CPD Publishes Research Report on Local Government E-Governance in Dhaka

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has published a comprehensive research report focusing on the establishment of effective and accountable e-governance to strengthen local government institutions through fulfilling the demands of youth, gender, and marginalized communities. The findings of this significant study were revealed during an event held yesterday, Monday, at a hotel located in Gulshan, Dhaka.

As part of the extensive research methodology, a detailed survey was conducted covering a total of 2,611 individuals across the designated areas. This inclusive sample size specifically incorporated 1,382 youths and 957 women, alongside an evaluation of 297 government service offices to thoroughly assess the ground realities of digital public service delivery.

The research report highlights critical data regarding the digital service experiences of women. Among the findings, only 31.9 percent of women completed their entire service process online. For 38 percent of women, the majority of steps were done online, though some paperwork was still required. Meanwhile, 20.8 percent had to complete remaining tasks offline after merely submitting forms online, and 7.5 percent took services categorized as e-services which were actually entirely offline.

Barriers to accessing these digital services remain prominent. A notable 57.6 percent of women identified a lack of digital skills as a major problem, while 47.3 percent pointed to poor internet connections. Furthermore, security and privacy concerns are widespread, with 73.2 percent of women expressing fear of personal data leakage, 45.5 percent fearing data misuse by government officials, and 61 percent reporting unwanted contact from unexpected individuals after using e-services.

Regarding formal grievances, 83.3 percent of women and 78.9 percent of youth never filed a formal complaint regarding e-services. Additionally, 8.8 percent of women and 12.7 percent of youth wanted to complain but did not know the procedure. Participation in local government decision-making is also low, with 42.6 percent of women and 39.9 percent of youth never participating, while regular participation stands at only 11 percent for women and 15.8 percent for youth.

Infrastructure limitations at the office level further impede progress. Union agriculture offices have e-databases in only 27 percent of locations, compared to 40 percent in union parishads and 20 percent in union social welfare offices. Furthermore, union agriculture offices average merely 0.27 computers with only 0.15 functioning, leaving 44 percent of computers completely out of order. The event was attended by Tamim Ahmed, Sabiha Sharmin, Fahmida Khatun, Anonya Raihan, Bulbul Zahed Pavel, Almas Kabir, Aniruddha Roy, Nasimul Shabnam, and Khaleda Akhter.