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Bahrain emerges more resilient from the pandemic
A hybrid sitting of the Shura Council of Bahrain during the COVID-19 pandemic (© Shura Council)
In Innovation Tracker #7 (December 2020), we explored the how the Shura Council of Bahrain had responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we revisit the Council to look at the lessons learned and new focus areas, including AI.
Practices and lessons learned
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shura Council faced challenges moving its daily work into the virtual space, with remote working, virtual committee and plenary meetings, and online voting. In its response, the Council focused on four main areas:
Moving to the cloud: Even before the pandemic, the Council had begun migrating its parliamentary legislative and document systems to the cloud, which gave it a critical head start. Now, it sees itself as a parliament living in the cloud and will exclusively deploy software-as-a-service applications in the future.
Personalizing member support: The IT department listened to members’ concerns through regular surveys and took practical steps including forming a two-line member support system, which was available around the clock, and assigning individual members of the support team to work with groups of 10 MPs. This direct line of communication was greatly appreciated by members.
Focusing on mobility: The Council has phased out all desktop PCs. Now, parliamentary staff have laptops and members are equipped with tablets, with data plans so they can get online on the move. As a result, the Council will find it easier to switch to remote working should it need to again in the future.
Not going it alone on cybersecurity: With more remote working and the move to the cloud, security is becoming a growing concern for parliaments everywhere. In Bahrain, cybersecurity is a strong point of focus: the Council is working with the Bahrain National Cyber Security Center to develop strategies and policies, to set internal protection standards, and to monitor threats.
Transforming processes using AI
At the opening of the fifth legislative term in 2019 (i.e. before the pandemic), a plan was adopted to introduce AI technologies in all government institutions. In response, the Council held early consultative meetings with MPs and staff to identify where AI could make everyday tasks more efficient. During the pandemic, and driven by the needs of the moment, AI-powered technologies were introduced, including speech-to-text (based on the Bahrain accent) for parliamentary reporting, live captioning of online streamed videos and a chatbot for document searches. The Council is also developing additional chatbots for library users and for legal advisory services.
In 2022, the Council developed a five-year AI strategy, with a road map for relevant projects. It has also set up a dedicated working group within the secretariat, and with the participation of all directorate heads, to explore the feasibility of using AI applications in services and processes. In order to develop these technologies further, there is a plan to recruit AI specialists into parliament. The IT department, which has been working with the IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament (CIP) team and supports its ambitions, welcomes increased inter-parliamentary learning on AI.