12

Management Information Systems

in Local Government
Changing the dynamics of governance through ICTs

S.M. Khatib Alam

Nadir Ehsan
March 2008 Kashif Abbas

Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)

Revenue Management Information System (RMIS)

Geographic Information System (GIS)

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

This document is produced as part of the Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad (SDLGF)
Project for the purpose of disseminating lessons learnt from the project. The views are not necessarily those of
DFID or the City District Government Faisalabad

(c) SDLGF March 2008

Parts of this case study may be reproduced for educational use, provided that such material is not printed and
sold. The authors expect that, any material which is used will be acknowledged accordingly.

Layout & Designed at:

FaizBakht Printers, The Mall, Jhang (Punjab) Pakistan.

 VISION
“Pre-empting Poverty, Promoting Prosperity”

MISSION STATEMENT
“We will provide high quality services which compare with
the best in the country. We will work with everyone who wants
a better future for our District. We will establish an efficient,
effective and accountable District Local Government, which
is committed to respecting and upholding women, men and
children’s basic human rights, responsive towards people’s
needs, committed to poverty reduction and capable of
meeting the challenges of the 21st Century. Our actions will
be driven by the concerns of local people”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This case study is the culmination of efforts by a number of individuals from Government and
the technical assistance team. Firstly it is important to thank all those who have cooperated
with the team preparing this case study not only in the last few weeks but over the course of
the last four years. They have been critical to the work and demonstrated what is possible to
achieve in Government when the right set of conditions prevail.

We would also like to thank the communities and elected representatives of the district that
assisted the SPU team in implementing this project and its various components.

The authors wish to thank Rana Zahid Tauseef, City District Nazim; Maj (Retd.) Azam
Suleman Khan, District Coordination Officer; and Dr. Tariq Sardar, EDO Finance & Planning
for their valuable contribution in making this project a huge success.

We are thankful to: Ch. Zahid Nazir, ex-District Nazim Faisalabad; Mr. Tahir Hussain, ex-
DCO Faisalabad, Mr. Athar Hussain Khan Sial, ex-DCO Faisalabad and Mr. Asad Islam
Mahani, ex-EDO Finance & Planning Faisalabad for their valuable contribution to the
success of this project.

We are further thankful to all CDGF employees (past and present) and CDGF partner
departments but we would like to specifically mention by name the following: Mr. Ashiq
Hussain Dogar, EDO IT; Mr. Mumtaz Hussain Shah, EDO Education; Mr. Shabbir Ahmad
Ch., EDO Community Development; Mr. Rana Farman Ali Khan, EDO Agriculture and Dr. M.
Javed, EDO Health for their efforts in successfully implementing reforms in their
departments.

We are thankful to all DFID Project Advisers and Management that have assisted in this
project since its start and we would like to specifically thank Mr. Mosharraf Zaidi, Governance
Advisor, DFID Pakistan; Mr. Wajahat Anwar, Deputy Program Manager, Accountability and
Empowerment team, DFID Pakistan; Ms. Jackie Charlton, DFID; Mr. Alistar Moir, DFID
Pakistan and Ms. Nighat-un-Nisa, DFID Pakistan for their continuous support and
professional technical guidance since their involvement in 2004.

Our thanks are also to Dr. James Arthur, Dr. Richard Slater, Ms. Janet Gardener and Mr.
Shahid Sharif for their valuable inputs throughout the project.

We are thankful to Dr. Umar Saif (Lahore University of Management Sciences-LUMS) and his
team (Mansoor Pervaiz and Tajwar Awan) for their contribution in developing the technical
and user manuals of the Management Information Systems (MISs).

We are thankful to Mehreen Hosain for proof reading the document and to the SPU team
members for their dedication, hard work and the many late hours spent designing,
implementing and documenting the work of this project. These include: Mahmood Akhtar,
Imran Yousafzai, Muhammad Shahid Alvi, Muhammad Tariq, Ajaz Durrani, Farhan Yousaf,
Muntazir Mehdi, Gul Hafeez Khokhar, Mirza Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Sharif,
Sumara Khan, Humaira Khan, Saima Sharif, Mubarak Ali, Sohail Anjum, Faisal Najeeb,
Kashif Hameed, Danish Iqbal, Muhammad Zaman, Muhammad Saleem, Samiullah, Asim
Rashid, Qasim Rizwan, Noor Muhammad Khan, Nuzhat Hanif, Syed Sheraz Akhtar, all the
master trainers and training associates of the Institute of Learning, GIS team members, all
long and short-term international and national consultants.
 FOREWORD
There is little doubt that in today's world technology is
changing the shape of societies. The internet and
globalization have eroded national boundaries enabling
people to communicate across religious, ethnic and cultural
divides. Here in Pakistan we are no different and are seeing
many of the benefits of technological innovation. Our global
competitiveness hinges on keeping up with technological
change and Government must be at the forefront of making
policies that enable us to harness the benefits that
information and communication technologies (ICTs) have to
offer. As the head of one of the largest district
administrations in Pakistan, I am particularly pleased to see
that we have been one of the first to embrace technology for
change.

We understood the implications of not working with

technology and welcomed the introduction of information
and digital technology in CDGF. We have taken important
steps towards e-government through developing innovative
management information systems for our various
departments and through the use of internet to interface with
our clients and citizens. As a result of deploying e-
government, we have changed the course of our business.
We are more informed to make decisions based on the
accurate information. We have brought significant
improvements in the service delivery and governance
through using ICTs. This case study is the twelfth in a series
of case studies produced by the SDLG in Faisalabad project
and describes our efforts to modernise CDGF through ICTs.

We will continue investing in building knowledge economies

and societies because we want to see Faisalabad emerging
as a leading city in this part of the world.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank our City District

Nazim for his valuable support to the reforms in our district. I
would also like to congratulate my city district team members
especially all the EDOs for working to achieve the successes
outlined in this case study. Finally, I would like to thank our
major partners in development, the Department for
International Development (DFID) UK and their
management consultants GHK International Ltd., for
assisting Faisalabad City District through the project
“Strengthening Decentralized Local Government in
Faisalabad”.
Maj. (Rtd.) Azam Suleman Khan
District Co-ordination Officer
City District Government Faisalabad
March 2008
The Clock Tower, symbol of Faisalabad
PREFACE
Introducing information and communication technologies (ICTs) was a carefully planned
process within the City District Government of Faisalabad. We realized very early that if we
want to modernize our Local Government then a concerted effort would have to be made to
understand how ICTs could help us in the process of organizational change and
transformation. Until then, while many in Government possessed computers, their use had
been somewhat limited. We wanted to use technology to help modernize our management
processes. We were informed that improving our departmental functions and processes
would require using management information systems and developing a broader strategic
approach that meant embracing the concept of e-government.

Four years ago we began the process of ICT enabled change. Management information
systems were developed for a number of departments that gradually have helped to
transform the way we do business. We are now a more efficient and effective service
provider. These computerized systems have helped us to improve many of our internal
functions, critically saving millions of rupees of public funds in the process. Widespread use of
the internet allows us to offer many services to clients remotely without the problems of
having face to face to contact. We have improved governance.

Technology has changed the way we engage with our service users and stakeholders. Our
state of the art complaints call centre is an example of how far this City District Government
has progressed in four years. We are now better equipped to listen to what our customers are
saying about our services and respond appropriately. We are by no means perfect and have
much to do; nonetheless we have set ourselves a course from which there is no turning back
now. Development of various information systems is initiation of e-government in our district.
We will continue developing new information systems and strengthening of the systems that
we have developed to attain the state of e-government in future.

We remain true to our long term vision of 'pre-empting poverty; promoting prosperity'
throughout this district and to that end we will continue with our commitment to change.

Dr. Tariq Sardar

Additional Project Director
Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad
March 2008

Office of the District Co-ordination Officer, Faisalabad

 Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

FOREWORD
PREFACE

ACRONYMS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

BACKGROUND 2

Key Concepts and the Context 3

Why Faisalabad Needed Information Systems 4
What Faisalabad Hoped to Achieve 6

THE CASE 7

THE DESIGN 8

Key Information Systems of CDGF 8

Key Processes in Developing Management Information Systems in CDGF 11

THE IMPACTS ON GOVERNANCE 16

E-Administration 16
E-Services and E-Citizens 18

FAISALABAD'S CRITICAL SUCCESS 21

External Pressure 21
Internal Political Desire 21
Overall Vision and Strategy 21
Effective Project Management 21
Effective Change Management 21
Effective Design 22
Requisite Competencies 22
Adequate Telecommunications and Appropriate Technology 22

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF ICT INNOVATIONS 23

Cost of Development 23
Cost Comparison with Off the Shelf Solutions 23

LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS 25

Match Technology with Indigenous Skills 25

Use Local and Build Local Capacity and Expertise 25
Social, Political, Cultural and People Dimensions of E-government 25
Stakeholder Involvement 25
 Table of Contents

CONCLUSIONS 26

BIBLIOGRAPHY 33

FIGURES

Figure 1: Human Resource Management Information System 8

Figure 2: Financial Management Information System 9
Figure 3: Revenue Management Information System 9
Figure 4: Citizen Community Boards Management Information System 10
Figure 5: Road Management Information System 10
Figure 6: Geographic Information System 11
Figure 7: The soft approach to information systems development 13
Figure 8: System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for FMIS 14
Figure 9: CDGF’s website (www.faisalabad.gov.pk) 18

TABLE

Table 1: Summary of IT trainings for male and female employees of CDGF 15

ANNEX

Annex 1: Examples of Technical and User Manuals 28

Annex 2: Use of Information Systems for Identifying Areas of Poor Investment 30
Annex 3: Impact of HRMIS on the Critical Path of Access to Staff Strength
in the Education Department 31
 Acronyms

ACRONYMS
AEO Assistant Education Officer
CCB Citizen Community Board
CDGF City District Government Faisalabad
DCO District Coordination Officer
DDO Deputy District Officer
DDO Drawing and Disbursing Officer
DEO District Education Officer
DFID Department For International Development
DO District Officer
EDO Executive District Officer
FMIS Financial Management Information System
GIS Geographic Information System
HRM Human Resource Management
HRMIS Human Resource Management Information System
ICT Information and Communicating Technologies
IT Information Technology
LGO Local Government Ordinance
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MIS Management Information System
NGO Non-Government Organization
NRSP National Rural Support Programme
Rs. Rupees
SDLC Systems Development Life Cycle
SDLGF Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in Faisalabad
SPU Strategic Policy Unit
UAF University of Agriculture Faisalabad
 Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In the 21st century, Local Governments and public sector organizations are faced with the
challenges of globalisation. As drivers of social, economic and political development,
Governments have a considerable responsibility for providing key services to citizens and
managing society in general. To fulfil their mandate, a stark reality is that the Local
Governments need to change all over the world and in particular in the developing countries
like Pakistan. City District Government Faisalabad (CDGF) embraced the need to change
with the aid of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) based information
systems. In complex Local Governments like in Faisalabad, achieving integration is critical to
meet the objectives of effective service provision.

CDGF realised that ICTs can make a significant contribution to effective and efficient service
provision by saving time and improving work practices through improving organisational
functions and processes along with the achievement of good governance in the district as
part of its broader reforms programme. By realising these benefits, CDGF embarked on e-
government programme, based on the development of a number of management information
systems for its various departments and the internet.

This case study outlines how Faisalabad's e-government programme, has helped alter the
dynamics of governance in the District and charts out how the programme was developed,
the conceptual basis for its inception, its key processes, what was the impact and whether
there are lessons for other Local Governments which can be drawn from the experience. In
particular, it considers how other districts or public sector organisations might wish to proceed
before investing in ICTs and automation for effective service provision. This study illustrates
that how Faisalabad has started the process of e-government by developing information
systems and why Faisalabad's interventions succeeded when so many others may have
failed.

1
 Background

BACKGROUND
The Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) was set up by the Faisalabad District Government in 2002, as
a policy think-tank. Its key aim was to act as a conduit in the district from which all reform
programmes could be initiated. In 2004, the United Kingdom's Department for International
Development (DFID) agreed to provide technical assistance to the District using the SPU as
the platform from which change would be driven.

The SPU over a four year period has acted as a key resource fostering social capital within the
City District Government and often being the focal point for local and international technical
assistance and programme development. With a cohort of key technical resources and
change management agenda, it plays a key role in facilitating public sector reforms and is
replicable. It has been instrumental in assisting Faisalabad become a modern administration.

The view is now commonplace that old patterns of industrial society are receding within much
of the world and being replaced by a new form of organisation associated with rapid
technological change. The industrial age is being replaced by an 'information age' in which
'knowledge workers' and 'information labour' are emerging. Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) are at the centre of this paradigm shift, diluting dysfunctional
bureaucratic forms of organisation and bringing a new flexibility to decision making. The
world has entered the era of the 'information society'. Government is at the centre of this
transformation.

Information and Government are inextricably linked and in today's Pakistan ICTs offer the
tiers of Government the opportunity to make improvements in their services and
responsiveness to citizens. The use of IT and ICTs in the public sector is referred to as e-
government. The term e-government is broad and refers to more than just the use of web and
internet based applications in Government. It encompasses all use of digital information
technology, though primarily computers and networks in the public sector.

In Faisalabad, Pakistan, the City District Government harnessed the potential of ICTs and
embarked on a programme of e-government, radically altering the way it functions.
Management Information Systems (MISs) are locally designed, maintained and managed
and are helping to transform relationships inside and outside Government.

Through developing a range of MISs and other measures related to interfacing with citizens in
innovative ways, the City District Government of Faisalabad (CDGF) has taken the first
important step towards e-government. The City District Government recognized the need to
develop information systems that handled data and delivered information to support
decisions and transactions. Finance, human resource management, community
development, roads and revenue were identified as the important strategic areas in need of
management information systems, and the integration of these stand alone systems through
a Geographic Information System (GIS) was also deemed necessary.

These systems help to bridge poor coordination and cooperation within departments as well
as empower those at the lower end of the hierarchical chain, and bring about greater levels of
transparency and accountability. They have brought about significant efficiency and
economy gains for the City District Government enabling it to align its resources to key
development priorities more effectively.

2
 Background

Key Concepts and the Context

E-Government Systems

There are numerous definitions of e-government. In its simplest form, e-government is

defined as the “use of IT by public sector organisations” (Heeks, 2006). E-government is
therefore not just about the internet; it also encompasses office automation and internal
management information systems as well as client facing web sites. This definition fits the
work carried out by the CDGF during its reforms programme.

A more comprehensive definition of e-government views it as comprising three key stages

(Heeks 2001):

Ÿ Automation: replacing human executed processes with computers e.g.

computerizing personnel information or payroll;
Ÿ Informatisation: supporting human executed information processes e.g. decision
support tools such as financial management systems;
Ÿ Transformation: creating new ICT executed information processes or supporting
new human executed processes e.g. creating new methods of service delivery or
increasing democratic participation through electronic voting.

Faisalabad exhibits aspects of first two elements; automation and transformation highlighting
how it has managed to begin saving the costs associated with carrying out functions such as
finance and is moving towards third stage i.e. transformation. As a result of its work in
deploying e-government systems, Faisalabad is better connected, saves more money and
time in delivering services, and is more conscientious of its external environment and
stakeholders.

Using this criterion and definition, Faisalabad is now automated and informatised. In years to
come, it will be in a position to offer more transformative online services.

Management Information Systems (MISs)

The foundation of the change brought about by Faisalabad was the development of sound
information systems to enable management decisions. There is no universally accepted
definition of an MIS. However the primary purpose of an MIS is to inform people. One of the
problems with trying to characterize an MIS is that two distinct views exist of what an MIS is
supposed to do. A typical definition of MIS is given below:

“The combination of human and computer based resources that results in the collection,
storage, retrieval, communication and use of data for the purpose of efficient management of
operations and for business planning”

This is the 'production oriented' view i.e. it concentrates upon the means of producing the
information. However the view taken by the Faisalabad Government in the course of the last
four years is 'management oriented'. Whereby, the means of production is secondary to
ensuring that the correct problems are addressed and the right information is available to the
managers and support staff that want it.

This change in emphasis from information 'systems' to information 'management' requires a

different, more subtle, definition of a MIS. It further requires a focus on the interaction of

3

Orientation session on e-government
for the students of University of
Agriculture Faisalabad
4
Background
systems specialists with department managers and officers as a feature of successful MIS
development. The definition which is of most use here and of relevance to the Faisalabad
context is:
“A system to convert data from internal and external sources into information and
communicate that information, in an important form, to managers at all levels in all functions to
enable them to make timely and effective decisions for planning, directing and controlling the
activities for which they are responsible”
E-Government Systems as Information Systems
This leads us to ask the question what does IT do then for public sector organisations like
Faisalabad? It handles data to produce information. The next step to understand is that e-
government systems are information systems. At their heart lie data and information. These
are handled by digital and sometimes non-digital information technologies. But this does not
make a 'system', a system is a collection of elements that works and has a purpose. To
understand e-government as an information system, we must add in some notion of activity
and purpose. This is achieved when we bring in people into the equation.
For e-government to be seen as a working information system it must be seen as much more
than just the technical elements of IT. Instead, it must be seen to consist of technology plus
information plus people who give the system purpose and meaning, plus work processes that
are undertaken. These dimensions shaped the information systems developed by the City
District Government in Faisalabad.
Why Faisalabad Needed Information Systems
There are organisational reasons why Faisalabad was failing to deliver effective services
before the onset of its 4 year reforms programme. In 2004, with the aid of technical assistance
from the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID), the City
District Government conducted an internal review and assessment of its management
systems and processes. It highlighted a number of areas that needed to be addressed
urgently where information and communication technologies (ICTs) could be used to bring
about significant improvements in the way the City District Government did business.
It was noted that in almost all departments, information was lacking, and if available, it was
scattered and was not regularly updated. Critical decisions were thus being made on the
basis of little or inaccurate information. Even when data was digitized, it remained in disparate
formats lacking a consolidated view to plan and analyze the resource utilization of the CDGF.
The challenge was to bring Faisalabad into the 21st century with the aid of technology based
management systems. Some specific issues that were identified are highlighted here:
Scale of City District Government
Faisalabad is both large and complex where vertical and horizontal differentiation
undermines organisational cohesiveness. Achieving 'integration' was going to be critical to its
desire to meet its wider objectives of effective service provision. This would require improving
access to information and a changing culture where information was openly shared for
mutual benefit. The deployment of management information systems would facilitate the
breakdown of boundaries. 'Joined up' Government could be achieved as a result of MIS.
 Background

Automating Human Executed Processes

The use of computers in Faisalabad had been limited. Though departments possessed
computers these were simply used as word processors to prepare memos or departmental
budgets in simple excel formats. Their potential strategic use had not been realized and there
was much intransigence among lower tier officers to accept the organisational benefits of
computerized systems. Traditional ways of performing routine tasks and functions were
preferred. Management information systems would offer the opportunity to modernize to
deliver more outputs with a minimum of effort. Quicker and cheaper governance would be
achieved.

Poor Financial Management Processes

Several important functions linked to financial management were performed badly in the
absence of an automated system. Financial information lacked accuracy, was not reliable,
was not shared with key personnel and there was no accountability of how public funds were
being spent in key social services. Records of expenditure often failed to match budget
allocations, consequently affecting the way money was released to departments from finance
managers. The overall impact of poor financial management was that in 2004 the City District
Government had a deficit in excess of millions of rupees. A management information system
dedicated to predicting and managing the districts public finances would bring better
transparency and accountability.

Poor Human Resource Management Systems

All personnel records for 32,000 employees were kept manually and dispersed. No system
existed that enabled senior managers in the City District Government to keep track of its vast
employees, identify those that were to retire, or indeed carry out any performance related
evaluations. All data pertaining to City District Government employees was processed
manually. This was time consuming, expensive, with staff requirements frequently
misinterpreted and prone to human error. An automated human resource management
system would enable the department to provide better services and information, particularly
for strategic decision-making.

Poor Connections between Government and Civil Society

There was limited provision for communicating with civil society, citizens and society at large.
The City District Government had inadequate mechanisms for liaising with its customers,
consumers and service beneficiaries. Little or no information was provided to the outside
world on successes or failures in service provision. Direct one to one contact at the front office
level or service delivery level was the only way service provider and service user connected.
Often the relationship was strained with service users dissatisfied with the quality of services.
Areas of potential cooperation between Government and civil society tend to be limited in the
absence of adequate communication tool.

Poor Connection between Government and Citizens / Businesses

Similarly, information asymmetry characterized the relationship between the City District
Government and its wider citizenry. A lack of customer orientation, communication and
service connectedness contribute to undermining governance in the district. The City District
Government was not very good at providing information to citizens to enable better decisions

5
 Background

or scrutiny. Similarly public input into Government decisions was limited to the district
assembly where local councillors represented public interests. Virtually no services were
provided online except details outlining the CDGF’s organisational structure.

What Faisalabad Hoped to Achieve

It was clear that the development of different MISs could help to save time and improve work
practices within CDGF's departments. In terms of public sector organisations such as
Faisalabad, there were many positive elements which could be achieved through the
development of information systems. These can be summarized as follows:

Ÿ The speed of service delivery: Much more data can be processed and retrieved
faster. Waiting time for clients is reduced and time taken to handle information is also
reduced. Overall, less time taken handling 'normal' transactions allows more time to
deal with specific 'abnormal' activities;
Ÿ Increased access to service agencies: Internet access and information kiosks,
etc. make it possible to broaden the availability of information to the public. People
who want particular information can visit the agency web site when they require it;
Ÿ Remote control and transactions: Network technology not only increases
participation but it also opens up the possibility of electronic payments which may be
significantly more efficient than the existing system;
Ÿ Increased transparency of clients: The coupling and management of databases
provides more information on clients, etc. enabling better targeting and services;
Ÿ Linkages across organisations: Network technology allows for the blurring of
organisational boundaries and information sharing. This significantly lessens
duplication and improves services in terms of seeing clients as a 'whole person';
Ÿ Increased awareness of interdependence: Reducing the separatist attitudes of
departments and agencies and increasing awareness of interdependency of
Government agencies.

Critically, MIS can be effective and efficient but also appear to be hostile to users.
Organisations, in particular traditional Local Governments like Faisalabad, are complex, and
information systems encroach on most areas. They therefore need to be sensitive to the
needs of users and service managers. This lack of sensitivity has led to many problems in
implementing MIS.

The CDGF was acutely aware of the potential barriers to the introduction of new systems and
ways of doing business, including:

Ÿ Lack of management involvement with the design of the MIS, sometimes

translates into hostility and blocking off staff development and information;
Ÿ Narrow or inappropriate focus of the computer system, can result from solutions
being driven technically rather than managerially;
Ÿ Over-concentration on low level data processing, can result from ignoring higher
level applications;
Ÿ Lack of managerial knowledge regarding computers impedes the process;
Ÿ Poor appreciation of management by MIS professionals; and
Ÿ Lack of top management support.

With these potential challenges in mind, Faisalabad embarked on the task of transforming its
management information systems.

6
 The Case

THE CASE
During the initial phase of the reforms programme within CDGF, a detailed situation analysis
of systems and processes of the departments was conducted to develop a strategic
framework with clearly articulated objectives for these departments. It was noted that in
various departments, information was lacking, and if was available, it was scattered and was
not regularly updated. The decisions were made in an un-informed manner in the absence of
accurate information. The CDGF concluded that development of different MISs could help to
save time and improve work practices within its departments. Moreover, information systems
is a key aspect and one of the dimensions of good governance and is mentioned in CDGF's
corporate plan.

As a result, development and use of MISs has been a key tool in improving departmental
systems and processes through the reforms programme in CDGF. Information systems have
been developed for various departments like Finance, HR, Community development,
Revenue and Municipal Services etc. An integrated Geographic Information System (GIS)
has also been developed which is the subject of another separate case study. The
development of every MIS has its own use, organisational process, history and development
cycle. This in itself is a great learning experience for CDGF i.e. moving from hard core data
files to desktop MIS application and ultimately moving towards web-based solutions. The
development history of MISs will have lessons for future users, amenders and replicators.

This case study illustrates the key steps taken to actually design MISs (starting from
inception), key processes in implementing and their impacts on the service delivery
mechanisms and governance in CDGF.

Traditional Manual System

7

Before making any posting /
transfer case, we can log
into the HRMIS and see
whether this person has
spent three years, the
allocated posting time, in
that position. It was not easy
to determine this from paper
records previously.
Clerk in the office of District
Officer male elementary
education
8
The Design
THE DESIGN
Key Information Systems of CDGF
A number of information systems were developed for various departments of CDGF, keeping
in view their differing needs and requirements and are described in this section. Some were
developed during the early stages of the reforms programme, while others were introduced at
a later point.
Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
An HRMIS has been developed for the district's HR department (Figure 1), which has one of
the largest workforces amongst districts with more than 32,000 employees. The HRMIS was
considered critical, as basic data and information about the most important capital of CDGF,
human capital, was almost non-existent. The HR department could not properly assess staff
gaps, filled and vacant positions, the number of staff in offices and sub-offices, information
about leave and retirement of the staff.
Figure 1: Human Resource Management Information System
The HRMIS has automated the key tasks of the HR department. The district departments are
now in a better position to plan their human resources and can make decisions based on
updated employee and establishment details. The required information can now be
generated very easily which used to take several weeks.
Financial Management Information System (FMIS)
Given the large size of the CDGF including schools, roads, health centres, buildings,
hospitals etc., it was natural that data about financial spending, fiscal requirements and
planning was scattered in numerous paper-based files.
There were delays in the budget preparation process, reconciliation of accounts and release
of funds. Access to data was limited, funds were routinely underutilized, and projections for
future allocation of funds were often not aligned with requirements on the ground. Therefore,
an automated system was needed to consolidate the financial data of the CDFG and enhance
financial responsibility, fiscal transparency and flexibility, allocative efficiency and
expenditure management.
 The Design

The FMIS was developed to help overcome these problems and it supports many of the key
functions and processes of the Finance and Planning (F&P) department (Figure 2). It is
helpful in analysing the financial position of the district and plays an important role in targeting
pro-poor investments in the district.

Figure 2: Financial Management Information System

We do not need to come all
the way to Faisalabad city
now for preparing budgets.
The CDGF has made our
life easy by developing an
information system that
helps us in preparing
budgets while we stay in our
own town. The system has
allowed us to complete the
budget in one week, a
process that previously took
one month to do.
A clerk from Tandlianwala, a far
off town of the District

Revenue MIS

The City District Government was facing innumerable problems in keeping a record of local
receipts being collected from different local revenue sources. Previously there was no record
available of the total potential of revenue and about actual collection, leading to unrealistic
budgeting. The Revenue MIS is helping the department in keeping track of receipts against
their set targets, identifying leakages, and preparing realistic budgets based on actual
revenue potential (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Revenue Management Information System

We did not know how many
Hoarding Boards and Shop
Boards we had in the city.
Similarly, we did not know
how many commercial
properties there are in the
city. These are our major
sources of revenue and the
Revenue MIS now provides
us with information of all
the assets that we have.
EDO Municipal Services

Citizen Community Boards Management Information System (CCBMIS)

CCBs are an institutional mechanism introduced by the devolution programme, and form a
new area of work for the Government. These are voluntary organisation which are formed by
25 people resident of a Union Council (smallest unit in Pakistan) to carry out development

9
 The Design

work in the Union Council. All CCBs are registered with the Community Development
department and are required to have unique names within the District. Moreover, a
community board may only have members who are not members of any other CCB. While
simple, abiding by these requirements without a digitized central management information
system, the process was time-consuming and difficult for the department.
We were facing difficulties
in the CCBs registration Prior to the CCBMIS (Figure 4), the records for over 1600 CCBs in the district were
process. As per the CCB maintained in paper-based files. Therefore, when an applicant submitted an application,
Rules, we cannot duplicate typically the only procedure that was followed was to check for the uniqueness of the newly
the name of a CCB. It was proposed name. Cross-checking members of the board against previously registered CCBs,
very difficult for us to trace
the duplicated names from was often not possible due to the tedium of the task. The CCBMIS maintains the records and
hard copy files. Dual details of all CCBs and their developmental projects.
membership of the same
persons in different CCBs Figure 4: Citizen Community Boards Management Information System
was another major issue for
us. The CCBMIS has made
our life easy; we no longer
need to look into a large
number of files for
registration of CCBs
A clerk from the community
development department

Road Management Information System

Roads are an important asset of the City District Government. However, the district had major
problems in identifying which road network needed maintenance and which has had major
repairs more than one time. Being unable to prioritise the maintenance needs of the roads,
this important asset was being wasted. The Road MIS (Figure 5) has helped the City District
Government in identifying roads and in prioritising their development needs.

Figure 5: Road Management Information System

10
 The Design

Geographic Information System (GIS)

After the successful development of other stand alone information systems, the CDGF also
embarked on developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) (Figure 6). It was realised
by the District Government that the unavailability of physical mapping of infrastructure and
services was resulting in inappropriate projects. The GIS was introduced to improve the
targeting of poor areas and enhance the planning process for future investments.

Figure 6: Geographic Information System

Importantly, all existing information systems have been linked with the GIS. Through one time
clicking, information about various services can be retrieved. For example, in a village
complete information about a school e.g. physical condition of the school, staff of the school
and financial allocations to the school can be retrieved, which has enabled a more integrated
planning process across the district.

GIS is the subject of another separate case study.

Key Processes in Developing Management Information Systems in

CDGF
While a number of information systems have been developed, the development of the
Financial Management Information System (FMIS) and Human Resource Management
Information System (HRMIS) are illustrative of the approach used by the CDGF and these
processes are described in some detail in this section.

Institutional Leadership

It was decided from the outset that the Information Technology Department would lead the Meeting of the EDOs with IT department
systems development work in the City District Government. Technical and analytical support on developing MISs
was provided by the project team of Strengthening Decentralised Local Government in
Faisalabad (SDLGF) project, but responsibility for leading the day to day project
management lay with the Executive District Officer (EDO) of the relevant department, with the
IT department overlooking the process.

11
 The Design

The advantage of keeping the IT department in loop was threefold; to ensure that the project
was owned by the IT department, even though it lacked key staff; secondly, it sent out an
important message across the organisation that despite a lack of capacity, the department
was still responsible for key IT functions and was ready for business and thirdly all IT related
issues needed to be routed through the IT department rather than being handled
independently. This was an opportunity to give the department a more meaningful role and
profile within the CDGF as envisaged within the local government ordinance.

Use Local, Low Cost Indigenous Resources and Technology

The City District Government resisted the temptation to use commercial off the shelf
sophisticated systems. The IT department and other senior departmental managers opted to
use the Microsoft Windows platform. For the Financial Management Information System
(FMIS) initially VB6 was used before graduating to ASP.net for two reasons:

Ÿ ASP.net afforded rapid prototyping, with a good development framework such as the
Microsoft Visual Studios;
Ÿ The initial VB 6 version was designed solely as a desktop application, without support
for remote access. ASP.net affords remote network access, enabling a model where
a single installation of a system can serve several sites.

For storage purposes all the systems use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database. The existing
choice of development tools was dictated by the skill set of available programmers but more
importantly the concerns of sustainable use and extension of the developed software. The
team responsible for developing and implementing various information systems was hired
locally in Faisalabad.

Alternative open system and commercial off the shelf solutions could have been adopted to
develop these systems. However they presented considerable cost and technological
challenges for the CDGF. Oracle and SAP were both sophisticated, but there was consensus
amongst city managers that it would be extremely difficult to find expertise in these systems
locally in Faisalabad and after the development, the running and maintenance cost of these
systems would have been very difficult for the Government to bear.

Consult and Build Capacity along the Way

Discussion on development of HRMIS
with partner organisations
The CDGF team led by the IT department held several key consultation meetings and
discussions with stakeholder departments on their user and system problems and
requirements. Counterparts from relevant departments were identified and assigned to
develop information systems. The approach's key strategy was to have departments as part
of the process at all stages and ensuring that skills were being transferred. Though time-
consuming, it enabled managers and officials to see the time taken to develop such systems.
Departments discussed and identified their own problems and discussed how they could be
overcome with the IT department. This resulted in a far more robust systems development
process than might have been the case had commercial off the shelf systems been used. The
key strategy was to involve Government at all stages and incorporate the input of users into
design.

Adopt Soft Systems Approaches

Faisalabad adopted a 'soft systems' approach to develop its management information

systems. This differs from hard methods, in that they document the bounded areas of data

12
 The Design

flow or systems. The former looks at soft methodologies in which the boundaries of systems
may move as stakeholders in the system are identified and intangible elements are sketched
out. The City District Government realized that an approach which detailed how data flowed
would be insufficient and there was a need to understand the social, political and cultural
context within which data flowed across boundaries.

The CDGF team sat down with departmental staff initially and mapped some of the soft
intangible issues, deriving purposeful systems which were then expressed as a conceptual
model before any discussions took place about technology. This process is outlined in Figure 7. Training of District Government officials
on basic IT skills

Figure 7: The soft approach to information systems development

1. Information, problem or 8. Act to implement new

New situation, new change
opportunity identified by problem/opportunity
brainstorming between
the CDGF team and
relevant government
departmental staff

7. Meet all stakeholders

and discuss options

2. Problem perceived and

discussed with EDOs, 6. Deciding in terms
DOs and DDOs of systems
options

5. Construct a conceptual
model and activity task
Comparing
3. Explore Tasks and issues the picture
Systems
Thinking

4. Produce a statement of
transformation and
change management
Define client, actors, owner, constraints and transformation plan

Source: Adapted from Avison and Wood- Harper (1990)

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Approach

The CDGF team, relevant EDOs, departmental staff and IT department then moved onto
analyzing and designing their respective systems and requirements. Here the systems
development life cycle (SDLC) was used as a key methodology with inputs from department
managers and users. This approach presented a number of advantages for the IT and client
departments. Early applications and systems were driven by technical rather than
organisational criteria. This system, though dated, attempts to introduce better information
systems in an integrated environment. The City District Government adopted it because it
enabled its managers and officers, with limited capacity and experience to see the benefits of
viewing information systems within a human and organisational context. All of Faisalabad's
information systems were subsequently developed using its six main stages (Figure 8);
finance is used for illustration purpose. The same SDLC approach was used for HR as well as
for other information systems.

13
 The Design

Figure 8: Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for FMIS

Gap analysis of F&P

1. Situation Analysis and
feasibility assessment

F&P user requirements

2. Systems Investigation

Current finance processes

3. Systems Analysis

Brainstorming session on CCBMIS Finance processes re-engineered

System specifications made Interface and
4. Systems Design back office support provided
Training plans prepared

Conduct on job training

5. Implementation

Evaluate performance
6. Review and maintain

Situation Analysis and Feasibility

A detailed assessment of existing financial and human resource systems was jointly
undertaken with IT department and the concerned department. Detailed process mapping
was undertaken for key transactions, work and task flows. A detailed picture was built of the
way in which data was generated, stored, managed and converted into information for key
stakeholders. For example, the budgeting process was mapped completely from the point at
which the budget call letter is issued to when costs and expenditure are recorded within
departments, and who were the key internal and external actors in the process. It was critical
to understand finance and HR processes within the Government before proceeding with their
re-engineering.

Systems Investigation and Analysis

Here the CDGF identified the resources, capacity and direction that individual projects would
take to implement the systems. The teams familiarized themselves with the boundaries that
existed in financial and HR information flows and the kind of data that needed to be
processed. Analysis was carried out that would link the information systems with the aims and
structures of the organisations. In the case of finance, how the Finance and Planning
department would link with the non-devolved District Accounts Office and its personnel? In
the case of HR, how each department would make the records of personnel available to the
District Officers HRM and Finance and Planning. User views and requirements would need to
be incorporated into the analysis so that system reports reflected the information they needed
and would be practically useful.

14
 The Design

Systems Design, Implementation and Evaluation

On the basis of the analysis, new tasks and workflows for each of the departmental systems
were designed. For example, Finance and Planning department was keen to streamline its
financial releases process. This used to be a cumbersome process which involved too many
decision makers / layers and led to impeding service efficiency. It was calculated that it would
take eight stages to undertake the task. Options were discussed with the Finance & Planning
and other departments, and it was agreed to re-engineer the process down to six key steps.
Similarly in HRM, almost 500 personnel would be involved in making data available to
corporate management. An automated system was needed that would provide access to
accurate and timely personnel information to corporate management. FMIS and HRMIS were
developed and are constantly reviewed and strengthened to meet Faisalabad's needs. Computerization of records

Maintaining the Information Systems

Once developed the information systems were not handled in isolation by the systems
development team. They were handed over to the departments through an incremental
process and the capacity of departmental staff was built throughout the process. The IT
department through its Computer Training Centre has been imparting trainings to male and
female employees of CDGF on basic computer skills, e-mail and Internet. Trainings on
information systems for the staff including EDOs, District Officers (DOs), Deputy DOs,
Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) and clerks of the relevant departments have also
been conducted. Table 1 presents the summary of trainings for employees of CDGF:

Table 1: Summary of IT trainings for male and female employees of CDGF

Sr. Participant Details
Training Title
No. Male Female Total
1 Basic Computing Course 483 109 592

2 HRMIS Application Training 110 57 167

3 FMIS Application Training 70 30 100

4 CCBMIS Application Training 3 1 4

All management information systems are currently fully institutionalised and are being used
and updated by the departments. The GIS is the sole exception, and is being maintained as a
separate unit, with a view to integrating all the departments. Video and technical
documentation and user manuals for all MISs have been prepared to aid users, amenders
and replicators in future. Annex 1 describe examples of technical and user manual.

Brainstorming session on IT needs of the district departments

15

A finance clerk said that
while the FMIS had made
life easier beyond what they
had imagined, there were
concerns that now senior
management would be less
dependent on clerical staff
for information. There was
a power shift.
Budget Cell
FMIS has revolutionized the
City District Government’s
financial systems, made our
jobs easier and saved a lot of
time.
Comments from one senior
Finance officer
16
The Impacts on Governance
THE IMPACTS ON GOVERNANCE
Academics and practitioners argue that ICTs can make governance more effective and
efficient, while bringing other benefits. Some take the argument further and suggest that e-
government has the potential to benefit the poor too. Similarly some not only view e-
government as changing relationships in governance but helping traditional bureaucracies
make the gradual transition to modern administrations. Faisalabad is a case in point. The use
of e-government systems such as those deployed by Faisalabad (MIS, internet and intranet)
can be divided into three main domains against which it is possible to measure progress in
governance. These are e-administration, e-services and e-citizens.
E-Administration
This refers to use of technologies to improve internal organisational functions and processes.
Typically these will be Government to Government services (G2G) and reflects Faisalabad's
commitment to two of its core dimensions of good governance namely organisational
improvement and information systems. In this case, Faisalabad used information systems to
achieve substantial gains organizationally with wide ranging benefits. Investments in
management information systems have led to a reduction in the costs associated with
carrying out a number of functional tasks and internal services. Secondly the management of
key processes of the City District Government such as budgeting, reconciliation and work
force planning has become easier for officers. Thirdly, the automated systems have helped
departments become better connected, improving their coordination and communications
which in the past were disjointed. So how do we do this?
There have been significant achievements, with demonstrated impact on efficiency and
effectiveness: the budget cycle has been reduced from 9000 man-days to 3000 man days
and from 45 days to 9 days; the HRMIS has saved almost 1500 man hours and can generate
relevant management information in minutes; the Revenue MIS has reduced the processing
time for bills from 6 man days to 2 man days; and the CCBMIS has reduced the registration
time for CCBs from four to six weeks to one week.
Importantly, all MISs are now linked through the GIS, allowing spatial representation and a
tool for evidence-based planning. Annex 2 provides an example of usage of information
systems and depicts how information is being mapped and used to target areas of need,
enabling a more poverty-focused approach.
Saving Costs, Improving Productivity, Achieving Value for Money
Internal service costs were significantly reduced by replacing functions that were carried out
manually with computers and automated information systems. Two examples highlight the
transformation from manual to simple e-administrative processes. They demonstrate the
potential and power of information systems and technology in making Government efficient
and economical.
Firstly, the City District Government's Finance department computerized data on the amount
of financial releases made to individual departments. This was part of the overall process of
strengthening the way in which accounts were reconciled. In the pre-MIS era, finance officers
in departments such as Education and Health did not have access to information about when
 The Impacts on Governance

their funds would be released and how much (i.e. the expenditure booked at District Accounts
Officer (DAO) against his/her DDO code). This information could only be accessed by visiting
the department in the city. This was costly in terms of money and time, taking officers away
from their field based jobs for the best of a day at a time. The FMIS contained information on
scheduled and actual monies to be released to departments. Resource centres were set up in
remote Government facilities with access to the internet, allowing finance officers access to
financial information including fund releases and expenditures. Visits to head offices were not
required anymore thus enhancing output productivity.

Secondly, in the Community Development department, an information system for local

Citizen Community Boards helped speed up service time and save stationary costs. In
Faisalabad over 1600 CCBs were registered and their details contained in paper files. At
times when information was needed by another department, preparing a technical approval
or project site visit, it could take officers hours and in some instances days to respond. In
addition, it was commonplace for files to be misplaced or lost altogether. The City District
Department using CCBMIS
Government helped the department set up a simple information system where the details of
all the district's local CCBs were stored and accessible. The Community Development
department was now able to respond to queries from other departments quickly, with
minimum effort and cost. This led to greater departmental productivity.

Effective Process Management

Automated systems offer opportunities for the better planning of resources, by avoiding The HRMIS is generating
duplication and using better quality information. Faisalabad's Human Resource Management information by a single
Information System is example of how manual planning processes can be streamlined to mouse click, information
that used to take us several
bring efficiency and productivity. The computerization of personnel records for over 32,000 days to collate previously
employees marks a watershed for Faisalabad. The data is centralized in a unitary repository, DO HRM
which eases its management. Significant time costs are reduced when generating
establishment, retirement and seniority reports for district and provincial departments.

HR information is updated through three resource centres located within the Health,
Education and Municipal Services departments. Departmental staff have been given
responsibility to update information on postings, transfers, retirements and new hires.
Updates are undertaken monthly and the City District Government plans to make it daily a
process once other processes are streamlined. The system contains up to date and accurate
information which is available to the HR department, DCO and Provincial Government at
anytime. Personnel information is accessible to all EDOs, DOs, Deputy DOs and twenty One Drawing and
AEOs through the Government's web site www.faisalabad.gov.pk and is password Disbursing Officer felt that
the training programme
protected. Annex 3 provides critical path of access to staff strength in the Education
conducted by the City
Department, before and after the development of HRMIS. District Government on
aspects of the new
Creating Empowerment accounting model had
enhanced their professional
The creation of these information systems has had profound power implications for a capabilities by years.
hierarchical City District Government. In particular, information that was only previously
accessible to senior managers is now available to decision makers further down the
hierarchy. HRMIS is accessible through the web to EDOs, District Officers (DOs), Deputy
District Officers (DDOs) and even Assistant Executive Officers (AEOs). FMIS access has
been provided to Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) in the field.

17

By having online access to
facts and figures published
by the Finance department
meant that everyone was in
the know about how much
money was being released
and being spent by
departments. This
transparency would help
improve expenditure and
services. Officers felt more
empowered and
responsible.
Views of front line officers
18
The Impacts on Governance
Access to personnel information at key points within the City District Government has not only
helped speed up key processes but empowered employees. By giving access to important
information the City District Government has transferred power and authority for an important
process from one locus to another. In the case of HR this is to lower and, more localized levels
of the administration and is an example of decentralization in practice. Similarly DDOs in
departments now can access financial information through the FMIS, allowing them to
monitor when releases ought to be made to them by the Finance department and
circumventing an already cumbersome process. Subsequently new information flows have
been created.
E-Services and E-Citizens
These areas deal with relationships between Government to citizens and Government to
business interactions. E-services allow citizens to access information electronically, and to
submit information online. E-citizenship is about two way communication, influencing public
policy and practice. The internet has changed the face of communication and it presents a
number of ways in which links with consumers can be strengthened.
Talking to Citizens
Faisalabad wanted to provide its customers and stakeholders with details of its public sector
activities. In line with its corporate vision, it wanted to improve accountability and bring about
greater transparency in the way it did business. It decided to begin talking to its citizens more
openly by providing new information flows on which accountability depends. The rationale
was to increase pressure on staff to perform well and improve public understanding of
government. This was done in two ways.
The official website www.faisalabad.gov.pk made information available about the City District
Government, its key departments, contacts and reforms in both English and Urdu (Figure 9).
Financial information, birth and death certificates, changes in policy and links to other
partners are all available online. This is particularly representative of the government's aim to
become more citizen focused and publishing i.e. delivering data to citizens is a move in the
right direction to improve governance.
Figure 9: CDGF’s website (www.faisalabad.gov.pk)
 The Impacts on Governance

Box 1: Thoughts from external users

The chairman of a CCB was impressed with the speed with which the Community Development department was
able to deal with enquires.

An officer from a local NGO said that by having key information had improved coordination with the department. In
the past they would rarely trouble the department for information and now they use their database regularly for
support.

Another NGO representative said that the department should build on this and begin offering more services online,
this would save more time, money and improve quality.

Listening to Citizens

It was cognizant of the need to increase the input of citizens into the way it designed policies,
implemented programmes and delivered services. Better participation would provide
improved information flows from citizens to the City District Government. The rationale is to
make public decisions more responsive to citizen's views and needs. In June 2007, the City
District Government established its first automated complaints call centres.

The centre registers public complaints about services and was part of the City District
Government's commitment to listen to what the public had to say about its services and
improve service provision. It provides a focal point for collating public views on services.
Departments are pressurized to respond in a timely fashion and make improvements
accordingly. It is a cheap and effective way for the public to try and influence service provision
and public policy more broadly.

Improving Public Services

The internet provided an opportunity for the City District Government to deliver services in a
different and unique manner. Quality services could be delivered conveniently, quickly and

CDGF’s Call Centre

19
 The Impacts on Governance

Box 2: Reactions from community development department

The EDO for community development said that as a result of the management information system for CCBs and
local NGOs, his officers and department was now better placed to provide quicker and more reliable information to
everyone.

District Officers in the department lauded the system saying that now there made little sense in retaining paper files
and that every bit of information should be stored and managed in computers. When asked why, they all agreed
that it made access and retrieval easy. They also felt it was more difficult to lose a computer than a file containing
important contacts or information.

cheaply at limited cost to the customer. This uses the potential of ICTs to deliver informational
public services digitally. For example, NGO and Citizen Community Board registration forms
are available online for members of the public and organisations to access. This releases
citizen time and money that would otherwise be captured by inefficient service delivery. It also
undermines corrupt practices taking away the need for direct service provider and user
contact where the potential for rent seeking is raised.

Other information includes social, economic and political profiles of union councils for the
district which can be easily downloaded by local councillors, interested organisations and
communities. These enable local planners and decision-makers to use this information to
budget and plan local projects more effectively than ever before. Again this can be done
without the need to make many visits to departments requesting information that may or may
not be held by local officials. Critically, it breaks down barriers between Government and
external stakeholders but allows the diffusion of information flows from Government to
citizens and other stakeholders.

The FMIS is helping us in

allocating financial
resources more efficiently
and effectively, and in
accordance with the needs
of our citizens
DO Planning

Use of information systems by DO Planning for allocating financial resources

20
 Faisalabad's Critical Success

FAISALABAD'S CRITICAL SUCCESS

In Faisalabad a set of enablers and drivers led to the success of its information systems and
e-government programme. The process is by no means complete and there is much that
remains to be done by the City District Government before it can say its programme has
completely changed the dynamics of governance. However, more often than not e-
government programmes fail. In Faisalabad this is not the case. Several factors have
contributed to the success:

External Pressure
Faisalabad's programme was given impetus through the technical assistance and support
received from the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID). The
team worked closely with CDGF to provide the intellectual drive and capital that led to the
information systems design and programme implementation.

Internal Political Desire

City District Government officials were key drivers for reforms and the achievement of their
corporate policy, vision and mission goals. E-government and in particular information
systems were central in the view of many in Government to changing the way business was
done. The DCO, EDO Finance and Planning and the IT department provided an important
lobby and advocacy with the City District Nazim and District Council for ICT led systemic
reforms.

Overall Vision and Strategy

An overall corporate plan, vision and mission and dimensions and principles of good
governance and e-government set the organizational agenda. These frameworks gave a
clear idea of 'where the government was going' and integration with broader reforms, seeing
ICTs as a means and not an end. All e-government related work was placed within a larger
change framework and part of the vision of helping Faisalabad become a modern, efficient
and citizen focused institution.

Effective Project Management

Clear responsibilities, good planning, realistic expectations, good resource management and
relationships with partners underpinned the programme and its implementation. The City
District Nazim and its DCO took responsibility for setting overall direction, in conjunction with
CDGF team. Overall team leadership responsibility was given to the EDO Information
Technology and key personnel were allocated to the programme from other departments.
Though initial teething problems existed, eventually the City District Government was
convinced of the potential of ICT enabled reforms. Extensive consultations were held with
departments when designing their information systems and an SDLC approach was adopted
which crystallized for Government the roadmap for e-government systems development.

Effective Change Management Opening ceremony of CDGF’s Computer

Training Centre
ICT led systemic reform was part of a broader change management focus by the City District
Government. The City District Government identified a set of important 'champions' that
would lead the work. Incentives were used to create ownership and commitment for the

21
 Faisalabad's Critical Success

programme. Extensive stakeholder involvement was a key character of the programme and
its management. At all times the team emphasized the need to include people, systems and
culture as part of technology based solutions.

Monthly meeting of district’s
administration
Effective Design
An incremental approach was adopted in engaging stakeholders when designing the
programme and information systems, particularly the users themselves. Scaleable outcomes
were set for City District Government departments emphasizing the need to be iterative
rather than radical. This enabled the team to be sensitive to manual clerical systems. Through
the SDLC approach i.e. participation and involvement was key at every stage of the systems
design and execution. Each of the client departments such as Agriculture, Municipal
Services, Revenue, Finance and Planning and Works and Services were at the forefront of
the design process with technical support coming from the SDLGF project.

Requisite Competencies
Most critically, locally based expertise was used by the City District Government. While
initially the level of management and IT skills was scant, in parallel the IT department ran IT
training programmes for officers in Government. This led to raising awareness of ICTs among
officers and also improved their computer literacy skills. Local programmers and software
specialists were hired to support the development of its many information systems. The use
of indigenous resources saved costs, was crucial in building local capacity and providing
important opportunities to a local workforce. Over a four year period significant Government
capacity has been built in ICTs.

Adequate Telecommunications and Appropriate Technology

Introducing provision for new technology was considered one of the most significant
challenges for the City District Government. While many departments possessed computers
their use was limited, and they were not being effectively used for providing information or
communication solutions. Moreover, when designing many of the information systems it was
important to use technology which matched local capacity and could be easily maintained.
Microsoft Windows based platforms were used for all the information systems and local
officials were trained to use them. The IT department will now be responsible for providing
troubleshooting and maintenance support.

IT training of female staff of CDGF

22
 Cost Benefit Analysis of ICT Innovations

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF ICT INNOVATIONS

An assessment of the costs and benefits of developing many of the information systems led
systems reveals economy gains for the City District Government. Customized systems which
were cheaper and simpler have saved the City District Government considerable costs, than
if they had opted for more expensive off the shelf options. Therefore these systems are
affordable and can be replicated in other districts at lower costs than is anticipated.

Cost of Development

Within finance the FMIS and documentation management system cost the City District
Government an estimated Rs 7 Million (CDGF Performance Report-6, 2007). This included
both hardware and software in its development over a four year period. At the same time,
these systems are now helping the Government to save annually more than Rs. 10 Million in
time and costs associated with the district's financial management processes.

Similarly, in human resource management the HRMIS cost the Government approximately
Rs. 5.5 Million (CDGF Performance Report-6, 2008). This is a small cost when compared to
the number of person days, expenses and other costs which were being incurred by the City
District Government as a result of manual, labour intensive systems.

In the Community Development department its CCB Management Information System set
back the administration in the region of Rs. 4 Million (CDGF Performance Report-6, 2007).
However this system has helped to reduce the time taken to register CCBs and their
respective project applications from several weeks to one week. Similarly, it has led to the
department now releasing funds for approved projects within a 45 day period instead of after
several months. With over 1600 CCBs in the District, these are significant inroads into the
benefits of automated systems bringing widespread modernization and efficiency for the City
District Government.

The cost of developing the Revenue MIS and Road MIS is Rs. 5 Million and Rs. 3.10 Million
respectively. The Revenue MIS will help the department in saving Rs. 1 Million per annum
through greater efficiencies.

The District's GIS has been developed in-house, using local resources and within Rs. 70
Million. This is considered to be cost-effective for a system of its kind.

Cost Comparison with Off the Shelf Solutions

All the Information Systems were developed on the Microsoft Windows™ platform, using
standard off-the-shelf development tools, languages and frameworks. For the storage (DAL)
layer, all the systems use the Microsoft SQL Server 2000™ database engine. The reporting
facilities in the systems were implemented using the Crystal Reporting™ software.

Alternative Tools

There were two sets of alternative tools and technologies considered for the development of
the systems:

23
 Cost Benefit Analysis of ICT Innovations

Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Commercial strength off-the-shelf financial solutions, such as Oracle™ and SAP ™, offer
sophisticated modules for the development of such systems. Oracle Financials ™ and SAP
™ are designed to scale to millions of users, with high-availability (typically 4 to 5 nines).

The CDGF decided to develop their own customized systems using simpler and cheaper
tools such as SQL Server, VB.net and ASP.net. There was almost a unanimous opinion
among the city managers that expertise required for technologies such as SAP ™ were
exceedingly difficult to find in Faisalabad. Programmers for VB.net and ASP.net are typically
readily available, while the licensing cost of SQL Server and Crystal Report is substantially
less than alternatives such as Oracle™ financial solutions.

Open-source Solutions

The Information Systems could also have been implemented using Open-source tools and
technologies. For instance, development could have been done using Linux (Fedora or
Ubuntu) using Emacs, Vi or the Eclipse IDE. Likewise, MySql or Postgress could have been
used for Data storage (DAL) layer.

Open source solutions have two obvious advantages:

Ÿ Open source tools and technologies are typically free of cost, eliminating the
recurring cost of licensing and upgrades;
Ÿ Open source tools are typically platform independent, permitting greater flexibility in
the operational and deployment environment of the solution.

However, Open Source technologies have two subtle disadvantages:

Ÿ Open Source technologies often mandate a viral license such as the GNU Public
License (GPL). GPL mandates that any solution that employs a GPL'ed technology
should also be released as an GPL (Open Source) technology;
Ÿ Open Source tools often lack proper technical support, documentation or user
manuals, implicitly limiting the use of the tools to experienced developers who could
understand the system by looking at its implementation.

These systems are expensive to maintain in Faisalabad and they would have been expensive
to upgrade with time. Moreover, the systems were custom-designed for the specific
requirements of the City District Government - releasing the system internationally, as a GPL
open source technology was not within the scope of the implementation of the Information
Systems.

Notwithstanding this the systems failed to match the skills sets found within the City District
Government. Therefore, the CDGF decided to use common Microsoft Windows®-based
development tools and technologies. Simple, less sophisticated technology was
Faisalabad's requirement.

24
 Lessons and Reflections

LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS

This section of the case study highlights a number of important lessons which are relevant to
Local Governments and organisations in general when designing e-government systems.

Match Technology with Indigenous Skills

It is critical to assess early on before programme design is initiated that what level of skills
exist in the client organisation. In the case of Faisalabad, it became very apparent that
pockets of technological capacity were present and that the prevailing culture was one of
scepticism. The full potential of ICTs had not been realized. Hence there was a need to
develop customized technological solutions rather than implant expensive off the shelf
systems.

Use Local and Build Local Capacity and Expertise

The CDGF encouraged the use of locals within Government and outside to develop and
implement the programme and its systems. Using experts outside of Faisalabad would not
only have been expensive but an unsustainable solution. By working with programmers and
departments from within the City District Government, the significant understanding and
awareness of the role of ICTs in development now rests within the City District Government.

Social, Political, Cultural and People Dimensions of E-government

Developing ICT programmes and systems with simply technology in mind is a mistake and a
recipe for e-government failure. ICTs and e-government programmes do not operate in a
vacuum and to assume so when designing information systems or other e-government
initiatives is naive. It is therefore critical to address the organizational dimensions often found
in large complex Local Governments like Faisalabad. Understanding the people, the social
interactions and cultural norms and sub-systems is a pre-requisite for successful information
systems development and implementation. These systems break organizational boundaries
and improve information flows.

Stakeholder Involvement
The design and execution of e-government programmes is not the sole responsibility of the IT
department. Furthermore, Faisalabad demonstrates that the IT department has the potential
to make significant intellectual contributions to the development of e-government systems
such as management information systems. Incremental approaches to systems
development are important where stakeholders are carried as equal partners, rather than
technocratic styles of management, and should be adopted where possible.

Sharing HRMIS with Education Department by DO secondary education

25
 Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
In Faisalabad the City District Government has demonstrated how new information and
communication technologies can make a significant contribution to the achievement of good
governance goals. Through its broad governance reforms programme the City District
Government deployed automated management information systems, invested in a new
website and at the same time modernized its internal communication processes. These
investments in ICTs have made important differences to the way the administration is
governed and manages its external relationships.

However, there is much to be done and the process of complete ICT enabled transformation
is as yet incomplete.

Information systems have been at the heart of the City District Government’s shift to
electronically enabled local government. The systems and their deployment have been
viewed as a means to an end and not an end in themselves. The crux of Faisalabad's desire to
change is linked to providing better services, to that end it has been keen to explore how
technology can support service provision. Inter-linked to that is to examine the way
relationships, particularly external ones are configured. So, how Faisalabad can engage with
citizens and society more openly and effectively therefore enable it to understand their needs.

Faisalabad now possesses management information systems for finance, human resources,
CCB, revenue, roads and an integrated GIS. These were developed by the City District
Government through a process of detailed consultation and incremental phased
implementation over a four year period. Carefully designed with users in mind, the IT
department led the process using soft systems approaches where consideration was given to
'human systems' in which such technologies exist. Furthermore, the City District Government
adopted the simple SDLC approach to many of the systems developed above. Concurrently
individual and departmental capacity was built in the process so that the systems are
managed and run successfully beyond the life of the reforms programme.

In turn, these systems have brought about efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery for
the various departments of City District Government. There is now cheaper and quicker
governance that gives more than ever before. In Faisalabad's important strategic areas,
finance and human resource management, departments are now producing the same
outputs at a lower cost and in shorter time thus significantly improving the service delivery
mechanisms. In some instances such as community development services, more outputs are
being delivered at the same total cost. The Government now has an evidence-base for
planning, building on the MISs.

Moreover, governance is working better now. The internet provides opportunities for
Government and external users alike. A higher quality of service is provided through the
internet. No longer do individuals need to travel to Government offices where inefficient
services are so often offered. Therefore innovative Government has emerged providing new
outputs and opportunities. However challenges remain.

Over time the City District Government will need to address the digital divide and how
accessibility of information to the poor can be improved. Though internet access is good, and
there is evidence from Faisalabad that what it publishes is accessed, the Government has

26
 Conclusions

much to do in building a knowledge-based economy and society. Though significant strides

have been taken by the Government through information systems, there is some way to go in
achieving the gains associated with e-society. The e-government programme needs
commitment from the City District Government to continue. The Government needs to
develop information systems for the remaining departments like Health and Agriculture etc.
There is also needs to establish a monitoring mechanism, perhaps by constituting a
committee to oversee and monitor the process of updating the information systems. Critically,
Faisalabad highlights what can be done through technological innovation. These efforts can
be replicated at smaller costs.

Finally it is important to remember that ICTs are not a magic wand changing the problems
associated with poor governance. The role of e-government needs to be viewed within
broader organizational development goals and commitment to providing quality public
services. However technology must now take centre stage if Local Governments in Pakistan
are to modernize.

27
 Annex 1

Annex 1: Examples of Technical and User Manuals

A1-1: An example of technical manual

View Patwar Boudaries Details

Use case

Primary Actor User

Stakeholders and Interests All Government Departments
Pre -conditions Logged in to the system
Zoomed in to a Town Union Council
Post -conditions
Basic Flow 1. Select Patwar Boundary Layer
2. Select Info tool
3. Click on Patwar Boundary

Sequence diagram

User GIS

Select Patwar Boundary Layer

Select Info Tool

Click on Patwar Boundary

Patwar Boundary Detail

Data flow diagram

School Teaching

Vu_teaching _emiswise Gv_schoolteaching_sele

(DB: GIS) ctedIndex (DB: HRMIS)

Emp_job_detail (DB: School_ department (DB:

HRMIS) teaching HRMIS)

Emp_personal_info
(DB: HRMIS)
workaddress (DB:
HRMIS)

28
 Annex 1

A1-2: An example of user manual

Add New Road Profile

In the Data entry menu under Road you have a Sub menu which shows you the option
of Add New Road Profile.

On clicking on “Add New Road Profile you get the form to add the information of the
new road;

To add a new road you have to:

Enter all the details required in the form. Once you have filled all the information for the
road. Press Insert to update the information into the system or you may press cancel when
ever you wish to return to the main page without entering the information to the system.

29
 Annex 2

Annex 2: Use of Information Systems for Identifying Areas of Poor Investment

Figure A2-1: Development Expenditure of the Health Department from July 2004 to
November 2007

Chak Jhumra
Town

Layallpur
Town

Jaranwala
Town

Jinnah Town

Iqbal Town

Madina
Town

Sammundari
Town

Tandlianwala
Town

30
 Annex 3

Annex 3: Impact of HRMIS on the Critical Path of Access to Staff Strength

in the Education Department

Collection of establishment strength information

Before the HRMIS, the delivery of information regarding staff strength to top management
took involvement of about 500 people. Delay at each stage was obvious because they
needed to process information manually at each stage. Accuracy of information collected
was also not authenticated, most of the time it contained errors and did not match to
overall strength. Figure A3-1 illustrates the process of preparing establishment strength
information of the education department before HRMIS:

Figure A3-1: Process of preparing establishment strength information before HRMIS

Data submitted to
Deputy DEOs compile Deputy DEOs AEOs collect and 6
data received from 1167 female and from AEOs verify data from 1304
1304 male schools male schools
8 AEOs collect and
9 7 verify data from 1167
6 female schools

Data submitted to 10 5
DEOs from Deputy DEOs Deputy DEOs pass
orders to AEOs

z 11 4

DEOs compile
data received from DEOs pass orders to
Deputy DEOs Deputy DOs and Drawing
and Disbursing Officer

12 3

EDO compiled data

received from DEOs EDO Education receives
13 2 orders from DO HR
and passes orders to DEOs
1

DO HR receives order from

DO HR submits DCO and passes to
DCO requires updated
establishment report EDO Education
establishment report
to DCO
for planning

31
 Annex 3

After the development of HRMIS, the critical path of the access to staff strength
information has been streamlined into two-stage procedure. It also reduces the process to
maintain the record. Now EDO, DOs and Deputy DOs have access to HRMIS. They not
only use the information of recruitment, appointment, posting and transfer but also
maintain and update the records in case of changes. The Establishment Strength report of
HRMIS provides a unified repository of information that is updated in real-time to quickly
disseminate information directly to all decision making hierarchy. Accessibility to different
reports is administrated through user name and password security. Figure A3-2 illustrates
the simplified critical path of the access to staff strength in the Education department in
HRMIS:

Figure A3-2: Simplified critical path of the access of staff strength in HRMIS

Posting/
Transfer

Job record

Lave record
EDO
Promotion

Promotion DO
Establishment
Retirement HRMIS Reports record
Leave DDO
(Deputy Distt. Officer) Training detail
DDO
(Drawing & Disbursing
Officer) Retirement
Recruitment
Appointment Performance
AEO
Posting detail
Transfer
Employee personal
record

32
 Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books

Heeks R (2006) Implementing and Managing E-Government: An International Text, Sage

Publications

Hughes O (2003) Public Management and Administration Palgrave Macmillan

Papers

Escoffier and Hargreaves (2001) Making e-Governance work for Poor People: Using
Information and Communication Technologies to Improve Governance in Developing and
Transition Countries; Governance Department, Department for International Development
(DFID)

Ferguson M (2000) E-Government Strategies The Developing International Scene: Paper

presented to the conference “Internet, Democracy and Public Goods” Universidade Federal
de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Heeks R (2001) Understanding e-Governance for Development; Institute for Development

Policy and Management, University of Manchester I-Government working paper series

Reports

City District Government Faisalabad (2008) Performance Report No: 6, Strategic Policy Unit,
Pakistan

33
 OUR OTHER PUBLICATIONS

1 2
Managing Change Human Resource Management
for Improving Service Delivery for Good Governance
Learning to embrace the challenge of good governance Building local government capacity for effective service delivery

S.M. Khatib Alam S. M. Khatib Alam

Karin Tang David Alan Watson
March 2008 Mahmood Akhtar March 2008 Muhammad Shahid Alvi

Self-
Actualization

Esteem
(self and others)

Social Needs

Safety and Security

Basic Physiological Needs

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

3 4 5
Financial Management Union Council Profiling Communications
for Good Governance & Service Mapping for Good Governance
From Deficit to Surplus For Pro-poor Planning & Investment Building local government capacity for effective service delivery

S.M. Khatib Alam S.M. Khatib Alam

S.M. Khatib Alam Janet Gardener Nadir Ehsan
March 2008 Imran Yousafzai March 2008 Muhammad Tariq March 2008 Humaira Khan

150

100

50
Rs. Millions

-50

-100

-150
FY 2004-05 FY 2005-06 FY 2006-07 FY 2007-08 Projected FY 2008-09 Projected FY 2009-10 Projected

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

6 7 8 9
Citizen Voice in Local Governance Citizen Engagement Promising Change Measuring Change
The Citizen Perception Survey in Local Governance Six Case Studies on Whole School Development the education research component

S.M. Khatib Alam S.M. Khatib Alam

Sumara Khan Muhammad Tariq
March 2008 Mehreen Hosain March 2008 Mehreen Hosain March 2008 Dr. Fareeha Zafar March 2008 Dr. Fareeha Zafar

TS
ES
ER
INT ER
ITY ETH
UN OG
OMM ING T ER
GC T TH
TIN
AC OGE
OR GT
PP IDIN ION
SU DEC ULTAT
S
CON
G
SHARIN
M ATION
INFOR

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

10 11 12 13
Teacher Training Public Private Partnership Management Information Systems Enabling Joined-Up Government
in Whole School Development in Education: from Policy to Implementation in Local Government Introducing Geographic Information System
Change and Transformation as a Reflective Process Value Addition and Best Practices Changing the dynamics of governance through ICTs

S.M. Khatib Alam Dr. Umar Saif

Nadir Ehsan Muntazir Mehdi
March 2008 Brigid Smith March 2008 Beala Jamil March 2008 Kashif Abbas March 2008 Gul Hafeez Khokhar

City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan City District Government Faisalabad, Pakistan

All case studies including other reports can be downloaded from the web site: http://www.faisalabad.gov.pk
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

S.M. Khatib Alam - Project Manager and Overall Team Leader

Khatib Alam is an international management consultant with considerable experience of

leading large and diverse teams on multi-disciplinary, complex and challenging projects
around the world. He has a particular expertise in strategic management, organisational
change management, institutional strengthening, urban development and corporate
social investment. Since 2004, he has been the Overall International Team Leader on
the innovative DFID funded SDLGF project.

Nadir Ehsan - Public and Private Sector Management Specialist

Nadir Ehsan has a multi-disciplinary background having worked and consulted for the
public, private and international NGO sectors extensively. Over the last decade he has
worked in international public policy analysis, local government reform, social
development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He was the Deputy Team
Leader of DFID's Strengthening Decentralized Local Government in Faisalabad Project
for three years and is now based in Manila with the multi-donor Cities Development
Initiatives for Asia Programme. His interests remain in local urban governance, new
public management and sustainable development.

Kashif Abbas - Information Technology Specialist

Kashif Abbas has been working as an IT manager on the SDLGF project since 2004.
During this time, he has been responsible for leading a team to design, test and
implement all the information systems at CDGF. He has also established a computer
network for the SPU as well as oversee the design of the SPU and Faisalabad web sites.
His responsibility has extended to recruiting local and national IT graduates and
developing their capacity to undertake information systems related work.
 City District Government Faisalabad
DCO Office, Near Iqbal Stadium
Faisalabad, Pakistan

Tel: +92 (0) 41 9200205

Fax: +92 (0) 41 9200206

E-mail: email@faisalabad.gov.pk
Internet: http://www.faisalabad.gov.pk

Strategic Policy Unit

2nd Floor, DCO Office
Near Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Pakistan
Tel: +92 (0) 41 9201256
Fax: +92 (0) 41 9201257
E-mail: email@spu.com.pk
Internet: http://www.spu.com.pk

Management Consultants
GHK International Ltd.
526 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5NR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 74718000
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7736 0784
E-mail: email@ghkint.com
Internet: http://www.ghkint.com
Internet: http://www.ghkpak.com