Governance & Institutions Umbrella Program (G&I)

1. The GovTech and Public Sector Innovation Global Program

Effective public sector transformation requires specialized teams that support the prototyping of new innovations, as well as the creation, collection, curation, and dissemination of relevant knowledge. G&I contributes to the GovTech and Public Sector Innovation Global Program to lead research on cutting edge topics, convene global discussions, produce global public goods, and innovate in partnership with countries.

The objective is to develop a solid GovTech Knowledge base while testing innovative products and approaches that can help improve the public sector. Work includes:

	The GovTech Maturity Index, a cross-national dataset and sophisticated data analytics for over 190 countries that can assist World Bank task teams, development partners, academia, civil society, the private sector, policy makers, and client governments. A new version of the data will be released in late 2025.
	A new GovTech Innovation Challenge in partnership with the Ghanaian Revenue Service, Trust Valley and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), will mobilize local and global startups to come up with innovative ways to enhance revenue administration. Promising innovative solutions are expected to be developed into proof of concepts, a resource for governments interested in developing their own solution applications.
	The GovTech and Public Sector Innovation Global Forum, which brings together the world's leading thinkers, innovators, and practitioners in the field. It provides a platform for attendees to exchange ideas, share best practices, and collaborate on harnessing emerging technologies like AI to drive greater efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability within public sector institutions.
	An online Repository of AI Use Cases is being developed that will showcase specific examples of AI deployments in government, highlighting the challenges encountered, methodologies employed, governance frameworks, ethical considerations, and key learnings.
	A new tool, Artificial Intelligence to Select Audit Cases, uses synthetic data and machine learning to help explore and address the links between tax administration and tax evasion. This tool has been piloted in Georgia. Using anonymized data provided by the Georgia Revenue Service, two customized prototypes identified potential tax evaders with a promising accuracy rate. This tool could increase the effectiveness of tax audits, boost tax revenues, increase the perception of risk, and reduce administrative costs. Read the blog about AI and machine learning for better governance

2. Armenia: public sector modernization to strengthen transparency, accountability and access

Armenia strives to transition into a digital society by promoting digital economy and enhancing online public service delivery. G&I has provided support in Armenia across three components towards the establishment of a GovTech framework.

• At the central government level, the team has supported a comprehensive business process reengineering of the e-Notary system. A detailed roadmap for transitioning from paper-based to fully digital service was developed and validated through extensive stakeholder engagement. It laid the groundwork for the digital transformation of more than 50 notarial services under the Fourth Public Sector Modernization lending project. The team has also provided advisory support for digitalizing judicial archives and criminal proceedings, so that processes within the justice system can be optimized and digital systems are effectively integrated.
  Also, an advisory support was provided to the Ministry of Interior Affairs to design a citizen-centric digital system for managing citizenship and residency life events. This system streamlines administrative processes and improves service delivery through scalable and interoperable digital solutions. G&I funded a range of technical assistance support for conducting user research and analysis of citizen journeys, designing a roadmap for citizen-centric improvements, engaging stakeholders for validation, and creating a minimum viable product with clickable mock-ups, ensuring alignment with international best practices and technical standards while addressing high-priority pain points for users.
• For local governments, guidance in digital public service delivery was provided, which helped them develop technical specifications for a Single Window system for liability payments. Also, an assessment and recommendations were provided for improving the effectiveness of the Yerevan municipality’s Active Citizen platform.
• Advisory assistance to various government ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and high-tech industry, has provided recommendations and guidance for optimizing project management models, enhancing the management of information technology, and evaluating digital infrastructure and security measures. The State Revenue Committee received advice for reviewing digitalization processes and developing prototypes for digital public services. Examples of services that are being improved and/or implemented are the Universal Tax Self-Declaration System and the gender-based violence/ domestic violence hotline system for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

3. GovTech and Public Sector Modernization in the Western Balkans

A newly launched project in the Western Balkans aims to contribute to the modernization of the public sector and public administration in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia. The issue is seen as a high priority for the region to accelerate inclusive development and ensure its path to joining the European Union. Key EU strategies and accession rules recognize public administration reform’ as one of the key requirements in the accession process. The Western Balkans is building upon its progress in public sector and public service modernization in recent years. Areas for further improvements and where innovation and digital tools are indispensable, are:

• Improving regulatory institutions and services related to the business environment to help create more and better jobs.
• Fostering a more user-centered, accessible, and inclusive model for public service delivery, especially for vulnerable groups such as such as the elderly, disabled, lower-educated women, and the poorest.
• Improving the resources, capacity, incentives and mechanisms for local governments to provide their services.
• Modernizing public financial management and public investment management.

To help replicate and scale successes throughout the region, the project is organizing regional workshops among the countries, as well as with EU countries to facilitate knowledge sharing on topics such as digital service delivery, digital justice, and digital skills. A regional stocktaking and benchmarking against EU accession criteria will provide analytical foundations to guide reform priorities and concrete policy actions. Technical and advisory support will be provided for the governments to implement the reforms supported by the Bank’s lending portfolio.

Read about results from the “Improving Equitable Access to High Standard Public Services through GovTech” Program for Results (PforR) in Albania

4. Transformation of Public Services and Public Financial Management Strengthening in Albania

This newly launched project will support the transformation of public services in Albania and strengthen the public financial management (PFM) ecosystem for improved service delivery. It will support the modernization of the PFM ecosystem at the central and subnational level with a focus on digital solutions that improve critical upstream government functions that impact service delivery. The project will provide assessments, recommendations and capacity development regarding functional and technological design. The development of a PFM Ecosystem Evolution Roadmap will enhance the system’s integration and improve data quality for strategic decision-making.
The planned activities are expected to help ensure that public resources are managed efficiently, transparently, and in ways that foster economic stability and growth. This will place Albania in a more efficient, inclusive, climate-smart, and “EU-accession-ready” development model.
It will also support the design and roll-out of a strategy for strengthening capabilities for public investment management at subnational level. By helping to unlock the potential of public investment for local development, the planned activities will help Albania make progress in meeting the requirements for EU accession.

Explore other G&I-funded activities in:

Public Administration and Institutional Reform

Anticorruption, Transparency and Open Government

Justice and Rule of Law

Multistakeholder Engagement and Coalitions for Reforms

Go back to G&I Activities page