Bhutan e-Government Master Plan ea ST IN Royal Government of Bhutan * raga St PRIME MINISTER pm aulanyzes FOREWORD Information Communication Technology (ICT) is changing the way individuals, societies, and the world interacts, communicates, and behaves. The potential of ICT is boundless and is constrained only by limits of the human tmagination. The Royal Government of Bhutan has prioritized ICT as the principal enabler for a knowledge-based society - a society that learns to learn, with a sound development policy inspired by the philosophy of GNH. Mandated with the responsibility to create an informed society bonded by a shared national consciousness, the Ministry of Information & Communications has undertaken numerous initiatives to enable Bhutan to build a knowledge society, including the establishment of ICT backbone infrastructure to improve access, developing and promoting the use of application systems, optimizing the use of technology and data sharing through adoption of uniform standards, creating the right environment by putting in place appropriate policy & legislation instruments, and providing ICT education. However, there are many untapped areas we need to leverage to achieve the Reyal Government’s ICT agenda. Jlence, the Government has embarked on developing this whole of government e-Gov Master Plan. Consolidating the gains made in the past years, the e-Government Master Plan provides « clear vision as weli as holistic ICT programs and strategies for the Government for the next five years. Thrce desired cutcomes aligned to the four pillars of GNH have been identified to achieve the ICT vision: [CT Jer Good Governance, ICT jor Information Sccicty (culture C™ environment) and ICT Jor sustainable socio economiv development. Hence, all goveramen: sectors should align and draw inspiration from the ICT Strategies spelt out in the e-Gov Master Plan for their respective sectors. A critical success factor in implementing the e-Gov Master Plan is also to have an effective Governance framework and processes which will enable the government to have a holistic overview on ICT spending, shared and common svstems, cross-agency initiative across the whole of government for effecuve planning and an insututionalized monitoring and control mechat:isms for ICT project through the governance system. This eGov Masterplan has been developed through inclusive consultative processes involving stakeholders from the entire spectrum of ministries, autonomous agencies, corporations and private sector. I thank: all the stakeholders for their meaningful and constructive contributions in developing this very iinportant Maste1 plan which will guide the development of ICT in the next five years. I have no doubt that this co-operative spirit wil] also continue during the implementation phage. Tashi Delek! Riper (Tshering Tobgay)