T. C. Sayıştay Başkanliği

Turkish Court of Accounts (TCA)

The Actıvıtıes Carrıed out wıthın the Framework of e-Transformatıon Turkey Project Read full summary in English

2006 report
1 Project - Background

"Developments in the information technologies which affects all dimensions of life and eradicates the time and place differences have lead to the establishment of a vision in all the countries and regional unions that envisage the transformation of the society to an information society that can keep up with the rapid changes in the world, access to the information with qualified manpower and that can produce and utilize. The Transformation Turkey Project (eDTr) constitutes a comprehensive and significant progress in this field. Since the year 2002, the date at which the project was initiated; two action plans have been prepared and put into practice. A strategic plan which would ensure that the project and the actions are determined and implemented correctly could be finalized as of July 2006."

2 No analysis, timetable, criteria nor teams

"The objectives and the targets laid down at the beginning of the project have been specified with a short sighted approach and without conducting any study that puts forward up-to-date, scientific and detailed situation analysis and the inner dynamics of our country."

"the objectives determined are not transformed to annual and concrete intermediary objectives."

"The performance criteria were not specified during the implementation period of 2003-2005."

"Responsible teams and units were not formed in the relevant entities and a work plan in which a prioritization is made was not prepared."

"In the cases when an appropriate and interoperable structure can not be established or the structure already established can not be maintained; there will be a high risk for the project to be unsuccessful and the resources shall be wasted."

The objectives and targets of the project should be reviewed in the light of the up-to- date, scientific and comprehensive situation analysis, inventory records, the indications on the country’s itself inner dynamics and degree of development by taking the criteria of the information society as basis. The objectives and targets should be transformed into annual and intermediary targets and the entities themselves should establish their institutional targets in line with the targets of the eDTr Project. (1)
3 Lack of resource planning

"The eDTr Project was started to be implemented without preparing a sufficient IT inventory and strategic plan. Since the beginning of the project till today, a realistic resource and needs planning has not been prepared."

"a connection could not be established between the Investment Program, budget and eDTr Project action plans"

"Although the eDTr Project is in its fourth year; investment and financing needs can not be determined correctly and realistically, since the Strategic Plan and IT inventory have not been prepared."

A strategic plan based on realistic cost estimations should be prepared. (2)
4 Implementation and finance not monitored

"There is no mechanism for the monitoring of the implementation of the projects. Also in the evaluation reports regarding the eDTr Project; there is not any information concerning the physical and financial implementation of the IT projects."

"the physical and financial realization of the IT projects within the Investment Program can not be monitored fully and comparatively. Besides; the expenditures of the IT investments is not monitored in coordination with the budget and the overcost of project can not be set."

"it is important to implement the guide for the planning of IT investments as much as preparing it."

Detailed criteria are set in the Guide for the Preparation of IT Projects. However, it is not sufficient to define these analysis and assessment criteria. These must be implemented and monitored. (3)
Objectives

The activities in the eDTr Project are examined within the framework of the following questions:

- Are the activities within the eDTr Project being carried out in coordination?

- Is an appropriate infrastructure being established for a sustainable e-Government?

- Is the cost effectiveness ensured in the activities carried out within the context of the eDTr Project?

The items above were selected and named by the e-Government Subgroup of the EUROSAI IT Working Group on the basis of publicly available report of the author Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI). In the same way, the Subgroup prepared the analytical assumptions and headings. All readers are encouraged to consult the original texts by the author SAIs (linked).