BPN 1376 My selection of WSA Best e-Content 09 (2)

Category: e-Government & Institutions

Government Information Center (GIC)

PRODUCER’S DESCRIPTION
The Government Information Center (GIC) is a single, electronic, trilingual (Sinhala, 77 key government organizations. Obtaining a particular government service used to involve navigating through a thicket of organizations and making multiple personal visits and repeated telephone calls. Language was a further barrier for the 25% of Sri Lankan citizens who speak Tamil. The GIC was established as a public/private partnership to provide a single point of access to government information and services in an effective and friendly manner. The knowledge base, stored in an SQL database, is available through multiple channels, including a Microsoft Visual Basic interface for call center staff, a web based interface for the IT-literate general public and, to accommodate future expansion, a web services API.

JUROR’S EVALUATION
The product perfectly addressed challenges faced by the citizens of Sri Lanka in accessing government services. One single phone number 1919 for getting information about what, how, where, who and how much of government services provides great value to ordinary citizens, particularly who are living far way from where the government institutions are located. The product leverages the telephone as the still most used and affordable I&C technology for accessing government information and uses access through Internet as well. The GIC has a very strong inclusion dimension: it offers the services in all three languages people talk in Sri Lanka. Illiteracy is not a barrier as accessing a phone is not a problem at all in Sri Lanka. The GIC helps particularly poor people save effort and time. The public
private partnership ensures sustainability of the services.

Producer
ICT Agency of Sri Lanka
(ICTA)
Country
Sri Lanka
Original Title
Rajya Thorathuru Kendraya
(1919)
Contact
info@icta.lk
www.icta.lk
Language
Sinhala, Tamil and English
Media Format
broadband/online
Product URL
www.gic.gov.lk

Blog Posting Number: 1376

Tags: e-Government