One of the most critical contributors to this is the Permanent Advisory Council for the Modernisation of the State. This council is appointed with an advisory role to the President on matters concerning both policy and also the machinery and organisation of government in areas such as public employment, budgeting and the digital transformation of the public sector, among others. This is quite a broad remit, and extends beyond the delivery of services and ChileAtiende.
The Council is a permanent body that meets every 15 days with a membership of 13 people consisting of representatives from academia, the private sector and those with a history of working within government. The members of the Council are appointed by government but are independent, following the model set elsewhere in Chile by the Council for Productivity in terms of a partial refresh of the membership every year.
The members of the Council see themselves as facilitators, especially where the topic has potential political sensitivity and this is helped by their apolitical status. Whilst the government sets the agenda, the Council is designed to help and improve what that agenda says in terms of how the government takes it forward, giving larger attention to the policies which have higher impact on the performance of the State.
The Council represents the perspective of those outside government and is complemented by the Executive Committee for the Modernisation of the State consisting of representation from the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance and its Budget Office (DIPRES), the DGD of MINSEGPRES as well as the Chilean Civil Service. The make-up of this committee helps to achieve co-ordination by aligning finance with policy and delivery.
Through the Committee, four taskforces have been established to lead the modernisation agenda. First, the Modernisation Secretariat at the Ministry of Finance (former Modernisation of the Public Sector Programme) responsible for coordinating different cross-sectoral projects and exerting technical support to both the Council and the Committee. Second, DGD in MINSEGPRES responsible for digital transformation and data policies. Third, the Government Laboratory (Laboratorio de Gobierno, LabGob) providing focused consultancy to public agencies in terms of service design. Fourth, a co-ordination division within MINSEGPRES with oversight of government programmes and commitments that cut across organisations.
This Committee provides the high-level coordination and direction for the overall modernisation of the State agenda in Chile, including ChileAtiende. It is through their deliberations that the proposed legislation for institutionalising ChileAtiende is being reintroduced to the Chilean Parliament. Furthermore, this Committee has provided the foundation for the development of the Government’s Digital Transformation Strategy (Box 3.2) making provision for several critical elements in the service design and delivery agenda for Chile and setting out the ambition for the future digital transformation of the country. This strategy has set specific goals for public agencies to achieve in terms of digitalising public processes, which form the basis for “no queues and paperless” mandate in the country.
One of the key milestones for the modernisation of the State in Chile is the recently passed Digital Transformation of the State Law (MINSEGPRES, 2019[8]). Among several other mandates, this law may represent a shift in public service delivery as it requests public agencies (both at central and local levels) to only use electronic means to provide services (paperless approach), stressing the relevant role for DGD in defining and implementing sound and coherent data sharing, digital identity and advance electronic signature strategies. The implementation of this law, within a timeframe of five years, presents a unique and significant window of opportunity for public agencies to not only simplify or digitalise products and services but create public value by transforming how public services can adopt a user-driven approach in rethinking public services.