Akufo-Addo among top 20 influential people in digital governance

• Posted on August 10, 2018August 10, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

President Nana Akufo-Addo has been named as one of the top 20 influential personalities in digital government.

He ranked 13th on the list.

The list, the first of its kind is to show the international spread of e-government and includes individuals from every continent.

It was compiled by Apolitical, a free global network for public servants.

Akufo-Addo since assuming office in January 2017 has rolled out a number of initiatives including a paperless port system and digital property addressing system.

Apolitical generated the influencers from 130 peer and expert nominations out of the initial 500.

Later, an independent team of experts around the world reviewed the nominations to arrive at the final list.

The list, which can be viewed here, includes persons from national governments, international organizations, academia, and business, including the OECD, the open Government partnership, USAID, the Alan Turing Institute and the World Bank.

According to the release, “digital government is of course, no longer brand-new. The first generation of reformers has been followed by a new one, who are building on their predecessors’ learnings. Becuase of this, we have concentrated on celebrating those currently working in or on digital government, rather than some of the pioneers who cut the first path through the analog undergrowth”.

Methodology

Research was conducted into every nominee and a shortlist was decided based on a number of factors:
1. Number of nominations received.
2. The power and potential to affect change at a national or international level, including by virtue of their position or mandate.
3. Past achievements in the digital government arena, including research and activity which might have progressive awareness and knowledge about digital government.
4. National and international perception of the nominee’s influence or potential to influence digital government.
5. Country e-government rankings as an indicator of past achievement and international influence.
6. Significant speaking engagements as an indicator of the profile in the field.
7. Social media presence as an indication of their influence on debates around the digital government.
8. For academics, the number of citations in peer-reviewed journals.

About Apolitical

Apolitical is a global network for government, helping public servants find the ideas, people, and partners they need to solve the hardest challenges facing our societies.

It believes governments are critical to solving global challenges.

Apolitical helps public servants find what is working through smart ideas.

Their mission is to make government great for citizens everywhere.

It is a for-profit company and a Certified B Corporation founded by mission-driven entrepreneurs and backed by impact investors in Europe, North America, and Asia and supported by an EU Horizon 2020 grant.

Source: CNR