The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) Project Information Document (PID) Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 20-Aug-2021 | Report No: PIDC32003 Aug 09, 2021 Page 1 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data OPS TABLE Country Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Project Name Mongolia P176631 MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Dec 08, 2021 Feb 16, 2022 Digital Development Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Mongolia Office of the Cabinet Secretariat Proposed Development Objective(s) To improve the quality and efficiency of online public services to citizens and businesses, and to increase digital skills and digital-enabled jobs. PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 Total Project Cost 41.00 Total Financing 41.00 of which IBRD/IDA 40.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) 40.00 Non-World Bank Group Financing Counterpart Funding 1.00 Borrower/Recipient 1.00 Aug 09, 2021 Page 2 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) Environmental and Social Risk Classification Concept Review Decision Moderate Track II-The review did authorize the preparation to continue B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. Mongolia is a landlocked, lower-middle-income country with economic growth potential owing, in part, to its rich mineral resource endowment. A traditionally agriculture-based economy has shifted to a mining-based economy during the past two decades, following the exploration of large mineral deposits and a large flow of foreign direct investments to the mining sector. The country’s economy has experienced rapid yet volatile growth over the last 15 years, creating a wave of economic prosperity across the country with investments in its infrastructure and social services. However, the mining-led growth has resulted in severe macroeconomic instability and is susceptible to external shocks, concentrated and enclave development, excessive capital accumulation, and low levels of innovation.1 The poverty rate2 dropped between 2010 and 2018 from 38 percent to 28 percent but remains high. Currently, around 42 percent of the poor in Mongolia live in Ulaanbaatar.3 2. The Government of Mongolia (GoM) has set an ambitious agenda to diversify its economy and achieve sustainable economic growth. This focuses on supporting the development of non-mining sectors in the country, particularly around sectors with high potential for job creation. Although the mineral wealth is potentially a key asset for Mongolia’s development, the mining sector has featured unclear ownership and management of mineral resources that constitute political issues, uncertainty for investors and capital markets, and a low level of employment (approximately only 4 percent of the workforce in the country). Diversifying and creating new drivers of economic growth, increasing productivity in non-mining sectors, and creating jobs underline many of GoM’s policy actions. 3. There is long-standing recognition by GoM of the importance of digital/ICT for the country’s long-term development and this is reflected in its Vision 2050 goals. The country's Vision 2050 includes comprehensive use of ICT for public sector reforms and to build an ‘e-Mongolia’. The policy aims to use ICT to promote accountability and information transparency and eliminate corruption and bureaucracies with the support of citizen participation. Vision 2050 includes a transition to ‘e-Mongolia’ where public services are independent of people, time, distance, and bureaucracies. The vision also includes extensive plans to develop the information communication technologies (ICT) industry by expanding research and development, building information technology (IT) clusters, improving its investment environment, increasing exports, and so on. 4. Mongolia continues to make progress in closing gender gaps in health and education. However, important gaps remain regarding longevity, economic opportunities, ownership and control of productive assets, and exercising voice and agency. The female labor force participation rate is at 53 percent compared to the male participation rate of 68 percent (2019). The gender gap increased from 12 percentage points in 2016 to 15 percentage points in 2019. On average women earn less than men; the gender pay gap has reached 25 percent. Based on the Country Gender Action Plan for the Mongolia 1 World Bank. 2019. Mongolia Growth Study: Country Economic Memorandum 2.0. 2 As calculated using the national poverty line, http://www.rilsp.gov.mn/upload/2018/argazui//Yduurliin_Undsen_Uzuuleltuudiig_Tootsoh_Argachlal.pdf 3 National Statistics Office, 2020. Aug 09, 2021 Page 3 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) portfolio (FY19- 23), one of the priorities areas for promoting gender equality in Mongolia include enhancing women’s access to economic opportunities4. 1. 5. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected Mongolia’s economy. It had just recovered from the 2016 economic downturn when the COVID-19 crisis hit. While the COVID-19 impact on public health continues to evolve, it has already exerted a significant shock to Mongolia’s economy and people’s livelihoods. The pandemic has created a new socioeconomic environment and accentuated some of the fundamental development challenges in Mongolia. The country is now facing a double challenge of providing relief to respond to the health threat and mitigating economic impacts in the short term while seizing the crisis to foster a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient recovery. Sectoral and Institutional Context 6. Digital technologies and information and communication technologies (ICTs) are highly useful and proven tools for countries to transform public services and the public administration, create job opportunities, and increase private sector competitiveness. Digital technologies have changed the way governments globally deliver public services and collaborate with citizens and businesses. These technologies also connect people and markets, providing new forms of social exchange, new services, new business models, and new jobs in the digital economy. Digitized societies have benefited through adoption and integration of ICT at home, work, education, and recreation. Countries need to be prepared for the impending Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) caused by the exponential growth and convergence of emerging technologies. This revolution is expected to have significant impact on the nature of work and jobs and economic and private sector competitiveness. 7. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of societies, seen as a critical ingredient in ensuring recovery and resilience to future shocks, and Mongolia is no exception. The pandemic has demonstrated more than ever that resilient, safe, high-quality, accessible, and affordable digital infrastructure and services are a critical foundation for the well-being of modern societies. The lockdown imposed by the pandemic has showcased the value of digital technologies, which are key solutions to minimize disruption to work and schools and ensure business continuity in the face of social distancing. In this period, the GoM agencies are supposed to continuously offer key government functions and service delivery to its citizens and businesses, while many government officials adopted home-based work arrangements. 8. GoM has recently taken its digital ambitions to a significantly higher level in view of its transformational impact. In the Cabinet meeting of February 3, 2021, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai underscored the importance of e-Mongolia, which aims to minimize bureaucracy in government services, and urged Cabinet members to intensify its implementation. A ‘Digital Nation’ initiative has been launched that states that, '… the Information and Communications Technology sector is the accelerator of Mongolia.' In 2020 GoM successfully developed and launched 181 online public services through the e-Mongolia digital platform and intends to increase the total number to 592 for increased availability, accessibility, and resilience of public services to all Mongolian citizens and businesses. In addition, GoM is planning to establish a dedicated Ministry of Digital Development to help focus the Government's effort in digitizing the country. 9. GoM has been successfully implementing the Smart Government project (P130891, 'original project') that has laid the basic digital foundations and proven their implementation approach and capabilities. Despite initial challenges the project has provided critical foundations for Mongolia's digital transformation. For example, it strengthened civic 4 World Bank Group. 2021. Country Partnership Framework for Mongolia for the Period FY21-FY25: Report No. 132141-MN. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents- reports/documentdetail/820241621966528091/mongolia-country-partnership-framework-for-the-period-fy21-fy25 Aug 09, 2021 Page 4 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) engagement by including online channels into their 11-11 call centers for timely and transparent resolution of citizen's feedback. The project provided critical digital enablers for online service delivery by strengthening the National Data Center, developing a Disaster Recovery Center, providing a National Enterprise Architecture Framework, and a Data Exchange Center. The new e-Property registration system launched in 2020 directly reduced the number of days required for property registration from 14 to 7 days. The project's Open Data Portal (http://opendata.gov.mn) has enabled 12 government ministries to provide and manage their open data in the portal and enabled Mongolia to be ranked 9 out of 187 countries in the Open Data Inventory's assessment for 2020. The project's implementation arrangements have proven to be highly effective and provide a solid basis for future digital initiatives, and the project is on-track to achieve all its results by its closing in 2021. 10. Several key issues still hinder the digital transformation ambitions in Mongolia’s current approach despite the achievements of the original project. These include the need for citizens, businesses, and government officials to be able to operate in a safe and secure digital environment, disparities in access to broadband connectivity, a fragmented approach to digital services delivery, the digital capabilities of Mongolia's workforce and private sector, and the use digital technologies for future crises or emergencies. 2. 11. Enabling a safe, and secure digital environment is a fundamental requirement in digital transformation. Technological advances continue to improve the quality and delivery of services and products and reduce costs. While expanding the use of digital solutions and data has brought many benefits and convenience to the public and private sectors, an enabling digital environment is necessary to fully realize digital transformation’s anticipated benefits. The demands on security and privacy within the data transaction continuum have changed substantially with the increasing concerns of data protection and cybersecurity. It is necessary to foster a new social contract that enables use of data and services to create economic and social value, while ensuring equitable access and fostering participants’ trust that they will not be harmed by data misuse. As factors of digital services continue to evolve, GoM must respond with policies, laws, regulations, and other components of an enabling digital environment to improve citizens' and businesses' confidence and participation. 12. Similarly, disparities in urban and rural broadband connectivity and 5G technologies affects GoM’s digital ambitions. The Vision 2050 document has targets to: (a) provide high speed Internet connection for 90 percent of the population; and (b) ensure that at least 70 percent of the rural populations use broadband Internet services as its Phase 2 (2021-2025) goals. Many farmsteads (baghs) are still relatively underserved with 62 percent of 4G LTE subscribers in Ulaanbaatar and 38 percent in the provinces. The World Bank-financed 'Information & Communications Infrastructure Development Project (P092965) started in 2006 and supported the expansion of 2G and 3G digital connectivity to the rural population. In creating a safe and secure digital operating environment, the GoM will need to ensure that Mongolia's citizens and businesses have access through advanced networks and applications. 5G networks will provide both urban and rural Mongolians with sufficient bandwidth for more sophisticated applications, and improve online communication, remote work, and other usages associated with COVID-19. 13. The current GoM approach to online services delivery and public investments in digital is fragmented. Various agencies, such as the General Authority for State Registration (GASR) and Communication and Information Technology Authority (CITA), provide digital public services in GoM. Except for a shared data center for hosting and a few cross-agency services, GoM agencies generally pursue their own investments in public sector IT infrastructure, applications, and services. This results in information silos, duplication of IT assets, increased cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and weakened resilience to pandemics and climate-related emergencies. The e-Mongolia site has achieved initial success in providing online service delivery to citizens, but further investments to enhance the government's backend systems and service delivery is required. The GoM will need to take an integrated, whole-of-government approach to realize its digital ambitions in a faster, and more efficient and effective manner. Aug 09, 2021 Page 5 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) 14. GoM needs to grow its digital economy for the country's development priorities on resilient, inclusive economic diversification and competitiveness. The digital economy is not restricted to Mongolia’s ICT sector but rather encompasses the adoption of digital technology in all sectors to drive economic growth, innovation, job creation, human capital development, and other means of diversifying and transforming the economy. The digital economy remains in a nascent stage in Mongolia and its growth is hindered by the population's digital capabilities and the private sector's level of technology adoption. Mongolia will need to increase the overall digital skills of its civil service, citizens, and workforce; and create digital enabled jobs with special attention to enhancing female participation in the ICT profession to reduce the digital divide5. Local firms will need to adopt digital technologies to improve their productivity and compete in the 4IR.6 Relationship to CPF 15. The proposed Smart Government II Project (the Project) is fully aligned with and significantly contributes to Mongolia’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for FY21–257 both as a cross-sector strategic enabler and for its direct contribution to the CPF's objective indicators. The Project will be a strategic digital enabler for the CPF's three focus areas of: (a) strengthening economic governance, (b) boosting competitiveness, and (c) improving the quality of life for Mongolians, by providing the technology platform and service enablers for various sectors to develop, operate, and maintain digital services more effectively and efficiently to achieve their development objectives. The Project has direct contributions to the CPF's objectives and indicators, especially related to the following: • Objective 1.3: Strengthening government efficiency and accountability for better service delivery. The original Smart Government Project has helped GoM use ICT to improve accessibility, transparency, and efficiency of public services. The proposed Project will further enhance its legal environment for digital transformation, narrow the digital divide, provide online public services for citizens and businesses, and promote active citizenry online. The Project contributes to the CPF's objective indicator on the increase in the number of public services for citizens and businesses through digital channels (0 in 2020 [baseline] to 100 in 2025 [target]). • Objective 2.3: Increasing productivity in non-mining sectors. The Project will catalyze the growth of Mongolia's digital economy to create digital-enabled jobs for youth including women and digitize key local industries for their increased productivity and competitiveness in the global digitalized economy. It will contribute directly to the CPF's objective indicator for adoption of a national digital economy strategy for Mongolia's economic competitiveness and diversification. • Cross-cutting theme on jobs. The growth of the digital economy, a trend amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, holds significant potential for growth and jobs. The Project will create new jobs tied to digital technologies, as described in Box 4 of the CPF. It will contribute directly to the CPF's objective indicator on the number of digital- enabled jobs created (0 in 2020 [baseline] to 3,000 in 2025 [target]). • Cross-cutting theme on climate change. The country has a strong dependence on coal in terms of domestic consumption, and data centers consume significant amounts of energy. As noted in the CPF, addressing climate 5 More in-depth analysis related to differences between women and men in ICT access, usage and jobs, digital skills and women’s partici pation in the digital sector will be conducted during the Project's appraisal. 6 World Economic Forum. 2016. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What It Means, How to Respond. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/ 7 World Bank Group. 2021. Country Partnership Framework for Mongolia for the Period FY21-FY25: Report No. 132141-MN. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/820241621966528091/mongolia-country-partnership- framework-for-the-period-fy21-fy25 Aug 09, 2021 Page 6 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) challenges and protecting the environment are essential to maintain Mongolia’s extraordinary endowment of clean air and water, vast pastureland and unspoiled nature. The Project will look at cloud computing as a more sustainable and energy-efficient approach for the hosting of IT applications and services across GoM agencies and support the use of energy-efficient solutions for the existing data centers. 16. The Project is in close accordance with the East Asia and Pacific Regional Update for 2019 by the World Bank Group (WBG).8 The strategy on “Strengthening Resilience and Tackling New Challenges in East Asia and the Pacific� acknowledged the rapid advance in use of technology and the role of disruptive technology and innovation as drivers of growth, productivity gains, and poverty reduction but underscored the needs for more digital access and skills. This Project contributes directly to this strategy's identified priorities and actions as its digital investments are fully aligned with the roles described. 17. The overall investments through this proposed project are aligned with the Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) agenda. Investments to expand coverage of basic public services, including digital connectivity is a key aspect of GRID. The Project supports green development by upgrading and converting GoM's current data centers to be more energy efficient. The Project enhances resilience of Mongolia’s recovery through skills training and employment creation in the digital sector. Promoting growth in other sectors through adopting digital technology, together with increasing the country's cybersecurity, will further increase the resilience of government’s online service delivery. It also supports inclusive development especially focused on women and the rural population. Women are at the center of the GRID agenda as powerful agents of change and in this regard, the Project contributes to the WBG’s Gender Strategy (FY16– 23). The Project helps to improve women’s participation in digital spaces and remove barriers for more and better job opportunities for women. By ensuring equal access to digital skills training, the project contributes to the economic empowerment of women. Together with the expansion of services available through digital channels, this Project will further support inclusion of rural communities that previously could not readily access online services and may have limited access to employment opportunities through the digital sector. The Project will be informed by the ASA project Assessments of Digital Infrastructure and Services Design (P176424) on how to adopt resilient, energy-efficient approaches to data center design and environmentally friendly operations. Policy and strategy development to underpin the digital transformation will also contribute to the resilience of investments. 18. The Project is fully aligned with the WBG’s Climate Change Action Plan.9 Mongolia is vulnerable to environmental deterioration, climate change, and other natural disasters such as floods and severe winter conditions. The national cloud computing platform implemented by the Project will provide GoM agencies integrated protection of their mission-critical systems from climate-related emergencies. In addition, the use of cloud across GoM agencies will reduce duplication of ICT software, applications, and services in the public sector and result in significant electricity savings and travel reductions by citizens and businesses. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) To improve the quality and efficiency of online public services to citizens and businesses, and to increase digital skills and digital-enabled jobs. Key Results 8 World Bank Group. 2019. East Asia and Pacific Regional Update. https://worldbankgroup.sharepoint.com/sites/EAP/Sitepages/Detail.aspx/Documents/mode=view?_Id=175&SiteURL=/sites/EAP 9 World Bank. 2021. World Bank Group President’s Statement on Climate Change Action Plan. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2021/04/02/world-bank-group-president-statement-on-climate-change-action-plan Aug 09, 2021 Page 7 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) 19. Progress toward the achievement of the Project Development Objective (PDO) would be assessed using the following PDO-level results indicators: (a) Users' satisfaction with the useability of public services provided by the Project (Percentage; 75) (b) Cost-efficiency savings from use of the shared cloud computing platform by GoM agencies (Amount; $20 million) (c) Improved digital skills of beneficiaries trained by the Project (Percentage, 75) (d) Digital-enabled jobs created by the Project (Number; 3,000), of which for women (Percentage; 30 percent) D. Concept Description 20. The Project will have four components described in the following paragraphs that collectively contribute to building a whole-of-government approach for public services and public sector transformation. The Project will be an enabler for digital initiatives across GoM agencies. The components also catalyze growth of Mongolia's digital economy for digital-enabled jobs and for economic competitiveness, diversification, and resilience. Component 1: Enabling Environment for Digital Transformation 21. This component will strengthen the policies and regulations for digital government, economy, and connectivity as the enabling environment for Mongolia's digital transformation. It will carry out change and stakeholder management for the public sector to mainstream the adoption of the shared infrastructure and platform. Lastly, this component will promote online engagements and participation of citizens through to promote online citizenry and engagements in public policies. 22. Subcomponent 1.1: Strengthen Policies and Regulations for Digital Transformation and Connectivity. This subcomponent will strengthen the enabling environment for digital government services and Mongolia’s digital economy by addressing gaps and strengthening the legal, regulatory, policy, and institutional frameworks consistent with global best practices. It will provide technical assistance on policies and regulations to promote private sector investments in 5G and rural networks. 23. Subcomponent 1.2: Change and Stakeholder Management for the Public Sector. This subcomponent will carry out change and stakeholder management activities to mainstream the use of the Project’s infrastructure and services described below by increasing the awareness, understanding and acceptance of the Project's activities by the targeted government officials. 24. Subcomponent 1.3: Promote Online Engagement/Participation of Citizens. This subcomponent will promote citizen engagement and enable collaboration between GoM and Mongolians of diverse backgrounds and interests on national and social issues using an online platform and tools to engage with communities and social groups such as grassroots organizations, voluntary welfare groups, professional groups, and special interest groups. Component 2: Transforming Digital Government Aug 09, 2021 Page 8 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) 25. This component will increase the number and quality of online public services into the e-Mongolia Portal. This will lead to a wider set of services and a better user experience for the citizens. It will upgrade the government’s two national- level data centers into a national cloud computing platform to accelerate digital transformation through an efficient, robust, and secured digital infrastructure that is more energy efficiency. This component will set up a national cybersecurity emergency response team to monitor and safeguard the GOM’s critical information infrastructure and digital assets. 26. Subcomponent 2.1: Increase and Improve Digital Public Services in the e-Mongolia Portal. This subcomponent will digitize additional public services in a quality manner to improve useability, and efficiency of public services on the e- Mongolia portal. This subcomponent will also implement two strategic integrated digital services for quick wins, value demonstration, and strategic impact. It will (a) expand the functionalities of the existing electronic procurement system, and (b) provide a single window for online business licensing and permits. 27. Subcomponent 2.2: Upgrade GoM's National and Disaster Recovery Data Centers. This subcomponent will enhance GoM's existing National Data Center (NDC) and Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) by: (a) upgrading them into a National Cloud Computing Platform (NCCP) for use by GoM, (b) adding common service enablers (such as single user ID and access control) for shared use by GoM agencies, and (c) improving the data centers' energy efficiency. 28. Subcomponent 2.3: Set up a Cybersecurity Emergency Response Team (CERT). The subcomponent will set up a national-level CERT to monitor and safeguard the Government’s digital assets and protect Mongolia's critical information infrastructure. Component 3: Growing the Digital Economy 29. This component will provide digital skills training for public officials to increase their understanding, competencies, and adoption of digital technologies in the public sector, and implement a digital literacy program for targeted citizens to reduce the digital divide. This component will deliver digital skills training for youths to support the growth of Mongolia's digital economy with a vibrant pool of local and capable ICT professionals and generate digital enabled jobs for trainees. This component will support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt digital solutions to improve their productivity, competitiveness, and operational resiliency. 30. Subcomponent 3.1: Digital Skills Training for Government and Citizens. This subcomponent will provide digital skills training for public officials to increase their understanding, competencies, and adoption of digital technologies in the public sector. It will develop a digital skills training curriculum for the civil service and provide training to officials working in GoM ministries and agencies, with priority given to female officials. 31. Subcomponent 3.2: Digital Skills and Jobs for Youths. This subcomponent will implement a digital skill training and jobs creation program for Mongolian youths to be ICT professionals. The training is focused on digital skills for ICT professionals to support the growth of Mongolia's digital economy, and to actively connect young women to the labor market. The digital skills training program for youths will be linked to the creation of new digital enabled jobs (for the Project's trainees) in the local industries, especially in the small and medium enterprises, and online freelancing markets. 32. Subcomponent 3.3: Support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt digital solutions. This subcomponent helps to address SMEs low level of adoption of digital solutions and contribute to the job creation activities for the youths trained by this Project and will particularly support women-owned SMEs. It will improve the SMEs' productivity by expanding the diffusion and adoption of digital technologies and increasing the absorptive capacity of targeted firms. Aug 09, 2021 Page 9 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) Component 4: Project Management Support 33. This subcomponent will support the continuation and expansion of the existing PIU that was set up by the original project for this Project. As with the original project, the PIU for this Project will be responsible for implementation support, including planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring of Project activities, and reporting of project implementation. It will be responsible for coordinating and carrying out procurement, financial management, and environmental and social safeguards activities. The PIU will consist of a full team of staff and consultants dedicated to Project implementation. The PIU will support the Project Steering Committee (PSC) in its regular operations and follow- ups and coordinate the activities implemented by the beneficiary agencies. Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component ($0) 34. A Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) is added to the project structure. This will have an initial zero value but may be financed during the Project's implementation to allow for an agile response to eligible crisis or emergency. Adding the component from the beginning, albeit with zero funding, provides for flexibility to respond to crises as they arise, and the Project's operations manual will be adapted to guide the utilization of this component including risk mitigation strategies. The primary issue at the time of writing is the COVID-19 pandemic is highly unpredictable and may require additional urgent response during the Project's implementation; such as providing additional remote work systems and support for government officials and/or Internet bandwidth for remote health facilities and educational institutions. Legal Operational Policies Triggered? Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No Summary of Screening of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . The environmental risk rating of this project is considered Moderate. The physical investment will be limited to the purchase of new ICT equipment and hardware, potential rehabilitation of existing spaces in existing buildings, and potential minor civil works related to the use of sustainable cooling technologies and/or integration with renewable energy sources in the conversion of the existing NDC and DRC to energy-efficient data centers if feasible; which will be assessed during appraisal. Environmental risks related to these physical investment include potential dust, noise, solid waste, and occupational health and safety (OHS) hazards, are considered site specific, short term, low in magnitude and readily managed through the environment mitigation hierarchy. The other activities supported by this proposed project are various technical assistance activities that can be divided into 2 types: supporting the strengthening of legal, regulatory, policy, and institutional frameworks(Type 2), and capacity building and training (Type 3), and may have more diffuse and induced impacts, often playing out over a longer term. The terms of reference, work plans or other documents defining the scope and outputs of technical assistance activities will be drafted so that the advice and other support provided is consistent with ESSs 1-10. The social risk is considered as Moderate. The project will not involve land acquisition or resettlement and expected to produce positive impacts such as improved access to public services to citizens and businesses, increased digital literacy and skills for civil servants, professionals, and general citizens, revenue generated by the ICT industry, job creation, and improved protection of users of digital services. Digital exclusion may occur among low-income or no digital literacy Aug 09, 2021 Page 10 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) household members, people with disabilities, elderly, herders live in remote areas and these ethnic minorities Kazakh and Duha reside in Bayan-Ulgii and Khuvsgul aimags. The Cabinet Secretariat will conduct a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) prior to appraisal to inform project design with wider inclusion of above group and proposed mitigation measures. Stakeholder consultations and a beneficiary feedback mechanism expected to ensure that digital platforms are designed and fine-tuned based on citizen preferences and user experience. Communities may have concerns about impacts on privacy rights as a result of legal reforms on cybersecurity. Meaningful engagement will be vital for managing fears and the potential risks and consequences of the project activities. The SEP will developed that will identify means for consulting with stakeholders, and the engagement will need to consider consent, language, literacy, access to information, vulnerability, child protection, and cultural needs of the various groups, including ethnic groups. . CONTACT POINT World Bank Siou Chew Kuek, Benqing Jennifer Gui Senior Digital Development Specialist Borrower/Client/Recipient Mongolia Implementing Agencies Office of the Cabinet Secretariat Tamir Jargalsaikhan Head of Information Technology Department tamir@cabinet.gov.mn Ganbat Byambajav First Deputy Chief b.ganbat@cabinet.gov.mn Aug 09, 2021 Page 11 of 12 The World Bank MN: Smart Government II Project (P176631) FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Siou Chew Kuek, Benqing Jennifer Gui Approved By APPROVALTBL Practice Manager/Manager: Country Director: Andrei Mikhnev 27-Aug-2021 Aug 09, 2021 Page 12 of 12