Going For Gold: Accelerating Ghana’s Digitalisation Journey
Ghana TBI Digital Academy and DigSMART programme launch - March 2023
In 2023, Ghana embarked on a transformative journey within its public sector, launching a pilot programme aimed at enhancing the digital acumen of its civil servants. This initiative, developed in collaboration with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, set the stage for a profound shift in the way public services are delivered in Ghana. Panoply Digital played a pivotal role in this transformation by designing and delivering the pilot program in partnership with the TBI Digital Academy. Over the course of six months, 170 civil servants were immersed in a comprehensive digital learning experience, laying the groundwork for a more digitally literate public sector workforce.
Digital transformation in Ghana began in the early 2000s and has since made significant progress in expanding internet penetration and the role out of government initiatives in bridging the gap and closing the digital divide. The government continues to welcome digitalisation strategies and initiatives that enhance citizens' experience and access to streamlined, and more efficient public services online. Commitments to upskilling and supporting civil servants to adopt digital mindsets and foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation positions the home of Africa’s first artificial intelligence (AI) research centre in good stead for a prosperous future for its citizens.
Motivated by the success of the DigSMART pilot, a more ambitious scale-up was launched in February 2024, targeting nearly 1000 civil servants across various departments and levels of government. This expanded program, condensed to a rigorous four months, builds on the foundations laid during the pilot, with Panoply Digital continuing its support by providing specialised digital learning content and facilitating in-person training sessions. This sustained involvement underscores Panoply Digital's commitment to the program's objectives and its role as a key player in the digital transformation of Ghana's public sector.
Building on local expertise and supporting efforts for longer-term and sustainable knowledge transfer sits at the heart of Panoply Digital's mission. Preparing for Ghana’s digital learning scale-up showcased the vital need to equip and support trainees as they embark on efforts to transform the mindsets of civil servants and equip them with the skills to supercharge digitalisation across all facets of the public sector. Earlier this year, Panoply Digital led trainees from the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (KACE) through guided mock training sessions and peer-to-peer feedback activities to support effective, high-quality and confident training facilitation practices.
Panoply Digital Team conducting face-to-face, training of trainer activities in Ghana - February 2024
The scale-up is championed by Ghana's Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, under the leadership of Honourable Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful. The Minister's involvement, coupled with her role in the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership[1], highlights the national and international dimensions of this initiative. The Ministry's sponsorship signals a strong governmental endorsement of the program's aims to equip civil servants with the skills necessary for navigating the challenges and opportunities of digital governance.
The program is part of the broader DigSMART initiative, reflective of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation's strategic vision to harness digital tools for national development. By extending the program to include participants from 20 additional Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in 2024, the initiative is poised to make a significant impact on the public sector's digital capabilities. This expansion is a strategic move to embed digital proficiency across the public service, aligning with Ghana's ambition to evolve into a knowledge-based, digitally empowered society.
This initiative represents a critical step towards building a digitally adept civil service in Ghana, capable of leveraging technology to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness of government services. The collaborative effort between Panoply Digital, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and the Ghanaian government exemplifies a multi-stakeholder approach to digital transformation, ensuring that the public sector is well-equipped to meet the demands of the digital age.
[1] The Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, or GDIP, is a proud supporter and collaborator of Panoply Digital.