Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 71
Research Article / Научная статья
УДК 363.637
DOI: 10.14258/SSI(2023)2-05
Mongolia’s Experience inE-Governance and Current Challenges
Bumdari Dagva-Ochir
1
Badamdash Dashdavaa
2
1, 2
National University ofMongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
1
bumdari@num.edu.mn, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8614-3891
2
badamdash@num.edu.mn, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1027-7233
Abstract. Although, Mongolia carried out «E-Government Mongolia» national programme
in2005–2012, the National Programme to develop Integrated Registration System in2008-2012,
and the E-Governance National Programme in2012–2016, the operation to separate information
communication networks and services could not be successfully completed. e main reason is
the inertia ofmentality ofthe previous system to continue the state ownership ofdatabases ofall
types, to monopolize ofall pro ts for the government and to use for exercising power inimple-
menting activities ininformation and communication sector resulting inine ectiveness ofpolit-
ical system and governance.
In order to assess the digital governance issues and challenges ofMongolia, we intend to an-
alyse policy documents, and conduct case research and make an inductive conclusion.
First, we examined the implementation ofthe Government policy ofInformation and Com-
munication Development. e Government ofMongolia prioritizes the following 6 tasks to-
wards the development ofthe sector development. ese include: a) legal framework, b) net-
works and infrastructure c) service d) innovation and research, e) production, f) investment and
competition g) information security and h) e-governance. erefore, we aimed to examine the
implementation ofthese tasks, their stages, and their mutual dependence.
Second, to evaluate the overall implementation ofthe E-Governance, we analyse historical
development, political decisions regarding e-governance, legal framework, and negative conse-
quences ingovernment service and information transparency through cases.
Large majority ofthe population (78.2%) or 2,62, people use internet and social net-
works. is indicates that there is very high internet usage among the adult population. To be
more precise, individuals between the ages of14 and 64 constitute 64.4% ofthe population,
indicating a signi cantly high proportion.
ere are 496 government services that are provided online. Among other services, most
widely used digital services include: one stop service, Electronic kiosk ofgovernment service,
«Khur» government information exchange system, «Dan» recognition and access system,
E-Mongolia, and E-barimt application
1
.
Our research ndings suggest the following conditions for the major di erence ofabove-men-
1
https://ebarimt.mn/
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 72
tioned quantity and percentages, slow progress ofdigital transformation. ese are:
• Legal environment for digital services is not established;
• Open databases are not accessible, only government can use them;
• Although government services can be provided online, society has not yet recognized its secu-
rity and still tends to demand for paper-based certi cation;
• Information security is not guaranteed;
• Databases are only used for government decisions, but frequency ofsudden changes inthe
information security level sets up the various discrimination inthe society.
e key ndings ofthe research indicate the di erence between the above-mentioned gures
is large and the digital transformation is not e ective due to the following conditions.
In conclusion, the lack ofa legal framework for e-government is caused by the lack ofa uni-
ed public management or absence ofcentral ministry on the relevant policy. Due to the lack
ofcoordination between the use ofthe database and other policies, citizens are obliged to pro-
vide in-person services by government agencies and provide additional paper documentation.
e fact that the usage ofdigital signatures is limited, with only a small percentage used inpublic
tenders and banking services, is becoming the main pressing issue.
Keywords: e-governance, e-Mongolia, E-Governance legal environment, e-notary, digital tran-
sition ofMongolian governance, Digital Nation Mongolia, government ownership ofdata base
For citation: Dagva-Ochir, B., Dashdavaa, B. (2023). Mongolia’s Experience inE-Governance and
Current Challenges. Society and Security Insights, 6(2), 71–89. (InRuss.). doi: 10.14258/ssi(2023)2-05.
Опыт Монголии виспользовании систем электронного
управления иактуальные вызовы
Бумдари Дагва-Очир
1
Бадамдаш Дашдаваа
2
1, 2
Национальный университет Монголии, Улан-Батор, Mongolia
1
bumdari@num.edu.mn, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8614-3891
2
badamdash@num.edu.mn, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1027-7233
Аннотация. « -
» 2005-2012 ., -
— 2008–2012 .,
— 2008–2012 ., --
.
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, -
-
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. -
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 73
-
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-
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-
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(78,2% 2602 . .) , ,
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14 64 64,4% . 496
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«», E-Mongolia E-barimt
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Ключевые слова: , e-, -
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Для цитирования: Дагва-Очир Б., Дашдаваа Б. Опыт Монголии виспользовании систем
электронного управления иактуальные вызовы // Society and Security Insights. 2023. Т. 6, № 2.
С. 71–89. doi: 10.14258/ssi(2023)2-05.
1
https://ebarimt.mn/
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 74
Introduction
Mongolia implemented a democratic transition in199 and introduced democratic
values inall relations between the state and society inaccordance with the new Consti-
tution. However, public con dence inthe government has declined steadily over the past
3 years. According to a series ofsurvey conducted by the Sant Maral Research Institute,
public con dence inthe government has been less than 5 percent. e survey also con-
sistently ranked corruption, e ective law enforcement, and government red tape inthe
top ten inthe order ofsocial and economic issues. In particular, 57.6% ofrespondents
once said that the only way to solve the red tape related to public service is to pay a bribe.
According to the Worldwide Governance Indicators, in221, Mongolia’s Government
E ectiveness (GE) is 39.9 points , which means that red tape and public service ine -
ciency are still weak
1
.
In the case ofa new democratic state, if the people’s trust inthe state is not restored,
there are negative indicators that a dictatorial system can be established in2–3 years
(Crozer, 1975). To prevent this, transparency inpublic services and public awareness
may not directly increase citizens’ trust in the government, but they can strengthen
their trust inthe government. In short, there is an acute need to bring the relationship
between the state and the citizen closer. To improve the weakness ofthis weakness inthe
government, the idea ofgood governance has been promoted internationally. e core
values ofgood governance are accountability, transparency and openness. In our coun-
try, a er the 24 election, the idea ofdeveloping good governance began spreading
strongly.
UNDP de nes the good governance using the following criteria: greater citizen
participation, decision-making based on the rule oflaw, transparency ingovernment
operations, better awareness ofthe needs and interests ofcitizens, equal treatment ofall
citizens, e cient and e ective use ofpublic funds, and political accountability and apply
visions in development planning.
Consequently, the transition to e-governance using technological advances may
make the idea ofgood governance a reality. Researchers (Contreras, 221) believes that
good governance provides the basis for e-governance ethics and norms.
It can be said that the foundation for the development ofe-governance has been
laid inour country since 199. For example, on February 14, 1992, Government Resolu-
tion No. 25 was issued to establish an internal network ofautomated information system
ofthe government. Recognizing the need for e-government, the relevant policies had
been developed starting with the 25 e-Mongolia National Program. Series ofpolicy
documents were approved subsequently.
ese include:
• «Electronic Mongolia» national program in28;
• National e-Governance Program in212;
• E-governance National program in219.
e main concepts and results ofthese policy documents are summaries inthe
following table (Table 1).
1
https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 75
Table 1.
1.
Government policies and programs on e-governance development
«Electronic Mongolia» National Program 2005–2012
Concept Expected Results Implementation
e goal is to create
a new management
model based on ICT
and implement e-gov-
ernance.
Introduce e-government to a new level ofgovernment
services to citizens and organizations, and create a new
ow ofinformation from citizens to the government
Develop an action plan to introduce ICT tools into the
public administration system
e quality and accessibility ofpublic services will be
improved
Government activities will be open, transparent, e -
cient and reduced bureaucracy
Establish a good governance system with a public ser-
vice centered on «citizen»
2005
Mongolia’s external Internet
access capacity is 78 Mbit / s
Internet users 22,000
e length ofthe broadband
ber optic cable is 3251 km
Cellular phone users 551,000
2012
External Internet access ca-
pacity is 22 Gbps
Internet users 654,009
e length ofthe broadband
ber optic cable is 18123.8 km
Cellular phone users
3,409,005
National Program on Development ofUni ed System ofRegistration inMongolia 2008–2012
Concept
Expected Results Implementation
e goal is to create a
new ICT-based man-
agement model and
implement e-govern-
ment.
Improve transparency and openness ofgovernment
organizations, and increase citizen participation ingov-
ernment policy making, make government services
more accessible and less time consuming, and develop
and introduce e-government services
•Established a national data center, improved civil registra-
tion, state registration ofproperty rights, state registration
oflegal entities, ensured property exchange and updated the
registration, database and system ofgovernment organizations
included inthe uni ed registration system.
•On July 5, 2010, civil registration was conducted nationwide,
and 331 soums in21 aimags, 132 khoroos in9 districts, and a
total of463 units registered citizens and issued e-ID cards to
citizens.
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 76
«E-Governance» National Program 2012–2019
Concept Expected Results Implementation
Developing e-Govern-
ment «One ofthe ways
to improve govern-
ment operations and
introduce innovations
is to develop e-govern-
ment»
e results achieved inthis policy document are the
same as in2005 and 2012
«Develop e-government to make public service more
citizen-friendly, e cient, e cient and cost-e ective»
Identify public services that can be converted to electronic
form and identify 25 services inthe e-service machine
18 services that citizens consider to be the most di cult and
time consuming were delivered electronically through the
uni ed public service portal www.ezasag.mn
Introduction ofkiosk service will serve 2.2 million people
induplicate in2018, saving 1 hour and 40 minutes per service
«E-Mongolia» Digital Nation Program 2020
Concept Expected Results Implementation
Implement «Vision
2050», Government
Action Plan 2021-2024,
become an «Digital
Nation»
1. In the rst phase ofthe project, mgov.mn provided
188 services online from 34 organizations
2. In 2020, the e-Nation program launched a mobile ap-
plication to deliver 181 government services to citizens
electronically from 23 government organizations.
Moved to e-mongolia.mn platform.
In 2021, 592 public services from 50 government organiza-
tions are being integrated into the system.
Source: Integrated Legal Informa on Database https://www.legalinfo.mn /
Table 2.
Таблица 2.
Open Date Initiative
Initiative Date ofstart Main activities implemented
Open Government
Partnership
2013 - Improving public services
- Increase the transparency ofgovernment institutions
- Strengthen justice and reduce corruption
Open Data 2014 In 2014, the idea ofthe Open Data became active inour country. International projects have started. A smart
card reader is installed inpublic transportation. e purpose is to regulate public transport routes. An open
database ofthe Capital City Citizens’ Representative Assembly was established.
Open tender and
Budget
2012–2016 Technical support for electronic bidding and budget transparency
Source: Mongolia’s Electronic Data Mapping and Evalua on, 2017. P.22.
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 77
In this way, policy documents e-government development were changed and ap-
proved each time by the new government a er the regular parliamentary elections. Sub-
sequently, inorder to implement the programs approved since 25 and presented inTa-
ble 1, 67 other documents have been approved by the Parliament and the Government to
create a legal basis for the development ofe-government and as a policy direction.
Nevertheless, the development ofe-government is still weak, according to indices
developed by international research organizations. For example, according to the United
Nations Department ofEconomic and Social A airs’ EGDI (E government development
index), Mongolia ranks 92nd out of193 countries. e dimensions ofthis study are: a)
e-service— quality issues b) electronic technology c) human resources. According to
this index, Mongolia is quite weak. One ofthe main factors in uencing this may be the
fact that the corruption and red tape indicators ofpublic organizations has consistently
been poor, as it is noted inthe Corruption Perceptions Index.
According to a 215 survey on red tape indomestic government organizations, 62%
ofparticipants said they were bureaucratic, while in218, the same answer was given by
53%. According to the average survey, the Bureaucracy Index is still 2-3. Respondents
said that the main reason was the lack ofcoordination between government agencies.
In 215, 62% ofrespondents said it was bad and 2% said it was average, while in218,
42%— said it was bad and 39%— said it was average. About 7-8% ofthe total answers
were rated as medium or bad, which may indicate that the policy documents were not
being correctly implemented. In particular, it is important to see whether the legal envi-
ronment, technological development, and human resource capacity are consistent with
policy objectives.
For example, let’s look at how inter-agency coordination and a uni ed platform
have been addressed. E orts have been made to improve the technology and systems
used inMongolia’s civil service and to create open data. ere is a growing tendency to
disclose information, expand cooperation, and create a uni ed government information
distribution platform.
For example, Mongolia has been a participant inthe International Open Govern-
ment Partnership for Open Data since 213. Within the framework ofthis initiative, the
following activities have been carried out inour country (Table 2).
According to this initiative, the real platform that can be used inaccordance with
open data usage procedures, presented inthe Figure 1.
Figure 1— Centralization into the National central data base.
1— .
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 78
As for the databases inthe gure 2, are not yet integrated into the National Cen-
tralized Data Base.
Figure 2— Not integrated into the National Centralized Data Base.
2— ,
.
Figure 3— Components ofthe E-Government development.
3— .
As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2 above, the inconsistency ofthe internal infor-
mation network and open database ofgovernment organizations has a negative impact
on public services. e results ofthe research on the coordination ofgovernment organ-
izations show that they are true.
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 79
In 219, the National e-Government Program was approved, considering that weak
policy implementation and systemic inconsistencies have a negative impact on the im-
plementation ofe-government.
e Mongolian Communications and Information Technology Authority has been
tasked to implement the e-Nation program approved under the national program. e
program is one ofthe six strategic goals ofthe organization. In particular, the MCITA
has set six strategic goals: digital infrastructure— e-government— information secu-
rity— digital literacy— innovation, and industry-accelerator ofthe national develop-
ment. It should be noted that the realization ofpolicy for the development ofe-govern-
ment is exclusively implemented by governmental agencies.
Within the framework ofthe strategic goals set by the Authority, the development
ofe-government inMongolia can be shown inFigure 3.
e latest e-government program approved in219 aimed to have two laws related
to e-government. is directly leads to the conclusion that the legal environment has
not been fully laid out. erefore, it is necessary to study the reasons that hinder the
development within the framework ofthis research.
Literature review
We utilized one ofthe e-government development models as a source. For example,
according to Richard Heeks (Heeks, 21), developing countries need to create e-readi-
ness that will be the basis for the development ofe-government. erefore, « e priority
for an NeGI is to build e-readiness insix areas: Institutions, Laws, Leadership and com-
mitment, Human capacities, Technology, Data systems» as a complex system. In order
to form this complexity, four stages ofdevelopment were proposed.
Another e-government model for developing countries was developed by M. Back-
us (21). He states that e-government is aimed at promoting a good governance, so
many stakeholders ofsociety should be involved. e model by Layne and Lee (Layne,
21) is focused on the integration and technological and organizational complexity,
inwhich ICTs play an important role inthe development ofe-government.
Furthermore, the role ofgovernment should be clear inthe development ofe-gov-
ernment.
Scholars, such as Palvia & Sharma (Palvia, 27) has found that a government
agency (G) interacts with outside constituents including citizens (C), business (B), an-
other governmental agency (G) or employees (E). Separate governmental agencies are
held responsible for performing activities such as tax collection where such revenues
are utilized to provide services similar to defense, security or health care. To perform
all these activities, governmental agencies deploy ICT, making this activity ‘electronic’
government or e-government. us, primary delivery models for e-government are: (1)
G2C—Government-to-Citizen, (2) G2G—Government-to-Government, (3) G2E—Gov-
ernment-to-Employees and, G2B—Government-toBusiness.
e above research shows that the development ofe-government should be system-
atic, complex and needs to go through di erent steps. It is clear that the transition will
take some time, and how to make an e ective transition is not only a matter ofdevelop-
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 80
ment, but also it needs policy and legal regulations. E-government also needs to involve
many stakeholders, as it covers all societal activities. erefore, the research will analyze
the coherence ofthe policy documents issued to date and compare whether the condi-
tions are met as re ected inthe e-development model.
Study design
e research methodology was followed inthe order ofdocument analysis-com-
parative analysis-case study. e purpose ofthe document analysis was to analyze the
content ofkey documents related to e-government.
Analysis ofpolicy documents included a total of67 policy documents, inparticular:
• Internal government operations (G2G / G2E)
• Government Business Organization (G2B)
ere were six documents from the government that covered all ofthe three main
areas of citizen (G2C) regulation, de ning medium- and long-term e-government
policies, while containing the continuity ofe-government policies.
ese six policy documents are:
1. Concept ofinformation and communication technology development ofMongolia
until 21 approved by the Parliament Resolution No. 21 of2.
2. Mongolia’s Medium-Term Strategy for the Development of Information and
Communication Technologies and Action Plan for the Implementation ofthe Strategy,
approved by Government Resolution No. 233 of22.
3. «Electronic Mongolia» national program, approved by Government Resolution No.
216 of25.
4. National e-Government Program, approved by Government Resolution No. 11 of212.
5. State policy on information and communication development approved by the
Government Resolution No. 47 of217;
6. National e-Government Program, approved by Government Resolution No. 73
of219.
Of the six policy documents, three of them «e-Mongolia», «e-Mongolia» and
«e-government» were directly linked to the e-governance development. erefore, the
analysis was primarily focused on these documents.
«E-Mongolia» National Program
In 25, the Government ofMongolia pursued a strategy to implement the «Elec-
tronic Mongolia» national program inorder to build an informed society. In order to
implement this program, it has been included inthe government’s medium-term devel-
opment policy inthe ICT sector. It can be assumed that the use ofICTs will create an
informed society, which will make the development ofe-government a reality. In par-
ticular, the goal ofthe ICT Authority is to make technology universal. e e-Mongolia
program, on the other hand, has a strategy ofusing information and communication
technology to develop e-government. It is clear that e-government will develop if there
is a connection between the two. It can be concluded that there is a policy error inthe
development ofour country as two independent issues separately. erefore, to date, the
development ofe-government is the responsibility ofthe CIT Agency.
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 81
e main strategy ofthe e-Mongolia Program is de ned infour main areas: legal,
policy and regulatory environment, infrastructure development, ICT use inall sectors
ofsociety, and human resource development, consisting of7 chapters and 25 sub-chap-
ters and around 1 measures, developed together with the master plan. In particular,
it is planned that the use ofICTs will ensure the coherence ofe-government as follows
(See the Table 3).
Table 3.
3.
Planned that the use ofICTs will ensure the coherence ofe-government
ICT development goal «Electronic Mongolia» program’s ICT development strategy
1
Use ofICT inall areas
ofsociety
Provide government support and leadership
• Improving the e ciency ofpublic administration through the
use ofICTs
ICT application and its interrelationships
• Development ofe-government (G2C / G2B / G2C)
• Development ofe-learning
• Development ofe-health
• Develop e-commerce
• Standard
ICT-based economic growth
• Accelerate and support ICT investment and consumption
inthe economy
• Increase and support the use ofICT inSMEs and enterprises
• Develop the domestic ICT market
• Increase the growth ofexport products ofdomestic ICT com-
panies
Introduce ICT to the public and citizen participation
• Introduce ICT to the public
• Intensify public training and advocacy activities
• increase citizen participation ingovernment activities
4
Developing Human
Resources
ICT capability and human resource development
• Provide ICT skills to everyone
• Improving ICT education for civil servants
• Training ofICT professionals and researchers
Comparing the content ofthe e-government development strategy with the con-
tent ofthe World Bank’s 21 e-government de nition, the e-government issues inthe
e-Mongolia national program are similar to the content ofthe e-government de nition,
but logically inconsistent. is is because the program does not specify regulation ofso-
cial relationships regarding who will do what, who will provide what, and who will
receive what from whom.
e content ofthe World Bank’s de nition ofwho should do what and how is rst
de ned as to use ICTs to improve public, citizens and private partnerships, while the
e-Mongolia national program does not consider the participation ofsocial stakeholders.
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 82
Second, the quality results ofgovernment, citizens and private sector cooperation or
stakeholder engagement inimproving access to public services, strengthening account-
ability, and ensuring transparency and openness and accountability mechanism, and it
viewed the responsibilities ofgovernment, citizens and private sector to have an equal
participation. However, stakeholders inthe e-Mongolia national program were de ned
not clearly enough. For example, it is not clear what responsibilities the state has, what
the citizen has the right to receive, but no mention ofresponsibilities ofcitizens, what
role the relationship ofprivate sector has inthe relationship between government and
citizens. ird, the use ofICTs ingovernment, citizens and private sector interrelation-
ships is a way to reduce the time, space, and the cost ofservices and products, meanwhile
the Electronic Mongolia National