Day: June 14, 2023

Due to its efforts to become the “City of the Future,” Dubai is deservedly regarded as one of the most forward-thinking, investor-friendly, and intelligent locations in the world. The building of the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Virgin Hyperloop, the electric sky pod network, and autonomous taxis are some of the most notable smart city technologies now taking place in Dubai. The emirate has undergone a significant infrastructure growth. In fact, the city intends for 25% of trips to be driverless by 2030, and Dubai will begin testing autonomous vehicles by the end of 2022.

Additionally, in 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Vice President, and Prime Minister of the UAE, given a decree regulating the use of 3D printing in the construction sector to guarantee that a quarter of the buildings in Dubai are constructed using the technology by 2030. This was done to promote the adoption of advanced technologies in the emirate.

Dubai rated third among the top FDI sites of the future in 2021, based to the FDI Global Cities of the Future 2021/2022 report by fDi Intelligence, demonstrating the strong degree of investor trust in Dubai and its future-readiness. That so, the city’s safety, quality of life, and connectedness to the rest of the world are largely responsible for its investment attraction.

Not to mention that Dubai’s real estate may produce a ROI of up to 9%, which is much greater than what a lot of global markets can now give. The emirate’s prices for luxury real estate are also considerably less than those in other large cities like New York, Hong Kong, and Geneva. Given that the UAE does not currently levy a property tax and has no intentions to do so, it is not unexpected that in 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, Dubai recorded the highest year value in terms of property deals (AED 300 billion, USD 82 billion).

Dubai, which recently became the initial paperless city in the world, has aggressively invested in digital solutions to foster growth and support sustainability. This has greatly facilitated government transactions. As a result, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) has emerged as the region’s first real estate digital platform, providing consumers with a variety of digital and paperless real estate processes. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, also introduced the Dubai RE-tech platform last year (2021), which makes use of cutting-edge AI technologies to let investors analyze data pertaining to the real estate industry. This platform is in line with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.

A collection of resources for strategy planning and policy formulation are also included, along with an immediate real estate database that offers market trends and industry indicators.

Launching District 2020, the legacy of the Expo 2020 site, is another significant move that will strengthen Dubai’s position as the “City of the Future.” The first “15-minute city” in the UAE will have broad pedestrianized walkways, a jogging track, a bicycle track, as well as a designated autonomous car route, all with an emphasis on the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants. Additionally, the District 2020 development will serve as a significant platform for businesses specializing in artificial intelligence, the internet of matters, big data, and blockchain in an effort to support the innovation-driven economy.

Utilizing other government agencies as peer comparisons, government performance goals frequently center on producing new revenues and reducing expenditures. The UAE government, on the other hand, has adopted a different strategy during the past few years, setting its eyes on providing services that would compete with the finest in the private sector and striving for the efficiency of a top bank and the customer-centricity of a five-star hotel.

Providing government services is difficult in many nations, including the United Arab Emirates, in large part because of demographics. A variety of ethnicities make up the population of the UAE, which is made up of around 88 percent of the frequently migrant nonlocals.

Because of this diversity and movement, the government must provide facilities that are on par with the greatest alternatives available globally and that are also simple to use and comprehend, even for newcomers.

In order to promote public happiness, the UAE government invested significantly in enhancing its services in light of these difficulties, modifications, and national goals. The introduction of electronic voting machines, the provision of a refillable debit card to expedite the payment of government fees, and the establishment of a government prize for the best technology-driven services were some of these initiatives. Leaders dismantled government silos, unified several organizations, and demanded collaboration from groups in order to make reforms swiftly and effectively. This article examines their initiatives in further detail.

Developing e-voting: A way to make it more convenient and inclusive

The Federal National Council of the UAE implemented e-voting in 2011 to boost civic engagement through making it easier and appealing to young people. The National Election Committee (NEC) set up voting locations around the nation in just two weeks that year, five months before election day. However, electronic voting machines were used to cast ballots rather than the conventional ways of completing out forms and putting them in ballot boxes.

Program managers used historical data and predicted turnout to determine the number of machines and support personnel required for each location. They then tested these forecasts through experimental projects. In final results, 13 voting stations were placed according to population density in each of the seven emirates, as opposed to 1 station in each emirate in 2006. Numerous staff members who had been trained by the NEC to assist voters at the stations had to be present in large enough numbers, and the physical sites had to be conducive to an efficient conduct of voting activities.

Encouraging creativity in app design through crowdsourcing

The government established the Best m-Government Award in 2013 to assist and promote ministries and to foster citizen engagement. Four categories of competitors receive the annual award: students enrolled in UAE universities, national, Arab, and international government agencies. Any mobile phone-based service delivery method used by the government is eligible, including automated text messages, online applications, and smartphone apps. The prize honors innovation in eight fields: tourism, economy and business, social affairs, health, education, the environment, and infrastructure and transportation. Additionally, a vital government service provided to third-party clients, including consumers and corporations, must be addressed by the solutions.

The winner of the student category receives a cash prize of 1 million UAE dirhams (approximately $300,000), as well as business assistance to commercialize the application, in an effort to promote innovative and creative thinking among students in particular. The second year of the award had 411 entries, up from 260 in the first year, representing an increase in participation of 58 percent. Government agencies from all around the emirates and overseas have been inspired by this competition to create apps that will enhance how citizens connect with their governments. Following were some of the second cycle’s winners:

• The Dubai Police created a solution that, among other services, enables residents to make payments on fines, report crimes and traffic accidents, and monitor the status of applications. This solution falls under the safety and security category. The Dubai Police said that within a year of its debut, its mobile website had amassed more than 1.3 million users, and its mobile app had been downloaded by more than 300,000. Within a week of the app’s November 2014 update, more than 3,000 people had downloaded it.
• The Drive Now Text Later campaign, developed by Khawarizmi International College students in collaboration with the Interior Ministry, aims to lessen the incidence of car accidents brought on by texting and driving. When the motion sensor senses acceleration and the app launches, the phone’s screen is locked.
• The Moscow city administration established Active Citizen in the international grouping of social issues. Through earning points that can be exchanged for free public services, the app motivates users to take surveys.

• Fostering a culture of excellence and raising the bar

  The Star Rating Program, which employs private-sector criteria to assess the standard of delivery of services and private-sector methodologies to uncover problems, was implemented by government organizations in response to the call from UAE authorities to improve their public operations for residents. Once every two years, organizations throughout the UAE are assessed based on eight criteria: alignment with strategy, citizens, offerings, pathways, citizen experience, service effectiveness and creativity, people, and technology. The organizations receive a plaque displaying their categorization as well as an evaluation report that contains suggestions for raising the caliber of the services they provide.

  It was simple to design such a system; the difficult part was getting approval from government agencies. The central government sponsored road shows, workshops, and advertisements for both the federal and local governments to attend in order to familiarize themselves with the new system in order to overcome initial objections. A few organizations offered to undertake pilot studies and rated themselves according to the evaluation. Finally, UAE leadership reaffirmed the significance of the initiative and the necessity of transparently and equally grading all services.