IDARATI Scheme (MO0009)

Improving reception facilities for users by experimenting the use of IDARATI scheme in pilot sites
From 2018 to 2021
Lead implementing agency/actor
Ministry of Administration Reform and Civil Service
Commitment description
What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
Citizens experience public services as a power relationship that is unfavourable to them, and the service provided considered as a privilege rather than a right Insufficient or inadequate methods and tools used to tackle this issue Current reform attempts signal the lack of a comprehensive vision and coordinated approach Ununified reception facilities established within the government departments Low use of information and communication technologies to improve reception facilities
What is the commitment?
This commitment consists of: Supplying all public bodies with organisational tools and modes based on common terms of reference, which incorporates the principles of efficiency, transparency, and equality among users Ensuring that there are available staff who will help citizens and users process all the relevant forms. Staff must be qualified and trained on how to receive users and manage relationship with them. Organising the reception facilities in a way that respects the standardised rules and conditions Clarifying rules and framework for providing public services to restrict nepotism, favouritism, and corrupt acts. The impact of this commitment will be assessed on the basis of the following indicators: Corruption Perception Index Number of institutions participating in the programme Number of sectors affected by the programme
How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem?
Extending the use IDARATI scheme, via updating the pilot sites, training staff, and simplifying the procedures, along with its gradual generalisation, will improve the quality of reception facilities (access, orienting and serving users, handling complaints, and listening to their suggestions). It will also help fight corruption and improve government-citizen relationship.
Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
The new approach promotes: - Transparency on the procedures of public administrations - Citizen participation on providing feedback to improve the service of the public administration.
Additional information
The programme designed to improve reception facilities forms part of the other programmes launched by the MRAFP in this domain: the national anti-corruption strategy, the public services charter, the simplification and dematerialisation of procedures, and the Open Government programme This programme helps achieve two sustainable development goals: objective 10, “reducing inequalities”, and objective 16, “peace, justice, and effective institutions”. Related commitment: Commitment 10
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable
Updating the “Rabat vehicle registration centre” pilot site
2018 – 2019
Updating the “El Jedida provincial hospital” pilot site
2018 – 2019
Updating the “Moroccan Consulate in Algeciras ” pilot site
2018-2019
Technical support for updating the Ain Sbaa Casablanca “oukacha” penitentiary pilot site
2018 – 2019
Contact point details
Contact point name (project manager)
Mr Abderrahim HASSIA
Position/department
National Director of the Programme to Improve Reception Facilities, Ministry of Administration Reform and Civil Service
Email and telephone
a.hassia@mmsp.gov.ma / 00.212.5.37.67.99.83
Other actors involved
Government bodies Territorial authorities State-owned companies and public institutions
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Commitment 9: Improve Public Service Through IDARATI Pilot Sites

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“This commitment consists of:

• Supplying all public bodies with organizational tools and modes based on common terms of reference, which incorporates the principles of efficiency, transparency, and equality among users
• Ensuring that there are available staff who will help citizens and users process all the relevant forms. Staff must be qualified and trained on how to receive users and manage relationship with them.
• Organizing the reception facilities in a way that respects the standardized rules and conditions
• Clarifying rules and framework for providing public services to restrict nepotism, favoritism, and corrupt acts.

The impact of this commitment will be assessed based on the following indicators:

• Corruption Perception Index
• Number of institutions participating in the program
• Number of sectors affected by the program.
• …

Milestones:

• Updating the “Rabat vehicle registration centre” pilot site
• updating the “El Jedidaprovincial hospital” pilot site
• Updating the “Moroccan Consulate in Algeciras” pilot site,
• Technical support for updating the Ain Sbaa Casablanca “oukacha” penitentiary pilot site."

Start Date: 2018

End Date: 2021

Editorial Note: the commitment description provided above is an abridged version of the commitment text, please see the full action plan here: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/morocco-action-plan-2018-2020/

Context and objectives

This commitment aims to improve the quality of public services Moroccans receive at reception centers through standardized procedures, improved physical and administrative resources, and employee training in customer service. This commitment's objective is to strengthen public service delivery by ensuring that citizens have access to information on administrative procedures and recourse when services are not adequately provided. This commitment complements Commitments 8 and 10 in this action plan.

The government's priority to modernize the administration and improve service provision is affirmed in Articles 154, 155, 156, and 157 of the 2011 Constitution. More recently, King Mohammed VI has highlighted the need for greater transparency and accountability to improve service delivery. ^[83] In 2017, the government issued Decree 2-17-444 to improve public service provision through standardizing and publishing services and establishing a system to receive comments and complaints. ^[84] The government is currently considering Law 54.19 to establish a public service charter, which was passed by the House of Representatives in February 2020. [85] The law will form the legal basis for Commitments 8, 9, and 10 of this action plan. [86]

In 2011, Morocco launched IDARATI ("my administration" in Arabic) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme. IDARATI includes three online portals for public services: public employment, the chikaya portal, and geolocation services. The websites are accompanied by a phone hotline and email address for citizens to seek information on administrative procedures and file complaints. [87]

Despite government efforts, public service delivery and reception centers in particular, face many challenges. According to Mohammad Hassia, National Director of the Programme to Improve Reception Facilities and government point of contact for this commitment, reception employees often lack training in customer service and service provision. There is a lack of culture in which citizens are viewed as clients with a right to public services. As a result, reception centers are often 'closed off' and fail to meet the needs of citizens. Additionally, an absence of unified information and procedures across reception centers results in uneven service delivery around the country. There is also inadequate use of online tools or standard procedures for processing complaints. ^[88] In rural areas, administrative service centers are often physically dispersed and only open once a week during the market. Low literacy levels in rural regions grant disproportionate power to public servants over citizens. ^[89] Consequently, there are instances of corruption in frontline service provision. ^[90]

In response to these challenges, this commitment aims to (i) develop a plan to improve public service reception centers through a participatory approach (ii) develop the tools to improve service delivery across all relevant departments (iii) support departments and partners in the implementation of service improvement plans (iv) implement improvements in pilot sites with the intention of scaling up efforts to the national level. [91] Specifically, the government will provide: a charter outlining 10 public service commitments; a list of reception centers; a public service model and standards; various media on reception center services including video, posters, and pamphlets; a public servant training kit; and an evaluation system that will highlight exemplary reception centers, among other tools. [92]

For the pilot sites, the government will identify physical and administrative priorities for improvement and then oversee the redesign of reception facilities and installation of new equipment, such as visual displays and que system. The government will also provide three-day customer service training to 12 employees for each reception center as well as measure the satisfaction of citizens. Complaint counters will also be installed in pilot sites to complement the chikaya online portal. [93] Mohammad Hassia notes that the monitoring and evaluation component of this commitment is key to its success. He says that achieving a 20% satisfaction rate among citizens would be a positive result given current low rates. ^[94]

This commitment holds a moderate potential to improve public service transparency and delivery. Clear and standardized administrative procedures will enable citizens to understand the services they are entitled to and how to take recourse when services are inadequately provided. If implemented as written, strengthened transparency and accountability measures will likely lead to improved delivery of basic administrative services. Importantly, this commitment will also likely have a positive impact on citizen perception of the government by improving the quality of their daily interactions with frontline civil servants. This commitment is considered to have modest ambition because it is a continuation of ongoing reforms and is limited to a few initial pilot sites. Regardless, it represents positive reforms in an area of national priority.

This commitment is verifiable and relevant to the OGP value of access to information as this commitment would increase the use of information and communication tools in reception facilities to improve public service delivery. This commitment is also relevant to the OGP value of technology and innovation for accountability and transparency as it seeks to use a data platform (IDARATI) to provide guidance to users on how to request public services.

9. Improve Public Service Through IDARATI Pilot Sites

Substantial:

This commitment relates to commitments 8 and 10 in aiming to improve the quality of public services. The Department of Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Administrative Reform implemented this commitment, according to the self-assessment report, [105] through the preparation of calls for tenders for the redesign of reception facilities and the installation of new equipment, such as visual displays and queue systems for four pilot sites: the Rabat vehicles registration center, the provincial hospital in El Jedida, the Morocco Consulate in Algeciras, Spain, and the Ain Sbaa correctional facility in Casablanca.

The government also provided trainings on reception techniques for the civil servants in the front offices of each center. According to the self-assessment, [106] this commitment made it possible to improve the quality of services provided at the pilot sites, thanks to the improvement of reception conditions and the transparency of administrative services: posted procedures, clear procedures, etc., to strengthen the principles of equity between users and trust between the administration and the user. Ahmed Bernoussi, Secretary General of Transparency Morocco, [107] considers that these government efforts will remain limited in impact for as long as the crucial document setting the public service model and standards—the Public Services Charter— [108] is not yet adopted by the Parliament. The government will continue the efforts in a similar commitment in the upcoming OGP action plan. [109]