By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the Sultanate of Oman won first place in the Digital Government Award for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the category of Best Digital Community Participation for the “Public Consultations” project. The award ceremony took place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in conjunction with the activities of the Digital Government Forum in its second edition for the year 2023.
The “public consultations” project adopted by the Authority is considered an important tool to enhance communication and constructive dialogue between the public, officials and decision-makers, through the process of collecting the opinions and suggestions of the general public and stakeholders and presenting them to decision-makers, to then be analyzed and the final position issued by the Authority.
The process of collecting and analyzing descriptive data is carried out through an electronic platform, “A Questionnaire,” which is a platform developed locally by a small and medium-sized Omani company that specializes in the field of software, collecting and analyzing data, and preparing it for decision makers.
The award, which is organized once every two years, aims to enhance the culture of excellence and innovation among government agencies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, establish a culture of positive competition among them in the field of digital government, and highlight successful experiences, which supports the benefit and exchange of best practices at the level of various government sectors in the GCC countries.
The “Best Community Participation Initiative” award contributes to encouraging institutions to integrate community groups into decision-making and harmonize with the modern directives of the government apparatus, as community participation programs work on the necessity of concerted efforts with all public, private, and non-profit sectors to contribute to achieving development and meeting the growing and diverse needs of all individuals. the society.
