Tajikistan Digital Foundations Project


In Tajikistan, public service delivery remains mostly complex and inefficient. Based on its experience in public sector reforms, Switzerland, in close cooperation with the World Bank, will support the digitalisation of public service delivery in order to improve access to and efficiency of public services. People's awareness of their rights to public services and their financial and digital literacy will be strengthened to hold the state accountable for the quality of public services.

Pays/région Thème Période Budget
Tadjikistan
Governance
Emploi & développement économique
nothemedefined
Technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC)
Politique du secteur publique
Données et statistiques
Décentralisation
01.09.2022 - 31.08.2028
CHF  9’200’000
Contexte

Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central Asia, struggles with outdated and inefficient government structures and public service systems inherited from the Soviet era. The country's ministries, which are centrally managed by the President's Office, operate in isolation, with a lack of coordination and data-sharing that encourages bureaucracy and mismanagement.

This inefficiency is reflected in low performance scores in international assessments and high corruption rankings, placing the country among the top 10% of the most corrupted countries. Currently, public services in Tajikistan are predominantly offline and require face-to-face interaction, with only a small proportion of the population using the internet for basic services. Despite some use of digital technologies in some agencies, there is no interoperability or integrated system of public services. The government recognises the need for reform, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and aims to improve service delivery through integrated e-governance and increased digital literacy as part of its long-term reform strategy.

Objectifs The overall goal of the intervention is to improve the capacity of the Government of Tajikistan to deliver high quality public services through digitalisation and to increase the digital literacy of the population
Groupes cibles The targeted groups include governmental institutions that provide public services and the general population, as the users of the provided public services, with a specific focus on women, youth, and vulnerable groups.
Effets à moyen terme

Outcome 1Strengthened foundations for safe digital government systems and services.

Outcome 2Enhanced digital skills of the population.

Résultats

Résultats obtenus:  

  • Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment  and Public Financial Management (PFM) feasibility study provided basis for the intervention from the service delivery perspective and justifies Governance and Macroeconomic portfolio complementarity and interaction.
  • Lessons learnt from ongoing digitalization projects of Switzerland in Tajikistan, such as the importance of stakeholder engagement, user-centric design, rigorous testing, and continuous improvement of processes.
  • Public services anylises, legal framework for legislation,  electronic register of public services. and development has been completed.
  • Cashless payyments effictiveness diagnostic provided baseline information for the project.  


Principaux résultats attendus:  

  • Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment  and Public Financial Management (PFM) feasibility study provided basis for the intervention from the service delivery perspective and justifies Governance and Macroeconomic portfolio complementarity and interaction.
  • Lessons learnt from ongoing digitalization projects of Switzerland in Tajikistan, such as the importance of stakeholder engagement, user-centric design, rigorous testing, and continuous improvement of processes.
  • Public services anylises, legal framework for legislation,  electronic register of public services. and development has been completed.
  • Cashless payyments effictiveness diagnostic provided baseline information for the project


Direction/office fédéral responsable DDC
Partenaire de projet Partenaire contractuel
Institution financière internationale (IFI)
  • Banque Mondiale - Banque internationale pour la reconstruction et le développement


Autres partenaires
  • World Bank Group
  • Ministry of Finance
  • Executive Office of the President
  • Agency for Innovation and Digital Technologies
Coordination avec d'autres projets et acteurs

Switzerland has a long-standing presence in Tajikistan, supporting digital projects and public service reforms such as the SDC's Civil Registry Reform (CRR) and Access to Justice (AtJ) projects and SECO's Electronic and Digital Financial Services (EDFS) programme.

The proposed intervention builds on the experience and lessons learned from these initiatives. Moreover, the proposed intervention is highly complementary to SECO's efforts in the area of Public Financial Management (PFM) in Tajikistan, which focus on financial transparency and coherence in service-oriented sectors.

The project dovetails perfectly with the broader digital transformation initiative led by another long-standing donor, the World Bank, underscoring the importance of the intervention area. 

Budget Phase en cours Budget de la Suisse CHF    9’200’000 Budget suisse déjà attribué CHF    3’179’291 Budget de l'Organisation CHF    7’000’000 Projet total depuis la première phase Budget de la Suisse CHF   200’000 Budget y compris partenaires de projet CHF   37’000’000
Phases du projet Phase 1 01.09.2022 - 31.08.2028   (Phase en cours)