Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 15 December 2011, United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan in partnership with the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and in support of khokimiyats of Jizzakh region facilitated official launch of One-Stop-Shop (OSS) of Jizzakh city for public services delivery and three Local Government Information Centers (LGIC) in three major khokimiyats of Jizzakh region - regional khokimiyat, Jizzakh city khokimiyat and khokimiyat of Zaamin district.

Mr. Sayfiddin Ismailov, Khokim of Jizzakh region and Ms. Anita Nirody, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan participated in the official opening ceremony of OSS in Djizzak city. These initiatives, successfully realized within the framework of “Local Governance Support Project: Participation and Partnership” (LGSP) expected to provide residents of the region with open and free access to public information and services.

"Today it is indeed a pleasure for us to highlight the important outcomes of this partnership which has particularly aimed at strengthening the capacities of local government authorities to provide public services and access to public information to citizens of Jizzakh region" said Ms. Anita Nirody, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, during the opening ceremonies. "Establishment of One-Stop-Shop is essential tool for local khokimiyats to provide public services, while Local Governement Information Centers are expected to respond to the emerging needs of both population and civil society to information regarding the activities of local khokimiyats".

Being an effective approach in provision of public services, OSS envisages rendering wide range of public and social services for the population in one place, moving towards more client-oriented system and wide usage of modern ICT tools in service provision. This in its turn allows citizens to receive quality and timely public services without visiting various agencies, located remotely from each other. It also enables different government agencies to facilitate interactively their relations with service consumers, thus decreasing the administrative and operational costs and leaving more room to concentrate on their core functions on decision making.

On the other hand, LGICs will ensure the existence of proper two-way communication between government, the media and citizens. They impact positively on progress, sustainable improvement in society and efficient exchange of ideas, including increasing the reputation of local khokimiyats, strengthening the trust and support of local society.

It should be noted, that during the initial modelling phase, the through analysis were carried out, as well as the best practices and lessons learned from the experiences of many different countries and regions who have implemented such citizen-centric initiatives for their population, were examined. For example, the LGSP has prepared the Concept Note on OSS taking into account lessons learned from Sergeli district OSS - the first One-Stop-Shop pilot model in Uzbekistan which was also established in support of UNDP in Sergeli district of Tashkent City in April 2010. Whereas, the baseline for establishment of LGICs was the result of a survey carried out in 2010, which showed that there was a high citizen demand for quality, disaggregated information from government institutions in a timely and comprehensive manner.

The initiatives became possible thanks to joint efforts of all parties involved in development partnership. For example, hokimiyats provided renovated work space facilities, furniture and phone connection lines, and created additional staff positions. In turn, LGSP has contributed in development of the draft legal framework based on comprehensive Concept Notes; provided capacity building trainings for LGIC and OSS employees; procured necessary IT and media equipment; raised additional funds in the amount of USD 200,000 from UNDP Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund (DGTTF) within the framework of establishing six LGICs in Jizzakh and Namangan regions, and US$40,000 from UNICEF Representative Office in Uzbekistan to One-Stop-Shops in Jizzakh city and Namangan cities to enhance the system for admission of children to pre-school institutions, establishment of Child Well-being Information Centre as well as creation of safe Child Playground Areas inside OSS premises.

The initatives’ partners believe these important efforts will improve the quality of information and better serve the need of local population. Therefore, in the future, UNDP Uzbekistan will continue the cooperation with Cabinet of Ministers, khokimiyats of Jizzakh and Namangan regions, as well as other concerned parties and development partners to attain more sustainable, resilient and citizen-centric institutions like OSS and LGICs. Moreover, it is expected that the lessons learned from this LGSP pilot projects could be used to create a sustainable institutional mechanism for OSS and LGICs in other regions of the country in future.

The LGSP kindly reminds that the same initiatives were carried out in Namangan region, the official opening ceremonies of which took place on 9 December, 2011.