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DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT - KYRGYZSTAN

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

STATE COMMITTEE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNICATIONS

OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

WORLD BANK

2017

Digital Development Assessment - Kyrgyzstan

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Contents

Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................ 3

Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Background ............................................................................................................................................................. 6

1. Methodology .................................................................................................................................................. 7

2. Digital Development Assessment in Kyrgyzstan .......................................................................... 10

2.1. National Priorities and Policy Directions ................................................................................ 10

2.1.1. Digital Development Strategy ........................................................................................... 10

2.1.2 Value Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 14

2.2. Analog Enablers ................................................................................................................................ 16

2.2.1 Leadership and Governance ..................................................................................................... 16

2.2.2 Legislation, Policies and Standards ...................................................................................... 19

2.2.4 Funding ............................................................................................................................................ 22

2.2.5 Public-Private Partnership ...................................................................................................... 25

2.2.6 Capacity Building .......................................................................................................................... 28

2.2.7 Innovation ...................................................................................................................................... 31

2.2.8 Data-Driven Agenda ..................................................................................................................... 35

2.3. Digital Enablers ................................................................................................................................. 40

2.3.1 Digital Infrastructure .................................................................................................................. 40

2.3.2 Shared Digital Platforms ............................................................................................................ 45

2.4. Government Electronic Services................................................................................................. 47

2.4.1 Government-to-Citizen Electronic Services ...................................................................... 47

2.4.2 Government-to-Business Electronic Services .................................................................. 51

2.4.3 Government-to-Government Electronic Services ............................................................ 54

Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................. 58

Annexes .................................................................................................................................................................. 59

Annex 1: List of meetings and interviews ............................................................................................ 59

Annex 2: References ..................................................................................................................................... 60

Annex 3: Top 10 Digital Trends for Government.............................................................................. 62

Annex 4: Kyrgyzstan Cloud Computing Transition Readiness Assessment ........................... 65

Annex 5: Cybersecurity Capacity Review. The Kyrgyz Republic, 2017 .................................... 68

Annex 6: Kyrgyzstan International Bandwidth Demand, 2013-2026 ...................................... 72


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Acknowledgments

The Digital Development Assessment study in Kyrgyzstan was supported by the World Bank Global Smart Nations program funded by the Korean Trust Fund. This report prepared by the joint research team that includes experts of the World Bank, the National Institute for Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the State Committee of Information Technologies and Communication of the Kyrgyz Republic. The World Bank team led by Oleg Petrov, Senior Program Officer, and comprised of Zamira Dzhusupova, senior international consultant, Ainura Dzhoroeva, regional consultant, Samagan Aitymbetov, local consultant in Kyrgyzstan, and Sebastian Foo, Ludmila Bujeranu, international experts. The preliminary assistance with gathering of data was provided by Bermet Imanalieva, a former research officer of the National Institute for Strategic Studies.

The team would like to thank Bakyt Sharshembiev, Mirlan Omuraliev, Taalay Bayterekov and Aibek Bakanov, Elina Sakkaraeva, Kanat Mukanov from the State Committee of Information Technologies and Communication of the Kyrgyz Republic; Ernis Mamyrkanov from the former Ministry of Transport and Communications; Nikolay Novitskyi from the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic; Talant Sultanov from the Internet Society - Kyrgyzstan; Tattu Mambetalieva, Irina Baikulova, and Artem Goryanov from the Civil Initiative on Internet Policy; and the World Bank local and international experts for their significant contributions to the preparation of this report.


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Abbreviations

ADB Asian Development Bank

API Application programming interface

ATM Automated teller machine

CERT Computer Emergency Response Team

CIO Chief Information Officer

DAI Digital Adoption Index proposed by the World Bank

Digital CASA Digital Central Asia and South Asia Project

EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EEU Eurasian Economic Union

E-Gov Program

The Program of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for E- Governance ("e-government") Implementation in Government Agencies and local self-government for 2014-2017" adopted November 17, 2014 by the decree №651

GDP Gross domestic product

GIS Geographical Information System

GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH

G2B Government to business

G2C Government to citizens

G-Cloud Government Cloud Platform

HR Human resources

ICT Information and Communication Technologies

ITU International Telecommunication Union

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

KARPOU Kyrgyz Association of Software and Service Developers

KGS Kyrgyzstan Soms

KPI Key performance indicators


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Kyrgyzpatent State Agency of Innovations and Intellectual Property

MoE Ministry of Education and Science

MinJust Ministry of Justice

MoH Ministry of Health

OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

NGO Non-governmental organizations

NISS National Institute for Strategic Studies

NSC National Statistics Committee

NSDS National Sustainable Development Strategy for 2013-2017

PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty

PDSF Project Development Support Facility

PIN Personal identification number

POS terminal Point of sale terminal

PPP Public-private partnership

RRU Regulatory Reform

R&D Research and development

SCITC State Committee of Information Technologies and Communication

SRS State Registration Service

SWOC Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Challenges analysis

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USRP Unified State Register of Population

WDR World Development Report 2016 “Digital Dividends”.

WEF World Economic Forum


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Background

The Digital Development assessment was initiated by the Government of Kyrgyz Republic in 2015 to inform design and implementation of the Digital Kyrgyzstan strategy and preparation of the DCASA – Kyrgyzstan project. The assessment study in Kyrgyzstan was supported by the World Bank’s global Smart Nation program, which aims to catalyze digital transformation in developing countries through knowledge transfer and evidence-based digital development taking advantage of digital, data-driven solutions and innovative approaches to achieve its development objectives.

The assessment study was carried out in two phases – the first one in 2016 and the second in 2017. During the first phase the assessment data was collected and documented while during the second phase the latest achievements in digital development have been reflected in the assessment findings. The study was guided by the assessment methodology developed by the World Bank team in line with the framework of the World Development Report 2016. The assessment data was collected through the series of stakeholder workshops, extensive meetings and interviews with the Kyrgyz government officials from various ministries and departments and local ICT experts. In addition, the assessment team conducted extensive desk research and analysis of available information relevant to the digital development progress in Kyrgyzstan from reliable national and international sources including official documents and internet resources.

The outcomes of the assessment study are presented in two reports. The first report entitled “Digital Development Assessment” is targeted to public managers and contains the detailed assessment results and possible actions to be taken within each dimension. The second report entitled “Digital Kyrgyzstan: Current State and Way Forward” intends to guide high-level decision makers. It identifies current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges for digital development in Kyrgyzstan and outlines a set of policy recommendations derived from the assessment and SWOT analysis.


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1. Methodology

The Digital Development Assessment methodology was developed by the World Bank team in line with the WDR 2016 framework. It aims to assist interested Governments in diagnosing what actions they could consider in order to establish a Smart Nation vision and develop an appropriate strategy. The methodology is focused both on a “supply” side considerations such as the strategy, legal and policy frameworks, and technical infrastructure; and, “demand” side considerations such as applications and citizen services.

The methodology helps evaluate current state of digital development in a given country by examining national priorities and policy directions for digital development, enabling environment and existing digital platforms and services. According the suggested methodology the current state can be assessed from four key perspectives essential for digital development comprising 14 dimensions in total:

1. National Priorities and Policy Directions - comprise of the following dimensions:

Dimension 1: Strategy – National Development strategy, Digital Development strategy, E-Government strategy and other relevant strategies;

Dimension 2: Value assessment - Socio-economic benefits of ICT and E-Government initiatives.

2. Analog Enablers - comprises of the following dimensions:

Dimension 3: Leadership and governance - Key stakeholders, organizational and governance structure for cross-ministry ICT/e-Government; obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 4: Legislation, Policies and Standards - available ICT related legislations, policies and standards, responsible institutions for development and enforcement of ICT related legislations, policies and standards, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 5: Funding - available funding sources for the government ICT projects, fund raising process and key partners, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 6: Public-Private Partnership - Public Private Partnership models, experience and obstacles;

Dimension 7: Capacity building - ICT briefing for senior government leaders, ICT training for public officers, digital skills gap analysis, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 8: Innovation - institutional set up, public agency responsible for ICT research and innovation, academic institutions involved in ICT


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research and innovation, existing centers of excellence established in partnership with academic institutions and/or private sector on ICT innovation, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 9 - Data-Driven Agenda - agency leading data-driven agenda, policy and practice for data sharing with other government agencies and private sector, data analytics for improved decision making, government data sets opened for public, investments in data management and big data applications, national data hubs, obstacles and other relevant issues

3. Digital Enablers - comprises of the following dimensions:

Dimension 10 – Digital Infrastructure - current investment in ICT infrastructure, National Data Centre infrastructure, capacity of the National Data Center, infrastructure shared across the government agencies, Government Cloud, disaster recovery site, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 11 – Shared Digital platforms - common databases, platforms across the public sector at national, regional and municipal levels, common whole-of-government and whole-of-country enablers for e-services (e-Authentication, Digital Signature, e-Payments, SMS gateway, etc), cybersecurity arrangements, safeguarding mechanisms for data and processes, privacy protections for citizens, obstacles and other issues.

4. Government E-Services - comprises of the following dimensions:

Dimension 12 – Government-to-Citizen Electronic Services - available government e-services for citizens, mobile services, National Citizen Portal, e-services for citizens across sectors, ICT systems and technologies used for e-services to citizens; benefits for citizens from using e-services, priority services to citizens to be digitized, business process re-engineering, citizen engagement in e-service design, service delivery and marketing strategy, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 13 – Government-to-Business Electronic Services - available government e-services for business, mobile services, National Business Portal, e-services for business across sectors, ICT systems and technologies used for e-services to business; benefits for business from using e-services, priority services to business to be digitized, business process re-engineering, engagement of business companies in e-service design, service delivery and marketing strategy, obstacles and other relevant issues;

Dimension 14 – Government-to-Government Electronic Services – available back office systems (i.e government intranet, email, payroll, e-office, etc), shared management information systems (i.e. Financial systems, HR system, Asset Management system, etc), back office mobile applications, digital technologies used for back office applications, benefits for government employees from using back office systems, business process re-engineering for back office systems, priority processes to be digitized, engagement of staff


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in e-service design, relevant change management activities, obstacles and other relevant issues.

Within each dimension, the methodology considers a set of questions, and for each, notes evidence that favors or disfavors readiness. The evaluation of each dimension and primary question is color-coded:

• Green – high level of readiness with clear evidence of readiness

• Yellow – medium level of readiness with less clear evidence

• Red – low level of readiness with absence of evidence

• Grey - insufficient information to assess readiness

For each dimension, a set of actions are proposed that can form the basis of an Action Plan. The proposed actions are based on the needs and experiences of the client Government informed by global best practices.


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2. Digital Development Assessment in

Kyrgyzstan

2.1. National Priorities and Policy Directions

2.1.1. Digital Development Strategy

Medium

Kyrgyzstan pursues to design new digital development strategy that reflects current national priorities. The document require further elaboration and update taking into account rapidly evolving digital technologies and new economic challenges.

A clear digital strategy is a key prerequisite to any digital transformation efforts. There is direct link between digital maturity and the presence of a digital strategy. Global practice shows that countries with a well-developed and coherent digital strategy are more digitally mature, better enabled to respond to opportunities and threats, and enjoy a culture that fosters innovation.

National Digital Development Strategy

In June 2017, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has publicly announced at the international forum in Bishkek that it’s designing new digital transformation program titled “Taza Koom” (means “Clean Society” in Kyrgyz) that “will become one of the main pillars of the National Sustainable Development Strategy till 2040” 1. Implementation of the new program will be based on results of the previous strategies and has to be executed in several stages, which focus on improvement of public service delivery through digital technologies in all major sectors.

The First National Strategy “Information and Communication Technologies for Development in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2002-2010” was adopted in March 2002 by the Presidential Decree. It was aimed to increase the ICT sector share in GDP to 5% by 2010 and declared main priorities:

• Public administration and local self-government (e-governance) - effective, transparent and accountable public administration through utilization of ICT;

• Education - human capacity building and training of staff in ICT;

• Electronic economy (information business, electronic commerce, regional business center in Central Asia).

1https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-06-11/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-remarks-%E2%80%9Ctaza-koom%E2%80%9D-conference-public-service

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-06-11/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-remarks-%E2%80%9Ctaza-koom%E2%80%9D-conference-public-service

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-06-11/secretary-general%E2%80%99s-remarks-%E2%80%9Ctaza-koom%E2%80%9D-conference-public-service


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The National Strategy helped Kyrgyzstan to establish preliminary framework for the development of ICT and digital infrastructure. However, the implementation of the strategy has revealed that just a limited number of goals has been achieved. Since 2010, the role of the document has decreased as Kyrgyzstan has transitioned to the new political system – parliament democracy.

The next stage of ICT development was based on “the National Sustainable Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2013-2017” (NSDS) 2 which defines the main priorities of the country’s development. The main digital priorities have been a Public Administration Reform and flexible capacity development supported by ICT. This document aims to achieve:

• Development of Internet and full access to ICT for all localities by 2017 as one of the priorities of human development;

• Introduction of e-government and transition to digital broadcasting.

The National Sustainable Development Strategy is implemented through sectoral programs in Kyrgyzstan. Digital dimension is driven by the Program for the Implementation of E-governance (“e-government”) in Public Agencies and Local Self-Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2014-2017; the Digital Broadcasting Switchover Program;3 the State Program for Intellectual Property and Innovation Development4, and relevant sectoral strategies.

E-Government Strategy

The Program of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Implementation of E-governance (“e-government”)5 in Public Agencies and Local Self-Government for 2014-2017 was designed in order to “radically improve the use of information and communication technologies in public agencies and local self-government of the Kyrgyz Republic to improve their efficiency, transparency, and to expand the range of electronic services, improving democracy and government accountability to the people. “

The priority areas of the Program (E-Gov Program) are: Development of e-services Development of the national architecture, information technology and ICT in

e-governance Development of regulatory and legal framework Promotion of financial and economic efficiency Human resources and digital literacy Open and responsible management Governance structure and institutions.

2 http://www.president.kg/files/docs/NSSD-final-version-eng-Feb4.doc 3 Policy on Digital Broadcasting Switchover and Development in the Kyrgyz Republic: Situation Analysis and Civil Society Recommendations. Soros Foundation – Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek, 2014 4 http://patent.kg/index.php/ru/nationalstrategy/natsionalnaya-strategiya-razvitiya-is-i-innovatsij-v-kr.html 5 http://mineconom.gov.kg/Docs/1/PPEU.pdf

http://www.president.kg/files/docs/NSSD-final-version-eng-Feb4.doc

http://soros.kg/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Politika-perehoda-i-razvitiya-tsifrovogo-teleradioveshhaniya-KR-otsenka-situatsii-i-rekomendatsii-grazhdanskogo-obshhestva_eng_v-pechat-.pdf

http://soros.kg/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Politika-perehoda-i-razvitiya-tsifrovogo-teleradioveshhaniya-KR-otsenka-situatsii-i-rekomendatsii-grazhdanskogo-obshhestva_eng_v-pechat-.pdf

http://mineconom.gov.kg/Docs/1/PPEU.pdf


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The State Committee of Information Technologies and Communications (SCITC) is responsible for the implementation of the E-Gov Program since it was established in July 2016. Overall coordination and strategic planning remains at the Council on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT Council)6 under the Prime Minister.

The Program had three stages – preparatory (2014), transitional (2015), and operationalization (2016-2017). At the same time, the timeframe of the program is not restricted to the period of 2014-2017 and can be extended.

The program contains a range of quantitative indicators. The Action Plan of the Program includes 21 actions in 7 priority areas, in general, and 91 concrete results until 2017. By 2017, depending on technical and financial capabilities, at least five of the 25 most demanded government and municipal services and functions should be fully automated7.

In addition, the Government committed to use international rankings of the United Nations as key performance indicators (KPI’s).

The goal is that 100% of public e-services should be delivered at the 2nd level of online interactivity by 2017 (a user can download an application form from a website and submit it via traditional non-electronic means – walk-in, post, etc.). In addition, at least two thirds of government agencies providing e-services for citizens and businesses should deliver them at the 3rd level of online interactivity (a user can fill out an application / form and submit it online). At least half of government and municipal agencies should provide e-services to citizens and businesses.

In line with the E-Gov Program, the Government approved the E-Health Program of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2016-2020 and its Action Plan aimed to create E-Health Technical Architecture and a Unified Health Integrated Information System.

The Government’s program objectives are aligned with the NSDS priorities in the e-governance area. However, the program does not stipulate measures for the implementation of the NSDS objectives regarding development of digital infrastructure across all territories of the country. Many of the sectoral development strategies lack or limit focus on digital technologies use (agriculture, industrial production, transportation, construction, etc.)

The current strategic document titled the Program of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic “Stability, Trust and New Opportunities”8 include constituent-centric view and service orientation principles. The program aims to speed-up transformation of bureaucracy procedures, such as collecting different documents, into electronic format, and abrogate unnecessary and duplicate requests.

Particularly, it recognizes that: “the problem with the introduction of “single window” and “electronic government” systems to deliver services remains relevant

6 http://www.gov.kg/?page_id=27337&lang=ru 7 P.22, http://mineconom.gov.kg/Docs/1/PPEU.pdf 8 http://www.gov.kg/?p=66874&lang=ru

http://www.gov.kg/?page_id=27337&lang=ru


http://www.gov.kg/?p=66874&lang=ru


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and its resolution will be accelerated… The development of citizens’ biometric database will be expanded. The Government faces the task of launching a full-scale automation of governance by 2017. “

However, these government efforts can be undermined by the lack of sufficient ICT expertise of government officials at the strategic level. In the policy paper “Step forward, two steps back? Overview of the current situation in the sphere of ICT development in the Kyrgyz Republic”9 prepared by the National Institute for Strategic Studies is revealed that state secretaries have insufficient capacity in digital technologies.

The implementation of the E-Gov Program suffers from the chronic underfunding and lags behind the schedule. As of beginning of 2017 less than half of the Action Plan’s measures have been executed.

The Government has created multi-stakeholder expert team in order to develop new digital transformation program for the Kyrgyz Republic. Tentatively the draft of the new document should be presented in autumn 2017.

Proposed Actions:

In order to ensure effectiveness of the new digital transformation program we suggest the following:

To align the program goals and objectives with the national development priorities defined by high-level strategic documents, such as the National Strategy for Sustainable Development. Public values to be created for people and business community should be clearly identified. They should include social, economic, and ecological benefits produced by leveraging digital technologies.

The program should be developed following the people centric approach– citizens’ voices and demands contribute to shaping an agenda and services’ quality.

Instead of larger variety of targets that are being pursued in previous similar strategies and programs the program should focus on fewer priorities. For example, many targets of current e-Government program have not been achieved due to lack of financial, technological and human resources, low capacity of IT management, weak IT infrastructure, and lack of inter-agency cooperation.

The program should provide guidance on governance and coordination of ICT projects and activities based on centralized and de-centralized models. More detailed analysis of the existing digital transformation practice should be carried out for developing new strategy. The government should coordinate donors’ activities and reallocate resources towards development of human

9 http://www.nisi.kg/ru-analytics-1398

http://www.nisi.kg/ru-analytics-1398


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resources capacity required for digital transformation both on high management and executive levels.

The program should clearly define leadership and skills requirements; measurement of digital development; legislation and regulations that enable business to fully utilize ICT for innovations and competition; digital skills in public and private sectors; accountability of government; digital literacy; and digital inclusion.

2.1.2 Value Assessment

MEDIUM

The value assessment of digital programs in Kyrgyzstan has inherited agency-oriented approach. Shift to service and user-oriented indicators for monitoring and evaluation of strategic interventions is needed for successful digital transformation.

Proper development of a digital strategy should benefit in the form of a clear coherent plans for investments, culture change, skills and business processes improvement required for successful digital transformation on principles of customer focus, open functionality, and agile management.

The National Strategy of Information and Communication Technologies for Development in the Kyrgyz Republic (2002) was aimed to achieve an increase in ICT sector share in GDP to 5% by 2010. According to the former Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev the ICT sector share in GDP of Kyrgyzstan in 2012 reached 8%, of those 75% were mobile communications10.

The NSDS Strategy assessed the cost of digital development programs in e-governance, connectivity, and digital broadcasting for 2013-2017 to be around $52 mln. Though there are no clearly identified sources of financing.

The E-Gov Program outlines priority areas and results in the economic, social and cultural spheres. According to the program, the financial and economic efficiency, creation of E-Government Architecture, enhancement of human capacity, digital literacy, and transparency, and participation of citizens in the decision-making procedure through information and communication technologies, including public consultation via Internet are social outcomes of the Program.

The document contains the performance indicators of the Program. Goals achievement is being measured based on quantitative indicators, which should be increased step-by-step by 2015 and 2017. Particularly, these indicators are:

Total number of e-services an all levels – at least 100 items by 2017, including 50 e-services for business;

10 http://www.media.kg/news/v-strukture-ikt-sektora-kyrgyzstana-dolya-mobilnoj-svyazi-sostavlyaet-75-dzh-otorbaev/

http://www.media.kg/news/v-strukture-ikt-sektora-kyrgyzstana-dolya-mobilnoj-svyazi-sostavlyaet-75-dzh-otorbaev/

http://www.media.kg/news/v-strukture-ikt-sektora-kyrgyzstana-dolya-mobilnoj-svyazi-sostavlyaet-75-dzh-otorbaev/


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Share of e-services at the 1st level of online interactions (obtain information about a public service from a website) – 100% by 2017;

Share of e-services at the 2nd level of online interactions (download an application from a website and submit it via traditional means – post, face-to-face) – 100% by 2017;

Share of e-services at the 3rd level of online interactions (fill out and submit e-application via a website without printing it out) – 75% by 2017;

Share of e-services at the 4th level of online interactions (fully rely on electronic ways of service delivery, including tax/fee payments without paper or face-to-face interactions) – 50% by 201711.

However, the evaluation mechanisms of the digital programs pay minor attention to the assessment of Return on Investment (ROI). Most indicators are agency oriented, and user-oriented impact (such as number of businesses and jobs created, improvement in workforce development and productivity, reduction in traffic congestion, improvement in health services, increase in housing and community amenities) is rarely measured.

Proposed Actions:

For measuring benefits for people, business and government to be produced through the implementing the digital transformation program and relevant projects high-level indicators should be defined.

The best practice is to have clear set of key national indicators and avoid wide variety of indicators and measurements.

As demonstrated by international experience, possible indicators for measuring digital development could include: (i)number of businesses and jobs created, (ii) productivity improvement, (iii)online purchases and transactions; (iv) access to health, education and social services, (v) digital channels of public service penetration rate; (vi) extent to which digital channels shift allowed closure of alternative legacy channels of delivery (including face-to face offices and call-centers); (vii) extent to which the number of people to interact with government have been reduced; (viii) financial savings to government; (ix) time savings to citizens and business; (x) customer ratings of standard government services related to other services they use; (xi) transactional accuracy; (xii)effectiveness of policy delivery; (xiii) reduction in fraud and corruption; proportion of cases handled entirely digitally and instantly; proportion of remaining agency resources used for proactive tasks rather than routine case processing; the extent to which interaction are digital from end-to-end.

Kyrgyzstan as a member of regional integration unions pursues creation of a digital single market that can lead toward better connectivity of governments, citizens, and companies between and within countries that is crucially

11 Annex II, http://mineconom.gov.kg/Docs/1/PPEU.pdf



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important for landlocked Kyrgyzstan. Particularly, there are commitments to harmonize its digital policy with priorities of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and others. These activities should be included in value assessment of the future strategic documents on digital transformation.

2.2. Analog Enablers

2.2.1 Leadership and Governance

MEDIUM

There is strong political will to advance digital transformation in Kyrgyzstan. The ICT policy is responsibility of SCITC with involvement of a number of public agencies and stakeholders. The business associations of telecom and IT companies play increasing role in promoting digital agenda.

Countries, which have been most successful in digital transformation, have had greater centralization and powerful governance, although governments with greater cross-agency collaborations have been able to make process without this.

Digital government have seen a greater push towards centralization. The Singaporean government is setting up data teams, which are small groups of people developing service using agile technique, continuously testing and approving the product. In USA the appointment of national Chief Technological Officer in the executive office of the President, and most recently a Chief Digital Officer, demonstrate strengthening of governance of the digital matters in the center of the Government.

The institutional structure for digital development and e-governance in Kyrgyzstan has been recently changed and moved toward centralization. The National ICT Council is an advisory body and coordinates cross-agency e-governance programs, and designates specific leaders for projects and programs. Officially the National ICT Council is headed by the Prime Minister, who can delegate his authority to deputies. The ICT Council is to be summoned on quarterly basis. The Secretariat of the Council is located at SCITC.

The implementation of some ICT related programs are delegated to various state owned enterprises, which often lack coordination between each other practicing “silos” approach. Several other agencies has also created state-owned ICT enterprises responsible for sectoral IT platforms (eg. “Infocom” – SRS, Tulpar – Ministry of Economy, “Ayil Maalymat” – Ministry of Agriculture, Melioration and Food Industry etc.).

The State Committee of IT and Communications (SCITC) established in June 2016 is responsible for general management and control over the E-Gov Program. It also


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manages several state-owned ICT enterprises (Info-System, Transcom, KyrgyzPochtasy, etc.), including the postal service. The State Agency for Communications at SCITC is officially a separate legal entity with own seal and director who is appointed by the Prime Minister on the proposal of the Chairman of SCITC. The head of SCITC has two deputies who are responsible for telecom and ICT infrastructure and for e-government, cybersecurity, and projects implementation.

SCITC is a government agency that merged various authorities and institutions in ICT area previously dispersed among a number of government institutes (former Ministry of Transportation and Communication and the State Communication Agency – ICT and E-Gov infrastructure, E-Governance Center – implementation of the E-Gov Program, Ministry of Economy – E-governance policy). SCITC is responsible for policy implementation and interagency coordination in informatization, e-governance, e-services, electric and postal communications, including TV and radio broadcasting, according to its Statute.

The State Registration Service (SRS) under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has a great potential of becoming a leader in driving e-Government initiative in digitalization of public records, development of datacenters and open data, and


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data-driven e-services. Moreover, SRS has a number of strategic action plans12:

a) The action plan of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on creation of the Unified State Register of Population (USRP) and collection of biometric data of the population;

b) Creation of unified state information resources of the Kyrgyz Republic;

c) Increasing the efficiency and quality of registration services provided to citizens.

The E-Health Center was established in 2016 by the Ministry of Health with the aim to speed up implementation of e-services in healthcare and pharm market. Its functions include monitoring and coordination of IT project implementation in the sector and ensuring compatibility of various databases and platforms.

The dedicated inter-government Open Data Working Group comprised of high-level representatives of ministries and agencies (deputy heads or state secretaries), civil society and business community. In 2015, the expert group under the Ministry of Economy drafted the Action Plan of Open Data Implementation based on findings of Open Data Readiness Assessment13.

Potentially, SCITC can become a champion of digital development agenda implementation in Kyrgyzstan, particularly, in facilitation of “Digital Kyrgyzstan” strategy formulation.

The recent initiatives of the Government in identification of digital agenda and designing Taza Koom program demonstrate strong political will to adopt new transformative development approach. The Taza Koom program expert group is discussing to further streamline digital leadership and to have efficient mechanism of digital governance.

Proposed Actions

Successful implementation of the digital strategy in Kyrgyzstan requires clear and effective leadership structure to ensure comprehensible and systematic approach. Central level coordination and CIO position in the government of Kyrgyzstan can substantially facilitate digital transformation.

High-level political support and commitment from the Prime Minister of Kyrgyz Republic is required for development and successful implementation of the Digital Kyrgyzstan strategy.

The National Digital Development Council under the Prime Minister Office that includes representatives of key government and non-government stakeholders. Chaired by the Prime Minister can ensure strategic guidance, lead the program development and implementation oversight.

The Taza Koom Expert Group, as a Think Tank for digital transformation in

12 http://grs.gov.kg/ru/activities/plans 13 http://www.kg.undp.org/content/kyrgyzstan/en/home/library/democratic_governance/odra.html

http://grs.gov.kg/ru/activities/plans

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Kyrgyzstan, can help to identify, prioritize and develop the most innovative solutions to be used in different sectors as well as cross-sector solutions based on the world best practice that are relevant to Kyrgyzstan context.

SCICT, as the executive agency for the program implementation, should provide access for ministries and agencies to shared digital platforms and tools and manage cross-agency coordination as well effective partnership with business sector and external stakeholders. It should focus on business transformation, user-focused design, policies and standards including technological architecture, semantic interoperability and creating of world class e-services.

Digital Transformation Office (DTO) can be established as an effective

coordination mechanism to ensure the whole-of government implementation

of the Digital Kyrgyzstan program consistency and success of ICT projects.

The Digital Transformation Officers assigned in key ministries and agencies should be given with sufficient authorities to make relevant decisions and to lead coordination and monitoring of relevant programs, projects and activities.

Key stakeholders should include ministries, agencies, regional governments, MPs, business, academia, civil society, international development partners.

2.2.2 Legislation, Policies and Standards

MEDIUM

Existing legislation in ICT sector of Kyrgyzstan is fragmented and creates challenges for digital transformation and e-services. Further support for development and updating policies and standards is required.

Establishing the relevant legislation and regulations is a necessary condition to the successful digital transformation, as a nature of public administration process is strictly built on laws. In order to establish legal environment, existing system should be updated through consolidation / coordination of related functions and processes previously dispersed across government agencies.

Legislation Kyrgyzstan has other 100 ICT related normative and legal acts that establishes difficult to navigate legislative basis for digital transformation.

Existing legislation is to support:

Electronic Information as equal to information on printed paper Electronic Transactions as equal to face-to-face transactions Electronic certificates as equal to physical certificates


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Digital Signature as equal to physical signature.

The most used and related laws are:

The law “On informatization and electronic governance” adopted in October 1999 establishes the legal principles for e-governance principles, information protection, liability, and compliance (replaced by the new law in 2017).

Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On access to information held by public bodies and local self-government of the Kyrgyz Republic», №213 of December 28, 2006.

The law “On electronic documentation and electronic digital signature” #92 adopted on July 14, 2004 (replaced by the new law in 2017).

The law “On public procurement” adopted on April 3, 2015 regulates centralized process of ICT services and goods procurement by government. It limits use of pirate software in public sector and improves efficiency of public spending for ICT solutions.

The law “On Copyright and Related Rights” of January 14, 1998 №6 regulates relations related to the creation and use of works of science, literature and art (copyright), phonograms, performances, broadcasts by broadcasting or cable broadcasting organizations (related rights). Objects of copyright include, inter alia, geographical, geological and other maps, plans, sketches and other works relating to geography, topography and other sciences; program for electronic computers of all kinds, including application programs and operating systems.

The Program of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for e-governance (“e-government”) implementation in government agencies and municipalities of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2014-2017” of November 17, 2014 №651.

The Law “On the Payment System of the Kyrgyz Republic” adopted in December 17, 201414 regulates use of electronic money and its circulation in the form of electronic money instruments (carriers) including the exchange of cash or non-cash to electronic money.

Current legislation is partially outdated and doesn’t provide legal support to new technologies15. For instance, regulation of digital signatures in Kyrgyzstan doesn’t comply with requirements of EEU, users cannot utilize foreign digital signature providers, lack of control mechanisms over certification authorities (there are only 2 providers of digital signatures in Kyrgyzstan). Currently, SCITC is in the process of updating certain legislation to simplify use of digital signatures that should result in adoption of the new law.

14 http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=2725&lang=ENG 15 http://opendata.undp.kg/wp-content/uploads/2015/presentation/24112015/13.pptx

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In summer 2017, a package of new amendments to ICT legislation was enacted in order to update it according to new situation (i.e. laws on e-governance, on e-signature, amendments to legislation on personal information, public and municipal services). Field experts in Kyrgyzstan discuss the option of collection all laws in a unified code that will regulate ICT sector.

Policies The ICT legislation in Kyrgyzstan needs to be supported by relevant policies regarding e-governance and other digital technologies. Situation with sectoral policies remains ambivalent.

SCITC is responsible for establishing national ICT policies, and each agency has authority to develop relevant sectoral policies.

The overall government policy is currently aimed to identify the priority list of e-services and ensuring their digitization (including standards for the content of priority services and its online delivery).

The Government has established two policies: Information Security Policy and Public-private partnerships (PPP) policy. At the same time, no policies developed in relation to:

Shared IT Infrastructure Policy, e-Payment Policy, OpenData Policy , DataSharing Policy.

SCITC is actively implementing the inter-agency interoperability system “Tunduk” based on Estonian platform and drafting policies and regulations in order to operationalize it by the end of 201716.

The State Registration Service is responsible for the policy on biometric personal data and biometric passports. These data can lay foundation for further development of digital identification and authentication platforms for e-services. This policy is widely implemented during elections based solely on biometric identification of voters. National experts discuss opportunities creation of new public services with use of biometric identification.

The information security policy is enforced by the Ministry of Interior and the State Committee of National Security. No detailed information about its current status is available for public.

The Ministry of Finance has developed policies of evaluation of ICT management efficiency and monitoring of ICT projects economic impact in public sector.

Standards

16 http://caigf.org/ru/news/kalybek-akmatov-o-budushhem-elektronnyx-gosuslug-v-kyrgyzstane/

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International and intergovernmental standards are available as well as all ICT standards adopted in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) are valid in the Kyrgyz Republic. However, currently unified ICT standards are not adopted by EEU and are only under development.

The Center for Standardization and Metrology under the Ministry of Economy is responsible for adopting ICT standards. The standards are adopted in accordance with the law “On the Technical Regulation in the Kyrgyz Republic”.

The Government established the following standards:

National Enterprise Architecture ICT Skills Development Risk Assessment Framework Information Security Software Development Lifecycle Model.

At the same time, the Project Management standard is not established yet. Standards are not enforced, as the controlling body is still not assigned. The Ministry of Economy and SCITC intend to initiate legislative act to assign a governmental body to oversee the enforcement.

Proposed Actions

It is essential to identify legislative gaps in the field of ICT by reviewing relevant laws of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Based on the gap analysis, necessary changes in the existing legislation and new laws should be initiated and adopted, if needed.

Urgent priority areas for enhancing legislation, regulation, policies and standards include:

o Intellectual property

o Cybersecurity

o Shared IT Infrastructure

o Cloud computing

o Data Sharing

o Open Data Policy

o Licensing agreements for Open Data

o e-Payment

o Privacy and protection of personal and sensitive data

o Competition in the telecom market

2.2.4 Funding


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MEDIUM

E-governance development programs suffer from insufficient public funding that poses serious challenges for successful digital transformation. Most of the ICT projects funding in Kyrgyzstan is provided by international donors and state-owned enterprises.

The lack of financial support can become significant obstacle to the implementation of digital government in many countries. The decision makers should ensure the sustainable funding and availability of the budgetary resources in order to achieve successful digital transformation. Government agencies should adhere to specific methodologies and guidelines when planning their IT investments.

Total funding of ICT projects in Kyrgyzstan has reached 2.5-3 bln. KGS (~$50 mln.) in 2011-2015, of those 85% are provided by international donors (grants, loans, technical assistance), 15% - from state budget. In 2009-2013, the share of ICT projects funding from state budget was 0.23% of GDP.

Ministries and agencies currently use own budgets to fund internal ICT projects, generally via public procurement from hardware and software vendors. Donors have own procedures to finance digital projects in particular public agencies. The key donors are: World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, EBRD, JICA, OSCE, GIZ, ADB, USAID, etc.

The Ministry of Finance has developed an Action Plan of E-Gov Program aiming to increase funding of ICT projects from state budget to at least 70% (10% in 2015): indicators of financial efficiency of ICT projects and ICT management have been developed on the base of findings from the external and internal audit (Chamber of Audit) in public agencies.

The Government considers further development of ICT funding models from state budget that can introduce standalone public agencies budget programs for ICT development. It can let consolidate information about ICT funding across the Government to monitor timing of ICT projects and evaluate major KPIs. The ministry cross-charging concept is being discussed by various government agencies to raise resources for common platforms and systems.

The Ministry of Finance regularly monitors and analyzes expenditures on ICT projects from state and republic budgets. The budget classificatory of ICT funding has been analyzed in order to assess mechanism and methodology of ICT financing by various government agencies.

The Chamber of Audit plans to develop a methodology for auditing of ICT projects. The organization is responsible for assessment and evaluation of ICT programs (projects) in relation to efficient use of public funds.

New legislation on procurement allows government agencies to buy ICT solutions and equipment based on centralized procurement process if they intend to obtain similar IT products 17 . Moreover, current legal framework requires that all

17 http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/act/view/ru-ru/111125

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government agencies should organize public procurements via single e-platform – zakupki.gov.kg.

Majority of public ICT projects suffers from insufficient funding, particularly, for scaling up of pilot IT systems supported by donors. It also affects compatibility of new ICT systems with existing databases and services. As a result, Kyrgyzstan now have a number of incompatible systems and databases which have to be incorporated into a single intra-governmental data exchange bus without additional expensive upgrades.

SCITC intends to propose new software development standards to ensure compatibility of ICT systems in future. No specific policies to monitor ICT expenses are in place except for standard budget control instruments used by the Ministry of Finance and the Chamber of Audit.

Establishment of ICT fund for financing public ICT projects is also discussed by field experts. In 2016-2017, SCITC plans to continue work on creation of the special ICT fund to accumulate resources for IT projects. The ICT fund will select top 5 priority projects for further financing and will ensure transparent monitoring of implementation.

Proposed Actions

Appropriate funding mechanisms for digital development programs and related projects should be defined clearly to ensure successful implementation.

Government grants provided from the state budget for deployment of government e-services by private sector through contests, hackathons, can help to improve efficiency of public finance allocations, and at the same time to catalyze local digital economy.

Promotion of foreign investments (including venture funds) in ICT sector can be supplemented with additional incentives such as tax holidays and social fees waivers, as well as a variety of incentives for local software developers.

Prioritization policy and evaluation of budget programs for ICT development of individual government agencies should be developed by SCITC in coordination with Ministry of Finance.

Import of essential IT equipment within government-funded projects should be liberated from custom fees.

Financial resources for implementation of digital development programs and related projects and activities, funding sources including ICT investments from foreign sources in both public and private sectors should be specified in the strategy and monitored during the implementation.

The government should explore possible funding for digital development from development organizations.


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2.2.5 Public-Private Partnership

LOW

The business model of digital projects in Kyrgyzstan is decentralized leading to fragmentation of limited resources. Public-private partnership mechanisms are underdeveloped and require major review.

In many governments, the typical challenge is not to convince the minister of IT, but rather the Minister of Finance and donors to support a digital strategy. Global practice shows that governments need new business models to free themselves from lock-in to outdated procurement processes and to move to lower-cost options for digital services. Competitive subsidy or cost-sharing public-private partnerships (PPP) can encourage the rollout of new technologies into public sector. The key success factor is to ensure that public investments “crowds in” and do not replace private investments so businesses have sufficient incentives to support digital services.

The current business and procurement model of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for ICT projects is decentralized that is mostly based on the autonomous nature of various agencies — driven by their independent sectoral missions. As a result, government agencies are currently responsible for purchasing and managing their own ICT needs and projects in order to meet their specific mission requirements. This leads to fragmentation of resources and duplicating in funding of similar IT systems across the government.

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic applies active measures to promote public-private partnership in the country. On February 22, 2012 the Law “On public-private partnership”18 was adopted by the Kyrgyz Republic. The Ministry of Economy is responsible for development of public-private partnership, and the Ministry of Finance is responsible for risk management, in accordance with the Decree of the Government of September 14, 2012 №61619. Ministries of Economy and Finance are developing policies and standards to implement public-private partnership in economy.

According to the National Sustainable Development Strategy of the country for the period 2013-2017 years, the main objectives of the implementation of the PPP mechanism are:

• economic growth through concentration of material and financial resources of the state and private sectors for the implementation of investment projects;

• reducing the burden on the state budget and the redistribution of budget

18 http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/act/view/ru-ru/203607?cl=ru-ru 19 http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/act/view/ru-ru/93042

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funds20.

The country has made a bet on the infrastructure facilities, but according to the Law “On Public-Private Partnership”, PPP applies to infrastructure projects in the coverage of all sectors of the economy:

• production, transmission, and distribution of electricity and heat; • processing, storage, transportation, transmission, and distribution of oil and natural gas; • transport and roads (including bridges and tunnels); • municipal services and utilities; • medical, therapeutic and preventive and other activities in healthcare; • education, training, culture, and social services; • mobile, fixed communications and telecommunications; • tourism, recreation and sport.

According to the survey conducted by NISS, the most attractive sectors for the PPP projects in Kyrgyzstan within next 5-10 years are roads infrastructure - 23% of respondents, 21% - social infrastructure, utilities - 18%, and service sector - 12%21.

As of 2016, just few PPP projects are under implementation in Kyrgyzstan’s economy. One of them is Road Safety project (‘Safe City’) that will introduce an automated video surveillance system of traffic, photo and video identification of vehicles (in Bishkek, Osh, Karakol, Bishkek-Karakol route). The government expects to improve security of citizens and public confidence in the law enforcement agencies, increase government revenues, and reduce corruption, as new digital tools can reduce direct contacts of police officers with drivers. The project cost amounts to $60-70 mln.

Another pilot bottom-up project that has PPP characteristics is a traffic ticket fines payment system over POS terminals. The project was initiated by local NGOs and commercial banks jointly with traffic police of Kyrgyzstan. It allows drivers to make payments for traffic tickets on site via POS terminals provided by selected local banks that enables citizens to save time and contributes to anticorruption efforts of traffic police22. It could help to decrease state budget losses by $5 mln per year according to the project implementers.

The Action Plan of the E-Gov Program includes the feasibility study for a national program of high-speed internet access development on PPP basis. However, these steps lag behind the schedule due to lack of funding.

Under the Investment Promotion Agency, the Project Development Support Facility (PDSF) was created to fund mobilization and effective facilitation of PPP project development. Through annual allocations from the state budget, PDSF ensured $2 mln. in 2014, $1 mln. – in 2015, and $1 mln. – in 2016 for development of PPP

20http://www.president.kg/ru/news/ukazy/1466_tekst_natsionalnoy_strategii_ustoychivogo_razvitiya_kyirgyizskoy_respubliki_na_period_2013-2017_godyi/ 21 http://www.nisi.kg/ru-analytics-115 22 http://www.kabar.kg/society/full/104009

http://www.president.kg/ru/news/ukazy/1466_tekst_natsionalnoy_strategii_ustoychivogo_razvitiya_kyirgyizskoy_respubliki_na_period_2013-2017_godyi/

http://www.president.kg/ru/news/ukazy/1466_tekst_natsionalnoy_strategii_ustoychivogo_razvitiya_kyirgyizskoy_respubliki_na_period_2013-2017_godyi/

http://www.nisi.kg/ru-analytics-115


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projects (approved by the Resolution of the Government No. 147 as of March 17, 2014).

Currently, mechanisms and methodology of PPP projects implementation in ICT and e-government in Kyrgyzstan are not developed yet. The National Institute for Strategic Studies conducted a study “Barriers to the development of public-private partnership in Kyrgyzstan”23. Its findings show that key obstacles are:

a) Government makes focus on PPP infrastructure projects, which require large-scale capital-intensive investments and cannot be provided from state budget.

b) Relatively small proportion of Kyrgyz business representatives able to invest in PPP projects suggested by the Ministry of Economy.

c) Lack of trust to legal and judicial system of Kyrgyzstan also limits participation of business in PPP projects due to high political risks. Citizen engagement in PPP mechanisms is weak that increases social risks for projects based on fees from population (toll roads, school fees, paid healthcare services, etc.).

The Business Development and Investment Council’s Secretariat of the Kyrgyz Republic, also noted that the investment legislation in the republic is very good, competitive, but the problem is in its execution, which refers to the part of the efficiency of public administration. It underlines that good coordination is required between government agencies and there is a need to build an optimal power vertical.

One of the barriers in public sector is the lack of capacity to prepare high-quality feasibility study and shortage of human resources with experience in PPP projects.

In May 2016, development institutes (such as Investment & Trade Promotion Agency of Kyrgyzstan) of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have signed Memorandum of Cooperation in Public-Private Partnership24. It’s expected that the Eurasian Economic Commission will adopt common PPP guiding principles and will harmonize various business models for digital development projects.

Proposed Actions

The PPP mechanisms, methodology, and standards for prioritization of digital development projects should be defined and adopted with participation of private sector.

The private sector should be more actively engaged in strategy development and implementation of ICT projects. KSSDA, Trade and Commerce Chamber and other business communities can be involved among others.

Motivation mechanisms should be considered to ensure wider participation

23 Same source 24 http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/nae/news/Pages/26-05-2016-2.aspx


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of private sector in ICT projects taking into account capacity of advanced developers and IT specialists.

Incentives should be provided for domestic or international companies – residents of the Kyrgyz Republic – to participate in public procurement for ICT projects including those implemented with donor support.

Domestic companies should be given with preferences for implementation of ICT projects to the extent possible to create larger market for them. As demonstrated by international experience, tax preferences for local ICT companies participating in PPP projects can be one of the effective mechanisms.

2.2.6 Capacity Building

MEDIUM

Advancement of digital literacy of Kyrgyzstan’s population is based on different approaches and is geared toward private sector needs. Additional steps address generational, sectoral, and social gaps in digital capacity building is required.

Public and private organizations are grappling with challenges how to build capacity in Kyrgyzstan to increase ability to fully benefit from digital technologies. Different approaches result in fragmented coverage of human capacity building; moreover, unreliable data and lack of resources lead to insufficient results in digital transformation of the government.

The overall literacy rate in Kyrgyzstan is very high — around 98 percent of population. Younger generation tend to have the highest interest in digital technologies.

The e-governance policy in Kyrgyzstan addresses basic digital capacity development, focused on increasing IT staff (currently 2%, about 1/10 of what is usual in other countries), its retention rate (a.o. by improving salaries, currently at 20-35% of private sector level) and general IT training (also for management to better use ICT as a policy tool).

Over 20.000 people were employed as ICT specialists in Kyrgyzstan’s economy in 2015 according to the National Statistics Committee, 54 percent more than in 2011. Over 69 percent are employed in the state-owned enterprises25.

There are no reliable data or reports about digital literacy of population or particular groups in Kyrgyzstan as monitoring of this area rarely conducted by government or other stakeholders.

The common problem for vast majority of governmental officials is that their ICT 25 National State Committee, 2017. The State of ICT in Kyrgyzstan 2011-2015.

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skills are very limited and basic that do not even allow them to run their office PCs without help of IT experts. Such opinions have been expressed by a number of in Kyrgyz experts during interviews with the WB experts on digital development.

ICT meetings for government leaders usually are organized on irregular basis, most of digital development issues (if any) government agencies discuss within specific Government meetings.

ICT training for public officers is offered by various national and international vendors and suppliers (both hardware and software). The State Staff Service provides opportunities for government officials to study abroad on basis of bilateral agreements26. For instance, the Audit Chamber has trained at least 3 specialists on ICT projects efficiency auditing.

Kyrgyz public service system has a non-mandatory requirement for basic computer skills for public officials that should be established by each agency separately. No major ICT competency requirements for high-level public officials, ICT department heads and IT staff exist in government agencies. Digital literacy level of public officials is not required for testing. The regulation is based on the document “Qualification requirements for public administration positions”27. It states that public officials both on national and municipal levels should periodically take competency test in their area (or before applying to new position) provided via computer system.

Kyrgyzstan lacks of systemic programs of digital literacy improvement for public officers. The Academy of Management under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic has academic training programs that provide education in public management and public finance fields.

Soft skills among government staff are very basic while technical skills are weak. The State Staff Service has a plan to address this problem through ICT training for government staff. SCITC discusses options to organize distant trainings for government and municipal officials. However, Kyrgyzstan should start with digital skills analysis to create relevant training program.

In private sector of Kyrgyzstan a significant number of companies can arrange the training to address the skill gaps, including IT vendors which arrange training for customers. Small training companies offers ICT training to public in big cities. Private companies have sufficient expertise to develop education programs for boosting digital capacity of government staff.

Basic IT education for children in Kyrgyzstan is provided in secondary schools as a required subject. Ministry of Education and Science is testing new IT curriculum in secondary schools and will start implementing it in 2016-2017. Digital skills courses in educational institutes is regulated by the State Educational Standards and Programs on “Informatics and Information and Communication Technologies”. It

26 http://www.mkk.gov.kg/contents/view/id/98/pid/95 27 http://minjust.gov.kg/?page_id=11114

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requires that, in average, students should get an idea about IT subject and necessary practical skills how to use computers.

Human resources in IT subjects are limited in educational system. Particularly, schools are understaffed with IT instructors: 2118 schools of Kyrgyzstan have been short of 67 IT teachers as for June 201628. In addition, IT hardware in schools is often outdated though Ministry of Education and Science and donors actively work on connectivity improvement and schools’ re-equipment.

Proposed Actions

Successful implementation of the new Digital Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic requires appropriate institutional and human capacity in public sector. Specific recommendations include the following:

It’s recommended to create digital leadership competency framework to improve capacity and train public officials to deliver better technology-enabled services.

Skills development policies and programs should focus on inter-agency cooperation, peer-to-peer consultations, shared knowledge and international start-ups experience, and regular training and seminars with involvement of international experts. Fellowships and bilateral agreements with digital leaders from other countries could be helpful.

Capacity of SCICT staff in digital development strategic planning and also monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened. This will enable them to develop strategic documents in cooperation with international experts and development institutes.

The National Center of Information Technologies should promote more actively ICT capacity development and knowledge sharing among public officials and ICT department heads.

New public servants performance evaluation system can be supplemented with a criteria of digital skills and innovation adoption in their work. “Qualification Requirements for Public Administration Positions” must include digital literacy of a candidate as a required skill to apply for a public services position.

Capacity needs assessment can be executed in 2 stages:

i) Analysis of current capacity and ICT skills and needs for new ones essential to ensure reliable operation and effective exploitation of existing IT systems by governmental institutions and developing and deployment of new systems, applications and e-services.

ii) Educational and training programs mandatory for all governmental officials.

28 http://news.ivest.kz/108439118-v-shkolah-kyrgyzstana-ne-hvataet-67-uchiteley-informatiki

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iii) Capacity needs assessment can be done through interviews of heads of the ministries and governmental institutions.

The wide scale change management and training program should be launched that include preparation of digital leaders (deputies, department heads) through seminars, fellowships and bilateral agreements with digital leaders among foreign countries.

Technical capacity building for technical staff and university faculty should be focused on new digital skills development including cloud computing and service-oriented architecture. SCITC and subsidiary organizations should include professional training in all supervisory and management tiers, which may include:

ITIL/ISO 20000 training for service delivery and service management

COBIT5/ISO 38500 for ICT Governance

PMP/PMBOK for project management

TOGAF/ISO 40210 for enterprise architecture

Vocational education programs can help promote digital literacy and help people to transfer to new industry to obtain skills required for ICT industry.

The Kyrgyz Government will benefit from building partnership with

educational institutions, non-profit organizations and the technical

community to ensure systematic and relevant capacity development

programs.

Cooperation with academic institutes should be increased to prepare

specialists in business analytics, system architecture, media and digital

platforms design, databases, cloud computing.

Private sector companies can help through knowledge exchange and

experience transfer.

Educational activities, trainings and information campaigns on opportunities

in ICT sector can be useful tools for engagement of private sector.

A series of road shows and seminars for public officials may help in promoting values and goals of Digital Kyrgyzstan 2025 and increasing role of ICT in public sector.

2.2.7 Innovation

LOW

Kyrgyzstan has below the average performance in promotion innovations both in public and private sectors. Most of innovations in public sector require optimization of business processes in order to reap digital dividends.


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At every stage of transformation, governments are under influence and pressure from different social, political, and economic factors. To mitigate such pressures, effective governments adopt latest digital technologies available to them, and promote various forms of innovations. Though these innovations provide short-term benefits in existing environments, when constantly reapplied and improved over time, they become a dominating culture embedded within a government, part of the institutional work processes.

Institutional setup

The key government agency that is responsible for innovations in Kyrgyzstan is the State Agency of Innovations and Intellectual Property (Kyrgyzpatent). Other public agencies undertaking ICT research and innovations are: the National Institute for Strategic Studies, state-owned enterprise “Infosystema”, the State Registration Service, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic that has implemented interbank processing center.

Research findings are usually presented at scientific forums and public papers where main outcomes of the work are discussed. Particularly, the National Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank under the government, has a direct mission to study and develop policy recommendations for the government.

A number of academic institutions are also pursue ICT research. The most advanced are the Kyrgyz Technical University, the Kyrgyz National University, the National Academy of Sciences, the Kyrgyz State University of Construction, Transportation and Architecture. However, the implementation of R&D into real economy and public administration remains controversial issue.

In private sector, the Association of Communication Operators of Kyrgyzstan in a connection with the State Agency of Communication can relay insights to the government. The High-Tech Park and the Kyrgyz Technical University established a partnership on ICT innovation. In 2015 the new Center of Innovations Adoptions was created with a support from the government and the Fund of Infrastructure and Educational Programs 29 . It’s aimed to transfer technologies to Kyrgyzstan, implement innovations within the Central Asian countries, and search for investment opportunities. One of the investing options in innovations can become creation of industrial venture funds.

Strategy

Innovations are included in the government’s strategy and declared in such documents as the Action Plan for the National Strategy for Sustainable Development Implementation, the Transition Program of the Kyrgyz Republic to Sustainable Development and the State Program for the Development of Intellectual Property

29 http://www.rusnano.com/about/press-centre/news/20150526-fiop-v-kirgizii-nachal-rabotu-tsentr-vnedreniya-innovatsiy-v-tsentralnoy-azii


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and Innovations in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2017-202130. The innovation promotion policy is business oriented and has limited focus on improvement of public service effectiveness at the local level.

From the government side, there is no clear system or mechanism of motivation and support of staff in relation to initiation and creation of innovative responses. While few staff members in public agencies may have a clear idea on how they are expected to contribute to the agency’s innovation process, existing business processes are very rigid and conservative in adoption of new approaches.

Agencies and departments do not usually have own funds to stimulate change and innovations in business processes (e.g. NSC wants to improve online data publication but lacks both funds and expertise to do so). Most ICT projects implemented by agencies show that changes and innovations are usually driven with assistance of external experts.

Existing fiscal instruments for stimulation of investments in ICT from businesses are not specifically aimed at innovations. The impact of such stimulus is fragmented and accompanied by serious risks to sustainability of new services.

Openness

Civil society representatives are engaged with the government at the national and local levels through numerous public councils at the ministries and public agencies established according to the Law on Public Councils of the State Bodies since 2014. Its aims is improvement of the public agencies’’ transparency and interaction with citizens.

De-facto the staff of government agencies occasionally involves external stakeholders into policy development and digital innovation projects as there is no special process in place that helps staff to support this approach. External experts are invited into working groups within certain projects oriented towards innovative responses.

Kyrgyzpatent annually organizes public contest “The Most Innovative Project” that is aimed to identification of best innovative projects nationwide. The contest is also open for government staff as private individuals. Winners can potentially get grant funding for development and commercialization of the projects. 31

Risks

The basic framework “Regulatory Impact Analysis” for identifying associated risks and risk thresholds is utilized by public agencies. Before any law is drafted, an impact analysis should be prepared that includes risk identification, and contingency plan drafted to address it.

30 http://patent.kg/index.php/ru/nationalstrategy/natsionalnaya-strategiya-razvitiya-is-i-innovatsij-v-kr.html 31 http://edu.gov.kg/ru/news/konkurs-luchshij-innovacionnyj-proekt-2016/

http://patent.kg/index.php/ru/nationalstrategy/natsionalnaya-strategiya-razvitiya-is-i-innovatsij-v-kr.html

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The regulatory impact analysis for public agencies and local self-government is guided by the Government Decree “On approval of the methodology of regulatory impact analysis of normative legal acts for businesses” of September 2014.

Meanwhile, no clear whole-of-government mechanism for actively managing evolving risks exists. Practice shows that government agencies rely on external mechanisms of risk mitigation for innovative processes depending on specific needs.

Leadership

Innovation is an explicit part in performance agreements signed by the government agency’s senior executive staff. Often it’s presented in the form a plan of actions / obligations of senior public managers that included measures and results regarding the innovation (for example the action plan of the chairman of Kyrgyzpatent32).

Government agency’s performance measurement formally include innovations. It usually presented in performance reports (mostly annually) of the heads of public agencies and local self-government .

Mechanism of Change

The process for flagging relevant barriers to innovation is not clear. The office of public appeals supports online service Kattar.kg for submitting complaints and requests by citizens and businesses. The government has limited means to assess, prioritize and resolve barriers that are identified.

There are key obstacles they faced:

The innovation processes in Kyrgyzstan are undermined by weak government involvement and support of innovations in academia and businesses. The key problem is a shortage of qualified personnel and lack of training for new professions in vocational education institutes.

Another serious barrier for innovations is the lack of financial resources, substantially high-cost loans in local banks, and undeveloped venture funding that leaves most businesses with limited funds for development of innovations.

Proposed Actions

Gaps and opportunities for fostering digital innovation in the Kyrgyz Republic should be identified through the analysis of current situation.

An effective institutional setup and favorable legal framework should be defined through the analysis of existing structures and guided by relevant international experience.

Dedicated state fund can be created to facilitate digital innovation in public and private sector with the support of international donors.

32 http://patent.kg/doc/chairman/information_10month_2015.pdf

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The new State Program for the Development of Intellectual Property and Innovations in the Kyrgyz Republic should include elements of digital development, and to be aligned with the new Digital Strategy.

Collaboration mechanisms should be defined by SCITC to ensure involvement of academia and educational institutions in professional consultations and development of digital innovation expertise.

Existing ICT curriculums should be re-evaluated and new digital development education programs should be launched by new Ministry of Education and Science jointly with SCITC in coordination with private and public sector organizations.

Training techniques in vocational and higher education should be modernized in accordance with recent ICT trends.

Incentives and motivation mechanisms in the form of bonuses, awards, salary increase, etc. can be considered by each agency to facilitate digital innovation adoption by public officials.

2.2.8 Data-Driven Agenda

MEDIUM

Kyrgyzstan has relatively good preparedness for quick implementation of Open Data policy in central government agencies. Though this process will require constant monitoring and further improvement of datasets quality based on demand from businesses and citizens.

Kyrgyzstan is moving forward with an Open Data Initiative. As a result of its pilot activities Kyrgyzstan moved from 98 position in 2014 to 34 – in 2015 in the Open Data Global Index. With the adoption of the e-governance policy in late 2014, a clear starting point has been created, well integrated with other government priorities that is being positively met by societal demand and support. Most visible improvements in opening government data happened in such crucial areas as Government Budget, Legislation, Procurement tenders, Weather forecast, National Statistics, Election Results. That work contributed to improvement of efficiency and access of population to government services via ICT tools and to innovations in the national app economy.

The institutional framework for the open data initiative in Kyrgyzstan has been established. The Open Data initiative is being implemented as part of the E-Gov Program. The agencies are required to develop data driven government programs that include achieving data-related KPIs, such as number of datasets opened and used for development of innovative digital applications. Specifically, the inter-agency Open Data Working Group is to be created in 2016-2017 with overall leadership and coordination from SCITC. As part of these efforts, a government-wide draft Open Data Action Plan (Roadmap) has been designed and submitted to the


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Government for further approval.

The open data agenda is still quite new for the government and non-government counterparts in Kyrgyzstan, which constraints their capacity to implement the open data initiative as suppliers and users of open data.

According to the report “Open Data Readiness Assessment of the Kyrgyz Republic“, the exchange of data between the various government agencies at the national level takes place on a regular basis. Some ministries create a separate database to interact with each other (for example Ministry of Emergency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigations and Food Industry), others collect and share data on the local level (example MoE and MoH). There is also another type of data exchange within the framework of bilateral agreements between the SRS and other ministries. The data is stored in the SRS as a reference database (personal information about citizens, their identity, and others.)33

There are few government agencies, which use data analytics for improved decision making in any of the sectors. One of them is the Council for Defense that can use the programs of conflicts mapping.

The National Statistics Committee is a leading data-driven agency. It has data programs, which consist of the statistical information in different spheres. The National Statistics Committee has also launched open data portal at its website as a result of the Open Data initiative in 2015 (data is presented in XML, XLS formats)34.

There is no centralized general responsibility for data placed with a specific agency or department. No specific technological formats and standards are prescribed so far. Interoperability is mostly on bilateral basis. Government agencies also express frustration at being regularly refused inter-agency information on the grounds of ‘internal use’ state secret provisions, and see it as an attempt to resist transparency.

Open Data Readiness Assessment 2015

Dimension Importance Assessment

rating Commentary

Senior leadership Very High Green (with

concern)

Strong leadership established. As key

concern does remain that Open Data,

while being promoted, is not yet widely

understood.

Legal and policy framework Very High Yellow

No showstoppers, but central guidance

and clarification on applying existing

frameworks strongly needed.

Institutional structures,

responsibilities, capabilities Medium High Yellow

Increasing ICT capabilities and

coordination is of recognized key

government concern

33 Open Data Readiness Assessment. Kyrgyz Republic. UNDP, 2015. 34 http://www.stat.kg/ru/opendata/

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Dimension Importance Assessment

rating Commentary

Government data

management policies High Yellow

Enough data holders well positioned to

quickly move open data forward, though

cross-government overview and

consistency lacking.

Societal demand for open

data Very High

Green (with

concern)

Strong demand present, a range of

agencies willing to engage. Central

guidance on keeping decisions on

publication uniform/predictable and how

to request data needed.

Civic engagement and

capabilities for open data High Yellow

Government push towards more

engagement and data usage.

Infomediaries and app builders ready to

engage.

Funding open data program Medium High Yellow

Especially if funding needs are kept

limited by latching onto other ongoing

efforts, funding is not an essential

concern. External willingness exists.

National tech and skills

infrastructure High Yellow

Given limited information infrastructure

CSOs, and businesses will need to

function as strong infomediaries, to push

info services out to their stakeholders and

target groups. Means of delivery could be

non-digital.

Emerging IT developer community in Kyrgyzstan shows its interest in creation of data-driven apps (such as a tourism app, legal support app, ATMs or gas stations).A range of agencies, Ministry of Healthcare, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Emergency, to name a few, have indicated they would like to see their data used more, and volunteered to be part of a pilot project.

Attention to the data management and data-driven applications are growing in the country. With the support of donor community an open competition on data-driven applications Apps4KG in 2015, which resulted in a number of working prototypes. In 2015-2016, a number of data-driven applications have been developed based on open government data of the National Statistical Committee35, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, parliament, etc. SRS and the Kyrgyz Association of Software and Service Developers (KARPOU) have jointly implemented a project of open data portal creation in SRS.36

Most of government agencies have their own data hubs (web servers) that are located on their own premises. The Ministry of Finance has own data hub of budget information, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic – datacenter that

35 https://appsto.re/kg/uNxE_.i 36 http://knews.kg/2015/07/31/shamil-ibragimov-platforma-otkryityih-dannyih-v-kyirgyizstane-uluchshit-vzaimodeystvie-gosudarstva-i-grajdan/

https://appsto.re/kg/uNxE_.i

http://knews.kg/2015/07/31/shamil-ibragimov-platforma-otkryityih-dannyih-v-kyirgyizstane-uluchshit-vzaimodeystvie-gosudarstva-i-grajdan/

http://knews.kg/2015/07/31/shamil-ibragimov-platforma-otkryityih-dannyih-v-kyirgyizstane-uluchshit-vzaimodeystvie-gosudarstva-i-grajdan/


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accumulates financial information, state-owned Kyrgyztelecom – information about ICT users, SRS has data hub of population, lands, addresses, property information (in the future other agencies will be connected to these databases – MoH, MoE, Tax Service, Social Fund, Ministry of Justice).However no shared National Data Hub was created. Private sector and citizens may in certain cases share data, but it does not happen regularly.

A few pilot projects target use of sensors to collect data – for instance, UNICEF jointly with the Ministry of Emergency implementing a project on out of schoolchildren, where each student is given a magnetic card that registers the attendance of students at the gates. The data is collected into Ministry of Emergency’s database and can be analyzed by such variable as age, gender, etc. Other projects in energy and environment also installing sensors for gathering weather data or measuring electricity consumption (smart meters).

In 2017, the Government has publicly announced that it considers joining the Open Government Partnership in order to speed up its efforts on transformation towards more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens governance37.

Proposed Actions

Dedicated agency or unit shall be set up to lead data-driven agenda, policy and practice for data sharing with other government agencies and private sector, data analytics for improved decision-making, government data sets opened for public, investments in data management and big data applications, national data hubs, obstacles and other relevant issues.

Data Marketplace can open up opportunities to combine datasets and carry out data analytics to make new discovery findings. In circumstances where data owners can monetize their data, innovators can develop new products, and services while start-up companies can commercialize promising ideas and concepts.

Additional efforts are required in raising wider awareness across government on what the role of open big, crowdsourced and citizen generated data is and its potential, thus creating more collective political commitment and sustained leadership across government.

Centralized guidance on the interpretation and application of the existing legal framework for access to information is required. This includes the rationalization and possibly partial removal of existing charging practices such as for maps.

Interagency Open Data Working Group should update and adopt Action Plan and designate a Chief Data Officer role within SCITC.

Existing and new databases should be designed with the requirement of semantic interoperability.

37http://www.president.kg/ru/news/9877_prezident_almazbek_atambaev_myi_stavim_ambitsioznuyu_tsel__stat_tsentralnyim_zvenom_na_tsifrovom_shelkovom_puti/


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Methodology for monitoring the use of public data should be developed and adopted and demand for open government and municipal data across the government and public should be assessed.

Risks, threats, and growth factors for disclosure of data and/or preservation of the existing restrictions on the dissemination of information should be analyzed taking into account economic, social, technological, political, and other factors, in particular – factors related to national security.

Guidelines and educational materials on the public data and technical requirements for open data should be developed for public sector organizations and local self-government authorities.

General open license for open data should be adopted from the Creative Commons framework.

Appropriate regulations and key performance indicators for efficiency and quality of work in the area of disclosure should be developed and adopted for relevant categories of state and municipal employees.

The national Open Data portal should include mechanisms of data demand and needs evaluation from end-users point of view in order to prioritize key datasets to be opened.

Designate open data officials in each government entity and make the designated officials the internal decision maker for information requests.

Require procurement regulations and procurement contracts to ensure transfer of rights on data created to the government.

Promote participation of representatives of state bodies in hackathons held by non-governmental organizations (competition for software development) and in information support of socially oriented applications built on the basis of published open data.

Inform the target audience of policy priorities and plans of the state body in the area of disclosure, and the results of the implementation of plans and projects on the disclosure of data, socio-economic potential of open data sets published.


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2.3. Digital Enablers

2.3.1 Digital Infrastructure

MEDIUM

Kyrgyzstan is rapidly increasing internet services consumption, especially of international content. However, the quality of telecommunications and ICT is major bottleneck in relation to capacity of regional transit bandwidth, independence of national networks, and e-government infrastructure.

Digital technologies are always evolving, and demand for digital services will continue to grow rapidly, with a consequent acceleration in the volume of data being transmitted via networks. The ICT infrastructure directly underpin the future of digital economy and enablers of economic growth in Kyrgyzstan. If governments intend to enjoy fruits of contemporary developments and provide businesses and citizens with future-proof connectivity, in some cases may be need to build further infrastructure, or enhance existing provision and connectivity.

Telecommunications market

The Kyrgyz telecommunications market was valued at an estimated $400 mln as of 2015. The consumer marketplace is somewhat competitive, with three major mobile operators and at least eight major ISPs. The country’s fixed-line market has weakened in recent years due to substitution of mobile services, but fixed-line infrastructure has formed the foundation for a growing fixed-broadband market. The Kyrgyz mobile market remains one of the strongest in Central Asia, with mobile penetration at well over 100 percent38.

In the recent years a rapid increase in Kyrgyz Republic’s international bandwidth consumption is occurred. The State Agency of Communications reported that Kyrgyzstan’s international bandwidth had increased to 20 Gbps as of late 2015, while another source estimated bandwidth to be 40 Gbps39. Eighty percent of total Internet demand is international. Russian content accounts for 50 percent of demand.

In 2016, a 60-kilometer secured fiber-optic network GovNet was launched in Bishkek to connect 68 government agencies, including three datacenters. The network is managed by a state-owned enterprise, Kyrgyztelecom, according to the interim report of the Ministry of Economy40. The GovNet network will accommodate new whole-of-government digital infrastructure: interoperability framework Tunduk, e-document management system, IP-telephony, and videoconferences.

38

Central Asia Regional Connectivity Pre-Feasibility Assessment: Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Afghanistan. Terabit Consulting, Inc. 2016 39

Same source 40 http://mineconom.gov.kg/Docs/TR/__1_10_16________.pdf

http://mineconom.gov.kg/Docs/TR/__1_10_16________.pdf


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Academic and higher education institutes in Kyrgyzstan are also connected via own fiber-optic links established within the Central Asian Research and Educational Network that provides high-speed broadband connectivity (up to 1 Gbit/sec) for non-for-profit use. The project is supported by the European Commission and connects Central Asia and Europe (via Frankfurt internet-exchange points).

Kyrgyzstan is heavily dependent on neighboring Kazakhstan for internet-traffic transit and pays significantly higher prices for international bandwidth than more developed markets. Connections to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also exist but are not fully utilized to accommodate bandwidth demand, in part because of the high cost of bandwidth in those countries compared to transit purchased via Kazakhstan. Internet-service providers (ISP) in Kyrgyzstan also intend to increase link to China in order to improve redundancy of international connectivity.

In 2016 the Kyrgyz internet market have been disrupted after Kazakhstan internet bandwidth providers tried to impose unidirectional increase of transit prices. It lead to substantial decrease of connectivity for internet-users in Kyrgyzstan. Only after serious high-level political negotiations, the situation was resolved back to status quo. Kyrgyz ISPs are actively looking for alternative bandwidth transit options (mainly via South Asia or Caucasus) in order to decrease costs of internet traffic and improve competitiveness of the national marketplace in Central Asia.

There are some reports regarding the censorship of certain websites, including Kazakh and Russian opposition media and a number of social networks, because Kazakh and Russian operators may apply governments censoring filters to transit bandwidth provided to Kyrgyzstan. Similar concerns are being expressed in relation to internet transit capacity purchased from China.

The Kyrgyz government has appointed SCICT as a focal point responsible for ICT infrastructure development on whole-of-government level. It also has objectives to improve situation with digital divide in rural areas and last-mile connectivity issues in remote locations.

Investment

In public sector, most ICT projects are financed with the support of international donors. Government agencies have insufficient funding to finance changes and innovations in digital infrastructure, though basic telecommunication needs is largely funded from the state budget.

Recently the ICT use gap between public and business sectors is decreasing and reaching the point of balance. In 2011-2015, the ICT use in public domain has increased from 37% to 46.6%; correspondingly share of private sector decreased – from 63% (2011) to 53.4% (2015)41.

National datacenter infrastructure is in premature stage in Kyrgyzstan, few government agencies have standalone servers for data storage (State Registration

41 National Statistics Committee, 2017. The Statistical Yearbook of Kyrgyzstan – 2016.


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Service, National Statistic Committee, Social Fund, etc.42). According to SCICT estimations, only 10-15% of existing datacenters capacity are utilized by government agencies. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic and the state-owned Kyrgyztelecom have also own datacenters. The state-owned enterprise Transcom that report to SCITC is building own datacenter for storing government data primarily related to integration into EEU and law-enforcement agencies.

Currently no cloud infrastructure (G-Cloud) exists in Kyrgyzstan. According to the Cloud Readiness Assessment of Kyrgyzstan – 201743, the environment is highly inefficient, and presents a great risk of support systems loss in the event of a disaster, potentially resulting in complete data and electronic records loss if the data center operation is disrupted or destroyed (see Annex 4). One of the options considered by SCICT is establishment of a national cloud operator on PPP principles or outsourcing to private vendors.

The government infrastructure program in Kyrgyzstan was recently focused on transition to digital broadcasting, improving connectivity between North and South parts of the country, and establishment e-government networks. The government experts discuss drafting of the broadband connectivity program and a feasibility study of IT infrastructure development as part of the preparation of the “Digital Kyrgyzstan” strategy.

Decision making process is taking a lot of time, as there are no full-time CIOs within government agencies responsible for ICT projects. According to SCICT, the public sector in Kyrgyzstan also faces shortage of business analytics, ICT project managers and other IT managers; the technical staff (system administrators, network specialists) is relatively more advanced but shows high turnover rate due to low salaries compared with private sector.

From the Kyrgyz Government’s perspective, the top 3 priority areas to be addressed in the nearest future include G-Cloud, Cybersecurity, and 4G networks expansion into rural areas jointly with local mobile operators. In the short-term, the Government intends to focus on launching of the interoperability framework Tunduk, further harmonization of ICT policies with the Eurasian Economic Commission requirements, and finalization of digital broadcasting transition. In addition, it’s expected to fully operationalize a fiber-optic network (~500 km) around Issyk-Kul Lake and along Bishkek-Osh route (~700 km).

Some estimations show that future demand for internet bandwidth from the government and other non-consumer sectors in Kyrgyzstan can increase by 100 times in next 10 years – from 1,54 Gbps in 2015 to 174 Gbps in 202644.

Cybersecurity

42 Open Data Readiness Assessment of the Kyrgyz Republic, 2015. 43

Kyrgyzstan ICT Data Center Consolidation And Cloud Computing Transition Readiness Assessment, 2017 44

Central Asia Regional Connectivity Pre-Feasibility Assessment: Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Afghanistan. Terabit Consulting, Inc. 2016


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In the last years, there have been significant rise of cyberattacks on government and private systems in Kyrgyzstan. Servers were reported to have been infected with malware as a result. Media occasionally reports attacks by foreign government and criminal hackers. In some cases bank ATMs reportedly have been targeted by cyberattacks from abroad.

Regulation of information security in Kyrgyzstan is incorporated in such documents as the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Civil Code, the National Security Concept and other laws regulating the security issues. There is no official national cybersecurity strategy document in Kyrgyzstan detailing how to establish coordination between key cybersecurity governmental and non-governmental actors45. While some public agencies have altered their structure to establish cybersecurity units, cybersecurity policies are uncoordinated (See Appendix 5).

Privacy issues are regulated by the laws “On the information of a personal nature” and “On the registration of the biometrics data of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic”. These laws regulates personal data on the basis of generally accepted international principles and standards in order to ensure protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen relating to the collection, processing and use of personal data. However, policies on personal data protection and use are not properly enforced, that results in mistrust of citizens to government.

Institutional framework in cybersecurity is relatively weak, as the government has nor single authority to ensure information security neither Computer Emergency Response Team. Safeguarding mechanisms for data and processes are also not established, particularly on regional and local levels.

From the government’s perspective, the top 3 priority areas to be addressed in Kyrgyzstan to foster common enablers uptake are the legislation on common IT systems; capacity building of public officials, and promotion of digital literacy among citizens and businesses. SCITC also plans to develop mechanisms for digital identification and authentication on national level with the establishment of new Certification Authority (by Infocom) for bank cards, e-IDs and digital signatures by 2018 (mobile ID for public e-services is also under consideration).

Proposed Actions

The government should consider tax incentives and PPP models for developing rural broadband network on a competitive basis.

The public funds allocation for last-mile connectivity can be optimized through proper planning, making good use of Universal Service Fund (USF), proving incentives to private sector by aggregating demand (municipalities, post offices, schools, clinics, etc) and leveraging most innovative technologies (leveraging TV white spaces, drones, balloons, etc.)

45 Cybersecurity Capacity Review. The Kyrgyz Republic, June 2017


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Increase of international bandwidth capacity of existing networks and reduction of access cost can be reached through promotion and participation in regional and international connectivity projects implemented by international development institutions and investors (such as Digital CASA, financed by the World Bank, for example).

The National Cloud Computing Strategy needs to go beyond technologies and should incorporate considerations for developing customer service, portal, accounting, and other non-direct cloud management utilities.

Government Cloud (G-Cloud) should be established to ensure efficiency, cost savings and reliability of shared digital resources.

Skills development training program along with a certification program should be developed to enable local IT support staff up effectively implement G-Cloud.

Disaster recovery or continuity of operations plan should be established to ensure uninterrupted operation of G-Cloud.

Depending on the acceptable location of the disaster recovery site, there may be additional requirements for construction of electrical power and communications infrastructure. This will help ensure integrity of the national ICT infrastructure and survivability of the government.

Key stakeholders should be engaged in G-Cloud planning and transition activities, as well as provide the knowledge needed to develop clear governance and service management capabilities for the long term execution of the Cloud Computing Strategy.

Critical infrastructure (CI) should be identified based on the analysis of which infrastructure should be prioritized in crisis situations.

Appropriate cybersecurity practices should be defined and adopted by the government agencies and integrated into CI business processes.

International cybersecurity standards should be adopted and CERT – Computer Emergency Response Team should be established based on the analysis of existing resources and data.

Cybersecurity risk assessments and business-continuity plans to address the risks could serve as a first step towards integrating cybersecurity practices.

The Government should coordinate a national cybersecurity awareness-raising program in close cooperation with other stakeholders from private sector, civil society, academia and IT experts. Dedicated mechanism should be established to enable citizens to report computer-related or online incidents and crimes in Kyrgyzstan.


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2.3.2 Shared Digital Platforms

MEDIUM

Shared platforms and services are at the beginning of evolution in public sector of Kyrgyzstan. Key databases and systems that can enhance the quality of e-services are underutilized, largely because of existing “silos” culture and administration policies. Growing cybersecurity risks require immediate actions from the government and private sector.

To maximize the use of limited resources, modern governments need to share more effectively between government agencies and with the public. A shared platform and systems approach for developing digital services and sharing data helps lowers costs and reduces duplication leading to better utilization of new technologies.

The Government currently uses several key common databases on national level: population (including the database of biometrics data), businesses, real estate, lands, addresses, transport vehicles, legislation. There are several efforts to interconnect these resources in order to deliver e-services to citizens and businesses health, taxation, migration, education sectors. The main issues is to reach data providers at the regional level that prolongs this process at least until 201846.

Such key element of shared platforms as the Electronic Signature is still in an infant stage and rarely used in interactions within and between agencies and citizens (Certifying Authorities are the state-owned enterprise “Infocom” and private “Dos Tek”). An e-payment system is gradually evolving and focusing on such transactions as payments for utilities, fines, and taxes (including payments for traffic tickets via POS terminals). The Ministry of Emergency has mobile SMS-service provided by mobile operators on to alert citizens about emergency risks. Several government agencies pilot first online-services for submitting applications for licenses, certificates and declarations (SRS, External Trade Agency, Tax Service).

In 2014-2016, the government introduced mandatory personification of over 6.6 mln mobile users in Kyrgyzstan in order to improve monitoring and protection against theft of mobile devices. Over 96% of mobile users have been personified and this process will continue with identification of mobile handsets.

The State Registration Service is working on the development of the national geospatial data infrastructure strategy that will address issues of unification and compatibility of geodata in Kyrgyzstan for digital innovations in transport, environment, agriculture, and other sectors. The process involves academia, international experts, donor community, and public agencies.

For municipal agencies on the regional level the two information systems have been created with the support of UNDP: E-municipality “Aiyl” and “E-Region”. However,

46 SCICT interview


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they suffer from limited uptake by municipal employees that largely caused by limited ICT infrastructure and insufficient digital skills in rural areas.

In healthcare sector, the project “Map of RBF (recipients of budget funds)” is under implementation to create new billing and e-payment systems for public agencies based on the RBF cards. The project is coordinated by the Central Treasury and the “Interbank Processing Center”.

SCICT has launched in 2016 the beta version of the whole-of-government Interoperability Framework Tunduk built with support of the Estonian e-government experts. The work on development of regulations for is still ongoing, including business and funding model. The National E-Services Portal (e-gov.kg) is being developed within the framework that should provide access to at least 20 socially oriented public services via the interoperability framework Tunduk. For example, commercial banks can get access to data about applicant’s wage from the Social Fund if they apply for loans; and citizens will be able to submit online applications to SRS, Tax Service, Social Fund from any location. Developers are also considering implementation of mobile services at the National E-Services Portal.

The current legislation provides basic conditions for the implementation of common enablers: the laws “On electronic document and electronic digital signature” and “On electronic payments”.

While common e-service enablers are being gradually developed on whole-of-government and whole-of-country levels, there are still serious barriers for their deployment. The common identification and authentication tools on national/regional levels such as digital signatures47 are not commonly used for public services delivery due to unclear pricing and bureaucracy procedures.

Proposed Actions

Shared digital platforms and services should be developed including secure identification, authentication and verification, e-services development platform, cross-agency data sharing, government and municipal e-services portal. Common identification and authentication tools at national/regional levels can simplify identification/authentication process for end-users and enable users to control access of government agencies to personal data.

Existing national registers and databases should be modernized to ensure data sharing and interagency coordination.

National classificators, dictionaries and reference systems will ensure semantic interoperability and automated interaction between IT systems.

An online access to metadata in real time is essential for e-government and public service delivery in the future.

Common identification and authentication tools at national/regional levels can simplify identification/authentication process for end-users and enable

47

http://www.eng.24.kg/economics/182337-news24.html


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users to control access of government agencies to personal data.

Government should strengthen monitoring capabilities to administer the platform and e-services effectively; and to facilitate security checks and balances across applications and platform.

The e-payment system used for public service delivery should consider centralization of data collection and analysis of information about users (portal, service centers for population, payment gateways, etc.).

2.4. Government Electronic Services

2.4.1 Government-to-Citizen Electronic Services

MEDIUM

G2C e-services in Kyrgyzstan are at the beginning stage and often suffer of poor quality and law uptake by citizens. The e-service design and service delivery approaches should incorporate human centric design methodology and business process re-engineering.

Digital platforms enable public agencies to improve the quality of public services and citizens’ interactions, which are getting faster, more reliable, and accessible. Online services are available 24/7, via any digital or mobile platforms, that substantially increase availability and accessibility of government services. E-services add new features to interactivity, increasing personalization, security and productive digital relations between citizens and the government.

The E-Gov Program of the Kyrgyz Republic has listed key state and municipal services and functions in 26 priority areas for the priority automation in 2014-2017. The Ministry of Economy has the state portal of e-services (www.gosuslugi.mineconom.kg) that provides reference information about public services, in accordance with the Unified Register, as well as standards of public services. The National E-Services Portal (e-gov.kg) is the next level of evolution that should become single point of entry for citizens.

There are several notable G2C online services have been developed so far in Kyrgyzstan: the State Registration Service’s E-Portal; E-declarations system of the State Tax Service; Traffic ticket POS terminals; the Social Fund’s e-service of checking personal pension status. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is developing e-visa service for tourists that should be launched in 2017.

Few agencies have attempted to introduce G2C mobile services, however their uptake by citizens is still limited. For instance, there is a mobile app “Electronic SRS services” of the State Registration Service for Android devices. Another case is SMS-alerts of the Ministry of Emergency to warn citizens about emergencies on roads and weather conditions. The Bishkek municipality and some law enforcement agencies are using mobile messengers (i.e. WhatsApp) to collect citizens’ feedback and redresses about quality of their services.


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In many cases digitization of paper documents is necessary for the G2C service implementation. A number of digitization efforts have been undertaken in recent years. For example, the State Registration Service has started digitization of archived documents of school children and addresses (so far 4 mln address sheets have been digitized 48 ), that is supplemented with implementation of electronic data verification and monitoring systems49. In 2016-2017, the State Registration Service plans to digitize 16 mln documents50, including the documents in the Kyrgyz State Archives51.

Other public agencies are also undertaking digitization efforts (Social Fund, Tax Service). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is implementing e-visa service and electronic archiving of the international treaties of Kyrgyzstan.

The quality of G2C services remains a serious challenge, as no regular Business Process Re-engineering is executed that would help to streamline the processes of service delivery. In rare cases, re-engineering of information services may happen, but there is no similar evidence in relation transactional e-services.

Citizen engagement in the design of G2C services is characterized as low and weak. No regular surveys (via government itself or third party) and focus groups conducted to solicit citizen’s concerns and service needs. But, according to the E-Gov Program at the final phase of its implementation in 2017 monitoring and evaluation of the program results should be carried out, that can provide some data on citizen engagement issue. The report will contain results of the end-users survey to determine the satisfaction level of citizens and businesses, as well as public officers and local self-government employees with the quality of e-services.

The National Statistical Committee regularly conducts survey “Index of Public Confidence” that measures public trust and satisfaction level of the population to the government. SRS occasionally collects users online feedback to assess quality of e-services based on 5 point system.

The National E-Services Portal (e-gov.kg) is being developed since 2016 and should eventually provide access to e-services in 26 priority areas, top 3 of which are:

a) Provide passports to citizens in the form of an electronic identity card. b) Civil Status Registration: registration of marriages, divorces, personal name changes, and birth registration. c) Social services for citizens paying fees on a voluntary basis, including self-employed workers.

The priority e-services for citizens also include registration of property rights, health regulations, social assistance, education, justice, and voter registration for elections.

48 https://kabarlar.org/news/70437-grs-ocifruet-4-mln-adresnyh-listov-format-sarpashev.html 49 http://grs.gov.kg/ru/systems/strategy/ 51 http://knews.kg/2014/10/14/dokumentyi-gosarhiva-kyirgyizstana-planiruyut-otsifrovat-i-perevesti-v-elektronnyiy-format/

https://kabarlar.org/news/70437-grs-ocifruet-4-mln-adresnyh-listov-format-sarpashev.html

http://grs.gov.kg/ru/systems/strategy/

http://knews.kg/2014/10/14/dokumentyi-gosarhiva-kyirgyizstana-planiruyut-otsifrovat-i-perevesti-v-elektronnyiy-format/

http://knews.kg/2014/10/14/dokumentyi-gosarhiva-kyirgyizstana-planiruyut-otsifrovat-i-perevesti-v-elektronnyiy-format/


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The Kyrgyz government is lagging behind with development of the unified Service Delivery Strategy for combined public services that can be provided in both physical and digital forms (face-to-face, Internet, mail, phone, direct and indirect channels — such as public, private or third party) and needs assessment associated with multiple service delivery approach.

System/technical overview of each prominent G2C service

From a service delivery perspective, the Kyrgyz government relies on the 3 channels to reach out to citizens: telecenters, mobile, and internet. The internet is considered the main channel that will lead to a single web portal with a broad integrated offering of electronic G2C services. The scope of telecenters (public service centers) is still limited and additional telecenters are planned within KyrgyzPochtasy premises. Mobile e-services are considered as supplemental to internet and telecenters.

Currently KyrgyzPochtasy is piloting up to 6 e-services in a few locations of Kyrgyzstan. The system of e-payments for utilities is also are being tested in one of districts of Bishkek. In the future, these services can be scaled up at the national level.

Opportunities for scaling up of e-services and applications at the national level are limited due to remote connectivity issues and lack of the Cloud infrastructure and cloud-based services. Open Application Programming Interface (API) is also in limited use (used in the Address Register and the legislation database of the Ministry of Justice52).

In rare cases, public agencies provide services as a part of the broader e-service – for instance, SRS conducts biometric registration for voting in elections or obtaining passports. The G2C services are not usually developed with use of the human centric service design methodology and mostly reflect digitization needs.

Digital inclusion remains beyond priorities of the government in relation to G2C services design. The efforts are limited to support of different languages at the government websites (mostly Russian and Kyrgyz). Unfortunately, people with limited physical abilities in Kyrgyzstan may have issues with access to public e-services53. SCITC expressed intention to create a call-center for citizens and a survey platform for user needs identification within the National E-Services Portal.

The Kyrgyz government doesn’t have single marketing strategy for promotion of digital services among different constituent segments and service delivery channels. In each case, marketing activities depends on capacity and objectives of each public service provider. Several government agencies tried to use social media or other channels (TV/radio) to promote G2C services. Often marketing efforts include ads on TV and radio, leaflets at public facilities.

The key obstacles for G2C services implementation and use by citizens, according to

52 http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/ru-ru/npakr/DocumentList?documentListId=8fd0965a-d58f-478b-a302-bbeb3c4c2ed4 53 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10209-015-0446-8

http://cbd.minjust.gov.kg/ru-ru/npakr/DocumentList?documentListId=8fd0965a-d58f-478b-a302-bbeb3c4c2ed4

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10209-015-0446-8


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the Ministry of Economy54, are:

- Insufficient digital broadband infrastructure, especially in rural areas; - Insufficient level of digital literacy, knowledge and motivation of public and

municipal employees (managers, IT professionals and public servants); - Insufficient level of coordination at the central and local levels; - Underdeveloped single integrated platform of e-Government based on

common services and standards; - Low cost-effectiveness of government IT systems.

SCICT’s experts believes that key obstacles for IT architecture also include:

- Poor utilization of national citizen identification system. - Underdeveloped IT back office and regulations/policies in this area.

The Kyrgyz government considers focusing on several sectors for further development of priority G2C services:

- Agriculture (65% of population in rural areas) – export oriented production, - Education – G2C services based on PIN, - Health – e-records and e-ticket system, - Public utilities – e-receipts and invoices, - Tourism – G2C services for hotels, logistics, banking, - Energy and Mining – smart meters and anti-corruption G2C services.

Proposed Actions

Multi-Channel and Composite Service Delivery Strategy should be developed allowing all government agencies to deliver public services through the effective combination of physical and electronic means (face-to-face, Internet, mail, telephony, direct and indirect channels — such as public, private or third party).

E-payment system development should also be aligned with the multi-channel service delivery approach.

Digital G2C services should be provided with the same quality and reliability as face-to-face services in order to ensure take-up.

Mobile technologies should be widely adopted for service delivery and mobile platform for deployment of services should be available for shared utilization by government agencies.

Maximum automation of routine decision-making processes in government agencies is required based on the analysis of existing administrative processes and re-engineering of business processes.

Citizen engagement will help improve the quality of public services delivery through digital inclusion and human centric service design.

54 http://mineconom.gov.kg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5404&catid

http://mineconom.gov.kg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5404&catid


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Monitoring and feedback mechanisms are required for G2C services to ensure quality and meeting people demand.

Marketing strategy can help promote G2C services for different constituent segments with access though relevant service delivery channels.

Digital literacy courses developed in partnership with local ICT firms and educational institutes can help citizens to obtain basic IT skills and ensure take-up of public digital services (how to use a computer, Internet, search engines, email, make video calls, getting information from the e-government portal, personal cybersecurity, etc.)

2.4.2 Government-to-Business Electronic Services

MEDIUM

The Kyrgyz government pursues the goal of streamlining regulation environment for businesses and reduce corruption risks. Digital technologies are important part in this process. However, development of G2B services is challenged with underdeveloped shared platforms, fragmented IT infrastructure, and lack of and human centric design approach.

Digital G2B services provides great opportunities for both businesses and governments helping to reduce burdens on entrepreneurs, improve efficiency in performing transactions, and ensure better access to information. Governments providing G2B services can enjoy such benefits as better efficiency and lower costs in procurement processes, new means for transformation of economy.

The Kyrgyz government has identified priority G2B e-services that should be introduced in the next 3 years: e-services for international trade and logistics, including online tax and custom declarations submission, e-application for licenses, e-payment of taxes and fees. Currently, the majority of offline G2B services are provided in trade, construction, communications, and transportation; and e-services – partially in international trade, real estate, and construction.

Small range of G2B e-services have been developed by a number of public agencies: the State Tax Service and the Social Fund for submission of declarations and reports, the State Registration Service – registration of real estate and transport vehicles, and the E-Trade Single Window – custom clearance of goods. KyrgyzStandard, the government regulator in metrology and standardization, is planning to launch e-service for acсess to certificates of quality and conformity. The Ministry of Economy is planning to use digital technologies in the licensing process so businesses can submit applications in the digital form and obtain a license / permit, which is aimed to reduce corruption and improve business environment.

Majority of G2B services is oriented to web users, mobile services are uncommon in Kyrgyzstan. Digitization of physical documents remains key requirement to support


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G2B services implementation. These efforts are ongoing with Real Estate Cadaster and Address Register digitization in addition to the legislation database.

In the past 3-4 years, Kyrgyzstan is implementing the ambitious program of public and municipal administration reforms. The Regulatory Reform Council was established in 2013 in order to reduce the administrative and regulatory burden on entrepreneurs by applying “the guillotine principle”55.The Council supervised by the prime minister is responsible for Business Process Re-engineering of G2B services.

Business community engagement in the design of G2B services is organized in the form of public discussions of legal acts drafts. The Regulatory Reform also promotes participation of private sector to ensure that businesses opinions and recommendations are taken into account.

The Regulatory Reform Unit (RRU) is a coordinating body on the implementation of the regulatory reform and functions under the Regulatory Reform Council and the Ministry of Economy, which monitors the implementation of the “Systematic Analysis of Regulation” (SAR) project. The consultations with the private sector are organized in cooperation with business associations.56

The existing process allows citizen or business commenting on the legal acts drafts, as well as to make suggestions via online service “e-Guillotine.kg”. SCITC also plans to arrange regular surveys and launch a e-service for soliciting opinions of businesses during G2B services design process.

The Kyrgyz Republic amended the Law “On the Procedure for Conducting Inspections of Business Entities” in July 2012 that introduced new approach to inspections based of risk criteria and inspection checklists. The interactive portal Proverka.kg was created by the Ministry of Economy to improve transparency of facilities and businesses inspections based on the risk assessment system, and to monitor and analyze data of economic entities. The Proverka.kg portal provides information about legislation, inspection plans, risk assessment criteria, data on the risk level of enterprises, inspection checklists, inspection news and other information57.

The Single Window “Center for Foreign Trade” under the Ministry of Economy provides online mechanism for the exchange of information between agencies regulating foreign trade and businesses in the trade sector. It allows online submitting of standardized data and documents concerning import, export, and transit. Businesses can receive 33 permits and documents regulating international trade transactions via this service.

So far, Kyrgyzstan has benefited from the regulatory reform that decreased state burden and streamlined the number of permits and licenses for opening and running business. Experts believe that further improvement of the quality of G2B 55 http://www.sar.kg/en/ 56 Same source 57 http://www.proverka.kg/

http://www.sar.kg/en/

http://www.proverka.kg/


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services can lead to substantial economy of financial and time resources, reduction of corruption risks, and gradual improvement of public trust towards government.

In the future, the National Business Portal will be launched as a part of the National E-Services Portal. It should provide single point of entry for businesses and entrepreneurs and increase G2B services uptake.

Various sectors of the Kyrgyz economy have plans of digital technologies use for G2B services. For example, in energy sector plans include development of billing system, unified utility bills, and implementation of smart meters. In agriculture, a range of new technologies is considered: intelligent drip irrigation and moisture sensors, e-identification of cattle stock; in meteorology – remote weather sensors; in healthcare – e-licensing of pharm market. In transportation, a range of smart city technologies introduction is in process of implementation within the project “Safe City”. In education, the government promotes principles and technologies of “Smart Schools”: ICT infrastructure upgrade, e-identification of students and faculty, e-textbooks, etc.

The Service Delivery strategy for making G2B services available through the appropriate combination of physical and electronic (face-to-face, Internet, mail, telephony, direct and indirect channels) is planned to be in 2017 according to various expert opinions. Currently government agencies utilize 3 channels to reach out to businesses: internet, single windows, and mobile. The majority of G2B services in Kyrgyzstan are delivered by public agencies separately based on own IT infrastructure and no Cloud based services exist.

In general, G2B services development is rarely based on human centric service design methodology. In some cases the basic digital inclusion efforts are pursued, however they are limited to the support of different languages. Compared to G2C services, a marketing strategy for different segments and the service delivery channels is specified by each sector. A small range of government agencies tried to use social media and traditional media channels to promote G2B services. For instance, the State Tax Service regularly runs TV and radio ads and works with mass media to promote its services (e.g. e-declarations).

Proposed Actions

Enhancement of government services for small and medium businesses through effective utilization of new digital technologies will contribute to job creation and digital innovation.

Major benefits in efficiency and effectiveness gains can be generated by optimization of G2B e-Services on data reporting and application of licensees and on streamlining value-chain.

E-licensing service for businesses across different sectors of economy will facilitate business registration process for new companies and help reduce corruption risks.


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Priority areas should include development of services for e-Notifications, e-Orders, e-Invoices, e-Payment, e-Reporting, etc. Routine procedures for statistical and tax reporting should be simplified.

To enable e-trade legal frameworks and standards for data exchange need to be reviewed and updated.

G2B services should be developed based on people-centric design methodology and digital inclusion with involvement of business community. Training and demo-materials, courses should be also considered as a tool for engagement of “digital laggards”.

Development of G2B services should be aligned with existing standards and practices within international and regional organizations (EEU, CIS, SCO etc.) to enable competition and foreign investments in Kyrgyzstan and trans-border economic relations.

Marketing strategy and awareness campaigns will help increase take-up of digital G2B services.

Services and apps developed by third parties provided with access to shared platforms will help optimize use of resources and increase efficiency, and at the same they will stimulate innovations in G2B services.

Design of G2B services should be oriented to further increased use of sensors and internet of things by both government and business.

Establishment of a mobile platform for service delivery should be given a high priority, which requires simplification of online forms and functions.

Issues of cybersecurity in G2B services delivery must be addressed in all information materials for public to manage concerns about privacy and commercial data security.

2.4.3 Government-to-Government Electronic Services

LOW

The IT back office of the Kyrgyz e-government reflects dominating "silo mindset” of public agencies. Digital technologies have limited use in official cross-agency interactions. The new approach for creation of shared IT back office infrastructure is needed to ensure successful public administration reform and digital services.

To gain the most of digital transformation, governments focus on back-office that serve as the backbone of any public administration. In many cases, the back-office functions often consume resources, undermining government’s ability to focus on developing innovative models and nurturing talents to deliver better services to citizens and businesses. New digital tools and strategies can empower back offices to respond to


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new challenges rather than being buried in routine transaction processing and work.

Across the Kyrgyz government agencies a number of IT back office applications, such as government email, payroll, procurement, Tunduk interoperability framework, digital signature (Infocom), and HR systems is under development. The priority is the electronic document management system that can provide “quick wins” for new digital service delivery. Unified HR system58, online skills testing and attestation system59 will be introduced at the central level.

Kyrgyzstan has also introduced the e-procurement system, which helps substantially rationalize non-priority expenditures of the government. The new law “On Public Procurement” adopted in 2015 requires that public and municipal agencies must publish all procurement opportunities and documents, information about tender participants and winners, including reasons for selecting or rejecting a bidder60 on a centralized portal.

Shared government payroll system is being developed for accountants of various government agencies. The register of public property is also under development. So far the Business Process Re-engineering for IT Back Office is not carried out but SCITC plans to implement it at the next stage of e-government evolution.

Most of official interactions within the Kyrgyz government on all levels happen via paper, phone, fax, and email is used by public officials as a supplemental tool. Postal communications remain highly relevant for interactions on regional level. No IT back office mobile applications have been implemented so far.

The Government Intranet Portal has not yet created in Kyrgyzstan, though there were several attempts to launch in it in the past. Majority of operations are limited to use of email and internet browsing. The new policies on government email systems is being developed to increase its role in contrast with slower paper communications in cross-agency interactions.

The state-owned “Transcom” maintains the secured broadband network GovNet for 68 government agencies that has bandwidth of 1Gbps with plans to increase it up to 10 Gbps. In the future the GovNet will be scaled up to connect 452 rural districts: municipals governments, clinics, schools, post offices. It will help local self-governments enjoy benefits of time economy, faster communications, less paper use, and redistribution of public funds.

SCITC envisions investing into shared infrastructure of IT back office, particularly, into the launch of the G-Cloud. Wider APIs use within existing data resources is also among priority objectives.

58 http://grs.gov.kg/ru/news/1112-Iedinaia-sistiema-uchieta-kadrov-v-ghosudarstvienn 59 http://www.mkk.gov.kg/news/view/idnews/78 60 http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2015/06/17/on-the-path-to-transparent-and-efficient-public-procurement-in-the-kyrgyz-republic

http://grs.gov.kg/ru/news/1112-Iedinaia-sistiema-uchieta-kadrov-v-ghosudarstvienn

http://www.mkk.gov.kg/news/view/idnews/78

http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2015/06/17/on-the-path-to-transparent-and-efficient-public-procurement-in-the-kyrgyz-republic

http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2015/06/17/on-the-path-to-transparent-and-efficient-public-procurement-in-the-kyrgyz-republic


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Government-to-government services can be designed using human centric service design methodology and have better digital inclusion features as these issues are gaining more attention among developers in Kyrgyzstan.

The important role of culture change and digital workforce is recognized by IT managers in many government agencies. SCITC considers organizing educational programs based on video-courses and face-to-face training, and relevant motivation system for government staff.

The key obstacles for the IT back office in Kyrgyzstan are:

Lack of funding for electronic document management and HR system Low digital literacy of public officials at regional level Insufficient capacity and shortage of IT support staff Old ICT infrastructure in public agencies.

Top priority areas for IT back office solutions area are:

- Electronic document management system, - Digital HR, accounting and billing systems, - Digital skills of government officers and IT specialists, - Cybersecurity policy development and KG CERT (cybersecurity center).

In 2017-2018, SCITC plans to launch shared IP-telephony system within GovNet and fully operationalize the Tunduk interoperability framework. Further steps include Government Intranet development, integration of the public finance management system with shared HR, billing systems, and e-procurement service.

Proposed Actions

“Digital by default” principle should guide new regulations and policies for G2G services and IT back office.

Cloud computing technologies should be considered as a common tool for development of IT back office applications allowing users to access a service on a shared platform. This will help government agencies to avoid procurement, operation and maintenance of dedicated infrastructure, software and facilities in each of them.

A package of regulations, standards and policies regarding IT back office systems and applications must be developed during the early stages of development.

Specific attention must be paid to User-Centered Design principles and digital inclusion.

Guidelines for development of digital solutions should be developed, adopted and promoted for shared utilization.


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Electronic document management system and Intranet should take into account integration with mobile services and mobile device management (MDM) policy.

Cybersecurity policy should be developed on the 1st stages of ICT back office modernization in relation to personal data (HR system), BYOD (bring your own device), and defense area.

Special attention should be given to the information assets management, which refers to the management of any information that is held or used by an organization and systems and facilities. It is a systematic process of operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of these assets.

Disaster recovery systems and sites must be included into design and technical modernization plans and programs to ensure continuation of operation of the government agencies.

Skills development policies for IT back office support staff should focus on

inter-agency cooperation, peer-to-peer consultations, shared knowledge and

international start-ups experience, and regular training and seminars with

involvement of international experts.


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Conclusion

This report entitled “Digital Development Assessment in Kyrgyzstan” documents the detailed assessment results and possible actions to be taken within each dimension. It examines national priorities and policy directions for digital development as well as an enabling environment and existing digital platforms and services.

The assessment results demonstrate that during recent years the country has made a progress in building basic digital foundations and adopting essential legislative and regulatory acts. However, successful implementation of the new digital transformation agenda requires continuous commitment from political leaders and high-level decision makers, as well an adoption of the comprehensive strategic program with adequate funding mechanisms and clearly specified roles and responsibilities of all involved stakeholders. An effective leadership structure and strong institutional and human capacity are needed to ensure systematic whole-of-government approach in identifying and implementing relevant projects and initiatives. Many isolated digital development initiatives and projects implemented by different ministries and agencies with the support of various development partners require stronger coordination and alignment with the high-level national strategic goals. Greater attention should be given to existing digital platforms and tools such as eID, Tunduk data sharing platform, e-payment gateways in terms of their security and capacity to be shared among government institutions both at national and local levels ensuring an increased efficiency and reliability. Growing cybersecurity risks require immediate actions from the government and private sector. The e-service design should follow people- centric approach and “digital by default” principles to improve quality and uptake by citizens and business.

The assessment results help evaluate current state of digital development in Kyrgyzstan that could be considered for developing new Digital Kyrgyzstan strategy/program. The assessment findings and proposed actions can guide public managers in the Government and key ministries and agencies to ensure coordinated planning and implementation of the digital development projects


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Annexes

Annex 1: List of meetings and interviews

Government

1. Ernis Mamyrkanov, former Deputy Minister of Ministry of Transportation and Communications

2. Nikolai Novickyi, Head of Department on policy optimization of the system of public services and e-governance, Ministry of Economy

3. Bakyt Sharshembiev, Chairman of the State Committee for Information Technologies and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic (SCITC)

4. Mirlan Omuraliev, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Information Technologies and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic (SCITC)

5. Taalai Baiterekov, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Information Technologies and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic (SCITC)

6. Aibek Bakanov, Head of Department of ICT projects, SCITC

7. Kanat Mukanov, Head of the Department of e-services, SCITC

8. Elina Sakkaraeva, Chief Specialist of ICT projects, SCITC

9. Dastan Dogoev, Chairman of State Registration Service under the Government

10. Maripa Tadjibayeva, Center for Standardization and Metrology under the Ministry of Economy

Civil organizations and Business

11. Talant Sultanov, Chairman of the Internet Society Kyrgyz Republic

12. Ermek Niyazov, Member of the Board of Directors of JSC "Bank of Asia 'and ZAO Shoro', Board member Internet Society Kyrgyz Republic

13. Aziz Soltobayev, Board member of Internet Society Kyrgyz Republic, KG Labs Public Foundation

14. Tattu Mambetalieva, Chairman of Civil Initiative for Internet Policy

15. Irina Baikulova, Civil Initiative for Internet Policy

16. Artem Goryanov, Civil Initiative for Internet Policy

https://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?company=Internet+Society+Kyrgyz+Republic&trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos

https://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?company=Internet+Society+Kyrgyz+Republic&trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos

https://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?company=KG+Labs+Public+Foundation&trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos

https://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?company=KG+Labs+Public+Foundation&trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos


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Annex 2: References

Regulations

1. The law "On informatization and electronic governance" October 1999

2. Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On access to information held by public bodies and local self-government of the Kyrgyz Republic», №213 from December 28, 2006.

3. The law “On electronic documentation and electronic digital signature” #92 adopted on July 14, 2004.

4. The law “On public procurement” adopted on April 3, 2015

5. The law "On Copyright and Related Rights" dated January 14, 1998 №6

6. The Law “On the Payment System of the Kyrgyz Republic” adopted in December 17, 2014

7. Decree of the Government dated 30 September 2014 №559 “On approval of the Methodology of regulatory impact analysis of normative legal acts the activities of business”

Governmental strategic documents and programs

8. National Sustainable Development Strategy for 2013-2017 (NSDS)

9. Transition Program of the Kyrgyz Republic to Sustainable Development and

State Program for the Development of Intellectual Property and Innovations

in the Kyrgyz Republic 2012-2016

10. The Program of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for e-governance ("e-government") implementation in government agencies and municipalities of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2014-2017" dated November 17, 2014 №651

11. The Program “Stability, Trust and New Opportunities”

Reports and analytical notes

12. “Barriers to the development of public-private partnership in Kyrgyzstan”.

National Institute for Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic.

13. Central Asia Regional Connectivity Pre-Feasibility Assessment: Afghanistan,

Kyrgyz Republic, and Afghanistan. Terabit Consulting, Inc. 2016

14. Digital government governance frameworks in selected OECD countries and

Uruguay. OECD, 2016


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15. Digital Government Strategies for Transforming Public Services in the

Welfare Areas. OECD, 2016

16. Digital Government Strategies Welfare Service. OECD

17. Exploring the Relationship between Broadband and Economic Growth.

M.Minges, 2015

18. Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 (WEF)

19. Global Open Data Index 2014

20. Legislation in the field of e-government: analysis of barriers and

recommendations. PPT, Civil Initiative for Internet Policy

21. Open Data Readiness Assessment. Kyrgyz Republic. 2015

22. Policy on Digital Broadcasting Switchover and Development in the Kyrgyz

Republic: Situation Analysis and Civil Society Recommendations. Soros

Foundation – Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek, 2014

23. The Global Information Technology Report 2016. Innovating in the Digital

Economy.

24. “Step forward and two steps back? Overview of the current situation in the

sphere of ICT development in the Kyrgyz Republic". National Institute for

Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek 2015.

25. “The State of Broadband 2014: Broadband for all”

26. UN E-Government Survey 2016

27. United Nations E-government Survey 2004

28. World Digital Development Report 2016

http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/391452529895999/WDR16-BP-Exploring-the-Relationship-between-Broadband-and-Economic-Growth-Minges.pdf


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Annex 3: Top 10 Digital Trends for Government

Gartner has identified the 10 most important digital trends for government in 2015

in order to help IT leaders assess critical strategic technologies and plan their

agencies' IT roadmaps61.

1) Digital Workplace

The government workforce of the future will be populated with digitally literate

employees, from frontline workers to top-level executives. The digital workplace is

open, flat and democratic. IT leaders must take a leadership role in building a more

social, mobile, accessible and information-driven work environment.

2) Multichannel Citizen Engagement

Government jurisdictions with multiple channels (municipal offices, physical mail

correspondence, contact centers, e-government websites and mobile apps) are

struggling to provide their citizens with one coherent view of the enterprise. A

multichannel strategy, in the context of digital government, means more than

delivering a seamless experience to users. To produce those outcomes,

policymakers must radically redesign service models by combining traditional tools

(i.e. focus groups, surveys and stakeholder analysis) with new approaches (i.e.

citizen co-creation initiatives, agile development and design thinking).

3) Open Any Data

The rapid growth of open datasets among early mover organizations and flat or

declining budgets create sustainability challenges to government open data

programs. Open data is not free. For most government agencies, open data

programs are an unfunded or underfunded cost center. The "value" of open data

must become tangible to government in terms of how its availability can

quantifiably contribute to operational efficiency or effectiveness, let alone how it

supports economic development, national productivity or commercial ventures.

4) Citizen e-ID

Citizen electronic identification (e-ID) refers to an orchestrated set of processes and

technologies managed by governments to provide a trusted domain for how public

services will be accessed by citizens on any device or through any online channel

(Web, mobile devices or applications).

61 http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3069117

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3069117


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To be successful, citizen e-ID programs require a trusted relationship between

government and private vendors, with a focus on business value, interoperability

and user experience. Regardless of whether a government agency serves as the

primary citizen e-ID identity broker or contracts with a private company, CIOs must

ensure that personal privacy and data confidentiality requirements are met.

5) Edge Analytics

Analytics is rapidly evolving from a separate and distinct business function into a

fluid aspect of system operations and user experiences. The capabilities of edge

analytics are particularly relevant as government CIOs and agency program leaders

design new mobile services that are augmented by situational context and real-time

interactions.

Edge analytics possess three distinct characteristics. Primarily, they are advanced —

they apply predictive and prescriptive algorithms and cognitive computing to make

real-time assessments about what will happen or what should happen. Second, edge

analytics are pervasive. They are embedded into business processes and

applications to deliver responsive and agile organizational performance. Finally,

edge analytics are invisible. They operate continuously in the background, tracking

user activity, processing sensor and environmental data, dynamically adjusting

workflows to enhance the user experience.

6) Scalable Interoperability

Government agencies are starting to increasingly rely on data exchange with

external partners in order to optimize their service delivery networks and business

functions, such as cross-boundary collaboration and service coordination,

monitoring and outcome reporting.

Scalable interoperability offers government CIOs an incremental, "just enough"

approach to architecture and standards to deliver "soon enough" value. By

narrowing the scope of interoperability initiatives, a motivated community of

interest — that is, stakeholders who receive tangible benefits from improved data

exchange — can agree to use application-neutral and source-neutral extensible

identifiers, formats and protocols to achieve mutual goals.

7) Digital Government Platforms

In digital business, citizens should no longer have to navigate among various

agencies and programs through vertical, first generation e-government Web portals

in order to locate the services they seek. A digital government platform incorporates


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service-oriented architecture (SOA) design principles for the provision and use of e-

services across multiple domains, systems and processes.

8) Internet of Things

The IoT is the network of physical objects (fixed or mobile) that contains embedded

technology to communicate, monitor, sense or interact with multiple environments.

For government, the IoT enables the digital transformation of service strategies.

Government agencies can expect IoT-driven changes in several different areas,

including environmental or public infrastructure monitoring, emergency response,

supply chain inspection, asset and fleet management, and traffic safety.

Government CIOs will need to approach the IoT strategically to evaluate how a

growing base of intelligent objects and equipment can be combined with traditional

IT systems to support breakthrough innovations in operational performance or

public service delivery.

9) Web-Scale IT

Web-scale IT is a system-oriented architectural pattern of global-class computing

that delivers the capabilities of large cloud service providers within an enterprise IT

organization. For government, the shift to Web-scale IT is a long-term trend with

significant IT process, cultural and technology implications. Organizations adopting

a Web-scale IT philosophy will largely eschew the acquisition of expensive, scalable

computing, storage and networking resources in favor of lower-cost, open-source-

derived hardware that bypasses the traditional infrastructure "middlemen."

10) Hybrid Cloud (and IT)

Hybrid IT offers government CIOs a new operating model that supports their IT

departments' ability to combine and manage on-premises infrastructure or internal

private cloud with external cloud-based environments (community, public or

hybrid) simultaneously. Hybrid IT is how IT departments are organized to secure,

deliver, manage and govern these environments.

In government, where consolidation is high on many agendas, a hybrid IT model

requires very different competencies to support various public cloud deployments.

Government CIOs will need to reposition IT organizations from being full-service

providers of IT services to being their agencies' preferred brokers and managers of

services offered predominantly through the cloud.


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Annex 4: Kyrgyzstan Cloud Computing Transition Readiness Assessment

The World Bank team conducted a cloud computing and data center readiness

assessment as part of a larger World Bank ICT mission in January-February, 2017 in

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The readiness assessment sought to evaluate and measure a

wide range of government agencies, private industry companies either in, or reliant

on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a core component of their

business, and telecommunication providers essential for delivering the broadband

capability needed to support modern ICT.

The Government of Kyrgyzstan is in a position to move towards a parallel track of

data center consolidation and a transition to cloud computing. It is very clear the

existing decentralized system of independent ICT resources has resulted in a very

fragile operational environment, where even isolated equipment failures could

result in data loss or inability to quickly restore IT services to their agencies

Data center consolidation and cloud computing offer many additional benefits for

the government, including alignment within a National ICT Strategy, and National IT

Enterprise Architecture – both essential to ensure ICT-related investments are fully

compliant or aligned with national strategy.

Here is the list of recommendations developed as a result of the assessment:

Develop Target ICT Environment:

Reference National Strategy

Reference National ICT Strategy

Develop Enterprise Architecture

Develop Cloud Computing Strategy

Develop Interoperability Framework and Data Sharing Policy

Develop Secure Government Network (SGN):

Reference National Broadband Plan

Prepare SGN Policy

Prepare SGN Policy

Prepare SGN Model and Design Requirements


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Negotiate SGN with Network Operators

Implement SGN

Data Center Consolidation:

Develop National Data Center Consolidation Plan

Establish Data Center Consolidation Policy

Determine Data Center Ownership Model

Conduct Data Center Consolidation Readiness Assessment

Develop Data Center Consolidation Transition Plan

Begin Data Center Consolidation

Complete Data Center Decommissioning

Cloud Computing Transition:


Reference National Enterprise Architecture

Reference Cloud Computing Strategy

Develop Cloud Computing Resource Ownership Model

Develop Cloud Computing Policy (e.g., Cloud First)

Design Cloud Computing Operating Environment

Develop Cloud Computing Transition Plan

Implement Cloud Computing Environment

Begin Cloud Computing Transition

Complete Cloud Computing Transition

Interoperability and Data Sharing:


Reference National Enterprise Architecture

Develop National Interoperability Framework


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Develop National Information Exchange Model

Develop National Service Oriented Architecture

Develop Data Sharing and Interoperability Policies

Disaster Management:


Reference National Continuity of Government Plan

Develop ICT Disaster Recovery Strategy

Align Disaster Recovery Model with Data Center Consolidation and Cloud

Computing Strategy

Design National ICT Disaster Recovery Technology Environment

Align Disaster Recovery Environment Plan with National Continuity of

Government Plan

Implement Disaster Management Plan

Test Disaster Recovery Environment

Digital Enablement:

Reference National Strategy


Determine Target Technology and Professional Skills Needed to Fulfill

Strategy Objectives

Perform Skills Gap Analysis

Develop Digital Enablement Strategy

Align Digital Enablement Strategy with Academic and Professional Education

Curriculum

Provide Incentives for Skills Development Programs


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Annex 5: Cybersecurity Capacity Review. The Kyrgyz Republic, 2017

Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy

The Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy dimension was assessed to range from start-

up to formative stages of maturity. This is because there is no official national

cybersecurity strategy document in Kyrgyzstan detailing how to establish

coordination between key cybersecurity governmental and non-governmental

actors. While some departments have altered their structure to establish

cybersecurity units, cybersecurity policies are uncoordinated. Similarly, there is no

national computer-related incident response organization that would serve as the

coordinating body for the reporting and management of cybersecurity incidents in

Kyrgyzstan. However, some government and private sector organizations are

providing ad-hoc incident response internally, in particular in the energy,

telecommunications and banking sectors.

The concept of cybersecurity in critical infrastructure (CI) is still in its infancy in

Kyrgyzstan. While procedures are in place to identify which infrastructures should

be prioritized in crisis situations, the notion of critical infrastructure protection

does not yet encompass cybersecurity practices. However, risk assessments and

business-continuity plans that address general risks, such as blackouts, natural

catastrophes, etc., could serve as a first step towards integrating cybersecurity

practices into CI business processes.

Cyber defense is not yet a priority in the national cybersecurity posture, with no

cyber defense strategy or dedicated unit established in Kyrgyzstan. As the cyber

defense capacity matures, it will need to be integrated into Kyrgyzstan’s current

defense posture. In contrast, communications redundancy as a broad concept has

been considered in Kyrgyzstan, resulting in sectoral efforts to backup data and

establish redundant networks in cases of communication breakdown.

Cyber Culture and Society

National capacity in the Cyber Culture and Society dimension was judged to range

between start-up and formative stages. Generally, respondents found that

cybersecurity has not yet become a priority across the public and private sectors, or

among end-users. This lack of awareness or prioritization was attributed among

other things to the comparatively low-security incident rate in Kyrgyzstan.

Despite the adoption of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Personal Data in 2008,

respondents considered the understanding of personal information protection


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online to be at the initial stage of development. Most users are not familiar with

protection measures that may be in place to prevent data breaches and no central

dedicated mechanism exists to enable citizens to report computer-related or online

incidents and crimes in Kyrgyzstan.

The role of mass media and social media in cybersecurity reporting and raising

awareness in Kyrgyzstan is ad-hoc. Media reports appear when major incidents

occur, but journalists and bloggers rarely provide information on preventive actions

that users can take to protect themselves. On social media platforms, cybersecurity

is emerging as an increasingly important issue of discussion. However, information

is mostly provided by individuals who are invested in the issues, rather through

targeted or large-scale dissemination of information for Internet users.

Cybersecurity Education, Training and Skills

The Cybersecurity Education, Training and Skills capacity ranged from the start-up

to formative stage. The general lack of cybersecurity awareness in Kyrgyzstan was

acknowledged across the various stakeholder discussions. Respondents from

different stakeholder groups agreed that the government would be best placed to

coordinate a national cybersecurity awareness-raising program, but should do so in

conjunction with other stakeholders, in particular from among private sector, civil

society, academia and IT experts.

Among executive managers, both in public and private sectors, cybersecurity

awareness is very limited, which is one reason why cybersecurity awareness raising

is not yet perceived as a priority. Generally, participants raised concerns regarding

the fragmented nature of current awareness raising efforts and called for a

centralized approach, which builds on existing initiatives and expertise.

The development of cybersecurity educational offerings is at the formative stage in

Kyrgyzstan, representing one of the most advanced areas of capacity in the country.

There are numerous ICT-related Bachelor and Masters Degree programs and

specific security-related programs.

Similarly to the education sector, training courses are provided in a largely

uncoordinated manner by different organizations and vary in depth and coverage.

Training programs are mostly developed in isolation by individual universities or

companies, rather than coordinated across organization and sectors. This leads to a

gap between the supply and demand of cybersecurity training programs.

Legal and Regulatory Frameworks


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Legal and Regulatory capacities ranged between the start-up and the formative

stages of maturity. The development of a legal framework to regulate the full scope

of cybersecurity and cybercrime is still at initial stages in Kyrgyzstan. While several

laws address some aspects of cybersecurity, such as the protection of personal data

or access to governmental information, other key aspects, such as the protection of

children online, have not yet been addressed. Moreover, existing legislation is not

yet sufficiently enforced due to a lack of commencement orders (i.e., statutory

instruments that bring into force all or part of an Act of Parliament ) and dedicated

enforcement authorities.

Across the criminal justice system, capacities are at initial stages of development.

The capacity to investigate cybercrime among law enforcement officers was limited,

as there are no regular training courses for law enforcement officers within the

country, financial and human resources are insufficient, and specialized knowledge

has not yet been built. The capacity of prosecutors and judges to handle and preside

over cybercrime cases and cases involving digital evidence was even more limited

than within law enforcement. No specialized regular training is available to

prosecutors or judges and there are neither specialized prosecutors or judges, nor

dedicated structures within the criminal justice system to handle cybercrime cases

or cases involving electronic evidence. Insufficient financial and human resources

were mentioned by respondents as aggravating factors.

The need to establish informal and formal cooperation mechanisms, both

domestically and across borders, has not yet been widely recognized in Kyrgyzstan,

as cybercrime has only recently emerged as an issue of concern and there have not

been many major cases that were brought before the courts. Among the different

available cooperation channels, law enforcement cooperation was identified by

participants as most advanced, in particular through INTERPOL. Occasionally,

cooperation also occurred between Kyrgyz law enforcement and Russian, Kazak or

Armenian ISPs

Standards, Organizations, and Technologies

The Kyrgyz capacity in Standards, Organizations and Technologies was assessed to

range from the start-up to the formative stages. The Kyrgyz Republic has

established a Centre for Standardization and Metrology under the Ministry of

Economy. Experts from different sectors are invited to advise on standards in

general. However, standards regarding cybersecurity or information security are in

their infancy. The implementation of standards and the auditing process were

deemed by respondents to be problematic due to the lack of a centralized institution

responsible for the execution of these tasks.


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Respondents raised further concerns regarding the resilience of the Internet

infrastructure of the Kyrgyz Republic. Although Kyrgyzstan’s Internet infrastructure

is established and is continuously expanding, Internet penetration is fairly limited,

especially in rural areas. Internet downtime and interruptions, often caused by

power outages, are frequent.

An inventory of software used in public and private sectors, as well as a catalogue of

secure software is absent in Kyrgyzstan. The quality and performance of deployed

software is an issue of concern and effective monitoring and quality assessment is

conducted in an ad-hoc manner in few private institutions. Similarly, the adoption of

technical security controls in Kyrgyzstan varies across sectors and organizations.

Generally, the level of understanding and deployment of security controls in the

private sector is reasonable, however, there are no mechanisms in place to assess

the effectiveness of these controls. Raising awareness of security controls,

promoting their use and assessing their effectiveness among all sectors of the

country are important steps in enhancing the capacity within this dimension.

Cryptographic controls is a factor that was deemed to be the most advanced in

Kyrgyzstan in this dimension. Cryptographic controls are applied to data at rest and,

in a small number of cases, to data in transit. Focusing on cyber insurance, no

market for cybersecurity technologies and cybercrime insurance products has yet

been developed.

Finally, no responsible disclosure policy or framework has been established in the

public or private sectors. However, respondents suggested that the private sector is

more advanced in this area than the public sector. Focusing on the financial sector,

although vulnerabilities are an increasing concern, they are perceived to be

confidential, commercially valuable information. Consequently, organizations

conceal any detected issues and no information is shared formally with other

institutions, either within or across sectors.


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Annex 6: Kyrgyzstan International Bandwidth Demand, 2013-2026

(C) Central Asia Regional Connectivity Pre-Feasibility Assessment: Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Afghanistan. Terabit Consulting, Inc. 2016

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