POLICY BRIEF NO61

COVID-19: Embracing digital government during

the pandemic and beyond
SHARING INFORMATION
It is vital for governments to provide accurate, useful Summary
and up-to-date information to people, particularly dur- Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
ing times of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, play a vital role in promoting the health and safety of
governments started providing information on their na- people and in keeping economies and societies working
tional portals, mobile apps or through social media plat- during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Digital government
forms. A review of the national portals of the 193 United technologies either through information sharing or online
Nations Member States showed that by 25 March 2020, services have kept governments and people connected
57 per cent (110 countries) have put in place some kind during the outbreak. Digital technologies have also
of information on COVID-19, while around 43 per cent enabled governments to make rapid policy decisions
(83 countries) did not provide any information; but a based on real-time data and analytics, to enhance the
further analysis showed that by 8 April 2020, around 86 capacities of local authorities for better coordination and
percent (167 countries) have included information and to deploy evidence-based services to those who need
guidance about COVID-19 in their portals (Figure 1). them most. The efforts in developing digital government
strategies after the COVID-19 crisis should focus on
improving data protection and digital inclusion policies
Figure 1 as well as on strengthening the policy and technical
Percentage of government portals with capabilities of public institutions. Even though public-
COVID-19 information
private partnerships are essential for implementing
100 innovative technologies, government leadership, strong
86% institutions and effective public policies are crucial to
tailor digital solutions to countries’ needs as well as
75 prioritize security, equity and the protection of people’s
rights. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the
57%
importance of technology, but also the pivotal role of
50
an effective, inclusive and accountable government.
This policy brief addresses how digital government has
25 played a central role as a key tool of communication and
collaboration between policymakers and society during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers need to further
0
25 March 2020 8 April 2020 embrace the future of digital government, even when the
Source: UN DESA.
crisis is over.

The most basic form of information found on some lated data of COVID-19, have also started publishing sta-
national portals is some media coverage informing people tistics about the outbreak. These include total number
about the outbreak, travel restrictions, practical guidance of cases in a country, total fatalities, as well reporting of
on protection, and governmental response. A slightly cases by jurisdictions. Reliable information from govern-
more advanced way seems to be having a dedicated por- ments helps people make informed decisions about their
tal or section about the outbreak—usually with a custom daily routines, build public trust as well as enables public
domain name. Governments, as the first custodian of re- authorities to act decisively to flatten the curve.

Author: Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government.

For further information, contact [email protected], or visit www.un.org/development/desa/publications/

April 2020 United Nations Depar tment of Economic and Social Affairs 1
 The COVID-19 crisis has also brought new needs for cal governments in China have launched a city Health QR
digital government services and more demand on exist- Code service through the government service platform,
ing services. Developers in governments were mobilized which is based on the health data declared by residents
and engaged in designing new apps and services to help or returned workers. The code could be applied by log-
in the fight against COVID-19. Some of these new ser- ging in through multiple public mobile platforms. Local
vices include delivering food and other essential items to governments verify the personal declaration information
those most in need by optimizing the entire supply chain with health, civil aviation, railway and other related data,
via digital government services. Some Member States re- and issue an e-certificate of personal health information.
corded an increase in the usage of online services such as In the Republic of Korea, in addition to interviewing, of-
digital ID and digital signature, due to the spikes in appli- ficials use location data from mobile phones, credit card
cations for unemployment and other social benefits. transaction records and CCTV footage to trace and test
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has also been people who might have recently come into contact with
a wave of fake news and viral hoaxes. Users with ill objec- an infected person. Detailed maps are also published
tives or inadequate knowledge contribute to the spread of showing movements of infected people, encouraging oth-
fake news and create further panic in society. Thousands ers who thought they might have been in contact with an
of COVID-19 scam and malware sites have emerged on a infected person to get tested.
daily basis, such as the sale of counterfeit surgical masks, Many governments have further utilized social me-
fake self-testing kits and so on. The World Health Organi- dia platforms to connect with people. Some also have
zation has categorized this as the secondary issue of an partnered with influencers to disseminate accurate in-
infodemic “an overabundance of information — some ac- formation about the COVID-19 outbreak, and to coun-
curate and some not — that makes it hard for people to ter harmful misinformation. There has been a particular
find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they focus on engaging with youth and children, who are very
need it.” In response, some governments have launched vulnerable to fake news and might suffer from the burden
response units or campaigns to coordinate the fight the COVID-19 crisis put on parents’ social, economic and
against online misinformation about COVID-19. mental well-being. For example, Norway’s Prime Minister
Erna Solberg held an online press conference with a Q&A
ENGAGING PEOPLE session specifically for kids to help ease their fears. Dur-
Involving civil society organizations, businesses, social ing COVID-19, open data and e-participation could help
entrepreneurs and the general public in managing the build public trust in government crisis response measures
COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath can prove to be and support vulnerable groups in society.
highly effective for policy- and decision-makers. Online
engagement initiatives led by governments can help peo- ESTABLISHING MULTI-STAKEHOLDER
ple cope with the crisis as well as improve government PARTNERSHIPS
operations. In a crisis situation, it becomes more impor- Governments often lack the financial and human re-
tant than ever to reach out to vulnerable groups in so- source capabilities to quickly and efficiently develop digi-
ciety, respond to their needs and ensure social stability. tal tools that can support people during a crisis situation.
Engaging with civil society allows governments to tackle Therefore, building partnerships with private technology
socio-economic challenges in a more productive way that companies, social entrepreneurs or other national and in-
leaves no one behind. ternational organizations, can represent an effective way
Government-organized hackathons is one way of en- for governments to make use of existing technologies to
gaging people in finding innovative solutions to economic, meet the needs of people and soften the impact of the cri-
social and technological challenges of the COVID-19 pan- sis on their lives.
demic. Public officials, together with software develop- Public authorities have started cooperating with a
ers, civil society and social entrepreneurs can collectively variety of stakeholders during the COVID-19 outbreak.
search for new solutions to, for example, the lack of medi- For example, the United States Government issued a call
cines and protective medical equipment, the shortage of for action to key industry stakeholders and artificial in-
health personnel (i.e., in hospitals or food banks), the is- telligence experts to develop new text and data mining
sue of food hoarding, or the deteriorating mental health of techniques that can help the scientific community answer
people as a result of social isolation. In one initiative, lo- high-priority questions related to COVID-19. This plat-

2 United Nations Depar tment of Economic and Social Affairs April 2020
form can help speed up research and support with guid- ships are especially critical during these times since the
ance on diagnosis, treatment and management of infected applications only provide results with a large user-base.
patients globally, including in developing countries that Partnerships with the private sector in supporting
have more limited resources. governments have shown positive effects on the fight
Partnerships between governments, private sec- against the outbreak. However, it is necessary to address
tor and international organizations can also be crucial to the potential breaches of privacy and human rights con-
maintain services for mission-critical communications cerns that their implementation might entail. Prioritizing
and to ensure greater connectivity. The International Tel- anonymization while aggregating personal information,
ecommunication Union (ITU) has launched a platform the use of geolocation, as well as the access to medical
to assist national policymakers, regulators and industry records is important to protect personal data privacy.
stakeholders to ensure that networks are kept resilient Policymakers need to take into consideration the princi-
and telecommunication services are available to all in or- ple of minimization and limited collection, retention and
der to prevent further aggravation of digital divides dur- sharing of personal data to what is absolutely necessary
ing the COVID-19 crisis. In some countries, the Internet and rationally linkable to the purpose of overcoming the
providers have committed to maintaining network capac- health crisis to prevent surveillance misuse and violation
ity and services for critical government functions, espe- of data privacy.
cially hospitals and emergency calls, and to improving
the dissemination of information to the public, including
ACCELERATING THE IMPLEMENTATION
via SMS text alerts. In the same way, the European Com-
mission together with the Body of European Regulators
OF INNOVATIVE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
Since the crisis has put public services under stress, gov-
of Electronic Communications (BEREC) has launched a
ernments are urged to deploy effective digital technolo-
special reporting mechanism to monitor Internet traffic
gies to contain the outbreak. Most innovative quick-to-
in each Member State and ensure connectivity.
market solutions have stemmed from the private sector.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also strained the supply
chain for medical supplies. Demand for medical equip- However, the crisis has exposed the need for government
ment has exponentially increased, creating shortages, leadership in the development and adoption of new tech-
often exposing medical personnel to greater risks. To ad- nologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to
dress the problem, many private companies partnered ensure an effective provision of public services.
with government agencies to develop health apps that AI-powered technology has proven to be beneficial
help people, hospital staff and medical practitioners to for the provision of health care services when emergen-
monitor, analyse, and source critical medical equipment cy lines outpaced capacity. During the outbreak, many
such as ventilators, face masks, gloves and protective gear people have turned to self-checks for symptoms and ac-
in real time. cessed “virtual doctors’’ through telemedicine to get
Digital platforms have been deployed to help with medical advice. Multilingual chatbots offered solutions
community-driven contact tracing of patients that tested in overcoming language barriers, accessing information
positive. Singapore was one of the first countries to im- and communicating with health practitioners. 3D printing
plement contact tracing technology with its TraceTogeth- technologies have been adopted to produce replacement
er app during the current health crisis. The contact trac- valves for reanimation devices, and protective medical
ing apps use the bluetooth feature of one’s mobile phone face shields to address the shortage. Robots and drones
to anonymously save data of other users with whom one have been effective in providing security and sanitation
has crossed paths. Once a person’s encounter becomes thus reducing staff exposure to risk. Patrol robots us-
infected, the user receives a notification, which allows for ing facial recognition and thermal cameras are deployed
immediate self-testing or self-isolating. Innovative apps at airports and public places to scan crowds and identify
such as these have been developed by many different pri- potentially infected people. Sterilization robots equipped
vate companies and supported government attempts to with ultraviolet lights have been helpful to disinfect hos-
contain the number of infections. There were also some pitals and contaminated areas. Other robots monitor vi-
concerns that some app stores restricted the wide distri- tal parameters from medical devices or allow patients to
bution of these apps in some cases due to their high bat- communicate remotely with the nurses. Governments are
tery usage or sometimes due to privacy or data protection also using drones with similar technologies to monitor
concerns. Effective and timely public-private partner- streets, deliver medical supplies or disinfect public spaces.

April 2020 United Nations Depar tment of Economic and Social Affairs 3
 The efforts in developing digital government strate- to adopt an open government approach and to use digi-
gies after the COVID-19 crisis should focus on improving tal communication channels to provide reliable infor-
data protection and digital inclusion policies as well as on mation on global and national COVID-19 developments.
strengthening the policy and technical capabilities of pub- E-participation platforms can represent useful tools to
lic institutions. Even though public-private partnerships engage with vulnerable groups online and to establish dig-
are essential for implementing innovative technologies, ital initiatives to collectively brainstorm for policy ideas
government leadership, strong institutions and effective to critical social and economic challenges.
public policies are crucial to tailor digital solutions to Effective public-private partnerships, through shar-
countries’ needs as well as prioritize security, equity and ing technologies, expertise and tools, can support govern-
the protection of people’s rights. The COVID-19 pandem- ments in restarting the economy and rebuilding societies.
ic has emphasized the importance of technology, but also Developing countries, in particular, will need interna-
the pivotal role of an effective, inclusive and accountable tional cooperation and support in mitigating the crisis.
government. Therefore, regional, national and local project-based col-
laborations with private sector companies, international
CONCLUSION organizations and other stakeholders are necessary. In
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing governments and the long-term, governments need to accelerate the im-
societies to turn toward digital technologies to respond plementation of innovative digital technologies such as
to the crisis in the short-term, resolve socio-economic AI-powered technology, blockchain, and drones. Invest-
repercussions in the mid-term and reinvent existing poli- ments in these technologies can tremendously support
cies and tools in the long-term (see Table 1). Navigating the future resilience of the health economy and the public
through these challenging times requires governments services delivery.

Table 1
Digital Government Policy Response to COVID-19
Time horizon Policy action Digital government response
Short-term React ‣  Use digital platforms (i.e., online portals,
social media) for accurate and timely
information-sharing
‣  Lead two-way communication with
people and foster e-participation (i.e.,
hackathons, brainstorming events)
‣  Protect people’s privacy and sensitive
data and take into consideration
unintended consequences of
technologies

Mid-term Resolve ‣  Form effective multi-stakeholder

partnerships (i.e., private sector,
international organizations, academia) on
regional, national and local levels
‣  Leverage lessons learned and policy ideas
from the ongoing crisis

Long-term Reinvent ‣  Invest in innovative technologies (i.e., AI,

blockchain, robots, drones) to increase
resilience of healthcare, the national
economy and public services delivery
‣  Revisit data protection and privacy
legislation along with lessons learned
Invest in innovative technologies (i.e., AI,
blockchain, robots, drones) to increase
resilience of healthcare, the national
economy and public services delivery
Source: UN DESA.

4 United Nations Depar tment of Economic and Social Affairs April 2020