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Why governments need partnerships to adopt latest technologies
To accelerate economic diversification , boost resilience , increase social cohesion , enhance public services , in an age of accelerating demographic shifts , governments are turning to technology to govern and improve like never before , says Ramez T Shehadi at Accenture Global Lead .
Governments worldwide are facing challenges on multiple fronts , including the climate crisis and the resulting call for decarbonisation at scale , managing socio-economic fluctuations , as well as both global healthcare interdependencies and the intrinsic growth and aging demands of home populations , to name but a few . In addition , most GCC countries also face the challenge of diversifying their economies away from hydrocarbons .
To accelerate economic diversification , boost resilience , increase social cohesion and enhance public services in an age of accelerating demographic shifts , governments are turning to technology to engage , govern , serve , learn and improve like never before .
However , while there is great potential for technology to materially assist in confronting and addressing national and cross-border challenges , material difficulties prevail in assessing what technologies to adopt with an eye to what makes a significant impact , to whom , by when and how sustainably .
Furthermore , there is the challenge of balancing the simultaneous development and deployment of emerging technologies like generative AI that offer the prospect of positive step changes in productivity , education , and resource consumption but , if not addressed carefully , can do so negatively .
To boost capabilities , governments must engage a range of partnership models . Generally , publicprivate partnerships have been an effective instrument for delivering public services as governments can tap into innovation-led businesses with the ability and competitive edge to deliver services efficiently and cost-effectively .
There are several types of agreements , including build-operate-transfer , build-own-operate , buildoperate-lease-transfer , among others .
Each has its fit and benefits , and there is no one-sizefits-all . Governments naturally must assess the needs and constraints at hand to determine which model will best support public service efficiency and quality .
Furthermore , these partnership models should be considered as part of a broader ecosystem in which policymakers , investors , businesses , NGOs and communities all have a contribution to make . At the same time , governments are responsible for fostering a culture of collaboration , promoting knowledge sharing and facilitating networking .
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