As countries digitise public services and tax systems, a significant portion of the population faces exclusion due to limited digital access and skills. Many countries have one-stop shops – or citizen service centres – that act as physical intermediaries to facilitate digital services for excluded populations. Yet, there are few studies of their inclusivity and effectiveness, a critical research gap particularly taking into consideration that governments might want to expand digital public infrastructure (DPI) in inclusive ways.
In 2010, the Bangladeshi government launched Union Digital Centres (UDCs) in rural areas as part of its broader digital transformation, together with Pourashava Digital Centres (PDCs), its urban version. Today, UDCs exist in all 4,578 Union Parishads and 330 PDCs in its Pourashavas to bridge the gap between the digital state and the large segments of the population still lacking access to the internet. In a way, UDCs/PDCs and one-stop shops represent a hybrid solution in cases of incomplete digitalisation, where either citizens lack the ability to access digital services or the systems themselves require physical interaction.
To be conducted along with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), this study will examine how much these one-stop shops can support citizens’ inclusive engagement with Bangladesh’s digitised tax system. The research team aims to understand when and how physical one-stop shops can promote more inclusive and meaningful interactions between non-digitised citizens and digital government systems.
Through the research, the team will explore whether such arrangements – where physical access points enable and incentivise digital engagement – can make the digital state more accessible, particularly in contexts where digital exclusion remains widespread.