The project is an e-Transformation System to manage the relationship between crafters and PACI. All services from PACI to crafters are automated through it starting from the registration of the crafters throughout all requests including the process to verify them, approve them or reject them and pushing all notifications to the crafters. It also includes sections for quality checks, request training, paying inspections fines, applying for copywrite, requesting for financial and logistic help from PACI and so many other services with a secure channel of logging in using public key infrastructure (PKI). The portal have reduced the time required previously for all the services from months/weeks/days to few minutes or a couple of days depending on the service and have allowed crafters and PACI to manage the entire cycle through the portal with no need to do any follow up calls or visits. The output of this was the encouragement for all crafters including young people to take this as a career and work towards being professional crafters producing well-made items and make crafting their main source of income thus help reducing the unemployment rates in Oman.

https://www.paci.gov.om/en

• Oman

• Youth
• Older persons
• Women
• The unemployed
• The poor

The project was designed in a way that makes it adaptable and replicable in any country having part of its working force in the hand crafts area as the process is almost the same starting from applying for the license throughout the process maintaining the business, requesting for a training, verifying the quality of the new products all the way to making the final product and registering it as an intellectual property. Some minor changes may be required to alter the business process but over all solution can be used in any country and in similar industries or in countries having part of their working force in the hand crafts industry. Part of the project can be used for industries like fishing and agriculture as they share so many common areas with hand crafting. The solution was not designed in a closed way that makes it applicable in Oman only as Oman follows the global standards of Hand Craft industry so does PACI. From day one of the project, PACI aimed to make the solution open by documenting all the process applied currently in Oman. Then a benchmarking study was done to see how other countries are managing this industry and what are the standards and best practices in it. Once this was done and documented where several process were altered or re engineered, the development process started. The result of all of this effort is a simple yet effective and powerful portal providing end to end services and a portal that is up to the global standards and a role model for any country aiming to achieve the same objectives and plans towards promoting this industry among its people with the least effort required. PACI is currently in the talk with several agencies with Oman and in the region where they all plan to visit PACI and have a look to this portal and discuss with it the possibility of a mutual collaboration where the same system can be applied with them benefiting from PACI's effort rather than re-inventing the wheel and the need to start from scratch.
Please describe how this project is sustainable.

This ePortal is sustainable due to it being the only channel between hand crafters and Oman Authorities. The beginning of the process starts and ends with it. Any hand crafter looking for a training either it is for a new product of a refreshing training has to apply through the portal. Any fines that needs to be paid by the hand crafter after the regular visits of PACI inspectors has to be paid through the portal. Creative hand crafters and the ones aiming to excel and be among the top designers can use this portal to get the required help and support from the subject matter expert of PACI. And the most important thing is that without a license and without renewing it on a regular basis he cannot practice making hand crafts. This all along with the national campaign to encourage women and unemployed people to move towards having their own business and maintain the heritage of Oman plays major role in sustaining the solution. PACI also plans to increase the sustainability level by activating the eShop part of the solution based on the PPP model to make its portal the main destination for buyers and sellers of Oman Hand crafts.

This project reflects the following WSIS values: - Gender equality: this service makes it very easy on women especially in rural areas or with low education to obtain legitimate work. - Inclusion: this service makes it very easy for minority groups especially in rural areas or with low education and income to obtain legitimate work. - Job opportunities: making it easy for crafters to create legitimate businesses and help economic diversification. - Reduce poverty: People with low income or living in rural areas can use this service without having to travel to the ministry for a chance to increase their sources of income. - Sustain heritage: traditional handcrafts can now be revived and last for decades to come thanks to the very easy way to use the portal.