and donors to collaborate to improve funding and increase the effectiveness of ICT investments. In the
group, the government would share its development plans and strategies, and donors would be
encouraged to align their investments appropriately and coordinate efforts to avoid duplication of effort,
address gaps, and gain efficiencies.
Deploying an Asset Management Information System (AMIS). The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), with
support from Digital Liberia and the General Services Agency (GSA), successfully deployed the GSA’s
asset management information system (AMIS) application software, Hardcat. The LRA fixed asset
management unit uses the system to monitor stock items, tag assets to users, run audit trails, and
generate asset records history.
Ministry of Health Corporate Mail Adoption. Digital Liberia provided change management and
communication support to the Ministry of Health on how to ensure a smooth and complete transition
of the ministry’s email and calendaring systems from personal internet accounts and ad hoc
arrangements to the cloud-based Google Apps suite. The Ministry of Health reports that it successfully
migrated 200 mail accounts, which are active and administering all institutional email. The ministry now
plans to extend the functionality to calendaring and document management.
Civil Service Agency Biometric and Payroll Database Synchronization. The Civil Service Agency has an
ambitious institutional digital development plan, with intentions to reform and digitize many of its
functions. To support this agenda, Digital Liberia assisted the agency with project planning and change
management techniques. The project team helped CSA identify areas where they already have the
necessary authority, ability, and acceptance to proceed. The agency determined a starting point — to
clean up gaps in national payroll data — and has begun working efficiently toward this goal.
In Liberia, lack of financial, human, and material resources constrains the government’s ICT capacity. In
addition, most ICT units are relatively inexperienced and at a low position in the administrative
hierarchy. Further, introducing disruptive reforms and improvements into the inertia of bureaucracies
poses a challenge. These constraints can overwhelm planners and reformers into inactivity. Digital
Liberia’s change management support used problem-driven iterative adaptation to guide teams on how
to proceed in challenging circumstances. Local leadership has been essential to ensure that individuals
with the best understanding of the context and possibilities, and the ability to marshal and sustain
support, are identifying and guiding efforts. Digital Liberia encouraged project teams to take a stepwise
approach — to identify and pursue smaller, near-term, realizable goals using available resources. This
encouraged teams to build knowledge and confidence, learn by doing, and adapt to their circumstances.
The process of digitizing government services involves experimentation, failure, and setbacks, as well as
shifts in direction. The government understands that in order to build an e-society, it must try different
approaches and learn from its mistakes.
Digital Liberia identified the functional support required to complete most eInitiatives, being Project
Governance, MEL, Change Management, Communications, Capacity Development, Resource
Mobilization and Specialist Services. Project Management covers many of the above functions and can be
seen as foundational requirement. Digital Liberia recognized this and adapted its service offering to
provide capacity development in Project Management across most initiatives. Digital Liberia endeavored
to bolster Project Governance and MEL through support to the CIO Council. Specialist services should
be provided by the eLiberia PMO. Resource mobilization is a critical gap. Most MACs have weak internal
ICT capability. If ICT-driven reforms are to meet their objectives, necessary skills need to be sourced to
fill all roles. The eLiberia PMO office, if properly staffed, can play a role in providing part of these skills.
The CIO Council and communities of practice are alternate sources. Also, incentives to encourage
private sector supply should be developed
DIGITAL LIBERIA FINAL REPORT | 9
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