POLITICS
Diplomat magazine highlights ASAN service
The article reads: “The Azerbaijani Service and Assessment Network Service (ASAN) marks a real success story for Azerbaijan. ASAN is an e-government-based ‘one-stop shop’ for those who need to access public services.
The main purpose of ASAN is to enhance efficiency and to bring government services closer to the people. A useful by-product is that the IT-driven ASAN service, delivered in airy open-plan offices, eliminates petty corruption. There is no opportunity - or incentive - for bribes to be offered or received.
ASAN was launched in early 2013 to make Azerbaijani state bureaucracy simpler and more accessible. Its central principle is to bring representatives from various government departments under one roof, including those from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Taxes, the State Committee for Property Affairs, and the State Customs Committee. Many administrative tasks, ranging from tax registration to driving licence renewal, can be performed at ASAN service centres or via the ASAN website.
The ASAN concept was initiated in 2011 by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The development follows an international trend, whereby e-services are used to improve, simplify and facilitate interaction between the state and society.
ASAN plays an essential role in enhancing the efficiency and quality of relations between state agencies and citizens, eradicating or minimising direct contact between them and thereby enhancing transparency and eliminating opportunities for corruption. From the outset, ASAN was designed so that all payments are transacted online. All ASAN centres are thus ‘cash-free’.
Azerbaijan now holds a leading position among CIS and some European countries regarding the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) to assist state agencies. The one-stop shop model has also been introduced in other countries, such as the UK, Canada and Georgia.”
The full article is available at http://www.diplomatmagazine.com/issues/2014/september-october/888-azerbaijan-s-e-government-based-one-stop-shop.html.