A critical factor for the successful implementation of the technical and organizational initiatives in the e-Macao program portfolio is the availability of the requisite skills and capabilities in government agencies. Human and organizational capacity building in the e-Macao program has received priority attention till now, and implemented through training, seminars, workshops and discussions on project outcomes. In addition to these traditional efforts, experience sharing among agencies and investigation of specific needs of agencies can significantly impact on the effectiveness of the capacity building efforts. Furthermore, the sensitization and re-orientation of the public towards the use of e-government services and improving digital literacy in Macao, particularly among the adult population and seniors, is equally imperative.

The project aims to establish specific capacity building needs of government agencies and public officers to be able to effectively implement their IT strategies, government-wide programs such as Electronic Government, and technology-related Public Administration Reform initiatives. It also aims to contribute to public awareness and understanding of e-governance issues and how these issues relate to socio-economic and political benefits for Macao and the public at large.

The following objectives are proposed to realize the aim:

1. Articulating specific training needs of government agencies and the government as a whole, through information gathering activities and feedback from e-Macao Technical Committee (TC) meetings and projects workshops.
2. Inviting international scholars and government practitioners to present seminars on the issues related to Electronic Governance considering the Macao PA context.
3. Designing and organizing courses and schools to train various levels of public officers – Agency Heads, IT Heads and IT Officers, on policy, strategic, organizational and technical aspects of specific topics related to the agencies and outcomes of e-Macao (e.g. deliverables of projects).
4. Organizing workshops with project managers and other stakeholder to jointly review projects, contribute to problem solving and present results or finding to the stakeholders.
5. Ensure the participation of public officers in selected government agencies, across secretary offices, in the 2009 edition of the ICEGOV conference to take place in Bogota, Colombia.

The project is funded by the Government of Macao SAR through Macao Foundation, part of the e-Macao Program portfolio, and UNU-IIST.

All Macao SAR Government agencies are planned to be partners of this project, with the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) as the focal point.