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Barbados: GovTech unveils first phase in streamlining public service

By Government of Barbados

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (GIS) – Barbadians are getting their first glimpse of a major national effort to change the way the government delivers public services.

A key feature of this initial phase is the launch of a new website, alpha.gov.bb, which will eventually replace the government’s existing online presence, gov.bb. The new “alpha” site is designed as an early version where the government can test ideas and quickly gather feedback from citizens, learning what works before building full services.

“We need to move away from these big projects that take months or years to deliver, only for people to still have trouble using them,” explained Mark Boyce, CEO of GovTech Barbados. “The idea is to show citizens early progress, listen to what they say, and use that feedback to guide what we build next.”

The site will initially feature several service “entry points,” providing essential information such as who the service is for, how long it takes, what documents are required, and where to go.

“It may not sound like much, but having clear, accurate information on how to access a government service is the first step in getting anything done. Right now, that information is often hard to find, incomplete, or out of date,” Boyce noted.  

In the coming months, the government will begin deploying larger-scale service improvements, rolling out changes in a matter of weeks and using citizen feedback to guide future updates. GovTech will also create “citizen panels,” similar to focus groups, to better understand people’s needs and frustrations.

Another core part of GovTech’s work will be setting common standards across government services, so that no matter which department a person interacts with, the experience is intuitive and consistent.

“Because services are built by different departments with no consistent approach, they often look and behave differently. To citizens, it should feel as if they’re interacting with one government, not multiple separate entities,” Boyce added.  

Barbadians are encouraged to visit alpha.gov.bb to explore the new platform and help shape what comes next.

The post Barbados: GovTech unveils first phase in streamlining public service appeared first on Caribbean News Global.

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