Digital Government Review of Türkiye

1. Assessment and recommendations

Contextual factors and institutional models for digital government in Türkiye

Overall political and administrative culture

Türkiye is a presidential and constitutional republic with a population of approximately 84.7 million (TÜİK, 2021[1]). With a long history of strong traditional administrative practices and culture, Türkiye has a centralised power structure with expanded executive power. Although shared between three branches, the executive retains the greatest power in terms of influence and authority. The public administration is organised in a two-tier structure, central and local government. At the central level, the president delegates the executive power to the Presidential Cabinet. The administrative de-centralisation divides Türkiye into 81 provinces, which are composed of metropolitan municipalities, municipalities and villages.

The longevity in leadership has provided continued political support throughout the digitisation, digitalisation and now digital transformation agenda of the government since the early 2000s. The country’s public sector modernisation effort put e-government (the use by the governments of information and communication technologies (ICT) as a tool to achieve better government) at the core to increase efficiency and effectiveness of its large public sector (OECD, 2014[2]).

In general, the current Turkish political and administrative culture supports the public sector digital transformation. With a centralised administrative structure providing strong political support as highlighted above, Türkiye has an opportunity to develop and implement the next digital government strategy in a coherent and sustainable manner. Nevertheless, some long standing practices in the culture of the civil service, including the legal framework for managing civil servants dating from 1965, might represent an important barrier in driving administrative and cultural changes in the public sector. Türkiye’s large geographical size might also present some challenges in driving equally inclusive digital transformation across the entire public sector.

Socio-economic factors and digitalisation context

Türkiye’s economy is considered well advanced and resilient, yet the current economic outlook is more uncertain than usual. With a strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Türkiye was able to rebound quickly from the crisis and return to growth (EC, 2021[3]). In 2021, Türkiye’s economy grew 11%, making it one of the fastest among G20 countries. However, its monetary stimulus led to deterioration of the country’s macro-financial conditions. Over the period from January 2021 to June 2022, the Turkish Lira (TRY), relative to the US Dollar (USD), has depreciated 56.5%.1 The country’s inflation rate raised to 61.1% in the first quarter of this year, directly affecting households and industry (World Bank, 2022[4]).

The country’s overall performance on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) shows consistent improvement in the human development over the last two decades; however, inequality hinders further development. The inequality-adjusted HDI value dropped to 0.683, putting the country far below the group average of 0.800 (UNDP, 2020[5]). This insight also aligns with main findings of the OECD Economic Policy Reforms 2021: Going for Growth (OECD, 2021[6]).

The past decade has seen some progress in terms of the access to, and use of, communications infrastructure, services and data in Türkiye. Nevertheless, limited access to Internet connectivity and insufficient digital skills across society remain an impediment to wider adoption of digital technologies. Despite these challenges, Türkiye has been able to increase the provision of digital public services to citizens and businesses.

Overall, as socio-economic factors in Türkiye improve and stabilise, these can help to support the foundations for the governance of digital government. For example, investment in the digital transformation agenda would be a recognition of the wider impact of digital transformation on the long-term economic and social development goals of the country. From a technological context point of view Türkiye has achieved significant progress in recent years but a number of challenges remain in providing a solid basis for transformation into a mature digital government. For instance, Türkiye could further invest in addressing limited connectivity and digital skills across society, especially for businesses as well as promoting government-specific innovations to improve public service design and delivery in collaboration with the private sector.

Macro-structure and leading public sector organisation

In Türkiye, the Digital Transformation Office (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO) has a mandate to lead and co‑ordinate the digital government agenda across the public sector. During its transition from the parliamentary to the presidential system, Türkiye consolidated its fragmented digital transformation efforts under one roof. With the Presidential Decree No. 1, in 2018, the DTO attained strong support from the highest power and necessary legal basis (Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, 2018[7]). Under the leadership of the president of the DTO who also serves as the government Chief Digital Officer, the DTO co-ordinates all matters related to digital services, digital public administration, cybersecurity, critical infrastructures, big data and AI.

Since its inception, the DTO has taken important steps towards creating an environment for achieving progress in digital transformation of the Turkish public sector with the most visible achievement being the integration of fragmented services on türkiye.gov.tr, the central e-Government Gateway. Despite its short history, its position within the Presidency gives the DTO the adequate level of political support and the ability to set a strategic vision and plan covering all policy sectors, the whole public sector and levels of government.

As the organisation-in-charge on the digital government agenda in the Turkish government, the DTO holds decision-making, co-ordination and advisory roles and responsibilities. However, the Review identified areas where the organisation would benefit from having greater capacity in terms of its size, or greater influence over particular issues and behaviours elsewhere in the public sector. The DTO is in process of developing a new and overarching digital government strategy, and this provides a crucial opportunity for the organisation to clarify the governance needed to support its implementation and therefore reinforce the role of the DTO position as the organisation-in-charge to ensure a whole-of-government understanding and commitment to transition the government’s approach from e-government to digital government.

Co-ordination and co-operation

In Türkiye, the DTO organises the “Mitigation of Bureaucracy and Digital Türkiye Meeting” chaired by the vice president. The meeting brings together high-level representatives from government institutions to minimise bureaucracy and red tape, and encourage collaboration and alignment on digital government priorities and initiatives. At the meeting, relevant stakeholders discuss common challenges and decide on possible solutions. This mechanism also involves the highest leadership in monitoring progress against the decisions made at the meetings.

Overall, Türkiye, through the “Mitigation of Bureaucracy and Digital Türkiye Meeting”, has a solid foundation to build stronger and more effective co-ordination and co-operation across the public sector. It would be worthwhile for the government to consider taking a few actionable steps to cement the processes that can ensure the coherence and sustainability of the digital transformation agenda across the public sector.

 

Proposals for action In light of the key assessments exposed above, which draw on the main findings and analysis included in Chapter 2 of this review, the Government of Türkiye could consider implementing the following policy recommendations:
1. Maintain a strong political will and make the best of the centralised administrative model to drive the digital government agenda. The following priorities can be considered: a. Capitalise on the strong political support and centralised administrative model of the country to develop an ambitious and comprehensive national digital government strategy in co-ordination with all relevant stakeholders from the public and private sector. b. Continue monitoring and assessing contextual factors such as neutrality of the civil service to meet European standards and requirements and benchmark good practices from OECD peers.
2. Leverage the broader digital transformation of the Turkish economy to foster the effectiveness of governing digital government. The following priorities can be considered: a. Strategically allocating budget to specific digital transformation efforts that can result in more economic and social outcomes. b. Continue enhancing connectivity and digital skills to create a more inclusive society. c. Promote government-specific innovations in collaboration with the private sector to improve public sector's internal processes and public services.
3. Empower the Digital Transformation Office (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO) as the organisation-in-charge of driving the digital government agenda across the public sector. The following actions can be considered: a. Cement the DTO's mandate for its decision-making, co-ordinating and advisory roles and responsibilities by specifying them in the forthcoming digital government strategy. b. Earn trust and confidence from the public sector and different levels of government through creating an inclusive ecosystem.
4. Strengthen the co-ordination and co-operation mechanism to engage all relevant stakeholders across government. The following actions can be considered: a. Formalise the “Mitigation of Bureaucracy and Digital Türkiye Meeting” defining a clear mandate, a list of required representatives and the frequency of the meetings. b. Form working groups of practitioners from different public sector institutions on key priority areas under the “Mitigation of Bureaucracy and Digital Türkiye Meeting” to facilitate a bottom up collaborative and co-operative culture. c. Establish a co-ordination body that can organise a regular Chief Digital Officers’ meeting with local representatives (Chief Digital Officers or equivalents) headed by the government Chief Digital Officer to ensure alignment, coherence and sustainability across the country.

Policy levers to lead the digital transformation of Türkiye

Strategy and plan

In Türkiye, the digital transformation agenda has been included in National Development Plans and thematic strategies for many years. However, in 2016 the government developed its first comprehensive National e-Government Strategy and Action plan (Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, 2016[8]). The strategy provided a holistic approach to the structuring of e-government with the shared vision to improve the quality of life for the society through an efficient e-government. After the completion of the first standalone strategy, the government of Türkiye continued its efforts in accordance with the Eleventh Development Plan (2019-2023) (Presidency of Strategy and Budget, 2019[9]). The holistic and multi-dimensional policy document aims to increase national competitiveness and efficiency across the public sector (EC, 2021[10]).

Although this strategic document includes objectives and goals related to the digital transformation, they are scoped around e-government applications in public services, not digital transformation of the public sector. The strategy document itself is also missing a whole-of-government vision, clear objectives, as well as clear responsibilities and roles of key relevant stakeholders to ensure successful digital transformation of the Turkish public sector with some of these elements handled in other documents.

At the institutional level, the right leadership can also empower organisations to be proactive in establishing a clear vision, in line with shared overarching strategic priorities for the whole government. However, the current absence of such institutional leadership seems to hinder progress towards higher digital maturity for many organisations in the Turkish public sector.

A pressing challenge appears to be the absence of a dedicated digital government strategy with a broad vision and a comprehensive action plan to facilitate the transformation from e-government to digital government. The Turkish government has taken actions to address this obstacle. The Digital Transformation Office (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO), that is responsible for the country’s digital roadmap, is currently preparing a new national digital government strategy that will benefit from the policy recommendations of this review.

Management tools and financial mechanisms

Currently, the Turkish government lacks full availability of standardised policy levers at the central government level and the general awareness of the existing policy levers across the public sector. The DTO is working to develop a standardised business case model (OECD, 2021[11]). In the case of a standardised model for data, digital and ICT project management, there is the Public Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Project Preparation Guide, first published in 2017 and revised in 2021 (Ministry of Development, 2017[12]; Presidency of Strategy and Budget, 2021[13]). The guideline aims to support all public institutions including local governments with the preparation of investments on ICT projects. It supports cost-benefit analysis, the establishment of interoperable e‑government systems and the timely completion of projects. Although it is mandatory to use the guideline, and its usage is embedded through certain processes, the fact-finding interviews found that institutions did not identify its relevance or their practice in using and applying the ideas contained within the Guide. In addition, there is not a central strategy dedicated to public procurement of ICT goods and services. Procurement law and the Public ICT Project Preparation Guide are not fully sufficient for governing fast-changing, complex ICT/digital procurement. Therefore, further clarity can be given to the relevant actors on the co-ordination mechanism and process specifically for ICT/digital procurement.

Furthermore, financial management mechanisms can be further institutionalised with clarity and transparency to better forecast digital investment and strategically allocate them with a holistic point-of-view. In Türkiye, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance (Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı), together with the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, prepares an annual Medium Term Programme (MTP). The MTP is the main budgetary policy document for setting objectives and priorities and complements the Presidential Annual Programme in determining the budget allocation for each organisation. All public sector organisations must comply fully with the objectives and priorities stated in the MTP when preparing their budgets and making policy decisions. Although the DTO is the leading public sector organisation mandated to develop Türkiye's digital roadmap, the DTO does not play an active role in shaping the MTP nor holds formal decision-making power over the budgeting for digital projects at the government central level.

Regulations and standards

In Türkiye, there are a number of specific legislations and regulations that support different aspects of the digital transformation of the public sector. Most notably, two presidential decrees (No.1 and No.48) cover the governance clarifying the responsibilities and role of relevant government bodies. In addition, a series of legal and regulatory documents seem to provide legal basis in areas such as interoperability, key enablers (access to public information, electronic identification (eID) and trust services, security, interconnection of base registries, e-procurement), and emerging technologies (EC, 2021[10]). The regulatory frameworks in Türkiye can be further updated and aligned to cover all digital government areas. There seems to be a general expectation and demand across the public sector to be able to count on an updated legal and regulatory framework to reflect concrete mandates for each institution, facilitate the use of new technologies and mitigate risks in order to adequately equip the public sector for the constantly transforming environment. The same can be said regarding common approaches or standards on services, data, quality or performance. Despite the institutional competencies and effectiveness detected through this peer review process, the lack of a complete set of common policy enablers limits the administration to be effective as a whole and a coherent and sustainable transformation of the public sector.

 

Proposals for action In light of the key assessments exposed above, which draw on the main findings and analysis included in Chapter 3 of this review, the Government of Türkiye could consider implementing the following policy recommendations:
5. Support the development and implementation of a dedicated digital government strategy in order to transform ambitious plans into concrete actions at the whole-of-government level. The following priorities can be considered: a. Accompany the new digital government strategy with a long-term investment plan and a detailed action plan, identifying specific goals, responsible bodies, timeline for achievement and key performance indicators. b. Secure the coherency, inclusiveness and sustainability of the strategy by engaging all relevant stakeholders from the public, private and civil society in its design and implementation. The Digital Türkiye meeting will serve as a great starting point to secure high-level buy-in from the relevant actors. c. Ensure that the new strategy represents the entire public sector and remains relevant by addressing sectoral priorities identified by institutions. d. Provide standardised guidelines, or a template to support the development of digital government strategies at the institutional level, and offer capacity building on the digital leadership.
6. Strengthen the use of common policy levers including business cases, project management, procurement of ICT/digital projects and financial management tools to facilitate steering and co-ordination of digital investments across the public sector by the Digital Transformation Office. The following priorities can be considered: a. Develop a centralised business case and agile project management models as the basis for strategic and coherent digital investments, and make its use mandatory across the entire public sector. b. Consider updating the current procurement law to better reflect the complexity of ICT/digital procurement; develop a dedicated ICT/digital procurement strategy and process jointly with relevant stakeholders including the private and civil society in alignment with the digital government strategy. c. Institutionalise financial measures and mechanisms to better forecast digital investments and allow strategic allocation of budget in a transparent manner. d. Consider empowering the DTO to co-fund key priority projects that are cross-sectoral to ensure timely and efficient implementation of such projects. e. Raise awareness on the existence of these policy tools to gain support for their adoption across the public sector through inter-ministerial co-ordination, communication campaigns and regular training exercises.
7. Improve the legal and regulatory framework to anchor digital transformation efforts and support the transition from e-government to digital government. The following actions can be considered: a. Identify areas for further improvements of the legal and regulatory framework to tackle newly emerging issues (such as digital investment, procurement of ICT/digital technologies) and make necessary adjustment to the mechanism accordingly. b. Consider consolidating a number of existing legislations to streamline and build a more comprehensive legal and regulatory framework. c. Engage relevant stakeholders from the public, private and civil society in updating the current legal and regulatory framework to promote inclusiveness, transparency and joint ownership. d. Take the opportunity of establishing the new digital government strategy to develop common approaches or standards on services, data management or digital performance for the public sector. e. Consider organising a series of workshops with relevant institutions to identify priority areas and possible solutions to common challenges.

Digital talent and skills for a transformational public sector

Digital enabling environment

In Türkiye, the Digital Transformation Office has been mandated to lead the digital transformation of the public sector through fostering co-operation with private sector organisations, universities and non‑governmental organisations. Impressive efforts such as the e-Government Gateway and the Distance Learning Gate demonstrated the importance of digital skills for public servants. However, this priority does not seem to be perceived the same way across institutions. Results from the survey supporting this review demonstrated a lack of prioritisation of digital talent and skills in the Digital Transformation Office's (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO) digital transformation strategy and revealed that some public servants had little awareness of the benefits of having a workforce equipped with digital government skills. In addition to this, the top-down organisational structure could slow-down decision-making, prevent collaboration and limit communications between institutions.

Although the Distance Learning Gate’s initiative is encouraging, the lack of structures such as a Digital Academy makes creating a safe learning environment, where talents experiment, build digital skills and facilitate the development of a digital culture, more challenging. This was confirmed by many as they reported that their organisations did not nurture an experimental culture and that such safe learning space is missing. Regarding ways of working, Türkiye has made significant changes over the pandemic. The government has given IT infrastructure a priority, invested in adequate tools and technologies, as well as incorporated flexible workplace regulations and policies. However, the government lacks the motivation to retain and extend regulations and policies promoting a flexible environment for the public sector after the crisis. Given the evolving needs of society, it would be crucial to cultivate a flexible and agile work environment.

Digital government skills

To lead a successful digital government, it is fundamental that all public servants are not only equipped with basic 21^st century skills, but also trained with digital government user skills. Indeed, the OECD peer review team observed that public servants in Türkiye have impressive e-government skills but do not have digital government users' skills, which are the foundational skills for all staff to take part in a digital government journey.

There is neither co-ordination between institutions nor initiatives in place to foster multidisciplinary environment in the public sector, nor encouragement of composition of teams with digital government socio-emotional and digital government professional skills. Similarly, the survey disclosed that political leaders and senior officials are not targeted for training, which affects the perception of the workforce on the abilities leaders may have to successfully head a digital transformation.

Sustainability of a digital workforce in the public sector

Although Türkiye has a young and tech-savvy population, the public sector struggles to attract and retain top talent due to the private sector’s higher financial rewards and more attractive career plans. Many of the stakeholders consulted as part of this peer review expressed the need to improve the attractiveness of the public sector as a workplace and offer retention mechanisms that keep public servants motivated. The Human Resources Office (İnsan Kaynakları Ofisi) is supporting public sector institutions in addressing this challenge by organising National Talent Fairs and National Internship Programs, as well as providing resources such as the Career Planning Course, and Career Gate. These initiatives aim to create a culture that supports the development, employment, and engagement of young talents, ultimately increasing the public sector's attractiveness as an employer.

In terms of development and allocation of skills, the Distance Learning Gate has introduced formal training, while informal training programmes are emerging. Based on interviews and the Digital Government Survey of Türkiye, some institutions rely on the support of their contractors and lack skills transfer measures to ensure independence from third party services and promote in‑house production. Furthermore, the public sector talent management system of the Government of Türkiye does not appear to offer job mobility opportunities between sectors to enhance learning, given the rigidity of the current organisational structure. This may also explain the fear of losing talents to more attractive career paths benefits, job flexibility, and learning opportunities in the private sector.

There appear to be few mentoring and feedback loop programmes in place, which are important features of a successful public sector talent management system. Such activities not only promote a life-long learning culture through experience sharing with senior staff and encouraging agile ways of working with a constant intention of improving. This gap loops back into the challenge of creating a sustainable work environment that allows digital talents to unleash their potential and improve public services.

 

Proposals for action In light of the key assessments exposed above, which draw on the main findings and analysis included in Chapter 4 of this review, the Government of Türkiye should consider implementing the following policy recommendations:
8. Create a work environment in the public sector that includes better communications, a flatter organisational structure to promote faster and better decision-making, more collaboration opportunities, a learning culture and more flexible working policies. The following measures could be considered: a. Ensure that priorities, benefits and the vision of digital transformation, as well as the role of institutions, are well-communicated across organisations. b. Develop a dedicated digital talent and skills strategy for civil servants that emphasises their role in the digital transformation. c. Foster a more horizontal organisational structure: i. Offer greater flexibility to improve the decision-making process, making it more agile and thus capable to enable more adequate responses to meet the changing needs and expectations of citizens and businesses. ii. Identify and provide clear job descriptions and job families to reflect an approach that is more user-centric, iterative and collaborative. d. Prioritise the creation of a safe learning space where public servants could test, experiment and fail without judgement to reinforce such culture and to foster digital experimentation, the application of new digital skills and the creation of a solid life-long learning mindset. e. Consider maintaining and building on the regulations and policies established during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of hours, places and methodologies in order both encourage staff to establish new behaviours and to increase motivation, job satisfaction, productivity and trust.
9. Ensure that public servants at all levels – including in leadership positions – develop the adequate digital literacy and confidence to lead a successful digital transformation. The following should be prioritised for this purpose: a. Ensure that the digital public sector workforce is equipped with 21st century skills to design, use and access digital devices. b. Provide all public servants with a grounding in the digital government user skills at all levels of all institutions. c. Incentivise the formation of multidisciplinary teams to reflect multiple disciplines and varied socio-emotional skills. d. Encourage the continuous development of digital government professional skills to develop in-house digital expertise, promote a learning culture and offer professional growth opportunities. e. Invest in digital government leadership skills to equip leaders with the mindset and behaviours that they need to support a digitally matured workplace.
10. Set up a recruitment strategy to attract the necessary digital talents and offer a transparent reward system, professional growth and mobility opportunities, while building a work environment to accommodate these changes. The following actions could be considered: a. Secure a cross-government job application platform as well as a recruitment team that is responsible for promoting the benefits of working in the public sector, establishing clear job profiles and descriptions, and presenting the public sector as a merit-based employer through recruitment campaigns, job fairs or school visits. b. Enhance the value-oriented work opportunities in the public sector, give more flexibility in choosing areas of work and introduce professional and personal growth packages to keep motivation of digital talents high. c. Encourage and empower digital talents to expand their practices of informal training to foster a continuous learning culture, while investing in formal training. d. Consider funding teams instead of projects to offer more opportunities for job mobility and encourage teams to move to not only broaden perspectives, gain skills and experiences but also work on projects that interest them. e. Incentivise the establishment of regular feedback loops and mentoring plans to monitor digital talents’ performance and guide them in their personal and professional development. f. Ensure that measures taken to improve the public sector management system is supported by a work environment that enables digital talents to unleash and develop their skills to serve digital transformation.

Creating user-driven value in proactive public service design and delivery

The context for public service design and delivery in Türkiye

The context for public service design and delivery is shaped by the character of representative and organisational politics, the legacy of historic technology and organisational practices, and the social, economic, and geographic nature of the population.

The Turkish public sector includes government ministries, state agencies and municipal administrations as well as state-owned companies and utility providers. This means there is great variety in terms of capacity, resources, and leadership for digital transformation and this translates into an inconsistent user experience depending on the sectors or organisations involved with meeting a need as well as the extent to which interoperability has been achieved.

The “Mitigation of Bureaucracy and Digital Türkiye Meeting” is a valuable opportunity for co‑ordinating, prioritising, and identifying the challenges and opportunities for digital transformation across the country. By operating as a network connecting different organisations, this gathering provides the basis for setting a clear agenda and avoiding duplication of effort or spend. This may require the Digital Transformation Office (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO) to help organisations that have had the freedom to focus on their own needs, to instead engage with and work in collaboration and co-operation with others. This is particularly valuable for helping to ensure that the transformation needs of smaller and less capable areas of the public sector are met.

The breadth of capability in the Turkish public sector is an important contextual factor. There is visibly strong capability and capacity where there has been investment in technology and data to pursue sectoral and organisational ambitions over many years. Often these organisations are accountable for operating public services that are critical to the daily functioning of Turkish society. As the DTO considers the potential for collaborative models that involve sharing resources or developing common components, these organisations need the confidence that any change to their organisationally-focused operating models will maintain security, resilience and suitability.

This is evident in the operation of the e-Government Gateway. While the Review found the e-Government Gateway to be one of the core tools for supporting digital transformation in Türkiye there are notable exceptions to the organisations that have migrated including services associated with taxation and land registration amongst others. In these areas there is a more complicated ecosystem of organisation specific activity that is not yet as well embedded into the central platform as in other domains.

One of the most concerning legacy gaps from a technical point view was the lack of strategic vision at the organisational level for the benefits of moving away from organisation specific, on-premise data centres administered and managed by in-house teams. The barriers to migrating to the cloud were varied but predominately referenced national security concerns as requiring them to maintain direct management and control of their servers. These concerns are understood by the DTO and have been included in the ongoing work to develop a new cloud strategy for the country that will maintain security and reliability and reduce the overheads and barriers caused by inflexible and costly infrastructure.

Although there is a desire to take existing systems and use a micro-services architecture to transform them into a more cloud-friendly model, the need for long-term commitment, funding and support has been identified as a constraint. This is also true in terms of data exchange, interoperability, and integration. Clear overall leadership for a data-driven public sector that can advocate for smoother and more frictionless data sharing has yet to be established. A further legacy constraint is that of legislation. It is important that those making policy and law are mindful of public service design and delivery considerations and the opportunities afforded by digital technologies and data so that legislation and policies are enablers to transformation, not a blocker.

Türkiye hosts the world’s largest refugee population which results in the public sector needing to be efficient and effective in terms of providing public services and making the necessary allowances to these people. However, it was unusual for organisations to have understood the digital inclusion needs of any of their users and greater attention is needed to ensure access to the Internet, recognise the importance of accessibility needs or equip people with the necessary skills.

A further societal factor informing the context for digital transformation of the public sector in Türkiye has been uncertainty in terms of purchasing power of US Dollar (USD) or Euro (EUR) denominated services due to fluctuations in the value of the Turkish Lira (TRY). This has resulted in giving greater focus to achieving national solutions in the fields of technology and data. There is, however, an inevitable lag in terms of the Turkish public sector being able to consume these products and services as these industries cannot be replicated overnight.

The transformation of public services relies on involving the public and engaging non-government actors in society more broadly. Although a majority of organisations involve the private sector in responding to the needs of their users, only around a quarter of organisations involve academic or civil society actors. The health of the civic space in a country is an important contributor to achieving genuine user-centred and user-driven outcomes and greater efforts are needed to ensure that the civic space in Türkiye can thrive.

The philosophy of public service design and delivery

Underpinning any efforts for countries to improve the design and delivery of their public services is the internal culture and philosophy of public servants and government bureaucracy. Creating a transformation that sees the whole of government focusing on the needs of users requires commitment and vision from leaders as well as exhibiting behaviours and practices associated with user-centred design.

The political environment has been conducive to creating a shared conceptual understanding of good quality public service design and delivery and the DTO provides an important focal point. Nevertheless, translating vision into practical implementation will rely on the quality and leadership of those within different organisations. Despite the frequency with which user-oriented services are mentioned in national strategic documents, the country does not yet have a formal strategy concerning the design, delivery and evaluation of government services and there is no expectation for organisations to produce their own digital strategies in line with this vision. Leaders themselves currently see the urgency of eliminating bureaucracy in terms of cost reduction or technology deployment rather than a desire to be user-driven and respond to needs. Nevertheless, the Review team was impressed by the leadership of the Justice and Health sectors where the primary inspiration came through as being the transformative impact of user-centred digital government on service design and delivery.

The leadership for public service design and delivery does not only come from the top of an organisational hierarchy but is reflected in the behaviours of those in lowlier roles who extol the virtues of digital technology and data and invest their time in persuading their peers and superiors. An impressive example of this came from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı) where persistently communicating the benefits of service design and delivery over several years secured support and turned blockers into champions and a demonstrable increase in the speed and quality with which they now develop new services.

Co-operation and collaboration are an essential part of a culture that champions public service design and delivery, and achieves an integrated, user-centred approach. The e-Government Gateway embodies this idea by hosting “orchestrated” services where user research is the basis for identifying and designing services that solve a whole problem, such as “My Working Life”. These services rely on the depth of information catalogued within the Electronic Public Information Management System (Elektronik Kamu Bilgi Yönetim Sistemi, KAYSİS). KAYSİS is an impressive achievement with the potential to offer further insight in resolving whole problems and delivering end-to-end user journeys that seamlessly and proactively move between in-person and digital channels according to an individual’s preference and needs.

An important contributor to achieving the ambitions of digital government as defined through the OECD Digital Government Policy Framework is to establish and embed the practice of user research within government (OECD, 2020[14]). However, the review showed that engagement in the policy-making and public service design and delivery processes was among the least developed elements of digital government in Türkiye. Despite many organisations describing the right approaches, only a small proportion were able to demonstrate these were being put into practice in terms of up-front user research, co-design sessions or other forms of participatory design. Indeed, less than half the organisations involved in this Review actively involve end users or civil society. On the occasions where things are made public, engagement does not tend to include mechanisms for collective engagement or two-way dialogue. It would be powerful to include a standing item on the agenda of the “Mitigation of Bureaucracy and Digital Türkiye Meeting” for user researchers to directly present their latest insights.

It remains important for teams in government to continue collaboration between policy, delivery and operations in order to understand how well the e-Government Gateway responds to the needs of their users on an ongoing basis. In this respect there is value in the role of “service professionals” who take ownership of the end-to-end user experience and wield the political, administrative, and financial authority to champion multi-disciplinary teams and bring the necessary actors around the table to address a whole problem, guided by user research. The Public ICT Project Preparation Guide has the potential to be an important lever for encouraging cross-government ways of working by increasing the emphasis on such roles and requiring that user needs, user research, and the participation of users, inform project proposals.

Multi-disciplinary teams are an important foundation for enabling work across organisational and professional boundaries. This model is also essential in supporting research findings and experimental, hypothesis-led interventions to be incorporated into the service itself and tested quickly to understand whether they help to achieve either the policy intent or improved outcomes for the users of a service. However, the Review did not find evidence that agile delivery methodologies form part of the culture of service design and delivery in Türkiye. The most actively enthusiastic organisation to talk about working in an agile fashion was one of the public enterprises, highlighting the importance of forging relationships across the entirety of the Turkish public sector, including state-owned enterprises and utility companies.

Türkiye’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the strength of the underlying cultural foundations that had been built up over many years in the health, justice and education sectors. These approaches recognised the importance of developing solutions that responded to the needs of users in particular sectors but also across those organisational and sectoral boundaries, including between municipal and central government. These experiences and achievements can provide the inspiration and basis for creating and embedding a culture and philosophy of being proactively user-driven in attitudes and behaviour more widely and throughout the Turkish public sector.

 

Proposals for action In light of the key assessments exposed above, which draw on the main findings and analysis included in Chapter 5 of this review, the Government of Türkiye should consider implementing the following policy recommendations:
11. Recognise the political, organisational, technical and societal context within which public services are designed and delivered and use those insights to shape a tailored response to the needs and priorities of individual organisations to achieve transformation. The following measures could be considered: a. Identify the public service design and delivery maturity of different sectors and organisations by ensuring organisational digital strategies include an explicit focus on public service design and delivery in terms of their context, philosophy and enablers for service design and delivery. b. As different organisations have different capabilities and needs in terms of contributing to, or benefitting from, work on public service design and delivery, direct the most capable actors in the Turkish public sector to collaborate and identify ways to meet the transformational needs of less capable areas of the public sector. c. Establish and regularly convene a whole of Turkish public sector network that combines digital government leaders and practitioners to create a common narrative and purpose for transforming public service design and delivery.
12. Embrace the opportunities of digital transformation to create a more proactive and user-driven culture within the Turkish public sector. The following should be prioritised for this purpose: a. Develop a public service design model suited to the context of Türkiye’s public sector that draws on the best parts of existing approaches while being enhanced with insights from around the world, including the OECD Good Practice Principles for Public Service Design and Delivery in the Digital Age. b. Assign individuals the role of “service professional” and provide them with the political, administrative, and financial authority to champion multi-disciplinary teams and bring the necessary actors around the table to address a whole problem, guided by user research. c. Draw on the data contained within KAYSİS to proactively identify the relevant actors for designing solutions across organisational boundaries and solving problems with an end-to-end approach. d. Consider the service design and delivery opportunities for transforming the user experience of public servants by revisiting internal processes within the Turkish public sector, such as for example, seeking and securing access to funding, or sharing and accessing data. e. Provide all public servants with a grounding in the digital government user skills that cover ‘The potential of digital transformation’, ‘Understanding users and their needs’ and ‘Collaborating for iterative delivery’. f. Advocate for the development of an Open Government Action Plan for Türkiye that protects and enhances the civic space and sets out the expectation for an inclusive, two- way dialogue between government and both civil society and the general public.

Cementing building blocks and shared services for improved capabilities

The OECD peer review team assessed Türkiye’s Government as a Platform ecosystem and the shared guidance, resources and technical components that can enable a more mature digital government. Creating the right enabling environment that sets teams up for success is critical to the ambitions for digital transformation. These foundations rely on committed leaders who champion a long-term vision and secure both sustainable funding and talented people to create and iterate these resources over time.

The Turkish public sector numbers several hundred different organisations at all levels of government and many different sectors. Across these myriad organisations there is a variety of skills and capability as well as financial and technical resources. While organisations with greater autonomy and long-standing access to funds and talent may have developed a self-sufficient approach, those at the other end of the spectrum are eager to adopt and deploy common resources that can help them to meet the needs of their users.

One important route to improving capabilities is agreeing a shared definition and understanding of quality and the expectations for the standards which public services need to meet. There have been efforts in Türkiye to create standardised guidelines for thinking about interoperability and the design of websites but these have not enjoyed widespread adoption. Indeed, the Digital Transformation Office (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO) indicates that the centre is not providing standardised models for various of the elements which could contribute to successful digital transformation. Nevertheless, there were indications that organisations would welcome standardised tools that help deliver on ambitions for transformation. A useful starting point could be to bring existing guidance and good practices together in a central location to help reinforce centrally mandated ideas and highlight the resources developed by sectoral and organisational colleagues.

As mentioned earlier, the Public ICT Project Preparation Guide is intended to ensure projects are consistent with current national plans and strategies. Because this resource provides the basis for securing funding, there is the potential to develop this process to incorporate expectations on quality and include different prompts for teams to adopt more of a user-centred design approach to their work.

Drawing on the OECD Good Practice Principles for Service Design and Delivery in the Digital Age, Türkiye might consider complementing the Guide with a ‘Service Standard’ that can be tailored to the needs of the Turkish public sector, reinforce national strategies and reflect best practices from around the world (OECD, 2022[15]). The popularity of Total Quality Management (TQM) and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards within the Turkish public sector shows that there would be an appetite for such a model that would offer a domestic benchmark to set alongside these international approaches. The Turkish Service Standard would need to be complemented by an assurance process to assess performance as well as providing informal support to teams as they work towards improving their approach to public service design and delivery.

As well as providing materials that shape behaviours, Government as a Platform ecosystems contribute to establishing a mentality of understanding and responding to the needs of users on an end-to-end basis not only among the public but also for those civil servants involved with delivering a service. This necessarily means establishing an omni-channel strategy that can seamlessly meet needs between websites and other digital or analogue channels. The emphasis in Türkiye is on the digital channel and türkiye.gov.tr, the e-Government Gateway for meeting user needs and integrating services from across the public sector as well as academia and the private sector. In this way, the e-Government Gateway has enabled the DTO to co-ordinate different elements of Turkish society and replace many paper or in-person interactions. By increasing usage, cost effectiveness and security it provides the basis for the digital aspect of a clear and effective channel strategy in the country.

However, alongside the e-Government Gateway, public sector organisations continue to operate their own websites, services and mobile apps. Many organisations also identified the importance of institutional or sectoral approaches to face-to-face and telephone-based interactions in addition to their websites. This introduces a challenge to achieving an omni-channel approach as well as greater overhead in terms of co-ordination and challenges in terms of solving whole problems and designing end-to-end services as well as the approach to security, standards and quality. An explicit omni-channel strategy would help Türkiye to map the landscape of service channels and identify opportunities for creating a more integrated and coherent approach for the benefit of users.

The omni-channel approach does already exist in Türkiye, particularly at the municipal level where interactions with the public are often more wide-ranging and frequent than found in the context of central government. The review team heard about several examples of in-person service locations functioning as administrative outlets for different government departments and agencies. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these physical services were a highly appreciated part of the infrastructure for the public sector, as citizens knew that they could be helped in-person with minimal friction or cost. One organisation reported that up to 70% of contacts could be transferred online but that the nature of their services meant that in-person interactions could not be removed entirely.

The peer review process unveiled a widespread complacency about the challenges and needs for digital inclusion in Türkiye. Although there were some encouraging signs, the more prevalent attitude was found to be somewhat dismissive of digital inclusion on the basis that Türkiye is a young society with a digitally literate population. Although wider Turkish society is increasingly digital, there is a significant risk from public sector actors to contribute to digital divides through assuming a ‘digital by default’ approach that overlooks vulnerable users who may face barriers to using online services. It could be valuable for Türkiye to consider developing a more coherent and cross-cutting strategy for digital inclusion.

The final area assessed in terms of the Government as a Platform approach are the technical building blocks that exist within Türkiye. It was encouraging to see the extent to which technical solutions have been developed for the public sector as a whole, whether that was through the DTO in the case of the e‑Government Gateway, digital identity and KAYSİS, or as a stand-alone resource provided by other actors in the Turkish public sector, such as the Geographic Information System (GIS) relied on by many actors including mining and petroleum, energy, highways, railways, as well as within local government.

The team also saw this approach being taken to respond to the needs of individual sectors whether education, health, justice, municipal government, or taxation. These established practices and their associated common components and resources came to the fore in facilitating Turkish society to continue despite the policy measures needed to contain the spread of COVID-19. As Türkiye builds on these technical achievements, there is an opportunity to further establish the service design and delivery culture to really unlock their potential. Nevertheless, it is crucial to ensure that the benefits of these activities are considered in light of the needs for the public sector as a whole and not create duplication owing to any siloed focus on organisational or sectoral needs.

One of the most concerning gaps identified in the technical ecosystem is around the maturity of cloud hosting. Many organisations are operating their own, organisational, private cloud solutions or maintaining on-premise hosting administered and managed internally. The DTO is focused on this challenge and developing a new cloud strategy for the country which can emphasise the value of taking a corporate, public sector wide approach to this opportunity.

One of the challenges which presents itself is ensuring that teams across the public sector are aware of the resources that have been made available to them. This review found limited evidence of the use of open-source software or the reusable components maintained by different teams within the Turkish public sector. It could be helpful for the DTO to adopt more of a product-mindset to the Government as a Platform ecosystem and develop a ‘service toolkit’ that offers a single central resource through which teams can access the materials, tools, standards and guidance that will help to transform public services in Türkiye.

 

Proposals for action In light of the key assessments exposed above, which draw on the main findings and analysis included in Chapter 6 of this review, the Government of Türkiye should consider implementing the following policy recommendations:
13. Revise the governance processes for funding and assuring the quality of public service design and delivery. The following should be considered: a. Consider how the Public Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Project Preparation Guide can be updated or improved to champion user research and multi-disciplinary ways of working. b. Revise the Public Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Project Preparation Guide in line with a service design approach to the process to support teams in preparing better quality submissions. c. Develop a Public Service Standard for Türkiye to establish a clear and shared definition of “good” that helps to embed an ambitious culture and philosophy for public service design and delivery. d. Introduce an assessment process to consider the quality of newly developed services against the Public Service Standard. e. Ensure that suppliers of Public Purpose Technology/GovTech are expected to operate in line with the service standard and assessment process.
14. Clearly define an inclusive approach to providing access to public services that accounts for the relationship between analogue and digital experiences and seeks to minimise digital divides, recognise accessibility needs and champion digital inclusion. To achieve this the following should be priorities: a. Develop an omni-channel service strategy that: i. Recognises the need for organisations at different levels of government and from different sectors to work together. ii. Builds on the mapping of existing channels for service delivery and is clear about the future intention for their interaction with the e‑Government Gateway. iii. Takes a cross-government approach (including municipal governments) to be in a position to close and merge channels if necessary. b. Require public sector institutions to develop digital inclusion plans. c. Identify opportunities for existing service networks and resources to be used to increase the digital literacy of Turkish citizens in a coherent and structured way.
15. Encourage the use of shared building blocks and common resources as part of the curated Government as a Platform ecosystem. The following measures are proposed: a. Establish a focal point for sharing materials, tools, standards and guidance that will meet the practical needs of teams across government to design and deliver public services in the digital age. b. Establish cross-government communities of user-centred practice and work with them to develop guides and materials to support service design and delivery. c. Continue to identify opportunities for economies of scale and economies of scope in terms of common components. For example, investigate whether there is an opportunity to consolidate work on video conferencing technology as it appears to be under development in several organisations. d. Develop an infrastructure strategy for the country that provides leadership and direction for the use of cloud hosting that will maintain security and reliability and reduce the overheads and barriers caused by inflexible and costly infrastructure.

Moving towards a data-driven public sector

Data Governance

As governments recognise the opportunities and challenges associated with data, it is crucial to establish data governance models that enable governments to generate public value through the application of data in a trusted and ethical way.

The Government of Türkiye does not have a public sector data strategy. Moreover, the review found that there are neither the organisational structures nor culture to embed the principles and opportunities for data-driven approaches in the Turkish public sector. It is encouraging to hear that there are plans to appoint a Chief Data Officer, or at a minimum establish a body with responsibility for data in the central government, but this is not yet in place. Consequently, there is internal confusion about ownership and accountability for the data agenda which translates into missed opportunities for developing training and cultivating a data-driven mindset within the public sector.

Beyond the opportunities to create greater strategic direction for data in Türkiye the country has some valuable foundations in terms of legislation, guidelines and standards. The Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 provides an important baseline for the treatment of personal data (Republic of Türkiye, 2016[16]). While legislation is an essential step in building public trust, the review found that there was an appetite within the Turkish public sector for greater support in terms of guidelines and standards to help teams understand their policy responsibilities and unlock the latent potential of data. These were identified as being particularly valuable in the context of carrying out data collection, data sharing and data interoperability. As part of developing the action plan to support any new dedicated strategy for data, the Digital Transformation Office (Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi, DTO) might wish to explore providing guidelines and standards to help embed a data-driven culture.

One of the most effective routes to data sharing in Türkiye is handled through türkiye.gov.tr, the e‑Government Gateway. Platforms for data exchange have been developed in the past to serve the needs of different organisations or groups of users. However, they largely reflect a scattered and fragmented strategy concerning the handling, processing and storage of data within the Turkish public sector. A minority of institutions are actively sharing data, and even for those who do, many are using time-consuming approaches involving official letters and manual file transfers rather than machine to machine interfaces. Moreover, some organisations demonstrated a reluctance to share data due to concerns about data security and the perception that it was safer to keep data for themselves. While digital security is important, it is essential that public servants are given the necessary training to be able to judge the appropriate situations in which to have caution and when to encourage greater sharing and collaboration to fully realise the value of data.

There is high awareness of the need to develop the infrastructure to support data in Türkiye in order to connect government and allow for better sharing and access to data in order to enable greater collaboration. There have been initiatives to establish base registries but only a third of organisations are actively maintaining a data inventory or data catalogue. Part of creating a strategic approach to the governance of data means being able to understand and identify the sources and flows of data and so taking steps to improve the cataloguing and indexing of data in the Turkish public sector would be an important step in helping to reduce duplication and improve the quality of data and opportunities for enhancing the analysis and application of data.

In Türkiye, government policy and related activities regarding Open Government Data are covered by Action 67 of the 2015-2018 Information Society Strategy and Action Plan and E4.2.1 of the 2016-2019 National e-Government Strategy and Action Plan (Ministry of Development, 2015[17]; Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, 2016[8]). The DTO has responsibility for developing a National Open Data Strategy and National Open Data Portal. These efforts are ongoing and when ready to launch would benefit from communication efforts encouraging greater recognition of the value of Open Government Data and its use throughout the Turkish public sector to help underline and reinforce their priority.

Application of data in the public sector

Across the Turkish public sector data is being used for anticipating and planning, delivering services, and monitoring and evaluating government activity. However, the prevalence of a deep understanding and appreciation for the value which data can provide in generating public value is not as widespread as might be hoped.

The review found that in the use of data as a predictive tool for anticipating and planning what might happen in the future organisations were doing so when considering the design and delivery of public services, attempting to forecast and predict future developments and using forecasts to support financial management and budgeting. The efforts of organisations in this area are however constrained by the challenges around data sharing and the narrower focus on institutions themselves rather than considering what might be possible should data be pooled together to enable these efforts for the public sector as a whole.

A majority of organisations are using data on a more real-time basis to better meet the needs of the public whether in responding better to emergencies, engaging with the public or in helping to free up public servant capacity to focus on other priorities. However, in practice, there are limitations on the effectiveness with which organisations can respond to these needs due to gaps in the skills available and a limited priority having been given to develop a baseline for developing the data skills of all public servants to be capable in using data to improve services whether in terms of understanding statistics or using data as a means of prioritising delivery.

Finally, data can be valuable in evaluating and monitoring the activity of government. The review found organisations in Türkiye are taking steps to track operational performance, ensure accountability, evaluate policy interventions and demonstrate return on investment. While there is a nascent culture of drawing insights from performance data to help inform decision making and identify opportunities for improvement, the underlying culture of the Turkish public sector and the challenges associated with data sharing were again in evidence with performance data not always being shared with other institutions or the public. There would be value for the Turkish public sector to develop greater transparency and openness in publishing data about the effectiveness of government services and policies as a route to enhancing public trust and reinforcing democracy.

Data for trust

Indeed, public trust is one of the most valuable by-products of achieving a mature approach to the use of data in the public sector. There is a high awareness that data can play an important role among the public institutions of Türkiye and many encouraging initiatives in the way that different organisations, sectors and the country as a whole are thinking about the opportunities and challenges. However, when government uses data it is essential that it does so in ways that protect and reinforce public trust, and that means taking the appropriate care in handling data and considering the challenge of having a trustworthy use of data in a holistic and comprehensive way.

Most Turkish public sector organisations recognised the importance of strengthening public trust in how the government handles data, as this is essential for a country to run high quality services and ensure citizens’ well-being (OECD, 2019[18]; Welby, 2019[19]). A majority of institutions have been inspired in their initiatives around the ethical use and management of data by the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (Republic of Türkiye, 2016[16]). However, the ethical use of data is not limited to personal data. A set of guidelines helping to inform public servants about the right behaviours and approaches for achieving the ethical treatment of data, such as the OECD Good Practice Principles for Data Ethics in the Public Sector could be highly beneficial to the Turkish government (OECD, 2021[20]).

The Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 covers privacy and consent around the use of personal data in Türkiye. While its provisions are powerful and reflect a well considered understanding of the issues that need to be addressed, there is a gap between the law and its practice, with many institutions failing to offer any mechanisms for users to manage their data permissions and existing consents, including revoking or seeing any historic record. One of the ways in which transparency of data is being considered is the Data Controllers Registry Information System (Veri Sorumluları Sicil Bilgi Sistemi, VERBİS) where information such as the identity of the data controller, the purpose for which the personal data will be processed, and the explanations and categorisation related to the group(s) of people subject to the data are made publicly available. As the aim is to ensure transparency and accountability, individuals can have access to the catalogue of information about the categories of data that the data controllers keep about them. This is a valuable first step towards providing more transparency and accountability for citizens about the use of data but remains limited in terms of equipping the public with practical tools for consent. As the DTO considers how it might revise existing laws and regulation to simplify data access and sharing, it will be important to maintain a focus on establishing tools that not only help to increase the visibility of data flows, but which also equip the public with the ability to manage their consents. Alongside these efforts it will be helpful to develop privacy impact assessment tools and enhancing the mechanisms by which compliance with data protection laws are monitored.

A further area to consider is how public servants are equipped to navigate the tensions between unlocking the potential value of data and maintaining the trust of the public. Digital security is fundamentally important for building public trust but so too is the responsiveness and reliability of public services. As such, Turkish public servants would benefit from training and the resources that help them to balance the imperative to protect privacy and maintain public trust with the opportunity to use and share data in ways which generate public value and better serve citizen's needs.

 

Proposals for action In light of the key assessments exposed above, which draw on the main findings and analysis included in Chapter 7 of this review, the Government of Türkiye should consider implementing the following policy recommendations:
16. Define and strengthen the leadership and vision for establishing a data-driven public sector in Türkiye. The following measures could be considered: a. Establish the role of ‘Chief Data Officer’ or designate a specific body with the authority to oversee the strategic management of data. b. Formulate a dedicated strategy for government data in Türkiye and support its implementation through clear and actionable guidelines and standards. c. Support strategic efforts around the use of open data in Türkiye by: i. Developing guidelines and, if necessary, legislation to support publication of Open Government Data and its quality. ii. Continuing to develop the central open government data portal and encouraging institutions to increase their usage of it. iii. Championing the transparency, accuracy and accountability that open data can bring. d. Invest in establishing comprehensive base registries providing a single source for particular datasets and support organisations to prepare data catalogues in order to increase interoperability and the sharing of data as well as the adoption of the Once-Only-Principle and the quality of data. e. Apply AI and machine learning to metadata collection and semantic inference of data catalogues to maximise value from automation and minimise manual effort. f. Support the data agenda by preparing a communication strategy across the public sector to help create a shared vision and understanding for the implementation of the strategy.
17. Support institutions in applying data to generate value by establishing communities of practice, investing in training and resources, defining standards for data sharing and incentivising data application. The following measures should be considered: a. Establish cross-government communities of practice for data professionals to share good practices, identify common challenges and develop shared solutions. b. Provide all public servants with a grounding in the digital government user skills that cover the ‘Trustworthy use of data and technology’ and ‘Data-driven government’. c. Invest in the resources and infrastructure that would equip public sector organisations to forecast and predict how they might respond to disasters or emergencies. d. Develop a standardised model and common technological approach for sharing data within government. e. Establish an annual prize acknowledging and rewarding successful applications of data to generate public value and highlighting innovative practices over the use of data for anticipation and planning, delivery, or evaluation and monitoring.
18. Commit to the trustworthy management and use of data in the public sector by promoting the role of ethics, transparency, privacy and security. The following measures should be considered: a. Develop guidance detailing the right behaviours and approaches to achieve ethical practices in the management of data that allow for the self-regulation of digital practices. b. Devise privacy impact assessment tools that help service teams fulfil their obligations. c. Enhance the mechanisms by which compliance with data protection laws are monitored. d. Develop the systems and tools that will ensure the secure transfer of data and empower citizens with the capacity to manage the permissions and consents associated with their data in a trustworthy fashion.

Box ‎1.1. Reflections on digital transformation from public servants in Türkiye

The above Assessments and Recommendations reflect the OECD peer review assessment of digital government maturity in Türkiye. The overall conclusion being that the country has many strong foundations for achieving increased digital maturity in the future.

The greatest asset in supporting these efforts are public servants and the peer team enjoyed hearing the wisdom of practitioners from across the Turkish public sector. The quotes which follow may only capture the attitude and practice of individuals or organisations but they reflect an aspirational culture of transformed service design and delivery that will deliver great value to the people of Türkiye.

“Long-standing commitment and visionary leadership are essential for achieving digital transformation, especially in achieving a strategic and consistent transformation within a sector.”

“Digital transformation is not just something that happens online but as much to do with the personal relationships you cultivate along the way.”

“Make your default one of collaboration and co-operation.”

“If you are responsible for the digital transformation of a sector, then the strategic focus needs to reflect the importance of building bridges between different organisations.”

“Build strong relationships with suppliers so that even if work is outsourced, the organisation can maintain a strong connection with understanding how the needs of users are being met.”

“Digital transformation results in ongoing responsibilities to maintain and improve a service. It is not possible to launch something and walk away.”

“Quality, not quantity, of services is what matters. It is better to take the time to achieve integration with other organisations that helps to solve a whole problem rather than rushing to migrate a single transaction online that would leave a user stranded.”

“Service design improves the lives of citizens. When a service can be completed in moments, not minutes, it gives people back time for life, not for admin.”

“Reducing paper-based overheads and improving the satisfaction of the public helps improve the health and well-being of public servants too. We’re less stressed and can invest our energy into meeting the needs of those who most need our help.”

“Data foundations, whether in terms of infrastructure, quality or standards are not optional.”

“It is really rewarding to solve hard challenges with good design.”

“Doing the hard work to make your own data available for others to reuse can bring unexpected dividends and benefits.”

“Digital approaches can be transformational for increasing security, reducing fraud and protecting the most vulnerable. Increasing our organisational reputation can create trust from the public and build internal enthusiasm for digital transformation.”

“Don’t limit the scope of digital technology and data to the web, look for its potential to transform the ordinary, everyday operations of your organisation regardless of the channel involved.”

“Be open to opportunities to explore and experiment with novel ideas like artificial intelligence or well‑established but unfamiliar ideas like open-source code.”

Source: Quotes taken from the interviews and survey carried out to support the OECD Digital Government Review of Türkiye.

References

[10] EC (2021), Digital Public Administration Factsheet 2021 - Turkey, European Commission, https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/inline-files/DPA_Factsheets_2021_Turkey_vFinal.pdf.

[3] EC (2021), Turkey 2021 Report, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/system/files/2021-10/Turkey%202021%20report.PDF.

[12] Ministry of Development (2017), Kamu Bilgi ve Iletişim Teknolojileri (BIT) Projeleri Hazirlama Rehberi, Republic of Türkiye.

[17] Ministry of Development (2015), 2015-2018 Information Society Strategy and Action Plan, Republic of Türkiye, https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2015/03/20150306M1-2.htm (accessed on 1 May 2022).

[8] Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications (2016), 2016-2019 National e-Government Strategy and Action Plan, Republic of Türkiye, http://www.edevlet.gov.tr (accessed on 1 May 2022).

[15] OECD (2022), “OECD Good Practice Principles for Public Service Design and Delivery in the Digital Age”, OECD Public Governance Policy Papers, No. 23, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/2ade500b-en.

[11] OECD (2021), “Digital Government Survey of Türkiye Lead/Co-ordinating Government Organisation Version”, Unpublished, OECD, Paris.

[20] OECD (2021), Good Practice Principles for Data Ethics in the Public Sector, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/digital/digital-government/good-practice-principles-for-data-ethics-in-the-public-sector.htm (accessed on 7 April 2021).

[6] OECD (2021), “Turkey”, in Economic Policy Reforms 2021 : Going for Growth: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a5bfe33e-en.

[14] OECD (2020), “The OECD Digital Government Policy Framework: Six dimensions of a Digital Government”, OECD Public Governance Policy Papers, No. 02, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f64fed2a-en.

[18] OECD (2019), The Path to Becoming a Data-Driven Public Sector, OECD Digital Government Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/059814a7-en.

[2] OECD (2014), Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies, OECD/LEGAL/0406, OECD, Paris, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0406.

[13] Presidency of Strategy and Budget (2021), Kamu Bilgi ve Iletişim Teknolojileri (BIT) Projeleri Hazirlama Rehberi (in Turkish).

[9] Presidency of Strategy and Budget (2019), Eleventh Development Plan (2019-2023), Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye.

[7] Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (2018), Presidential Decree No. 1, https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/19.5.1.pdf.

[16] Republic of Türkiye (2016), Law on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK No. 6698).

[1] TÜİK (2021), The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2021, Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (Turkish Statistical Institute), https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=The-Results-of-Address-Based-Population-Registration-System-2021-45500&dil=2 (accessed on 30 June 2022).

[5] UNDP (2020), Human Development Report 2020 - The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene, United Nations Development Programme, https://www.tr.undp.org/content/turkey/en/home/library/human_development/hdr-2020.html.

[19] Welby, B. (2019), “The impact of digital government on citizen well-being”, OECD Working Papers on Public Governance, No. 32, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/24bac82f-en.

[4] World Bank (2022), The World Bank in Turkey, World Bank, Washington, DC, https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/turkey/overview#1.

Note

← 1.  Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), National Currency to US Dollar Exchange Rate: Average of Daily Rates for Türkiye; monthly based from 01 June 2021 (7.3972 USD/TRY) to 01 June 2022 (16.99244 USD/TRY).