GovTech Innovation Lab: Lessons from the GovTech Country Initiatives

Anita Peña is the Head of the International Affairs Department of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity of the Chilean Government, with 15 years of experience in design, monitoring and implementation of public policy with a gender perspective. Anita is a Public Administrator with a double master’s degree in Gender Studies from University of Chile and Social Policy from the London School of Economics (LSE). She is a PhD. candidate, currently leading research about the interconnection of gender within the global commodity chain of the agricultural system. Anita is both a feminist scholar and an activist, aspects that she brings together in her work, for example through her recent book that touches upon feminist organizations that address gender-based violence. Also, she produced a documentary film about women's solidarity practices to face the Covid-19 pandemic in Chile.

Asami Okahashi is a Governance Specialist focusing on GovTech at the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice. With over 14 years of experience in policy advisory, project design and implementation, and technical assistance in the areas of digital government, smart cities, and service delivery, she currently works on lending projects focused on digital transformation primarily in Europe and Central Asia and South Asia. She also leads the GovTech Innovation Lab, which supports problem-solving through innovative approaches and technologies. Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Asami was an Urban Development Specialist, serving as a regional urban lead at the UNDP in Asia and the Pacific. Additionally, she worked in the private sector, spearheading business development in the tech and infrastructure space for Southeast Asia and Latin America.

She holds an MSc in Urban Economic Development from University College London, UK, and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Japanese.

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez is the Global Director for Governance Global Practice in the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group (EFI) Vice Presidency. Mr. Herrera, a Mexican National, has extensive experience in governance, as a practitioner and from the development and academic perspectives. He joined the World Bank in 2010 as Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. He held various positions in the Bank including as Sector Manager in LAC, Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for the LAC and East Asia and the Pacific regions in the Global Unit before leaving the World Bank Group in 2018. Between 2018 and 2021 he has held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit. As Global Director for Governance, Mr. Herrera’s priorities include leading the formulation of strategy and engagement of the Bank’s work on public institutions and country-level governance, especially in fragile, conflict and violent settings; maximizing the effectiveness of operational support for public financial management and public procurement; fostering excellence in the Governance Practice’s work on public sector administration and operational support for legal and judicial reforms. Mr. Herrera has also taught Monetary and Banking and Macro and Micro Economics at both El Colegio de Mexico and New York University where he completed his doctoral studies in Economics.

Carlos Orjales is a Senior Economist and Program Manager at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland. He has 20 years of experience in designing implementing and monitoring technical assistance programs in the area of public finance management and financial sector development. As thematic lead on tax policy and administration, he represented Switzerland in several global initiatives and international fora dedicated to domestic resources mobilization. Since 2020, he is responsible for digital government transformation at SECO. Carlos holds a MSc degree in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics with distinction from the University of Geneva. He also studied International Relations at the Graduate Institute of Geneva, as well as Information and Communication Technology at the Centre Universitaire d’informatique.

Diana J. Arango is the Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response Portfolio Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, within the Social Sustainability and Inclusion team at the World Bank. During her tenure at the World Bank (WB), she has led the institution in growing and changing its approach to integrating GBV into WB-financed operations across all WB sectors and regions. She also led efforts to provide guidance on mitigating risk of sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment which may be triggered or exacerbate by WB lending. She fostered a unique and strong partnership with the Sexual Violence Research Initiative that funded innovative research in high- and middle-income countries to build the evidence base on what works to end GBV. The joint effort supported fifty teams in their research and has led to numerous articles, tools, and resources to help programmers scaling evidence-based interventions to address GBV. The partnership has also been an important entry point for local World Bank dialogue with governments on addressing GBV. Before joining the World Bank Group, she was a Research Scientist at George Washington University's Global Women's Institute leading research on violence against women and girls in conflict settings. She has also worked with UNFPA, WHO, and UNCHR and has on-the-ground experience in every WB region.

Kamila Gasinska is the Strategic Partnerships Lead at GovTech Lab Lithuania within the Innovation Agency Lithuania. She represents GovTech Lab in international alliances, establishes and manages strategic partnerships in Lithuania and abroad. With four years of experience in GovTech Lab, Kamila specializes in interpersonal dynamics and innovation management, leveraging a diverse skill set in project management and stakeholder engagement to drive impactful initiatives. As a board member of "GovTech Global Alliance" she contributes to the "GovTech Global Alliance Scale-Up Programme" and other international initiatives. In addition, Kamila takes on the responsibility of organizing international events and coordinating the international "GovTech4All" project and "GovTech Leaders" conferences, all in pursuit of advancing government technology for societal benefit.

Long Saroeurn is the Director General of the General Department of Digital Management of Civil Servants at the Ministry of Civil Service in Cambodia. His work focuses on developing digital systems for the management of civil servants, contract officers, and various other public officials within ministries, institutions, and sub-national administrations. With 20 years of experience in software development and teaching, his expertise includes database management, and business-related information technology management. He has established many solution systems and database management systems for various departments at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and has created numerous systems for organization and private entities. His contributions align with the government’s strategy to digitalize state public affairs in accordance with the government’s new Pentagon Strategy (particularly the digitalization pillar). H.E. Long Saroeurn holds two master’s degrees, one in Information Technology Management and another in Finance and Banking.

Macarena Andrade is the Head of the Planning and Management Control Division of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity. Industrial Civil Engineer and Master in Management and Public Policies from the University of Chile. From her role in planning, she has accompanied the different initiatives and cooperation projects for the creation of an integrated information system on gender-based violence in the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, including work with GovTech from the World Bank. Five years of previous experience as a project consultant for the public sector and Director of the Project Area of the Center for Public Systems of the University of Chile, as well as a researcher on projects linked to Child Protection. Professor of the elective course “Introduction to Public Systems”, of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Chile.

Sokbunthoeun So is a Senior Public Sector Specialist of the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Governance based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His work focuses on public finance management (PFM) and civil service reforms. In the last 10 years, he has been assisting the Cambodian government in implementing critical PFM and civil service reforms and has contributed to key public sector reform policies/strategies of the government. He has authored and contributed to numerous publications (book, book chapters, academic peer review journal articles, and analytical reports) on the topics of public finance, civil service management, and political economy of reform. Dr. So holds an MA and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, U.S.A