Controls and Standards

The Digital Government Authority is mandated to "Set the standards and controls for the Digital Transformation for the Government Sector and measure the compliance against it, in coordination with the relevant Government entities". From this perspective, Authority has prepared the Controls of the Whole of Government Platforms to contribute effectively to creating a regulatory environment that supports sustainable government digital transformation. 

 

The purpose of the Controls is to improve the use of technology solutions and shared infrastructure by government entities through its digital platforms. This will significantly increase the level of integration and interdependence between government entities' platforms, making it easier to share information. These Controls are included the requirements that assigned to the government entities who are responsible for the government-shared systems and services, by regulating all aspects related to connecting government entities to these digital platforms and organizing and managing the relationships with beneficiary government entities to obtain the maximum benefit from the government shared systems and services. 

 

The Digital Government Authority is the competent authority in everything related to digital government, and it is considered the national reference in its affairs, and based on its competence, “the authority sets technical standards for digital transformation models in government sectors and follows up on its commitment to them in coordination with the competent authorities.”Accordingly, DGA has prepared the “Business Continuity Management Standards for Digital Government” and “Risk Management Controls for Digital Government” and issued them on April 10, 2022, and July 25, 2022, and they have been merged in this document the name “Risk Management and Business Continuity Controls for Digital Government” due to their interdependence and common goals that contribute to enhancing the ability of government entities to ensure the sustainability of digital government services and key operations of the entities and to deal proactively with potential risks. It should be noted that the content of the standards and controls, has not been modified or amended after merging. 

 

These Controls aim to be Enhance the government entity's ability to proactively identify risks and threats, and to work to develop appropriate treatment plans to reduce the consequences of the availability and to work on develop appropriate treatment plans to reduce the consequences of the availability of the digital services through the compliance of government entities, suppliers and operators of digital government services to implement and maintain an effective Risk Management Program that provides the necessary capabilities to identify and reduce the consequences of potential and future risks.

 

The Standards Enhances the flexibility of the government entity’s response to any interruption incidents it faces, and to enable it to restore its priority products and services in an effective and efficient manner that ensures continuity of service provision and enhances the capacity of the technical infrastructure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respond and recover from disasters and raise its resilience.

DGA has developed these controls to determine the requirements for the digital government's risk management and business continuity according to:

The methodology for building risk management, risk assessment and treatment, training and improvement. Includes three main components.

The promotion of the digital government has been prepared by the governmental agencies, in order to provide the service of the number of graphics, with the quality of the efficiency of the highness of the investment and the raising of the value of the national economy, and the work to measure the performance of government agencies and its capabilities in the field of digital government.

Accordingly, the Digital Government Authority has prepared the “Basic Standards for Digital Transformation”, which in turn defines the controls and standards for digital transformation that are obligatory for all government agencies.

 

Enhancing community participation and interaction with beneficiaries is one of the most prominent targets of government agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in accordance with the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which included in its axes supporting communication channels between government agencies on the one hand and between the citizen and the private sector on the other hand, and facilitating ways of interaction in smart ways, listening to the opinions of all citizens and knowing their views, and encouraging government agencies to meet the needs of every citizen and enhance the quality of services they provide. You want everyone to interact and take initiative by sharing opinions and suggestions with us.

 

The Digital Government Authority has adopted a document entitled "Electronic Participation Controls", which aims to enhance community participation in the Kingdom. These controls contribute to raising the level of participation and interaction between government agencies and beneficiaries, and providing a smooth experience for beneficiaries of digital government services, which in turn will enhance the empowerment of beneficiaries to participate in building and supporting the decisions of government agencies, with the aim of enhancing community participation.

 

This document also reinforces this trend and is based on the stages of e-participation, which are designed based on best practices that identify the main elements of effective design and strategic implementation in order to achieve higher levels of interaction and participation at the level of the Kingdom. The main objective of these controls is to contribute to improving the performance of the government apparatus, and enabling social responsibility through interaction with beneficiaries, and this in turn will contribute to increasing transparency in all government sectors, enhancing communication with beneficiaries, including individuals and companies, as well as the response of government agencies to the opinions of various stakeholders. 

 

The "e-Participation Controls" document is one of the controls included in the regulatory framework for digital government work, which works to activate "beneficiary centralization" within government entities by promoting effective participation based on the availability of information, consultation, empowerment, joint development and innovation.