This Digital Government Maturity Model Framework (DGMMF) is a set of dimensions that are the key factors in determining the performance of a digital government strategy. The frame of reference for this model is not a particular digital government initiative, such as a portal, but rather it is the government-wide capability for creating and sustaining a mature digital government.

The goal of this digital government maturity assessment (DGMA) is to create an understanding of the level of digital government maturity of each of the ten selected UAE Ministries/

Authorities and to use that new understanding as a foundation for the continued efforts of the UAE to innovate and lead in the area of digital government and some selected subareas reflected in the model.  The DGMA is not meant to be used as a scoring to benchmark across the UAE Ministries/Authorities. It should rather be used to develop an understanding of the current level of maturity and to inform decision making about where investments are needed to increase the capability of each UAE Ministry/Authority to innovate in digital government. Governing bodies in each UAE Ministry/Authority may be inclined to take different approaches to digital transformation, depending on their functions and constituencies.

1.1 What is a Maturity Model?

1. OVERVIEW

Stage models, sometimes called maturity models, have long been used by organizations to help create clarity about capability and to inform investments in new capability. A wide variety of designs and underlying theories of change have resulted in a number of models of many different types. The DGMMF development team reviewed many of these models (over 25) to identify the best elements of each related to digital government and used them to create a unique DGMMF. The models reviewed vary in many ways including the categorizations of "maturity" stages and, of particular importance for this assessment, the scope of the model. For example, the United Nations model focuses on e-government best practices from a global perspective, the Lee and Kwak  Model focuses on open government and  e-participation, the Gartner Model focuses on emerging technologies, and the McKinsey Model emphasizes government services and organizational processes.

 

  Lee, G., & Kwak, Y. H. (2012). An open government maturity model for social media-based public 1 engagement. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 492-503.

After a thorough review of the selected models a decision was made to focus the DGMMF on enablers, rather than on stages or results. The DGMMF addresses core capabilities and a range of activities related to emerging technologies and new trends. Because of this “enabler” focus, each of the dimensions of the DGMMF represents a theory of change related to the key enabling factors in terms of capabilities that contribute to a mature digital government.

The DGMMF for the UAE is composed of three pillars with nine dimensions: (1) Leadership, (2) Strategy, (3) Governance, (4) Legal, (5) Technology, (6) Cybersecurity, (7) API Ecosystem Management, (8) Specific Technologies and New Trends, and (13) Ministry/Authority Specific. Most dimensions have a set of sub-dimensions that guide enabling actions that each UAE Ministry/Authority might take to increase their maturity along each Dimension. Each subdimension has a set of specific items to be used by each UAE Ministry/Authority to determine their level of "maturity" for each sub-dimension and dimension. The five levels of maturity in the DGMMF range from Level 1 representing a very low level of maturity, to level 5 representing a very high level of maturity (See Table 1). The assessment responses provide an outline for a roadmap for a successful digital government transformation. The items specific to each Ministry/Authority may be included in the overall assessment or as an addendum for each Ministry/Authority to better understand how they are using technologies for some of their specific functions and services.

 

Table 1.

DGMMF Levels of Maturity

LEVEL	Description
1	Very Low Level of Maturity
2	Low Level of Maturity
3	Average Level of Maturity
4	High-Level of Maturity
5	Very High Level of Maturity