Project Background
Government Document Copy Elimination Project
As the public sector transitions into the Government 4.0 era, with a focus on enhancing public service convenience, this aligns with the Licensing Facilitation Act B.E. 2558 (2015), which aims to streamline processes, procedures, and timelines related to permits and transactions with government agencies thereby greater efficiency and accessibility.
In 2017 (B.E. 2560), NCPO Order No. 21/2560 introduced amendments to laws aimed at facilitating business operations. Clause 17 of the Order emphasized the intention to promote data integration across government agencies, making public transactions more efficient and streamlined. To achieve this goal, the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC), in collaboration with the Digital Government Development Agency (Public Organization) or DGA, accelerated the implementation of two key initiatives:
- the “Public Service Satisfaction Assessment System Development Project”, and
- the “No Copy: Elimination of Government Document Copies” initiative.
These projects aim to reduce the burden on citizens when accessing public services by eliminating the need to provide photocopies of official documents. Furthermore, in-depth data on public feedback and satisfaction has been collected and analyzed to improve the efficiency and transparency of government service.
Later on, at the 1st Meeting of the Digital Government Development Steering Committee (2018), held on 9th March 2018 under Prime Minister’s Office Order No. 362/2560, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who presided over the meeting, delivered key policy directives to accelerate the transition to a digital government. Prime Minister Prayuth instructed all government agencies to expedite the elimination of requiring document copies from the public, such as copies of ID cards and house registration documents. In addition, more than 80,000 government service points nationwide were directed to map and register their service locations digitally. The Prime Minister himself officially launched this nationwide digital mapping effort on 5th June 2018.
Subsequently, on November 19, 2018, a meeting was held to follow up on the progress of the project to eliminate document copies in order to track progress and accelerate the expansion of this policy. From the implementation of the project to eliminate document copies in the initial phase, it was found that 20 ministries and 144 departments (as of December 2018) had already eliminated the requirement for copies of national identification cards and house registration certificates. Examples include the Revenue Department, the Consular Department, the Department of Land Transport, the Department of Employment, the Department of Legal Execution, the Department of Lands, the Department of Provincial Administration, and the Department of Business Development.
However, many agencies have still not been able to implement the elimination of document copies due to several limitations that require support to change the process of providing services to the public. The involved parties are actively working to continue expanding the project to eliminate document copies.
Later on, after government agencies marked the coordinates of public service points nationwide and responded to a survey on readiness to eliminate the requirement for document copies, the information was developed into the CITIZENinfo application, which was made available for download during the New Year of 2019. This application serves as a channel for citizens to search for the coordinates of government service points, navigate the locations of agencies, find guides on accessing government services, and assess satisfaction after receiving services. Most importantly, it allows users to check the status of services that have eliminated the requirement for document copies, all within a single application.
Video of the meeting to follow up on the progress
of the “No Copy” Project on November 19, 2018.
Music video of the song ‘Eliminate Copies’