This system is not only the digitalization of databases or computerization of new applications, rather it provides a complete package of solutions. ''Domiciles requisite'' forms have been placed in all the post offices of the district, and the verification process has been simplified. Similarly, the land record has been computerized and a short-digit code has been given to landowners to get their certificate.

As the last step, both of the certificates are delivered to the citizens at their houses. The biggest benefit of this system is that is corruption free because the citizen does not interact with any official and he does not have to go through multiple verifications instances.

The monitoring is done by the DC office via a dashboard, this ensures that all the received requests are attended properly. Even if the documents are lost due to any reason, insurance money, PKR 1000 (10 USD), shall be paid to the applicant. SMS alerts keep the applicant informed about the status of their request. Importantly, verification of issued certificates can easily be done online by any agency by tracking the code. Lastly, the most salient result of this project is that the certificate is delivered in the citizen's door.

All the above-enhanced trust in Government and institutions.

I had to face hard times while getting citizenship/ land ownership certificates as a student. I traveled to different Government offices, waited for hours... Hence, now that I am Civil Servant, I started thinking in a solution to this problem.

We decided to replace that old system with a customer-friendly one, in a place where 70% of the population is rural, with less than 50% literacy rate, having limited access to internet or android phones. We came up with a model that does not allow any citizen to stand in long queues outside any Government office. A citizen-oriented system, easy to understand. The course of action of this innovative system is very simple.

Additionally, to the process described above, the option of online submission of forms has also been given to people with “Android App” of Provincial Govt. (Citizen portal) from where the applicants can download online forms.

Once a form is received in the domicile branch, the data is entered in the software and the system generated a tracking number. As the last stage, it is scanned and an SMS is sent to the applicant. Monthly revision is done between the DC office and post office to review the efficiency of this system.

As a result of the innovation, there are no more ques in front of the government offices and not even a single complaint of delay or corruption has been received so far. Data tells that from 01-08-2016 to 01-08-2017, DC office Mardan received 30,732 domicile forms and responded to all of them. During the preceding year in the same time-frame (when the old system was in place), only 22,248 domiciles were issued, we cannot know the number of received applications because, in the old system, the record of received applications was not kept. Under this innovative system, about 45% more domiciles were prepared. Also, 37487 land ownership certificates were issued in this period, which is an unprecedented figure for Mardan's history. The Chief Secretary officially acknowledged and appreciated this model and invited us to present it in the Deputy Commissioners’ conference, so other districts can adopt the model.

The “Mardan model: citizenship/land ownership certificate” was put in place in collaboration with the provincial IT board, Pakistan post, as well as with Ufone (mobile company).

Since the beneficiary of this model is the whole community we involved all segments of society for dissemination of information at a wider level. A comprehensive community engagement exercise was done, in which briefings to heads of different political parties were given, presentations in different local councils were made, members of the parliament belonging to Mardan were taken on board. Different organizations of civil society were engaged to conduct awareness sessions in far located areas, seminars were held with media persons, chamber of commerce, bar associations, private schools’ association, doctors’ association, labor unions, representative bodies of government officials, etc.

In addition, special programmes were held in TV/radio talk shows. This massive community engagement campaign yielded positive response and we received 3900 domicile forms in the month of August 2016 (this model was launched in the 2nd half of July) which was highest historically in that in that month in Mardan.

The biggest impact of the project is that it has improved the first interaction of youth citizens with the Government and has raised the level of satisfaction of people. It has not only vanished long queues outside the offices but also provided relief to the citizens in the provision of an indispensable public service.

The project was recognized by the local councils. As a result of its success, this model is not only be replicated in other districts but also people have started demanding such type of facilitation in other public services.

The bigger challenge while developing this innovative system was to remove tensions among different Government departments and make them sit together around the table.

First of all, sincere political and administrative leadership plays a key role. This success could not have been possible without the guidance of the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary of the province, who always encourage administrative officers to use out of the box solutions to problems for the benefit of people.

Similarly, progressive laws are important in modern societies. For example, in this model, the verification of citizenship was taken away from Government officials and given to local councils. It became possible only due to the Local Government Act, 2013 which empowers local councils to do attestations of documents.

Moreover, motivation and commitment are imperative.

This innovative system is the perfect and ready-made solution to be adopted by any organization which faces problems related to official documents delivery, especially in remote areas with low levels of literacy and access to internet.

The lesson I learned while developing this system, was that coordination with a positive mindset is key to success. In Government, institutions are resourceful and their employees want to perform well, however, interdepartmental tensions, in general, dissolve the goodwill of people.