Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, demonstrates Diia, a pioneering e-governance tool.
Ukraine has long been plagued by the threat of corruption. Long wait times for public services, an overwhelmed bureaucracy, and bribe-taking have decreased the reputation of Ukraine’s public sector. Not to mention that citizens have to deal repeatedly with different official organizations, which can be overwhelming and time-consuming.
But in the wake of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, where reformist candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy won with a resounding victory, His win signaled a desire for change, a yearning to break free from the shackles of corruption that had plagued Ukraine for far too long.
And his first priority? To digitalize the government.
In 2019, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, headed by Mykhailo Fedorov, was created with the task of creating a “state in smartphone” project, which was announced by President Zelenskyy as part of a wider anti-corruption campaign. The creation of this ministry was to allow for access to convenient public services and lower Ukraine’s bureaucracy.
Under Fedorov’s reign, a number of e-government services were introduced, including:
Diia – an online government services portal that allows the average citizen to access a variety of governmental and private sector services from the comfort of their home, from paying taxes to online banking to registering for a birth certificate. It also includes the first ever official online government passport. The estimated number of Ukrainian Diia users is 19.4 million, or half of Ukraine’s population.
Diia Digital Education – an online education platform that allows students and adults alike to access multiple courses on different topics, from how to work as a cashier to digital marketing.
The effects of these programs have been undeniable. Digitizing governmental services has resulted in around ₹14.7 billion (117 million USD) in savings for the Ukrainian by February 2022, and further digitalization might result in savings of up to ₴42 billion. (506 million USD). These savings are significant, as Ukraine, one of Europe’s poorest countries, is facing an economic downturn due to the war in Ukraine.
“The legacy of the Soviet Union was corruption—if you wanted to apply for a construction permit or change a car registration, you had to pay an official. But DIIA removes that,” says Fedorov.”
The front page of https://diia.gov.ua/, Ukraine’s government services portal.
During the War
As the war rages on in Ukraine, Diia has played a role too. Instructions to educate Ukrainians on how to operate and combat drones, apply for refugee money, report Russian army activity, and apply for rehabilitation funds to rebuild homes are all new features added to address the problems stemming from the war in Ukraine.
Army+, a new digital military service developed by Ukraine’s defense ministry, will allow Ukranian servicemembers to perform military tasks traditionally done on paper.
Chernohorenko, who handles drone research and other battlefield innovation at the ministry, stated that the amount of time troops now spend filling out paperwork is “unacceptable” during conflict.
The Diia app includes an example of a digital passport.
Global Impact
The success of Diia in Ukraine is now being touted as a model for other countries to aspire to when building out their own e-government networks. USAID, which worked jointly with the Ukrainian and British governments, has been looking to export this model to other countries. For example, Estonia, known as a paragon and leader in developing e-government systems, has imported Diia’s code to their own digital government platform, mRiik. USAID is also currently working with Kosovo, Zambia, and Colombia to help them import the code for their own systems.
Given the fact that Ukraine is currently facing a war with one of the most powerful states in the world, it should come as a shock to see how resilient Ukraine’s digital infrastructure has been. It remains to be seen if this model can be successfully repeated in other countries.
