The Impact of Digital Administration (DA) on the Development of New ICT Skills within Moroccan Administrations

All studies and analysis highlight the importance given by the government, both developed countries as emerging markets to information and communication technologies (Aldrich and al, 2002). This strategic importance given to the roles of information and communication technologies is doubly justified: First, the economic sector where the information technology and communication is the largest source of job creation (Fang, 2002). Second, the transverse effect of these technologies by placing them as a major factor of structuring the economy (Chen, 2002). This study is a part of dealing with the consequences of the development of new professions and jobs related to information and communication technology within the Moroccan administrations. The results should inform and support public policy for training and qualification for the skills related to the integration and use of information technology and communication within the Moroccan government. Analysis of the results of the study show that in the Moroccan administrations, there are ten jobs that are heavily impacted by the introduction of information technologies and communication and which are: 1. Database Administrator, 2. Systems Administrator, 3. Security Officer, 4. Web administrator, 5. Project Manager, 6. Application Developer, 7. Architect Information System. (Newly created), 8. Data entry operator, 9.E-consultancy. (Newly created), 10 Trainer. Besides the aspect related to the identification of jobs and trades mainly ICT, our various semi-structured interviews revealed the following: a. The process of integration ICT in the Moroccan administration can be characterized as hybrid. The use of external providers is observed in most cases. Individual projects ICT integrated address applications of automation built into mixed mode. b. The concept of e-government is at the beginning stage. Based on the model of St. Amant (2003), we found that these integration projects are in the information phase and other phases are not yet started because of the non-implementation of projects and timeliness of outputs. Keyword: ICT, Digital Administration, Moroccan E-government – ICT Skills – E-government Model __________________________________________________________________________ 1 Context of the study All studies and analysis highlight the importance given by the governments, both developed countries as emerging markets, to Information and Communications Technologies (Aldrich et al, 2002). This strategic importance given to ICT is doubly justified: First, the economic sector where the information technology and communication is the largest source of jobs creation (Fang, 2002). Second, the transverse effect of these technologies by placing them at the forefront of structuring the economy and society as a whole (Chen, 2002). The Moroccan government has made the introduction of information technology and communication within its administration a priority (Talbi, 2007). The following extract from royal speech attests to this reality. ".... The Journal of e-Government Studies and Best Practices 2 strategic significance of the new economies, coupled with the profound and rapid changes that it operate as a prelude to the emergence of the knowledge society and communication, imposes a duty to upgrade, to give our country the ability to master new technologies and operate optimally, the tremendous opportunities they offer to us. .. " The results of this study should inform and support public policy guidelines for training and qualification for the skills related to the integration and use of information and communication technologies within the Moroccan government. There is no need to stress the valuable contribution of ICT which are currently the best tools for decision support and that can have a positive impact on the process of modernization of the Moroccan administration (Hajji, 2001). The various projects to integrate ICT within the Moroccan administrations have lead to an opportunity to rethink the relations maintained between the Moroccan government and citizens (Ourzik, 2005): Valuing close relations, service quality and ease use of administrative procedures. The proposed digital administration (DA) in Morocco commonly called e-government project1 is undoubtedly one of today's most promising issues by which access to public services offered by the Moroccan government can be both based on human relations and closer to the expectations of citizens and socioeconomic actors (Sahim, 2006). In Morocco, the project fits into the digital administration eMorocco Vision 20102 , which is a support functional modernization of the Moroccan administration and having a direct impact on human resources development and evolution the structure of jobs within those administrations. The general research questions of this study are: • What conclusions can we draw about the proposed digital administration (DA) carried by the Moroccan government? • What new information and communication technologies skills are induced by the integration of ICT projects within the Moroccan government? 1 Project e-government is the designation agreed for all projects developed to automate services offered by the Moroccan administration. 2 Long term orientation to integrate Morocco into the society of information and communication. This document was prepared in 2007 by the Ministry of Industry and new technologies • What are the factors that most influence on the decision to integrate ICT within the Moroccan administrations? • What are the factors that determine the success of integration ICT projects within the Moroccan administrations? • What are the features (functional and technical) of integration ICT projects within the Moroccan administrations? 2. Synthesis of the literature review o The integration of ICT in the process of modernizing the administration offers several advantages. For the administration, these include: The increase in the number of recipients of the services offered (Daniel and Forman, 2002); o The decrease in operating costs of government (Heeks, 2001); o The acceleration of trade and on-line administrative services (Laudon & Laudon, 2001). The concept of the digital administration offers a simplified, faster, more complete service to citizen, regardless of its location (St. Amant, 2003). Our literature review will be structured as follows: The first section provides a definition of digital administration and highlights its advantages and conditions for success. The second section presents a framework for development of digital administration with its four phases. The third section will be dedicated to the development of a review and state of achievements of the integration of information technology and communication within the Moroccan administrations. The fourth section describes the relationship between the existential structure of Human Resources and the evolution of the integration of information technology and communication within the administration. 2.1 Digital Administration: Basic concepts and definitions The digital administration is a concept that has emerged in public administration and services of the States in the late 1980s. Some definitions emphasize either on the effective management of Administration (ITA, 1999) or on improving the quality of services to citizens (Hirst & Norton, 1998) or on a new governance adopted by the Board (Alberta, 2000). We cite three important definitions for the rest of this study. 3 Journal of e-Government Studies and Best Practices • "... The digital administration was the adoption by the various public institutions and state bodies of new information and communications technologies in their relationship with citizens, employees and partners in public or private service ... "(Arthur Andersen, 2000). • "... E-government [...] is not just about service delivery over the Internet [...] The far more daunting challenge in the years ahead Is a revolution in governance Itself, has revolution in the fullest Meaning of The Word A Dramatic Shift in That the ways politic and social power is organized and used ... "(Alberta, 2000). • "... The digital administration is a process that allows the use of the Internet to: (a) provide services to clients and companies, (2) to enable government organizations to connect employees, suppliers and customers and (3) transform government operations also including government relations Government .. "(Jhonston, 2001). The first and third definition insists on the adoption and use of ICT by government to transform its relations with various partners such as citizens, businesses and social institutions. The second definition puts more emphasis on the transformation of modes of governance that can allow ICT. Even if the definition of digital administration is constantly changing, two ideas emerge from all these definitions and that can be applied on the evolution of digital administration in Morocco: 1 The adoption and integration of information technology and communication in the business processes of government. This adoption pushes governments to adopt new modes of governance us part of a deliberate policy of opening and modernization of management tools; 2 The transformation of government relations with all stakeholders internal and external citizens (individuals and firms), suppliers, employees, communities, and regions, associations and other stakeholders. 2.2 General framework for the development of Digital Administration Different authors emphasize the near-requisite organizational and environmental success of the implementation of digital administration (St. Amant, 2003, Anderson, 2000). These different requisites are inserted into a conceptual framework divided into four phases: 1. The phase of information, 2. The phase of the interaction, 3. The phase of the transaction and 4. The phase of integration. This framework is often used to assess the maturity of the digital administration of a country (Parado, 2002). Studies on the evolution of digital administration have shown that the governments of industrialized countries have reached the phase of interaction or the transaction phase by making minor organizational changes (St. Amant 2003). The fourth phase implies that ICT are highly integrated to support the integration of services and new organizational structures. Another way to define the digital administration is using the main stakeholder of e-government project, which may be: Intra-organizational: Projects aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of its internal processes and organization performance; Organizations Citizens (O-C): Projects that aim to improve and distribute the process of providing public services to citizens (individuals and businesses); Organizations Enterprises (O-E): Projects aimed at improving relationships and interactions with businesses and freelance workers who provide services / products; Inter-organizational (O-O): Projects that aim to achieve the link and inter-organizational integration between different administrations through a single entry ("one-stop servicing"). 2.3 The project of the Digital Administration in Morocco: State of the art and future trends. Morocco, like most African countries would face the effects of globalization that are reflected by the opening of borders and the dismantling of tariffs and customs in 2010 (Maryniese and Savoye, 2002) . Economic openness imposes imperatives of competitiveness and overall performance. The Ministry of Modernisation of Public Sector 3(MMSP), created to modernize government management tools and work. The 3 Department creates tools to modernize management and labor within public sector institutions in Morocco. Since its creation, the department works to implement modern management tools and piloting various modernization projects in various administrations. Journal of e-Government Studies and Best Practices 4 ICT are at the heart of this upgrade and are used by the Department of modernizing the public sector as a lever for change and a factor of major restructuring of each administration (Anderson, 2002). The different trends across the world show that in the coming years, the intelligence and knowledge are the main source of economic wealth of countries (West, 2001). These two factors are of extreme importance for the competitiveness of Morocco at international level (Ourzik, 2005). In its modernization plans, the Moroccan government is more interested in the development and redefinition of the government operating as a network and synergy rather than marginally, to promote the exchange of information. Having become aware of all issues of ICT and their impact on the modernization of the administrative institutions, the Moroccan government did not remain quite foreign to that fact. Different directions are taken, we cite for example: 1 The need to improve relations between administrations and users, which at the same time is a democratic necessity and is an essential component of the modernization of the State, 2 Simplification of administrative procedures, 3 Better use of information technology to simplify the formalities and particularly by intensive use of ICT. Since 2002, several initiatives have been taken and have lead to positive developments in several areas. Thus, at the initiative of the Moroccan government, the e-government committee was formed in February 2003 in order to contribute to the implementation of the national program of "e-Government". Under the leadership of this committee, many projects were initiated which lead to some concrete achievements and development of the first online services such as E-Customs , E-bds of the National Fund of Social Security and E-Justice. Currently, the Moroccan government has embarked on a gradual process of computerization of its services. Most of the computerized procedures have a scope within Ministerial although some of them, such as projects of the Integrated Management of State Personnel allows data exchange at ministerial level. In this context, to strengthen the coordination of the national strategy and action of the Moroccan government in this area, an extensive program of promotion and development of new technologies in the administration has been initiated through the Department of Public sector modernization. The program is called IDARATI: Computerisation of the Departments of Administration and networking technologies through adequate information). The follow figure show the evolution of on line service offered by Moroccan Administrations. Figure 1: Evolution of On line services offered by Moroccan Administration (between 2002 and 2007 ) 5 Journal of e-Government Studies and Best Practices 2.4 Emergence of digital administration, and impact on the evolution of ICT skills There are very few studies focusing on understanding the development of "new business" following the integration of ICT in the Moroccan administration. Most available studies pointed the classical categories of professions related to information technology and communication, namely the traditional crafts of computer and information systems. In this context, our literature review suggests a state of the art research on job and professions related to ICT, and we considered the main contributions as a repository that we could compare the results empirical investigation. The European model (ITA, 2000) structural analysis of job-related ICT, offers a classification and nomenclature. All researchers in the field of technology Information and communication agreement on a standard for defining competencies related to information technology and communication called e-skills with three levels, namely: o Digital Literacy, which includes all the skills to use basic information technology and communication as a learning tool in everyday life and work; o The ratings for uses that involve the ability to use technological tools in the work situations of the most common and the ability to update these competencies when working procedures, organizational arrangements or applications change; o The professional qualifications of information technology and communication which are required in the sector of information technology and communication in order to design, develop, implement, manage or make day technological applications. The European Commission proposes a model for mapping professions related to information technology and communication that relies on four main groups of occupations and jobs as shown in figure below. This classification is taken into account in our study to understand the changing structure of jobs related to ICT within the Moroccan government. At the center, we find the occupations classified as "hard core" of the core skills of computing: software specialists, networks and systems. A first peripheral group consists of professional Internet and multimedia, which combines skills in graphic, artistic or editorial. A second peripheral group consists of business related applications of information technology and communications with generic common to many companies and organizations: ERP, systems management customer relationship platforms of electronic commerce, electronic exchange of business data and e-government. Professionals in this category are mostly graduates of training courses for advanced or intermediate. Among the technical skills of these professionals, in addition to hardware and software aspects are the skills related to network design, communication protocols, transmission of data integration software and hybrid systems.