Improving government service delivery in India through effective use of technology and data

eGovernments Foundation (eGov) is partnering with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab South Asia (J-PAL South Asia) to conduct research on improving public service delivery across Indian states through effective use of digital technology and data.

Under this partnership, eGov will facilitate access to administrative data that can be used by J-PAL affiliated researchers to design and evaluate policy programs. The data will be collected from digital platforms which have real-time information on transactions and metrics around municipal services. These platforms have been developed by eGov in collaboration with its government partners.

Large amounts of data are now being digitally collected and stored in India, creating new opportunities for researchers to design and evaluate social policies. This has great potential to improve the delivery of government services in the smaller towns and cities, home to a third of India’s urban residents, where local governments and civic bodies face significant shortages in workers and funding.

With the insights gleaned from these datasets, J-PAL affiliated researchers will work closely with eGov as well as state and local governments to design, plan and execute randomized evaluations for identifying gaps in public service delivery for urban residents, and improve citizens’ engagement and welfare.

eGov and J-PAL South Asia will aim to work in the areas of urban services, health, sanitation, and public finance.

“There has been a huge dearth of data around how Indian cities work. This has negatively impacted their governance and policymaking. Over the last 18 years, eGov foundation has built digital platforms for cities that makes real-time data on municipal services available to policymakers and governments. With J-PAL now onboard, we hope this data will be used to study, analyse and design effective government policies,” said Viraj Tyagi, CEO, eGov Foundation.

Aparna Krishnan, Project Director, J-PAL South Asia said: “We are pleased to partner with eGov to support governments at all levels in enhancing the use of digitally stored administrative data for public service delivery. We can significantly improve our social programs by collecting, aggregating and analyzing data in a timely manner, transforming the lives of the millions of Indians who depend on them on a daily basis. This partnership also illustrates J-PAL South Asia’s commitment to create a culture of policy making based on rigorous data and evidence.”

eGov and J-PAL South Asia will also work toward enhancing the decision-making capabilities of local governments by providing customized capacity building and advisory support on analyzing administrative data.

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