The Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG), UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), through its Project Office on Governance (UNPOG), organized an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the Emerging Trends and Needs of Digital Government in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). This is part of the preparation process of the United Nations E-Government Survey 2020.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide a platform for governance and public administration practitioners and experts (including in e-government) from UN entities, international organizations and academia to share regional and country perspectives, especially those of LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs in the Asia Pacific region. It focusses on: i) how the 2020 E-government Survey can capture and reflect in its assessment on the emerging issues and trends in new technologies and e-government, as well as digital challenges with the country groupings LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs; ii) how to enhance digital inclusion, engagement and partnerships for leaving no one behind and ways to capture this through improving/updating the E-participation index (EPI); and iii) expanded collaboration between UN DESA and other regional actors and international organizations in working in the fields of e-government, new technologies and digital cooperation, especially in meeting the needs of LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs.

 

During this Expert Group Meeting, the exchange of views and reflections will be used to update the current methodological approach of the Survey, ensuring to capture the current trends and cutting-edge ways that digital government could be deployed by LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs to achieve the SDGs, integrated to respective national development goals.