Digital Government in Lebanon

Chapter 2. Contextual factors

Contextual analysis of factual elements is essential for finding appropriate and informed solutions in a variety of social, economic, political and cultural contexts. When establishing a strategy for digital governments, it is of paramount importance to consider the wide range of contextual factors that can affect the ability to mobilise and co-ordinate efforts across policy areas and levels of government. “[C]ontextual factors are all the elements of the environment within which some phenomenon occurs: either the micro-context of the immediate situation or the macro-context of social, cultural, historical, political, environmental, legal and/or economic circumstances and conditions, seen as relevant to the description or analysis of any phenomenon” (OECD, forthcoming[1]). Integrating adaptability with strong understanding of contextual factors will also ensure an efficient integration and organisation of resources through the public sector. It helps authorities better align with the digital transformation strategies and policies, including main enablers, guidelines and practices, as well as the related rules and regulations.

Traditional situational considerations examined by the OECD when conducting research include data on the administrative culture, that includes the institutional and organisational characteristics, of the country. These include the electoral system of the parliament, the configuration of the executive branch, the division of power between one central and local governments, and the essential features of the judicial system. Political and legal criteria help to decode the governance structure of countries, their management and organisational approach. Under the leadership of the E-Leaders Task Force, the OECD decided to include the micro-context of the circumstances surrounding the governance of digital government and the macro-context of the broad social, cultural, geographical, financial, environmental, legal and/or economic circumstances and conditions deemed to be essential to the definition or evaluation of any event (see Figure 2.1). The interlocking circle of digitalisation and economic and social changes calls for the need to incorporate considerations other than the standard policy features that are typically considered when discussing governance in modern societies and adopting emerging governance strategies (OECD, forthcoming[1]).

In the following sections, the contextual factors of the E-Leaders governance framework will be applied and adapted to Lebanon according to four dimensions: 1) overall political and administrative culture and structure; 2) socio-economic factors; 3) technological context; 4) environmental and geographical considerations – with short analyses following sub-dimensions that were selected as relevant to the topic of digital government governance.

Figure 2.1. Digital government contextual factors

Source: (OECD, forthcoming[1]), OECD E-Leaders Governance Handbook.

Dimension 1. Overall political and administrative culture and structure

Referring to the E-Leaders Handbook on Governance, the "overall political and administrative culture and structure” should be understood as a dimension that considers “the administrative and institutional features of each country. These include the composition and electoral system of the legislature, the structure of the executive branch, the division of power between one central and several regional or local governments, and critical characteristics of the judicial system, but also everything about civic engagement and the political behaviour of citizens” (OECD, forthcoming[1]).

Power structure: How power is organised or shared in the country

Lebanon is a unitary state with a parliamentary political system. The partisan system is generally associated multi-party systems. The main challenge to institutional stability in Lebanon is associated with the fact that the biggest political parties in the country are confessionalist and face the historic and political legacy from the country’s civil war from 1975 to 1990. This means that the coalitions necessary to form a government can be politically fragile, and their collapse leads to very regular changes in the government.

A unitary state is more likely to benefit from executive and legislative powers that can more easily and efficiently design and implement coherent digital government policies across different sectors and levels of government. This can contribute to the agility and co-ordination of the digital transformation. However, a very competitive and fragmented multi-party confessional system may pose a threat to secure coherent decisions, leadership and political commitment to the digital government strategy, as the priorities of each political party may pull decision on different directions. Given this context, the Government of Lebanon should focus on strengthening the leadership and co-ordination capacities of the public sector institution responsible for the digital government in the country, which is the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR). The continuity of its mandate, leadership and staff beyond the different political cycles should also be considered a priority, as well as the establishing a formal position appointing someone with the official mandate and political support to act as lead of the digital transformation of the public sector, such as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Digital Transformation Officer (CDO).

Geopolitical situation and international/ cross-border relations: All types of relationships, based on formal agreements or not, between countries

The geopolitical instability involving Lebanon in the last decades affects domestic politics and economic development, and inevitably affects Lebanon's capacity building, organisation and co-ordination of public governance strategies and plans namely around digitally transforming its government. The Government of Lebanon should strengthen efforts to ensure continuity with its digital transformation draft strategy. Effective implementation of the strategy should be considered as a public policy priority beyond the political cycle changes.

Legalistic versus non-legalistic system: The level of government support for digital government issues and current regulations and digital rights maturity

The Lebanese legal system is inspired by the French legal system, which is a civil law country. Most of the laws, decrees and rulings controlling and overseeing the operation of public sector institutions in Lebanon go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s, with small changes adopted at later stages It follows a strong principle of legality, highly codified rules of law and a centralised administrative system. Adopting legalistic or bureaucratic approaches to innovation, experimentation and commissioning may hinder the policy and co-ordination agility that is crucial for digital government development. The Government of Lebanon needs to be conscious that beyond the need of an updated legal and regulatory framework, enhancing the digital transformation of its public sector is not a static process, but requires agile, collaborative and experimental approaches across the administration.

The Government of Lebanon is aware of the importance of legal standards and compliance and agrees that standardisation will improve the quality and consistency of users' digital experience, and guarantee compliance with international norms. The plan is to create standards, guidelines and frameworks covering industry regulations and digital rights for all government agencies: cyber security, cloud security, use of personal data, digital assurance, change management. Lebanon's compliance with the privacy laws of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Lebanon's E-Transactions and Personal Data Law of October 2018, Data Privacy Law and Data Security Law are a few examples of such standards and guidelines. The Government of Lebanon is taking an active role in codifying these intentions into legislation by designing regulations that cut across the different areas of digitalisation in the public sector, referencing good standards from other jurisdictions and enshrining digital rights.

However, considering the increasing expectations of citizens regarding public service delivery and the progressive use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things, some digital rights focused on personal data protection or digital security are quickly becoming insufficient. For instance, governments in OECD member countries are increasingly required to apply the “once-only principle” (i.e. citizens should provide the same information to the public sector only once), invest in proactive service delivery, secure data transparency and ownership or to open the algorithms applied on public decision-making processes. To keep improving its digital maturity, the Government of Lebanon should prioritise the development of these new generations of digital rights.

Political continuity and stability: The current political situation and the potential sustainability of the system in place and whether significant events could prevent the implementation and functioning of policies

Lebanon has been experiencing major civil demonstrations and political changes since October 2019. Despite the instability, there is a strong desire for government and digital reform from public and private stakeholders. The Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has committed to forming a government of independent technocrats to face the severe economic crisis in the country. With the current government approach that tries to keep the digital transformation draft strategy independent of the political cycle, there is a marginal guarantee for smooth and sustainable implementation and functioning of the policies and initiatives foreseen.

Federal or decentralised systems with higher levels of autonomy for administrative decision-making at the sub-national levels of government versus more centralised administrations: Decentralised states grant certain powers to local authorities, but retain control of the legality and the suitability of the administrative acts of regions with a measure of autonomy; a more centralised state ensures and guarantees to all citizens identical legislation throughout the territory by centralising power in one institution, with the autonomy of local authorities minimal

Lebanon is a highly centralised state and the Government of Lebanon is aware of the importance of centralisation and standardisation in its digital government and public services to improve economies of scale, expedite service delivery and ensure interoperability and good technical standards. The government should continue securing this centralised co-ordination through OMSAR to accelerate the digital government agenda and to design and implement efficient and coherent policies. Simultaneously, current centralised co-ordination efforts should also be used to progressively equip local governments with the necessary digital capacities that can enable more policy decentralised approaches in the future.

Local territories: The activity (and sometimes the whole system) in each area that serves a local population

Lebanon is divided into eight governorates, each considered to be an administrative division of the country, subdivided into 26 districts except for Beirut (see Figure 2.2). Lebanon's digital transformation draft strategy considers the need for the broadest participation of local governments. Private and public spaces across Lebanon should host an ecosystem where innovation can take place by fostering co-operation and collaboration between local governments, citizens and businesses. Local skills and contributions will thrive at community centres, innovation hubs and public venues. Co-ordination will be crucial to enable local governments and economies to keep up with the transformation.

Figure 2.2. Governorates in Lebanon

1	Akkar		عكّار
2	North Lebanon		الشمال
3	Baalbek-Hermel		بعلبك-الهرمل
4	Beirut		بيروت
5	Mount Lebanon		جبل لبنان
6	Beqaa		البقاع
7	South Lebanon		الجنوب
8	Nabatiyeh		النبطية

Source: (Lebanese Arabic Institute, 2020[2]), “Administrative Divisions of Lebanon”, https://www.lebanesearabicinstitute.com/administrative-divisions-lebanon/.

Concentration versus dispersion of functions within institutions in charge of digitalisation as a tool to advance the maturity of digital government: Relationship between the various levels of the central body or the single and hierarchical structure in charge of digitalisation

According to Lebanon’s digital transformation draft strategy, the institutions and government units in charge of digital government are organised in a top-down pyramidal structure. Specifically, the Ministerial Digital Transformation Committee (DEDTMC), the Digital Economy and Digital Transformation Steering Committee (DEDTSC), the Programme Management Office (PgMO), the Digital Transformation Unit (DTU), and implementation teams. This institutional model could be better organised in an efficient and agile way to streamline the co-ordination, oversight, strategy, standardisation and monitoring of it’s the digital transformation (covered in Chapter 3 on Institutional Models). In order to better implement its digital government policy, the Government of Lebanon can consider reinforcing OMSAR’s role as the public sector organisation in charge of the execution of the digital transformation draft strategy and supervise the operations of the Digital Transformation Units (DTUs). This should be achieved through the attribution of a clear and specific mandate, strong oversight and co-funding authority. It should also be backed by adequate financial and human capital.

Procurement versus commissioning of goods and services: The level of agility and dynamic of involvement of private stakeholders in the process of acquiring digital goods and services

Procurement is a key area of focus in Lebanon's digital transformation. The Government of Lebanon is making the effort to avoid pitfalls such as lack of budgets for sustainability and recurring costs. It is reviewing procurement laws and processes and looking to the implementation and use of efficient e-procurement. It has also made procurement a Key Performance Area (KPA 6.2) in order to expand the utilisation of public e-procurement activities across the Lebanese economy. It will also continue to engage in pre-commercial procurement to facilitate innovation, and partner with industry players to increase the share of the national ICT industry in public and donor-funded procurement. Under the legislation, the parliament has enacted the Public-Private Partnership Law that encapsulates modern public procurement procedures and practices and starts capacity building with public procurement. The Government of Lebanon has in place good strategies and approaches to the procurement of digital goods and services in an agile and dynamic way – covering funding, partnerships and training. In 2020, OMSAR launched its e-Procurement Platform that covers the full procurement cycle in an adaptable manner based on existing regulations and rules. It allows suppliers, contracts and consultants to participate freely in procuring in Lebanon. This platform can be easily transformed based on open data standards. However, rampant corruption may threaten the efficacy of procurement at an operational level. The Government of Lebanon should focus on the governance of the e-Procurement Platform and further digitalisation of procurement processes.

Dimension 2. Socio-economic factors

Socio-economic factors refer to "social and economic matters and their relations that can fundamentally determine, or influence, digital government priorities and the necessary mechanisms of governance to achieve a coherent and sustainable digital transformation of the public sector" (OECD, forthcoming[1]).

Overall economic climate: The country’s economic condition and how it can determine the digital government policy

After reaching record growth levels between 2007 and 2010 of 8% on average, driven by the reconstruction programme that followed the civil war, Lebanese economic growth has slowed since 2011 due to internal political tensions and the conflict in Syria (World Bank, 2016[3]). Economic growth was expected to accelerate slightly in 2019 at 1.4% and 2020 at 2%, due to the resilience of the tourism and banking sectors. Nevertheless, the country is facing deepening economic challenges in recent years due to economic crises, the recent civil protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is presently facing a severe liquidity shock and is defaulting on its foreign currency debts. The Government of Lebanon understands the importance of using digital technologies to boost public industry and market intelligence for better economic policy planning and to promote the digital transformation of its public sector through the inclusion of citizens in the process of governance and improve public communications. The OECD Digital Government Survey of Lebanon shows that data analytics are being used to address a range of social and economic challenges across the government, to drive innovation and support evidence-based policymaking. The Government of Lebanon should continue to emphasise on developing economic intelligence for better policies.

Levels of digitalisation within the population and adoption of digital public services: The digital inclusiveness of a country’s population and the potential digital divide, i.e. the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels in terms of opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and interact with public services

Building on high levels of access to the Internet by its population at 78.2% in 2017 (World Bank, 2017[4]), the Government of Lebanon has a plan aimed at increasing the digital skills of citizens to access public services available online. The digital assistance programme targets citizens who need help to perform more online activities. Based on the digital transformation draft strategy, the Government of Lebanon is planning to support co-ordinated activities from the civil society, universities, vocational training centres, non-governmental organisations and private companies to attract higher online engagement and transaction with public services. The Government of Lebanon will also offer training and capacity building to public servants and staff to gain digital skills that enable them to serve the citizens electronically. In line with these important priorities, the country should also consider reinforcing efforts underway to improve basic user digital skills across all segments of the population. The success of digitalisation of the government and public sector relies on how well digital public services are received by citizens and that no vulnerable group is excluded, and new forms of digital exclusions emerge. The journey towards digital inclusion and equality must encompass both the public service providers and users, to secure that the new opportunities created can benefit the most. OMSAR can play a co-ordination role in expanding digital inclusiveness.

Levels of adoption of e-commerce: Development of business and services of the digital economy, their use by the population and the impact on digital government policy

In 2019, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development B2C E-Commerce Index ranked Lebanon the 68th out of 152 economies, where the ranking has dropped from 55th in 2017 to 63rd in 2018 (UNCTAD, 2019[5]). BlomInvest Bank found that Lebanese people mostly use e-commerce for banking services with the highest e-commerce usage rate for money transfers and online bill payments (BlomInvest Bank, 2015[6]). In 2019, the Government of Lebanon launched the Commercial Register and the Lebanese Government Common Portal project based on an open and interoperable platform as an attempt to improve the ease of doing business and investments in Lebanon. It addresses government data availability and interoperability such that digital businesses and services can be more easily developed. The platform also significantly assists the government administration in transacting with users via e-services. Building on the experience of Lebanese citizens using e-commerce and services and the substantial levels of digitalisation observed, the Government of Lebanon should continue its efforts towards the progressive digitalisation of public services, investing in citizen-driven approaches for its design and delivery. Especially in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government can ride on the positive trends and opportunities for e-commerce development.

Levels of competitiveness and innovation in the country: The measure of the country's advantage or disadvantage creating new digital products and services, determining the potential of a collaboration of the government with the private sector and the level of expectations towards the digital government policy

Innovation is not currently part of the tradition of government bodies according to observations collected in the OECD fact-finding mission to Beirut in June 2019. Reinforced partnerships between both research institutions and local technology businesses could incorporate the very best of modern technology and digital technology to unlock creativity and ingenuity in providing creative public services based on shared networks, advanced technology and scalable business resources. Lebanon has made of innovation one of the pillars of its digital transformation draft strategy alongside people, processes and civic engagement. The country has identified three major innovation focuses: technology using a cloud-first policy, the establishment of common digital platforms and the rise of digital services. This demonstrates the government's commitment to intensify policy efforts in this critical area.

Digital skills in the public sector: The digital competencies and abilities required for a digitally prepared public workforce, including digital user skills, digital professional skills, complementary digital skills and digital management and leadership skills

The OECD fact-finding mission team found a consensus among the ecosystem of stakeholders about the need to improve the digital skills availability in the public sector. According to the digital transformation draft strategy, the Government of Lebanon is willing to develop the digital skills of its civil servants in the public sector. The government has the goal of training 20 000 civil servants on various digital services in five years. This will be backed up by the launch of a digital academy with online training courses to build and improve digital skills and competencies of citizens and civil servants. Such training should be strategic, evaluative and consider the nature of jobs in the Lebanese public sector, including all central government employees such as contractual employees, temporary employees and daily workers in addition to civil servants. In 2016, OMSAR had launched a large-scale e-learning project “Boost Yourself” for officials across the public sector to familiarise themselves with digital learning solutions. The project offered hundreds of courses in Information Technology and Microsoft Office in addition to management and soft skills. 2 871 public sector employees participated with 1 519 finishing at least three courses. Beyond the investments on the user and professional skills, the Government of Lebanon could also consider prioritising the development of digital talent and culture among the public workforce in order to build a digital mindset across the administration that understands the benefits and challenges of the digital transformation underway.

Public trust: The extent to which people hold a positive perception about the actions of their government and how this can influence the level of ambition or priorities of the digital government strategy

Lebanon is a country where there has not been much trust in public institutions for many years. The recent protests in 2019 and the beginning of 2020 called for an end to a political regime maintained by a governing elite. The Arab Barometer underlines that in 2019, less than 20% of the Lebanese trust the government and 96% believe that corruption is endemic (Gohsn, F. and S.E. Parkinson, 2019[7]). The Government of Lebanon has given itself the goal of building more public trust by accountability, fighting inequality, corruption and bribery and acting in the best interests and demands of its people for a better standard of living and increased facilities in the public sector. The implementation and use of neutral and secure digital tools for public and financial services will be beneficial and essential in the digital transformation draft strategy. A positive example is the deployment of Courts Automation software, data centres and infrastructure in 2018 in a bid to restore public trust in the Lebanese justice system by increasing efficiency and transparency in case management. Another important tool and process to be highlighted is the digital Appointment Mechanism for senior vacant positions in the public administrations that was created in 2012 to combat corruption in the form of favouritism or nepotism. Such digital tools should have an impact on Lebanon's public governance as they will support the administration to restore citizens' trust, help increase the country's digital economy, and create the foundations for improved well-being across the population.

Diversity: The wide range of cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious and socio-economic characteristics in the population

The main characteristic of Lebanon is its diversity and complexity – there are officially 18 religious beliefs and approximatively 5 million inhabitants and almost a million of foreigners with a considerable number of ties to Palestine Authority and Syria. Social classes in Lebanon are relatively distinct, which are determined by wealth or socio-economic class rank. This plurality has led to different languages being spoken by the population and the government, namely English, French and Arabic, and traditions within institutions. Considering that digital government can improve transparency, accountability and efficiency, which can reinforce citizen trust in government, the political support and attribution of administrative, financial and human resources for the implementation of the digital transformation draft strategy can help to overcome diversity challenges in Lebanon.

Migration: Movement of the population within, out of and from countries

Migration to Lebanon is not a new phenomenon considering the country’s history. The war in Syria has plunged the region into an unprecedented crisis and more than a million refugees came into Lebanon. The management of these migrations is mainly done by international organisations or non-governmental organisations established in the region and working in camps or specific offices. Migration is an essential point in the organisation of the country and its social fabric and should be properly considered in the government's digital government strategy due to their administrative and economic impacts (OECD, forthcoming[1]). The development of targeted digital services for different segments of the immigration population can help the Government of Lebanon manage the phenomenon and should be prioritised.

Dimension 3. Technological context

The technological context refers to all the elements relating to or involving technology, especially the technological innovations that comprise new products and processes and significant technological changes of products and processes. The technological context also considers changes in terms of infrastructure development in the country, such as the system of public works in a country, state or region, including roads, utility lines and public buildings.

Coverage and level of development of the digital infrastructures: The scope and availability of means and connectivity in a territory

The progress of establishing digital and telecommunications infrastructure has been relatively slow in Lebanon, with frequent claims of mismanagement, corruption and monopoly among the stakeholders. The Ministry of Telecommunication manages internet services in Lebanon, and there are three kinds of available services on the territory: dial-up, wireless Internet and ADSL. The country ranks 155th worldwide in terms of fixed broadband speeds and 27th in terms of mobile speed based on the 2020 Speedtest Global Index (Speedtest, 2020[8]). This is likely to serve as a roadblock for digitalisation. The Government of Lebanon has identified this area of need and placed the clear target for improving digital infrastructure. The progress will be monitored based on the United Nations Electronic Government Development Index (EDGI) (S06-1. KPI-1), where one of the three composite measures is telecommunication connectivity measured by development status of telecommunication infrastructure. The other two are the provision of online services and human capacity.

Technological legacy of the public sector, integration of technology into governance and business processes and public sector innovation: Past and ongoing public sector measures and agenda regarding digitalisation, innovation in collaboration with the private sector

A notable shift in Lebanon occurred in 2002 when the government expressed the will to change the country's technical-oriented strategy to make it more user-oriented and people-centered, namely, citizen-centric and business-centric ( (OMSAR, 2002[9])). The plan sought to go beyond statistics and processes by working towards the goal of changing and improving how the government works. The aim was to use the strategy as a springboard for the development of a novel, innovative and creative plan that could transform Lebanon's traditional old-fashioned government operations into a modern, realistic and applicable e-government model. Many key focus initiatives were suggested for execution over a three-year timeline and examined with relevant parties. A high-level plan of action has been developed, and the digital transformation draft strategy and action plan take this technological evolution into account. Policy efforts foreseen by the Lebanese digital government strategy can be expected to positively influence digital adoption and integration in the public sector and in the economy.

However, a common understanding was found during the fact-finding mission to Beirut in June 2019 that there is still room for improvement for how the Lebanese public sector embeds digital technologies for value creation. Lebanon ranks 99th in the 2018 United Nations eGovernment Development Index (EGDI), dropping slightly in its position since the first edition of the index in 2008 where the country was ranked 74th (UNDESA, 2018[10]). Many initiatives in Lebanon remain private sector-oriented and are backed up by financial institutions in banks. More governmental initiatives should be implemented with techniques used to tackle a range of social and economic challenges within the administration, to drive entrepreneurship and innovation, and to support evidence-based policymaking. In this sense, establishing private and public partnerships are crucial to achieving this goal. Several national programmes and consortiums have emerged in Lebanon due to a robust entrepreneurial scene. The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Lebanon seeks to identify and recommend solutions to issues that are central to pushing the innovation revolution. The Council intends to allow entrepreneurs and businesses to grow a professional, internationally competitive workforce. A good example is the Lebanese Industrial Research Achievements Programme (LIRA), aimed at building active co-operation between industry, academia and research centres to address the research and development needs of the Lebanese industry, empowering the industrial sector with innovations that promote competitiveness and productivity, and achieving a transition from a welfare to a knowledge-based economy.

Dimension 4. Environmental and geographical considerations

Environmental and geographic considerations refer to "geographic elements that influence the territorial organisation and take into account the growing influence of the effects of climate change and related environmental priorities such as global warming on the economy as this can impact the digital government strategy" (OECD, forthcoming[1]).

Regional variances: The analysis of all disparities between regions of a territory

A 2017 report by the Lebanese Ministry of Finance and the United National Development Programme highlighted that regional disparities within Lebanon have been responsible for income inequality (MOF/UNDP, 2017[11]). The report also noted a direct relationship between the rate of urbanisation and inequalities. The current strategy by the Government of Lebanon could focus how income inequality affects digital penetration in some areas, and could include measures to strengthen efforts on digital skills training and digital talent development, to avoid the emergence of new forms of digital divides as the public sector progresses in the digitalisation its processes and services.

Geological risks and hazards: Events linked to the natural and human-related activities on the planet, such as natural disasters

Lebanon is a relatively small country with a territory of 10 452 km2. It faces low to moderate seismicity and is traversed by significant faults that have generated devastating historical earthquakes. The urbanised coastal strip, especially Beirut, where more than 40% of the Lebanese population lives with a large part of the economic, political and administrative activity, makes Lebanon one of the Mediterranean countries most exposed to seismic risk. The government is aware of that, and the digital transformation draft strategy considers this vulnerability owing to its geographical location, country size and very restricted access to international connectivity. Natural disasters, systemic problems and cyber attacks threaten the critical infrastructure, and put the systems and data in the country at risk. Although OMSAR suggests the necessity for a safe location outside the country to establish a disaster recovery location where the Government of Lebanon and private sector retain control of sensitive Lebanese data, this can only be done based on active co-operation with data management and storing firms and a stable political agreement with a country that would not undermine Lebanese interests. The Cloud-First policy should be built that way and taking external hazards into account (OMSAR, 2019[12]). 

References

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[7] Gohsn, F. and S.E. Parkinson (2019), Lebanese protesters don’t trust their government to reform. Here’s why., https://www.arabbarometer.org/media-news/lebanese-protesters-dont-trust-their-government-to-reform-heres-why/ (accessed on 25 May 2020).

[2] Lebanese Arabic Institute (2020), Administrative Divisions of Lebanon, https://www.lebanesearabicinstitute.com/administrative-divisions-lebanon/ (accessed on 11 April 2020).

[11] MOF/UNDP (2017), Assessing Labor Income Inequality in Lebanon’s Private Sector: Findings, Comparative Analysis of Determinants, and Recommendations.

[1] OECD (forthcoming), “OECD Digital Government Project: E-Leaders Governance Handbook”, E-Leaders Task Force on Governance.

[12] OMSAR (2019), Lebanon Digital Transformation: Strategies to Actions (2020 – 2030), Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Republic of Lebanon, Beirut..

[9] OMSAR (2002), E-Government Strategy for Lebanon – December 2002, http://www.databank.com.lb/docs/E-Government%20Strategy%20for%20Lebanon-%20OMSAR-%20%202002.pdf.

[8] Speedtest (2020), Speedtest Global Index: Global Speeds April 2020, https://www.speedtest.net/global-index (accessed on 25 May 2020).

[5] UNCTAD (2019), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development B2B E-Commerce Index 2019, UNCTAD Technical Notes on ICT For Development, https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tn_unctad_ict4d14_en.pdf.

[10] UNDESA (2018), 2018 United Nations E-Government Survey, https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/E-Government%20Survey%202018_FINAL.pdf.

[4] World Bank (2017), Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - Lebanon, The World Bank Data, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?locations=LB (accessed on 25 May 2020).

[3] World Bank (2016), World Bank Group Country Survey (WBCS), Lebanon (LBN_2016_WBCS_v01_M)., https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/2867/study-description.