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dc.contributor.authorHerbert, Siân
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-10T12:34:51Z
dc.date.available2019-09-10T12:34:51Z
dc.date.issued2019-09-06
dc.identifier.citationHerbert, S. (2019). Automation of government processes. K4D Helpdesk Report. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.en
dc.identifier.urihttps://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/14693
dc.description.abstractThis rapid literature review examines the impact of, and lessons from, automating government processes in middle-income countries (MICs) and fragile and conflict affected environments (FCAEs). Automating government processes involves data collection and digitisation via information and communication technologies (ICTs), artificial intelligence (AI), and sometimes also machine learning (ML) (Paul, Jolley & Anthony, 2018, p.6). Some common examples of ML in international development include: strengthening early warning systems; situational awareness; supplementing development data; point-of-service diagnostics; market segmentation; and customer and citizen service interfaces (Paul, et al., 2018). Automation can improve the efficiency, quality and coverage of service delivery – e.g. automation of a medicine inventory management system in Pakistan led to control over theft, more transparency, better monitoring and evaluation, and more efficient service delivery in a pilot initiative (DFID, 2018). Automation of aspects of public sector staff recruitment, performance review, management, and monitoring can address nepotistic practices, can lead to efficiency savings on the salary bill, can improve staff and institutional performance, and can increase transparency and trust in institutions, among other impacts. Present ML and AI systems are unable to recognise if the decision made agrees with the context, like human analysis can, and thus ML can lead to suboptimal decisions (Paul, et. al., 2018). So while ML and AI systems can be statistically very good, they can fail for individual cases. This raises important dilemmas in regards to accountability.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherIDSen
dc.relation.ispartofseriesK4D Helpdesk Report;661
dc.rights.urihttps://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/en
dc.subjectGovernanceen
dc.subjectTechnologyen
dc.titleAutomation of Government Processesen
dc.typeHelpdesken
dc.rights.holder© DFID - Crown copyright 2019en
dcterms.dateAccepted2019-09-06
rioxxterms.funderDepartment for International Development, UK Governmenten
rioxxterms.identifier.projectK4Den
rioxxterms.versionVoRen
rioxxterms.funder.project238a9fa4-fe4a-4380-996b-995f33607ba0en


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  • K4D [937]
    K4D supports learning and the use of evidence to improve the impact of development policy and programmes. The programme is designed to assist the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other partners to be innovative and responsive to rapidly changing and complex development challenges.

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