report documents that Government has launched, or enhanced, a large number of online services since 2010. (see ref. 1 below)

He said, “People can now access over 70 different government services online, including many of the top 20 services provided by governments worldwide. Having so many of our services online to make people’s lives better has been an important accomplishment.”

The Report’s highlights are as follows:

• eGovernment’s project management has been effective.
• The strategy it has pursued largely has aligned with what the United Nations considers to be strategic best practices: it has focused on improving customer experience, IT management (through data protection, use of cloud technology and building on established frameworks), collaboration with its project partners, and establishing a monitoring and evaluation process.
• Overall customer satisfaction with eGovernment’s projects has been positive. To achieve this, eGovernment worked closely with Government entities who own business processes, underpinned by complex legacy systems and variable resources.
• eGovernment’s projects have enhanced staff efficiency in the respective departments – including the Department of Commerce and Investment as well as the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. (ref. 2 below)
• Projects reviewed within the Report cover a time period (2014-2017) in which the Unit had only one staff member, its Director. (ref. 3 below)  
• Since 2014, the Cayman Islands Government approach to IT projects has significantly improved, with a robust cybersecurity framework complemented by internal architecture.
• The Data Protection Law passed in 2017 and implemented in September 2019 is also a hallmark of Government’s continued improvements. Existing and future eGovernment systems will be a key tool in enabling compliance with this law.    
• Successive elected Governments have recognised and prioritised eGovernment, including the 2022-23FY budget. This has been reflected in the Unit’s expanded staff numbers.  

The aim of the eGovernment programme is to reduce cost and time, increase security and improve the quality of our services to our customers, the people and businesses of the Cayman Islands. 

Ian Tibbetts, Director of the eGovernment Unit, observed that “During the time period covered by the report, the eGovernment Unit has laid the technical foundation and framework for a national and digital ID system. Initiatives such as these are designed to make the Cayman Islands Government increasingly agile and responsive, for the benefit of our residents and businesses.” 

Mr. Manderson said, “Since its formation in 2014, the eGovernment Unit has been pivotal in that process, working under a mandate of developing and progressing an overall strategy, in conjunction with the vision of successive elected Governments and in partnership with entities across the Civil Service.”

He outlined the broader commitment of Government, stating “The Cayman Islands Government is committed to e-governance and the transition to digital processes. It is therefore working to expand the range of online services available while ensuring robust cyber security. One of the current elected Government’s strategic broad outcomes is the creation of a ‘user friendly system to access government services’ and I am pleased to note that its 2022-23 budget allocations to the Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development for the eGovernment Unit reflect this priority.”

--------------------------------------------

(1)  Page 2: “We found that the Government offers many of the top 20 online services that are provided by governments globally.”

(2) Page 50: “The RCIPS told us that staff work patterns at the Criminal Records Office improved after the introduction of PCC Online. The DCI told us that efficiency had improved because staff no longer have to input information from documents submitted by customers and have freed up time to examine the submissions and determine if they are in order. Also, online submissions should have freed up storage space.”

(3) page 19: “For the first three years, between 2014 and 2017, the Director was the only member of staff. In 2017, the EGU  appointed an additional staff member and since then the EGU’s staffing has grown steadily. By May 2022, the EGU had an establishment of 16 employees and had eight full‐time employees and one intern in post. The full‐time employees included the director, as well as project managers, business analysts, technical architect and software developers; there were eight vacant posts.”