Executive Summary

In October 2015, The Government of Rwanda issued the “SMART Rwanda Master Plan” (SRMP), which provides the elements needed to achieve the vision of “a Knowledge Based Society”. The SRMP identified a set of core objectives, including the following:

• • • • • • • • Objective #8: Build a secured, shared robust and resilient infrastructure to underpin service delivery and support national ICT initiatives
              • Objective #9: Enhance the National ICT Governance Structure for effectiveness implementation of ICT programs
              •  Objective #10: Transform digital Government through E-Government and effective service delivery

The SRMP also identified three main enablers for Rwanda’s digital transformation which include (1) Effective ICT Governance and Management, (2) ICT Capacity and Capability, and (3) Secured and Shared Infrastructure.

The transformation of digital Government implies the use of technology to automate various processes. This, therefore, requires a setup of backend systems within all entities that need to be integrated for efficient service delivery.

Central to the objectives above is the seamless alignment of IT systems and infrastructure in public entities. To this end, the focus for RISA is the provision of Digital Government Platform (DGP) that will connect all IT systems across public sector entities.

It is, however, acknowledged that to date, the level of technology deployment across public entities in Rwanda is not uniform. For the integration to be effective, there is a need not only to review the current backend systems and to deploy systems within the entities that do not have adequate systems, but also to ensure that standards are well defined to ensure that the deployed solutions meet the set criteria.

It is further acknowledged that all public entities use citizens' data in delivering services. As such, the backend systems at the National Identification Agency (NIDA)—where citizens' data from birth to death is captured and maintained—are central to the development of the Digital Government Platform. This is because this is singularly a single source of the truth about all citizens’ status.

The automation of processes and integration of systems at NIDA is therefore key for the success of the Digital Government Platform.

This functionality is well served with the implementation of enterprise architecture governance across government of Rwanda. Through this initiative, common standards will be implemented within the public sector through the enforcement of principles and methodology driven by the guidelines set out in the Government of Rwanda Enterprise Architecture Framework v2.1 and Blueprint Development Guidelines for Government of Rwanda V1.1 documents.

While the abovementioned documents define both the Enterprise Architecture Framework and Guidelines for developing blueprints, it is necessary to further define the governance structure around enterprise architecture implementation across Rwanda. It was, therefore, necessary for RISA to define governance structure around the setting up of backend systems for public entities driven by enterprise architecture principles to drive seamless alignment. Through this initiative, all public entities are to define their respective architecture blueprints that would outline the IT and business landscape.

The RISA driven initiative seeks to define and enforce common standards across all entities to allow for interoperability and agile systems deployment.

To ensure cohesive architecture models, RISA has defined a framework for Enterprise Architecture as well as the governance that drives its implementation (refer to Government of Rwanda Enterprise Architecture Framework v2.1). In addition, a guideline for developing the blueprint has also been defined for all entities (Blueprint Development Guidelines for Government of Rwanda V1.1).

The output of the blueprint development initiative will present a clearer view of each entities’ readiness to integrate with other public-sector entities through the Digital Government

Platform. In this regard, the blueprints will outline the availability and adequacy of the backend systems for the integration.

The following sections outline two key components that will drive the integration of public entities to meet the abovementioned objectives of the Smart Rwanda Master Plan. These components are:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. The Enterprise Architecture Governance that will drive the development of the blueprints as well as the deployment of adequate backend systems
                  2. The approach for Digital Government Platform development