The influence technological innovation has on society is manifold, but in particular it provides a vital means of empowerment. E-learning is a prime example of this benefit, letting organizations provide comprehensive and accessible training to personnel. This is critical in a knowledge-based society, where innovations constantly reshape the ways we live and work, and where private and public sector organizations must keep pace by constantly informing and educating their staff. E-learning platforms lie at the heart of this effort.

Especially during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, online learning with its anywhere-anytime feature, has become the main recourse for remote learning and work. It has served as a panacea for the new restrictions put in place, providing a way to overcome disruptions in workplaces and in daily life.

The staff of the relatively-young Public Service Agency (PSA), established three years ago under the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan, have been the focus of the joint European Union and UNDP project ‘Improving Public Service Delivery and Improving Governance in Rural Areas of Uzbekistan (IPSD)’. Their capacity-building and training, via the E-learning platform for the PSA and its network of 201 Public Service Centers (PSCs), has been a major project result.

The platform will have three intended outcomes. The first is to strengthen the computer knowledge and skills of staff at PSA/PSCs and at targeted ministries and departments, enhancing their professional abilities as required by a knowledge-based economy. The second is to improve the digital delivery of varied public services throughout Uzbekistan, including in remote and rural areas, thereby creating better living conditions in line with the goals of modernization reform. The third is to support PSA/PSC staff in their continued education throughout their careers.

The nature of the system itself creates many positive outcomes, opening up new vistas of opportunity. Its breadth of content gives staff unlimited opportunities to undertake capacity development, for the benefit of both themselves and the greater public. Its flexibility means personnel can manage their own learning processes and plan their time accordingly. Its accessibility - the courses will be made available on all devices including mobile phones by 2021 - allows staff to learn anytime, anywhere. Ultimately the platform will help create an institutional culture of life-long learning.  

Plans are in place to extend the E-learning platform to all institutions under the Ministry of Justice that provide public services. Such a broadly-available service will substantially improve the competency of staff delivering digitalized public services to Uzbekistan’s 34 million people.

The need for improved digitalized learning was identified from the conclusions of a recent needs assessment report, covering pilot areas of the Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya, Jizzakh and Syrdarya regions (particularly the rural Bakhmal, Dehkanabad, Khavast and Sariosiyo districts, and Nurafshon city). This survey was intended to identify adequacies and shortfalls in public service delivery.

Answers from the survey’s 428 respondents indicated that two overall matters had to be resolved in order to improve public service quality. These included the apparent dearth of technical abilities and competencies among PSA/PSCs personnel and similar employees, causing difficulties and delays in service provision, and also insufficient inter-organizational interaction which again impacted service delivery. The continually-expanding E-learning platform will help resolve both these issues.

Staff using the E-learning platform can choose their own directions for skill development, and can enroll in and complete each 20-minute course when they have an opportune moment. They can complete as many courses as they wish, giving ambitious individuals a chance to rapidly upgrade their skills and quickly climb the career ladder. The system’s mandatory and voluntary training programmes are accessible to 3,494 personnel including 58 central and 578 regional Public Service Agency staff, 1,034 Civil Registry Office and 1,824 Public Service Center personnel, along with their colleagues in other government institutions.

The EU-UNDP project’s focus on capacity development for PSA and PSC staff reflects the Government of Uzbekistan’s recognition of the importance of online learning in a knowledge-based economy. At the project’s conclusion it is intended that the operation of the E-learning hub will be fully transferred to the Public Service Agency, continuing to provide new vistas of opportunity for government workers, while optimizing public service delivery.