Digital Governance Initiatives in Pakistan to Combat COVID-19: Current Developments and Challenges for a Sustainable Future

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the adoption of digitalized service delivery mechanisms by various government and non-governmental institutions in Pakistan to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic. The key study objectives are; to analyze the role of digital governance in managing the pandemic and promoting sustainable social and economic development in Pakistan while focusing on the Digital Pakistan Policy and its implementation; and highlighting its significance in public service delivery in the new normal era. The paper adds value by evaluating the key features of the indigenous digitized governance model of public service delivery in Pakistan to handle the pandemic and also unveils implementation challenges posed by the context which could be addressed in future by offering relevant strategies, policy directives/guidelines and recommendations to the public policy formulators and public managers. The study adopted a descriptive approach to discuss various measures adopted by the government of Pakistan to deliver services in a digitized manner during the pandemic. Data was collected through a review of literature as a secondary source, while official websites of the government were consulted to gather primary data as well. Digital governance policy suggestions proposed in this paper are drawn from recommendations provided by in-service bureaucracy, policymakers and public policy experts in academic conferences. Thus, the study has practical implications for the policymakers aiming to overcome the challenges of the current and future post-pandemic era by developing a resilient and contextually inspired model of digital governance.