One-Stop Shops: Public service reform in Mongolia

Local news, 27.05.2015

Government of Mongolia is committed to sustaining improved public service delivery with the handover of One-Stop Shops

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OSS centre, Songino khairkhan district of Ulaanbaatar © SDC

For the past eight years, One-Stop Shop (OSS) centres throughout Mongolia have been making public service delivery more efficient, cost-effective and accessible for all citizens.

The OSS is an innovative model which provides a range of public administrative services under one roof, making it easier and more time-efficient for people to access the services they need, including social insurance and welfare, civil registration, land and property administration, tax offices, notaries and banking. This approach also reduces bureaucracy and corruption.

The establishment of the OSS centres nationwide was the culmination of a tireless effort by the Government of Mongolia, with financial and technical support from the Government of Switzerland.

Hand-over to Mongolian Government 

April marked the handover of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s OSS Project to the government, which is committed to sustaining and strengthening the OSS centres.

Pursuant to that commitment, the government issued a resolution covering the operational and maintenance costs of the OSS centres under local government budgets.

District and aimag governments are also replicating the OSS centres with the aim of providing more efficient service delivery for their citizens.

There are now more than 150 OSS centres operating in khoroos and soums funded with their own resources.

Prior to the establishment of OSSs, people had to travel to numerous locations to access different public services. In addition, those services were not coordinated or linked, reducing overall efficiency.

Moreover, besides saving time and money, the OSSs have also reduced red tape for citizens wanting to access those services.  

The OSS model has earned a significant level of support among the Mongolian public, with independent surveys showing an overall satisfaction rate of more than 75 percent.

“I choose to go to the OSS because there is less bureaucracy there,” said a customer at the OSS in Uliastai, Zavkhan aimag.

“It was convenient to have both the social welfare officer and the bank teller there at the OSS, so I could get everything processed in one place without going back and forth between places,” said another OSS customer in Uliastai.

To commemorate the handover, the OSS Project produced a documentary that highlights the results of eight years of work.

Watch the documentary 

Local news, 03.12.2015

A cutting edge production combining dance, music and video art that explores different perceptions of gender equality is the first such Swiss-Mongolian collaborative performance to be staged in Mongolia.  

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"Auqafire" - Swiss-Mongolian dance production challenges gender stereotypes. © SDC

“Aquafire”, an Arts Council of Mongolia production to be held on December 24 at the Corporate Hotel and Convention Centre in Ulaanbaatar, examines patriarchy, democracy and gender equality through the eyes of both men and women, and challenges the gender stereotypes associated with national cultural identity. 

Lending their talents to the landmark production are dancer and choreographer Odbayar Batsuuri, who is a member of the Chicago-based Hedwig Dances ensemble, composer Purevsukh Tyeliman, film-maker Ikhbayar Shagdarsuren, Swiss trumpet player Matthieu Michel and American stage and lighting designer Barry Steele. The performance features three parts, “Fire Dreamed of Aqua”, “Aqua Falls in Love with Fire” and “Aquafire”, set to live music and backed with video art. 

In conjunction with the performance, the Arts Council of Mongolia will host an Artsee talk series on gender equality and stereotypes with the production team, a gender-equality activist and other professionals on December 17 at the Corporate Hotel.