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Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijan in FactsLocation: CaucasusFounded: 28 May 1918 Regained independence: 18 October 1991 Area: 86,600km2

Population: 9.7 millionGDP: 73bn USDGDP per capita: 7,684 USDOffi cial Language: Azerbaijani

Big leap aheadAzerbaijan was ranked 96th out of 193 countries in the 2012 EGDI ratings, but moved up 28 places to 68th in 2014.

ICT Facts:

• Average annual growth of ICT sector since 2012: 20-25%

• Contribution of ICT industry to GDP: 1.7%

• Investment to ICT industry: 2.5 billion USD

• Azerspace-1, Azerbaijan’s fi rst telecommunications satellite, was launched into orbit on 7 February 2013

• Azerbaijan is the 11th state in the world to have an artifi cial satellite

• A low-orbit satellite that will observe Earth from space is set to be launched in 2016

• Azerspace-2 will be launched into orbit in 2017

United Nations E-Government Survey 2014

Indicators World Average Azerbaijan

E-Government Development Index(EGDI) 0.4712 0.54

% of Individuals using the Internet 39.40 54.20

Fixed telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 18.40 18.62

Mobile-Cellular telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 98.02 108.77

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ContentIntroduction

Arvo Ott

Azad Jafarli

Elmir Velizadeh

Benefi ts of e-Governance

Infrastructure and development of infrastructural services

Access

Digitalized data

Interoperability

Digital identity

Servicing people

Cyber Security

Best practice

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Azerbaijan has excellent results and extensive experience in e-governance that can be shared with the whole world

Over the last ten years, Azerbaijan has made substantial progress in this fi eld, and now is the time to convert this development into major success for the state.

The creation of e-government is a long-term and complex process that requires large-scale changes in society. However, at the same time, people expect quick fi xes, and the political support for this can quickly vanish if there are no tangible results.

Azerbaijan signifi cantly improved it s positions in the UN rankings on e-gov-ernment development, gaining 28 points compared to the previous rating from 2012. Azerbaijan is 68th in the UN World Rankings on E-Government Develop-ment, according to a report entitled United Nations E-Government Survey 2014: E-Government for the Future We Want.

The development of IT systems by Azerbaijan’s central authorities began in 1998. Tremendous steps have been taken to develop the necessary technical infrastruc-ture for the delivery of e-services. In 2012, a new agency - the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - was formed to organize integrated e-services. In addition to major infrastructure developments, Azerbaijan is gaining worldwide re-nown for its ASAN Service centres, ASAN IMZA m-ID solution and oth-er innovative e-government solutions.

This booklet aims to provide a short overview of developments in Azerbai-jan in the modernisation of the coun-try’s public administration and its so-ciety as a whole with the help of new technologies. Azerbaijan has given considerable attention to developing e-society and e-services, and there are clear signs of progress and improve-ments in the shaping of e-society in the country. Moreover, Azerbaijan has obtained signifi cant results and ex-perience that can be shared with the entire world.

Arvo OttChairman of the Board E-Governance Academy

Introduction

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Raising awareness on Information Technology and e-governance is one of Azer-baijan s main priorities. The head of the state has approved several programmes and strategy documents that will be implemented during the years to come and will help raise awareness on e-governance.

Fast developing ASAN Service centers where people can easily communicate with ministries and other governmental agencies as well as private businesses are very popular. We see ASAN Service centers as social places where people can communicate with the state, not bureaucratic institutions. Today s young people grow up with ASAN. 3000 people visiting centers every day is a strong evidence showing that the centers are popular and highly appreciated.

ASAN helps people to be part of the state s decision making process, and there are different ways to give feedback. We want people to benefi t from ser-vices, therefore we collect statistics about different groups and their needs – young people, women, handicapped people.

Educational online sites and learn-ing centers, special classes that help improve knowledge on Information Technology, specialized e-learning environments like Medical Science online site are there to help people. We also use volunteers to support el-der people and those who do not feel comfortable using modern technolo-gy.

Azerbaijan s aim is to have an e-gover-nance system that supports all govern-mental agencies, private sector, citi-zens and foreign nationals residing in Azerbaijan.

Azad JafarliHead of International Department State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the Presi-dent of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Technological Development is Azebaijan s main

priority

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Development of sustainable e-government is one of the Azerbaijan s main goals. The fi rst National Strategy of Information Technology from 2003 and the National Strategy for Information Society Development adopted on 2014 were the fi rst strategic document where transition to information society was clearly stated. After that we adopted several programmes and action plans that helped to implement the strategy and provided legal framework for developing e-government.

Azerbaijan learned from other countries legal bases and practises – both from European and neighbouring countries – and created our own unique e-govern-ment system that takes into account our legislation and needs. We conisedered important to collect knowledge available, as a result, some developments in Azerbaijan are so innovative that other countries learn from us.

We started to develop the e-government by connecting electronically central executive governmental bodies and building infrastructure for governmental level. In two years all central governmental bodies were connected to the infra-structure. We aim to extend it to local as well as municipal levels.

Azerbaijan s current ranking on UN EGID list proves that our strategy has been successful and we have good potential to move on. Today Azerbaijan s e-government has good infrastructure and plenty of e-services. Their number is growing day by day. It means, people can get public services very quickly and easily, but also in affordable manner.

Elmir Velizadeh,Deputy Minister of Communication and High Technologies

Sustainable e-government is Azerbaijan s main goal

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Benefi ts of e-Governance

“One of the reasons that we introduced e-government is to boost the fi ght against bribery and corruption. “

Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

(Closing speech at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, 14th April 2013)

The Azerbaijani e-government project has been prepared in accordance with the National Strategy on Information and Communication Technologies for the De-velopment of the Republic of Azerbaijan 2003-2012, and is being carried out within the framework of the Electronic Azerbaijan State Programme.

This project drives activities which aim to improve the effi ciency and effective-ness of government institutions, the facilitation and liberalization of relations between civil society, business organisations, and government institutions, as well as their ability to deal with the wide application of information and com-munication technologies. This allows conditions for the establishment of new high-level relations for civil servants, ensuring transparency and fully meeting informational needs.

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2003 1st National ICT Strategy (-2012); Law on electronic signature and electronic document

2011 EHDİS, PKl, national certifi cation service centre, e-İmza card, www.e-gov.az

2011 Decree on provision of electronic services

2012 Citizen Services and Social In novations State Agency

2013 ASAN service centres (1st 21.01.2013), www.asan.gov.az,

2013 Certifi cation service centre ASAN of the Ministry of Taxes; ASAN İmza

2015 ASAN Pay; www.asanpay.az

2015 E-Government training centres

There are many benefi ts to e-Governance in Azerbaijan, some of which are:For Citizens

• Active participation by citizens in public administration

• Facilitating citizens’ communication with government agencies, and its implementation in a more affordable and fl exible way

• Flexibility in fully meeting requests for information

• Access to public services for people with disabilities

For the Business sector

• Liaising with government authorities in an effi cient and timely manner, thereby reducing costs

• Increasing economic activity, competitiveness and access to foreign markets

For Government

• Improvements in the effi ciency of government institutions with the wide application of modern technologies

• Budget savings, decreasing the duration and cost of public services

• Creating a common information space for public authorities and ensuring its safety

• Establishing effective, transparent and manageable state administration and local self-government

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The e-government infrastructure consists of four basic pillars: access, digital data, interoperability and digital identity.

1.AccessHigh rate of mobile use

While the uptake of Internet usage was initially slow in Azerbaijan, the situation has improved considerably over the last 5 years. A good precondition for e-ser-vices is the high rate of mobile use – 109 per 100 inhabitans.

Infrastructure and development of

infrastructural services

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2. Digitalized dataAzerbaijan is ranked 12th for starting a business

The second pillar upon which e-government stands is the database network. In Azerbaijan there are two advanced databases, namely the population and busi-ness registers.

Population register

The modern population register was established through the collaboration of UNDP and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice. The State Population Register of the Republic of Azerbaijan contains personal information on citizens, stateless individuals, and foreigners living in the country. The State Register is intended to serve as a unifi ed information resource that consolidates all state information systems within one network.

The population register is a single, reliable, complete, and detailed database on the population of Azerbaijan, complying with international best practice and us-ing modern information and communication technology. The register issues a unique personal identifi cation number to every individual.

Business registration

Azerbaijan started its business registration reform 10 years ago, and it has proved to be very successful. Azerbaijan was the top reformer in the 2009 Doing Busi-ness survey with the most regulatory reforms, having jumped to 33 on the list from 96th position the previous year. Azerbaijan is rated 12th in the world for ease in starting a business, a most respectable position.

3. Interoperability frameworkThe development of an extremely secure data exchange layer

In order to provide complex electronic services, a country needs to have a func-tioning interoperability framework.

In Azerbaijan, a modern secure data exchange layer (EHDİS) has been devel-oped, an extremely secure system that meets ISO27001 standards. EHDİS is a complete system consisting of a certifi cation centre, central servers, a monitoring system, security servers, an adaptive server, and a support and offi cial commu-nications system.

Several government databases have been connected through EHDİS, thereby enabling the exchange of data between different government agencies.

4. Identifi cation systemsMore than 30000 e-signatures

An e-signature allows people to easily use the e-services of state institutions, many of which are available on the Azerbaijani e-government portal (e-gov.az). The to-tal number of electronic digital signatures (e-signatures) issued by the Azerbaijani National Certifi cate Service Centre in the fi rst quarter of 2015 reached 30,021, of which state bodies were provided with 18,615 e-signatures, 4,812 e-signatures were issued to the legal entities, and 6,594 to citizens.

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Servicing PeopleMore than 460 e-services

Modernization of public e-services is clearly an issue where governments can demonstrate that they are doing something useful for their country’s citizens. The development of IT-systems for Azerbaijan’s central authorities began in 1999. Progressive steps have been taken towards the development of the neces-sary technical infrastructure required to issue e-services.

Today, 416 services are available on the e-government portal. The total number of e-services available from the websites of Azerbaijani state entities is 461.

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Cyber SecurityAzerbaijan ranked 11th

Due to the fact that cyber security is a relatively new area, countries are advancing step by step in this fi eld. There is a clear relationship between the development of cyber security and the general development of an information society and e-gov-ernance. The implementation of new e-solutions in the country drives the improve-ment of cyber security.

According to the ITU cyber security index, Azerbaijan ranked in 11th place glob-ally. Regionally, Azerbaijan ranked fi rst, outperforming regional neighbours such as Georgia, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

Azerbaijan’s ITU cyber wellness profi le demonstrates what an important topic cy-bersecurity is. Azerbaijan’s offi cial national cybersecurity strategy is valid until 2020.

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ASAN “Azerbaijan follows the course of modernizing its public services by applying advanced technologies and innovations. The creation of ASAN service brand is one of the success stories of this ongoing modernization process.”

Inam Karimov, Chairman, State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovations Azerbaijan.

The formation of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been extremely important in the process of public service delivery reforms in the country.

The establishment of the Azerbaijani Service and Assessment Network (ASAN Service), whose mission is to ensure that all services are rendered to citizens from a single location with higher standards and in a more convenient manner has resulted in a major advancement in the relevant fi eld in the country.

ASAN Service is also paving the way for e-government in Azerbaijan through the use of modern information technologies and service-specifi c software devel-oped by Azerbaijani specialists.

Best practice

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ASAN Service Centres • Over 4 millioncitizens have benefi ted from services at ASAN service centres. • 3000 citizens per day per centre. • Customer satisfaction rate 98%.The “one-stop-shop” approach has been widely used in the modernization of public administration in the last decade, both in the development of the physical service environment (service centres), as well as e-services (central service portals).

There is no doubt that the one-stop-shop or single window is the best way to serve citizens and foreign residents, and it is also much easier for service providers to mon-itor feedback and to keep information updated.

Azerbaijan has attracted global attention with the development of the ASAN Service Centres (the word “asan” means “easy” in Azerbaijani), creating a single physical ser-vice environment to achieve high level of visibility.

The fi rst out of eight ASAN Service Centres opened its doors in January 2013. A one-stop-shop approach was implemented, where citizens can drop in to receive around 240 different government and private services provided by ten ministries and 25 pri-vate companies. These centres, which will be all around the country in the nearest future, are a cross between a bank and a comfy hotel foyer.

Visitors are greeted by friendly volunteers who help them register in the right elec-tronic queue (the average wait time is 7 to 15 minutes, but pre-booking can be done online or via the call centre). While waiting, they can do their banking, have a med-ical check-up, surf the web at Internet cafe or keep their children entertained in the play areas. Private companies operating here offer over 30 group of services, from translations to legal consultations. Centres also boast a maternal care rooms and a free lending library.

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Besides the well-equipped facilities the centres boast, the real difference they of-fer citizens is effi ciency and convenience. Here, a driver’s license can be renewed in less than 10 minutes. It takes only a day to get a passport. The centre are open in the evenings and at weekends, meaning that no one has to miss work, and for areas of the country where there is no local centre, purpose-built ASAN buses provide services to more distant towns and villages. There is also a car service that will make document house calls for disabled people.

The centres have been very well received, having served over 4 million people so far. And, in what is perhaps an even more important indicator these days, the centres have received over 285,000 Likes on their Facebook page.

ASAN does not itself provide any services, but rather ensures that the ministry offi cials working in its centres adhere to its strict guidelines for transparency, convenience, ethical behaviour and effi ciency.

ASAN PayThe development of e-services depends to a large extent on the opportunity to make digital payments. In January 2015, it was announced that the ASAN Pay system, available at www.asanpay.az, was online and available for use as part of a pilot project. Citizens are now able to pay administrative fi nes and court-ordered fi nes through the ASAN Pay portal using their bankcards. During phase 1 of the project, only fi nes for traffi c violations can be paid, but this will soon be expand-ed to include other payments.

In addition, payment terminals that accept cash and card payments will be rolled out in all centres and in strategic population centres in the future.

Photo:ASAN Pay terminals Recently launched, the ASAN Pay webportal and

payment terminal can be used for payments of administrative fi nes, utility bills, and

many others.

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Mobile ASAN ServiceThe introduction of the mobile ASAN service is the latest innovation in public service delivery. Large, well-equipped buses offer services to residents in remote areas and regions that do not yet host ASAN centres.

Intra-city mobile services are provided free of charge to people with disabili-ties and children under medical care. If citizens are unable to come to the cen-tres, they can call and request that services be delivered at their current location, whether it be at home, work, or elsewhere. This mobile operation facility will soon be offering the full range of services currently available at ASAN centres.

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ASAN Service – an exemplary one-stop shop modelThis unique experience of Azerbaijan has been presented in many international events, including those held under the auspices of the UN, World Bank, OSCE, OECD, the African Association of Public Administration and European Parlia-ment, Council of Europe, International Association of Prosecutors etc. ASAN Service have also been the subject of numerous presentations in government structures of a number of countries, which have demonstrated great interest in learning aboutits success, such asthe United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Czech Republic,Turkmenistan etc.High-level foreign dignitaries visit-ing Azerbaijan use the opportunity to visit the ASAN Service centers to person-ally get acquainted with the unique Azerbaijani model of public service delivery mechanism.

The International Conference on Public Service Delivery in the context of Hu-man Rights and Good Governance was organized by the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations on 24-25 September 2015 within the framework of Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Conference was attended by more than 140 participants that includ-ed high-level offi cials and “one-stop shop” experts from the members States of the Council of Europe, offi cials of the Secretariat of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, members of the Unit-ed Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, offi cials of relevant state agencies and Baku-based intergovernmental organizations and representa-tives of private companies, as well as non-governmental organizations. It was un-derlined that the countries with advanced and innovative public service delivery models, such as ASAN in Azerbaijan, should unite their efforts, resources and capabilities in order to expand their best practices for the sake of more effi cient, more effective and more qualitative public services around the globe.

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The case of ASAN Service has been studied within the recently completed pro-ject called “Smart Ways to Use Technologies and Creativity to Improve the Re-lationship Between Citizens and the State: The Azerbaijani Model” by the Ita-ly-based think-tank “Vision”. The project culminated in the publication of the report entitled “Moving towards citizens: The ASAN Service model” and two international conferences held in Rome and Brussels on 30 March and 1 April 2015 respectively. The report, which provided a comparative analysis of ASAN Service vis-a-vis some public service delivery models of selected European coun-tries, have, among others, made the following conclusion:

“More than a model of e-Government, ASAN Service is an innovative model of a new relationship between citizens and the State, together with a successful ex-ample of public-private partnership (PPP) – a model that many countries around the world pursue and seek to develop.”

e-Government portalThe e-government website (www.e-gov.az) is a key tool in supporting e-services for citizens and businesses, both state-owned and private. The mobile version of the portal was launched in February 2015. • Number of services provided: 416 • Users: non-residents, entrepreneurs and citizens • Accessibility: with and without registration • Registration types • Default • With e-signature • With mobile ID

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E-signatureASAN İMZA – cutting-edge Mobile ID and digital signature technology

Asan İmza was launched in June 2013. The initial concept for possible implemen-tation of mobile identity was developed in January 2013, and within 6 months,the fi rst Asan İmza was issued. This is probably the fastest implementation of a state-recognized mobile identity solution in the whole world.

While Estonia recorded 5 million transactions in 4-5 years (2007-2011), Azerbai-jan managed to achieve the same result within 10 months of implementing the service, between January and October 2013.

Currently Asan İmza can be used with more than 500 different e-services in Azerbaijan. The vast majority of these services are provided by various govern-ment organizations and can be viewed on the e-government portal, available at www.e-gov.az. The most popular services available on Asan İmza are submission of e-tax declarations, registration of a new legal entity and registration of labour contract notifi cations. In order to proceed with these three services, users must have either an e-signature or a mobile signature. Asan İmza can also be used with local online banking services, and many local banks provide their customers with the option of logging in and performing transactions through their online bank-ing facilities via Asan İmza.

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Asan İmza can also be used to sign documents digitally. This means that a person can sign business agreements any time and any where. This can help companies to speed up their business and allows contracts to be signed via the Internet, saving time and money that would unnecessarily be spent on sending agreements by mail..

In addition, a unique, secure, and authenticated call service has also been im-plemented. The 195 Call Centre of the Ministry of Taxes allows citizens to au-thenticate and sign documents digitally, by simply calling and providing proof of identity via Asanİmza,and thereby allowing you to do all transactions, including completing and signing tax declarations, ordering a Tax Identifi cation Number, and opening a bank account. It is also possible to submit documents regardless of Internet access anywhere where there is a mobile network. This prioritises expansion of mobile technologies into different service fi elds. People lacking the necessary expertise can also be assisted by experienced tax offi cers, saving time all round. Asan İmza uses the most secure Mobile ID and SIM-based e-signature technology available. Every mobile operator in Azerbaijan provides Asan İmza service to their customers through the centralized m-ID (Mobile ID) platform.

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In BriefTypes: • Regular-signature • Mobile signatureRequired documents: • ID card (for both)Availability: • For regular-signatures: registration centres (mostly post offi ces) • For mobile signatures: • SIM card from mobile operators’ service centres • Activation of mobile signature in the ASAN Certifi cation Service Centre of the Ministry of Taxes E-services available via Asan İmza • Ministry of Taxes: more than 50 e-services such as: • e-invoice system • e-deposit system • online state registration of physical and legal entities • www.e-gov.az portal: more than 460 e-services such as: • registration of notifi cations on labour contracts by employers • information about notifi cations on labour contracts by employees • e-references • Sending reports signed through Asan İmza to Central Treasury • ASAN Service payment portal at www.asanpay.az • Online banking portals for leading banks such as PASHA Bank,

Bank Respublika, Bank of Baku, YapıKredi etc. • E-service portals for insurance companies and brokerage fi rms

such as PASHA Life.Some statistics of usage • more than 155,000Asanİmza certifi cates issued • more than 5.5 million transactions done • over 90% of tax declarations submitted electronically

(from a total of 400 thousand taxpayers in Azerbaijan)

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E-government training centresThe training centres were recently established in collaboration with the Azerbai-jani Ministry of Communications and High Technologies and the Korean Inter-national Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Educational training centres have been established in 16 regions around the country,namely Baku, Ganja, Nakhchivan, Sumgait, Mingechevir, Barda, Lan-karan, Gazakh, Zagatala, Imishli, Gabala, Goychay, Shirvan, Shamakhy, Guba, and Shaki. Civil servants will be able to participate in training courses at the centres and benefi t from distant learning services. The centres will help in the implementation of e-government ideas in public administration and other public spheres, the development of the information society, and will thereby contribute to increase in the overall level of e-learning, increases in e-services by providing the paperless online administration environment, and the availability of various online training courses for civil servants without the limitations of location and time.

The booklet is prepared by Estonian e-Governance Academy within the “Azerbaijan and Estonia - Two Eagles in e-Government” project supported by the The Council on State Support to Non-governmental Organizations under the Auspices of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

May 2015

The Council on State Support to NGOs under the Auspicesof the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan