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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, -
, -
-
,
. -
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 73
-
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d) , e) , f) , g) -
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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 program viewed this as to make the government, gov-
ernment services and management, governance structure and system citizen-centered.
In terms ofpolicy and regulation, the e-Mongolia program is aimed at increasing
the e ectiveness ofpublic administration, and the program’s goals and objectives are
to regulate G2G or inter-government activities. erefore, it can be considered that all
aspects have not been coordinated.
«E-Government» National Program
In order to de ne the next stage inthe development ofe-government, the Govern-
ment ofMongolia adopted the «E-Government» national program 212 with the goal to
improve the government activities open and transparent, increase citizens’ participation
inthe policy making ofthe government, and make the government services accessible,
less cumbersome and develop e-government services.
e program is based on the objectives ofthe e-Mongolia National Program and
other relevant policy documents, the results ofmonitoring their implementation, and
the World Bank’s e-government development model, recommendations, and research.
e policy paper de nes the term e-government (Electronic Government, E-Gov) as a
translation ofthe word, and includes terms such as Government Enterprise Architec-
ture, information technology infrastructure, mobile communications, and cloud com-
puting. «Electronic Government, E-Gov» is de ned as the use ofadvanced information
and communication technologies inthe process ofproviding information on govern-
ment activities to citizens ina transparent and e cient manner, ensuring cooperation
between citizens, businesses and government organizations, and increasing their partic-
ipation and the process ofstreamlining the country’s internal and external relations and
governance activities based on e-services.
e goal ofthe program was de ned as to increase citizen participation ingovern-
ment policy-making through the use ofICT advances by establishing an information
technology (G2G communication) infrastructure that connects government agencies,
and makes government activities, services, news and information transparent and open
to citizens regardless ofspace or time, accessible and fast delivery, sophisticate the gov-
ernment memory and develop e-government services based on it. In other words, in-
creasing the participation ofcitizens inpublic policy-making through the use ofthe
ICT infrastructure used ininter-government relations, and the delivery oftransparent
and open public services by increasing citizen participation, bringing about accessible
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 83
government activities. 25 categories of13 measures ofactivities were planned inthe
program implementation and action plan was approved.
Comparing the goals, objectives, and scope ofactivities ofthe e-Government and
e-Mongolia programs, the e-Government program is a continuation ofthe e-Govern-
ment program, but has improved intheory and concept. e goal is to address all is-
sues ofe-government stakeholders, including legal regulation, building the necessary
infrastructure, digitalization ofpublic services with the help ofinfrastructure, and im-
proving the education ofboth public servants and citizens to use ICTs through e-gov-
ernment. However, interms ofregulating social relations on who does what, how, who
provides what and how, this program emphasized the intergovernmental relations and
government and citizen relationship. As a result, e-government stakeholder relations are
asymmetric.
Within the framework ofthe National e-Government Program, a total of72 meas-
ures are planned to gradually transfer public services to electronic form, and 27 meas-
ures are planned to expand and develop public services based on mobile communica-
tion technology. ese objectives are aimed at improving e-government stakeholder
engagement, government, citizen and private sector relationship. In the e-government
program, citizens expressed their opinion on freedom ofexpression, openness, citizen
participation, and the implementation rate was 55% on average. If we compare these
evaluation to the evaluation ofthe Electronic Mongolia program of25, the evaluation
decreased from 9.5 percent to 55 percent. In comparison with e-Mongolia program,
the E-Government program has the advantage oftrying to use all forms ofregulation.
e National Program on E-Government was approved in 219. e National
e-Government Program is a continuation ofthe e-Mongolia National Program (25-
212) and the e-Government National Program (212-216). Within the framework
ofthe «Electronic Mongolia» national program approved in25, the ICT network and
services were separated, a public service obligation fund was established, the sector was
liberalized, national infrastructure was developed and connected to international Inter-
net tra c, and universal computerization was implemented.
e e-Government National Program, approved in212, focuses on the develop-
ment ofinformation systems and databases, including the digitization ofpublic servic-
es, electronic grievance systems, kiosks, disaster warning, glass accounts, and the VAT
system.
Out of63 government organizations surveyed to establish interconnection infra-
structure for government information exchange:
• 5 have electronic databases
• 13 have not created an electronic database and are still collecting information inpaper
form
• 25 public services can be transferred to electronic form and use 25 kiosks
• 18 services cause the most inconvenience to citizens through the website www.ezasag.
mn.
In addition, the e-Government program was developed by the policy maker based
on the following needs. ese include:
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 84
• Ensure the integrity, integrity and security ofpublic databases and databases by creating
an open database to support its use and e-participation of citizens in government
decision-making process by organizing hard and so infrastructure for e-government
with integrated policy and planning and transferring public services to electronic
form and provide and support human development and increase the range ofpublic
services to be provided inelectronic form regardless ofspace and time using smart
devices;
• In order to introduce the advancement ofinformation technology inthe economic
and social sectors with a uni ed policy and planning, and to create a transparent,
competitive, and highly productive and responsible government, it is necessary to
develop citizen-centered e-government.
is is because the actual conditions for the development of e-government, as
shown inFigure 3 below, remained weak inthe use ofopen data or public information
systems.
e reasons are: poor coordination (1), lack oflegal environment (2), lack ofuni ed
organization for electronic communication (3)
Outcome: Low use ofdigital signatures (4), multiple incoherent systems (5)
E ect: Citizens do not have access (6), Redundant investments (7).
Figure 4. Main factors that inhibits the development ofe-governance.
4. , .
e «e-Mongolia» national program was approved in25 and the «e-government»
national program— in212, all consist of rst, the legal environment, second, infra-
structure development, third, the use ofe-government or products and services, and
fourth, human resources or ICT ofconsumers and suppliers which laid the foundation
ofe-government policy.
e National e-Governance Program approved in219 will be implemented within
the framework ofnine additional objectives inthe four sections mentioned above. ere
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 85
are 57 measures planned for the implementation ofthe program, which include govern-
ment-government, government-citizen, and public-private sector relationships.
Document research results
An analysis ofthe content ofpolicy documents by type ofactivity reveals nine
types ofG2G or inter-government relations. G2B is a document that regulates the rela-
tionship between government and business organizations. ere are ve types ofG2C
documents that regulate the relationship between government and citizens. ere are
also a total of12 documents regulating the types ofmultilateral government activities,
including G2G and G2B, G2G G2C and G2B, G2C and G2B.
For example, according to Article 11 ofthe G2C «Regulations on Voluntary Social
Insurance», the insured is required to have a citizen ID card, social insurance book, and
a child’s birth certi cate. However, the provision 11.2 states that these documents can be
retrieved electronically from the database ofa government organization which further
confuses whether these can be taken by the citizen themselves or from the relevant gov-
ernment agency directly. And as to how, when and inwhat format these information can
be retreived are also uncertain with speci c regulation.
In addition, the «Procedure for compiling and reviewing documents required for
determining pensions» approved by the rst appendix ofthe order a / 3 ofthe Director
ofthe General Department ofSocial Insurance dated February 2, 219, the elderly,
herders, including female herders, disabled people, persons who lost breadwinner, mil-
itary o cer, are obliged to submit their citizen ID cards, dismissal orders, Governor’s
certi cates, marriage certi cate or archival reference, court decision, formal reference
inpaper form all ofwhich can be exchanged between government agencies.
Even Article 3.1 ofthe Law on Promotion ofSmall and Medium Enterprises and
Services, which was revised in219, states that a business entity must submit a request
for registration as a small and medium enterprise or service provider to the state admin-
istrative body incharge ofsmall and medium enterprises or their local branches to the
authorized person inwriting or electronically. is proves that rules and regulations
that are incontroversy with e-government are constantly adopted.
Of the 27 documents covered inthis study, it can be concluded that most ofthem
use horizontal, G2C-style policy-making tools. ree factors have been identi ed that
hinder the systematic development ofe-government. e main reasons are poor coordi-
nation (1), lack oflegal framework (2), and lack ofa uni ed organization for electronic
communication (3). Let us now take a look at a case study.
Case Study: Digital Signature
e analysis ofdocuments revealed that they were mostly ofa regulatory nature,
because ofthe weakness ofthe legal framework for e-government. e adoption and
enforcement ofthe Law on Information Transparency and Right to Information and the
Law on Electronic Signatures inMongolia is currently the legal basis for the digitization
ofpublic services and activities.
e «List of public services to be connected to the state electronic information
exchange system» was established by Appendix 1 ofGovernment Resolution No. 259
of 218. is includes a list of176 services from 33 government agencies. e «List
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 86
ofpublic services to be provided inelectronic form using the state electronic informa-
tion exchange system» was presented inthe Annex 2 ofGovernment Resolution No. 259
of218. In addition, a list of32 services from 38 government agencies is included. e
«Regulations on the exchange ofinformation, creation and use ofdatabases by govern-
ment organizations with government and other organizations inelectronic form» was
issued inthe Annex to Government Resolution No. 22 of219 to provide public servic-
es to citizens and organizations inelectronic form.
Today, digital signatures are a possible way to make e-government implementa-
tion more accessible. In Mongolia, digital signatures are currently used ina few limited
sectors, such as electronic letterheads and government services. A total of38, legal
entities received digital signatures.
e authority to distribute digital signatures is given to 5 entitites:
• TRIDUM KEY LLC, MONPASS SA LLC, NEWCOMPASS SA LLC, VIESEM SA LLC,
NATIONAL DATA CENTER (issues only to government o cials).
e main reasons for using digital signatures include:
• 5%— participation inthe bidding
• 7%— o cial correspondence
• 13%— government service
• 3%— for civil servants, but it is not clear what to use it for.
e reason why digital signatures are not common insociety is due to the services
ofgovernment agencies. As oftoday, digital signatures are accepted by 981 local gov-
ernments inthe capital city only ino cial letters. is is also due to the use ofdi erent
systems. For example, digital signature-based systems include eDoc and Smart O ce
electronic exchange systems. ese systems are used only inthe capital city and cover
more than 1,7 public and private organizations.
e very low use oftechnology and public services is a major disadvantage ofe-gov-
ernment. is is because the active use ofdigital signatures will reduce paperwork and
reduce the workload ofphysical services. We believe that there is a di culty inthe legal
environment for the simple use ofdigital signatures inMongolia.
Mongolia’s adoption ofthe Law on Electronic Signatures in211 was a signi cant
step forward inthe country’s digital transition, especially inthe digitalization ofpub-
lic services. However, consumers are skeptical that the law does not specify whether
government agencies will consider or accept digitally signed documents as originals, or
whether they will be accepted by the judiciary as evidence.
If law enforcement agencies, such as the judiciary, prosecutors, police, and archives,
consider these electronic documents as original to be evidence, it could signi cantly
increase consumption by the government, businesses, and citizens. We also see the po-
tential for digital signature-based systems.
e use ofdigital signatures is not well established, making it impossible to provide
any services remotely, and the current digital transformation is not well established. In
the future, it will be a priority to ensure that digital signatures are immediately issued to
citizens and legal entities and that any electronic communication used by them is recog-
nized by the government and the private sector.
Интеграция ибезопасность встранах азиатского региона 87
In addition, the security ofpersonal information has become an issue due to the
digital transformation, and it is considered safe to encrypt information using a digital
signature private key to protect electronic documents from forgery or alteration and
therefore, legal environment needs to be revised.
In Mongolia, public services should be provided using digital signatures as inthe
following ways:
• Recognition ofdigital signatures by courts, prosecutors and police
• Require and use digital signatures to access all government systems
• e exchange ofinformation between government agencies (other than state secrets)
should be digitally signed only
• Connect digital signature web services to government systems
• Recognition ofdigitally signed contracts
• Provide digitally signed contract veri c at ion ser v ic es wit hin t he fra me work ofe-Nota r y
• Recognition ofdigital signatures inthe banking and nancial sector
• Link digital signature to citizen ID card
• Establishment of electronic archives, procedures for electronic and paper storage
ofdigitally signed documents by all archival institutions.
By making the above arrangements, citizens will be able to receive services without
having to visit to government o ces, at least during a pandemic.
Conclusion
e research results show that inthe current situation main characteristics ofciti-
zens’ participation inelectronic government activities are:
• e purpose ofe-government is to establish communication and share information
• E-government services are usually based on mgov.mn or a single portal
• e technology is provided by the national data center or the government
• Decision-making initiatives belong only to government professionals and civil servants
• Citizens are just participants inthis e-government.
A citizen is a subject who, on the one hand, controls the state and, on the other
hand, receives services. is is not the case intoday’s e-government system.
e study concludes that the use ofICTs ininformation services is at the level
ofcreating an electronic database for public services (E-Information), which is a mistake
inaddressing regulatory issues on how to use it properly.
e United Nations describes the development stage ofe-government as follows.
• Emerging: An o cial government online presence is established through a few
independent o cial sites. Information is limited, basic and static.
• Enhanced: Government sites increase; information becomes more dynamic. Content
and information is updated with greater regularity.
• Interactive: Users can download forms, e-mail o cials, interact through the web and
make appointments and requests.
• Transactional: Users can actually pay for services or conduct nancial transactions
online.
• e-functions and services across administrative and departmental boundaries.
Society andSecurity Insights № 2 2023 88
According to the E-governance development stages developed by the UN, it is pos-
sible to view that Mongolia is on the second stage or the Enhanced stage that includes the
concept ofcreating and improving the electronic environment.
Digital signatures may not be widely used due to weak interconnection ofsystems.
As a result, there is no access or exchange between the systems. Currently, the following
independent systems are inservice:
• 559 services of56 organizations are connected to the E-Mongolia system. 75k app
downloads, 4.9 million services provied. A total of1.7 million users.
• 74 public and 189 private organizations and public services are integrated into the
«Khur» public information exchange system.
• e number oforganizations connected to the «DAN» authentication system is 92,
and the total number ofusers is 1,141,853.
If all ofthe above systems have a digital signature that can be accessed from each
other, a system upgrade will be necessary.
Finally, the inadequate implementation ofe-government policies and regulations at
the development stage does not increase the e ciency and e ectiveness ofpublic servic-
es, for example, allowing end users to access only one type ofpublic service online and
thus its e ciency is not trickle down to other services (Sandra Roosna, 221).
In addition, the analysis ofpolicy documents shows that the e-government policy
has been implemented inthe last 3 years without the concept ofmanaging the policy
and depending on the will ofthe current management, and continues to be so.
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INFORMATION ABOUT AUTHORS / ИНФОРМАЦИЯ ОБ АВТОРАХ
Bumdari Dagva-Ochir— Ph.D. Department ofPolitical Science, National University
ofMongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
-— Ph.D., ,
, -,
Badamdash Dashdavaa— M. A., Department ofPolitical Science, National University
ofMongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
— M. A., ,
, -,
The article was submitted 08.05.2023;
approved after reviewing 20.05.2023;
accepted for publication 21.05.2023.
Статья поступила вредакцию 08.05.2023;
одобрена после рецензирования 20.05.2023;
принята кпубликации 21.05.2023.
