A lightly edited Google Translate machine translation of the “Construction of Digital China Requires Systems Thinking” follows below:
Construction of Digital China Requires Systems Thinking 数字中国建设需要系统思维
Liu Mixia 刘密霞
Study Times 学习时报
June 4, 2021
The Outline of “14th Five-Year Plan” placed “Accelerating Digital Development and Building Digital China” into a separate chapter and made system (level) arrangements for the construction of Digital China. Digital China with Manufacturing Great Power, Quality Great Power and Cyber Great Power have become key to promoting the optimization and enhancement of the economic system. The digital economy, digital society, and digital government are organic components of Digital China. It is necessary to promote the construction of Digital China with systems thinking, and to promote the digital transformation of the economy, society and government in a parallel and coordinated manner.
“十四五”规划纲要将“加快数字化发展建设数字中国”独立成篇，对数字中国建设作出了系统部署，数字中国与制造强国、质量强国和网络强国成为推动经济体系优化提升的关键。数字经济、数字社会和数字政府是数字中国的有机组成部分，要以系统思维推进数字中国建设，促进经济、社会、政府的数字化转型齐头并进、统筹兼顾。
The construction of Digital China provides digital technology, resources and environmental support for our country’s economic, political and cultural development. Systems thinking for the construction of Digital China is to use a holistic approach to view Digital China as a system, attaching importance to the relationship between its parts and their impact as a whole, scientifically and efficiently planning system elements and operating mechanisms so that the government and society as a whole possess innovative thinking. There is a high degree of collaboration among various government departments, and everyone has equal opportunities to get involved and enjoy reliable, high-quality digital services, and promote high-quality economic development. The system is considered to be a complex whole composed of many interconnected parts, and each part needs to be coordinated to ensure the overall operation of the system. Digital China’s systems thinking focuses on how the government, market, and society play a role in an interactive digital environment, and how the system will stand the test of time and operate within a larger system. Without a systems thinking approach, improving the digital capabilities of individual entities will be insufficient to build a digital ecosystem that adapts to the changes of the digital age, and will likely dilute the driving force for optimizing the economic system. At the heart of a systems thinking approach to a national digital strategy is the integration of institutions, organizations, people, technology, data, and resources to support the much-needed transformation inside and outside the public sector to generate public value. Many countries have adopted a systems thinking approach to policy development and service delivery, such as those adopting Smart Nation planning and a holistic approach to digital transformation, moving away from silos, and focusing on integrating public services. Some countries focus on digital literacy, digital innovation, digital security, digital leadership, digital infrastructure, etc. in their digital strategies. It can be seen that governments of various countries have made full use of digital technology; applied systems thinking to cooperate closely with the public, enterprises, and social organizations; seized new opportunities for development in the digital age; adapted to changes in the digital age; and achieved service innovation and value creation.
数字中国建设为我国经济、政治、文化建设等提供数字技术、资源和环境支撑。数字中国建设的系统思维是利用整体方法把数字中国看成一个系统，重视部分间关系以及对整体的影响，科学有效的规划系统要素和运行机制，使政府和全社会具有创新思维，各个政府部门之间高度协作，所有人都有均等的机会融入其中，享受可靠、高质量的数字服务，推动经济高质量发展。其中，系统被视作是由很多相互联系的部分组成综合的、复杂的整体，各部分需要统筹运作才能保障系统的整体运行。数字中国的系统思维关注政府、市场、社会如何在互动联系的数字环境中发挥作用，以及系统是如何经历时间的考验，在更大的系统中运行。单个实体数字能力提升如果没有系统思维的方法，将很难构建适应数字时代变革的数字生态，将会分散优化经济体系的推动力。国家数字战略系统思维方法的核心在于将制度、组织、人员、技术、数据和资源整合，以支持在公共部门内部和外部亟须进行的转变，从而产生公共价值。很多国家在政策制定和服务提供方面提出了系统思维的方法，如有的国家在智慧国家计划和数字化转型方面采用了整体方法，摒弃了各自为政，致力于整合公共服务。有的国家在其数字战略中重点关注数字素养、数字创新、数字安全、数字领导力和数字基础设施，等等。可见，各国政府充分使用数字技术，应用系统思维与公众、企业和社会组织进行紧密合作，把握数字时代发展的新机遇，适应数字时代变革，实现服务创新和价值创造。
Digital China is a system [level] project. The main content of Digital China construction is to realize the digital transformation of government and improved digitalized capabilities for society based on secure New Type Infrastructure and a secure Data Governance Service System. It will also promote social governance innovation with diversified participation, create an environment suitable for the development of the digital economy, and build a good digital ecosystem. The first is to promote the digital transformation of the government. The digital transformation of government must not only provide seamlessly integrated services to the public and enterprises, but also improve the way the government system operates internally, including improving the digital capabilities of organizations and personnel. The digital transformation of government has put forward new requirements for the digital capabilities of leaders at all levels and the digital transformation of public institutions. Therefore, the digital transformation of government requires the construction of a digital capability framework for leading cadres and a digital culture for public institutions, and explore how the government can play a better role in digital transformation in terms of leadership digital capabilities, innovation in data-driven government services, the security management of government data, and data openness. The second is to enhance the digitalized capabilities of society. Digital society brings about changes in the forms of economic and social organization, and thus changes in social governance rules and mechanisms. [Enhanced digitalized capabilities] ensure that a digitalized society can align with digital government and the market’s digitalized supply, coordinate with the digitalized government’s governance mechanisms, and continuously enhance the digital literacy of social governance entities, especially the public themselves. This will enable them to better integrate into digital society, build a digitalized social system, and explore paths and methods to improve society’s digitalized capabilities and levels. The third is to innovate social governance in the digital environment. In the context of the digital environment, innovations in social governance emphasize the effective alignment and integration of big data concepts with precise social policy measures. It highlights the importance of technology, organization, and environmental factors, aiming to achieve a ‘good governance’ situation characterized by multi-faceted cooperation among government, market, and society. The focus is on constructing an innovative application pattern for big data and developing implementation pathways suitable for social governance in the era of big data. Fourth, improve the security service system and data governance system of New Type Infrastructure. The construction of Digital China [rests] on a secure base of New Type Infrastructure and on data as the foundational strategic resource. Starting with multi-faceted and multi-level collaboration, form a secure services system from New Type Infrastructure with accurate definitions, clear boundaries, and a reasonable structure. Promote theoretical innovation and enhanced capabilities by constructing a data governance system using things like institutional mechanisms, technology frameworks, and application services. Fifth, optimize the ability of governments at all levels to flexibly integrate and coordinate the allocation of advantageous data resources. In a digital environment, with a data-centric approach, we should build a digital ecosystem where governments, the public, enterprises, and social organizations collaborate with each other. This involves attracting more public institutions, enterprises, social organizations, and even individuals to enter any stage of the data production, utilization, and circulation cycle, fostering cooperative relationships, integrating and adjusting interests, and enhancing government governance capabilities in the digital age.
数字中国建设是一项系统工程。数字中国建设的主要内容是在确保安全的新型基础设施和数据治理服务体系的基础上实现政府数字化转型、社会数字化能力提升，促进多元参与的社会治理创新，打造适合数字经济发展的环境，构建良好数字生态。一是推动政府数字化转型。政府数字化转型不仅要为公众和企业提供无缝集成的服务，还要提升政府系统内部的运作方式，包括组织、人员数字能力的提升。政府数字化转型对各级领导的数字能力和公共机构的数字变革提出了新的要求。因此，政府数字化转型要建设领导干部数字能力框架和公共机构的数字文化，从领导数字能力、数据驱动的政务服务创新、政务数据安全管理和数据开放等方面，探索在数字化转型中如何更好发挥政府的作用。二是提升社会数字化能力。数字社会带来经济组织、社会组织形态的变革，并由此带来社会治理规则和机制的变化，确保数字化社会能够与数字政府、市场数字化供给相配套，与数字化政府治理机制相协调，不断提高社会治理主体尤其是公众自身数字素养，能够更好融入数字社会，构建社会数字化体系，探索提升社会数字化能力和水平的路径与方法。三是创新数字环境下的社会治理。数字环境下的社会治理创新强化大数据理念与社会精准施策治理有效对接、集成融合，重视技术、组织、环境等因素，实现政府、市场、社会多元合作共治的“善治”局面，着力构建大数据创新应用格局，构建适用于大数据时代社会治理的实施路径。四是完善新型基础设施安全服务体系与数据治理体系。数字中国建设是在新型基础设施的安全底座和以数据为基础的战略资源之上，从多方面、多层次的协同入手，形成定义准确、边界清晰、结构合理的新型基础设施安全服务体系；从体制机制、技术框架、应用服务等方面构建数据治理体系，推动数据治理的理论创新和能力提升。五是优化各级政府灵活整合和统筹配置优势数据资源的能力。在数字化环境下，以数据为中心，构建政府、公众、企业和社会组织之间互相协同的数字生态系统，在数据生产、数据利用与流动循环任一环节吸引更多公共机构、企业和社会组织乃至个人加入其中，形成合作关系，进行利益整合与分配调整，提升数字时代的政府治理能力。
Promote the construction of Digital China through innovative approaches using systems thinking. The overall approach to the construction of a Digital China involves analyzing the current state of the system, identifying the driving factors for changes in the state, the target state that the digital environment aims to achieve, the paths to reaching the target state, and the methods for implementation. Ultimately, it involves creating a digital ecosystem through monitoring and evaluation. First, analyze whether the current legal frameworks, mechanisms, cultural orientations, and other aspects in politics, economics, society, and technology are adapted to the digital age, which involves fully understanding the current state of Digital China. Second, establish the implementation path for Digital China construction by promoting the digitalized transformation of government and enhancing social digital capabilities based on the New Type Infrastructure Security Service System and Data Governance System. This includes innovating social governance with diverse participation in the digital environment, creating a new pattern for Digital China characterized by organizational change, market participation, public interaction, and governance innovation. Third, the government should provide convenient, reliable, fast, personalized, secure, and inclusive digitalized services, and involve the public in the policymaking, service design, and delivery processes to enhance the government’s overall digital capabilities. Digital capability reflects the government’s and society’s ability to innovate using digital technology, transforming policies, processes, and services. Government digital transformation focuses on enhancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. This involves effectively designing and implementing a comprehensive approach to digital transformation, improving digital capabilities at the institutional, organizational, and individual levels within the government, as well as at the societal level. Fourth, the development of digital governance capabilities aims to ensure that public institutions’ digital transformations, the digital literacy of the general public, and the digital skills of leadership adapt to changes in the digital environment, continuously enhancing digital effectiveness. Fifth, monitoring and evaluation involve establishing a public trust system and institutional safeguards adapted to the digital environment, creating a legal framework suited to the digital ecosystem. This includes laws and regulations related to data security, electronic signatures, electronic identities, and cybersecurity. The goal is to build a comprehensive digital ecosystem that encourages market participants’ engagement and achieves balanced economic development. Ultimately, the construction of Digital China takes a holistic approach, guided by public values, to achieve digital transformation across all levels of government and society. It aims to enhance digital capabilities, identify and address various risks, and quickly recover to create a resilient society.
以系统思维创新路径推进数字中国建设。数字中国建设的总体思路是由分析系统的当前状态，促进状态变化的驱动因素，数字化环境要达到的目标状态，达到目标状态的路径，以及通过什么方式实现，最终通过监测评估创建数字生态系统构成的。一是对当前是否与数字时代相适应的政治、经济、社会、技术方面的法律框架、机制建设、文化导向等进行分析，即充分掌握数字中国的当前状态。二是构建数字中国建设的实施路径，在新型基础设施安全服务体系和数据治理体系的基础上促进政府数字化转型和社会数字能力提升，以及数字化环境下多元参与的社会治理创新，形成组织变革、市场参与、公众互动和治理创新的数字中国新格局。三是政府要提供便捷、可靠、快速、个性化、安全以及包容的数字化服务，并让公众参与到政策制定和服务设计与提供的过程中，提升政府的综合数字能力。数字能力反映了政府和社会利用数字技术创新，转变政策、进程和服务的能力。政府数字化转型着眼于提高国家治理体系和治理能力现代化，在政府数字化转型中有效设计并实施整体方法，在政府的制度、组织和个人层面以及社会层面进行全面的数字能力提升。四是数字治理能力开发，使得公共机构的数字变革、社会公众的数字素养和领导干部的数字能力适应数字环境的变化，不断提升数字效能。五是监测与评估，构建数字环境下的公共信任体系和与数字环境相适应的制度保障，创造一个适合数字生态的法律环境，包括针对数据安全、电子签名、电子身份、网络安全等方面的法律法规，建立一个完整的数字生态系统，鼓励市场主体在数字生态中的参与，实现平衡的经济发展。最终，数字中国建设从整体出发，以公共价值为导向，在政府、社会各个层面实现数字化转型，提升数字能力，识别应对各种风险，并快速恢复实现弹性社会。
