Digital transformation is a common goal for governments, driven by the need to modernize and meet evolving citizen expectations. The public sector is undergoing rapid digital transformation to enhance citizen engagement, deliver better public services, cut costs, and deal with societal challenges. With the rise of Industry 4.0, the public sector must embrace digital innovation. Additionally, future trends like open data, AI, and civic tech are shaping the landscape of public services, governance, and urban development.

This course aims to examine recent advances in the conceptual framework and essential tools, with case studies of digitalization. Participants will gain deeper insights into the transformation journey of public-sector organizations toward digital innovation.

Course Objectives

The main objectives of this course are to:

    • Learn about digital innovation processes in the public sector;
    • Understand the application of digital technologies in enhancing innovation in public service delivery;
    • Develop digital skills and capacity building for public-sector employees to drive innovations; and
    • Identify barriers to and share insights on the future trends of digital innovations in the public sector.

This e-learning course will cover the following modules:

Module 1: Understanding the significance of digital innovations in the public sector
Module 2: Applications of digital technologies in public service delivery and barriers to digitalization
Module 3: Changing needs of citizens and ways to meet them
Module 4: Digital skills and capacity building for public-sector employees to drive innovations
Module 5: Case studies and best practices of digital innovation projects in the public sector

Important Notes:

1. Participants who register to take this course and pass the final examination with a score of 70% or higher will be eligible to receive the APO certificate. Please note that the final examination can be taken only once. Therefore, the most appropriate time to take the examination should be chosen carefully. The self-assessment quizzes are for personal evaluation only and are not related to the final examination results.
2. Participants who perform well in this course and receive the APO certificate will be given preference, on a merit basis, for selection to attend follow-up face-to-face multicountry APO projects on similar topics, when nominated by their NPOs and if slots are available.
3. Notes 1 and 2 are applicable only to participants from APO member countries. Participants from nonmember countries are welcome to take the course for self-improvement, although they will not have an opportunity to attend the follow-up face-to-face multicountry APO projects.
4. Each module is in a prerecorded video format in which the expert delivers presentations by explaining each slide. Participants can access the video by clicking on the link provided under the title of each module.