English Abstract
Abstract :
The Bahrain public service sector has changed a lot in the past decade due to the use of
modern technology. The government aims to deliver high-quality services quickly and
efficiently and has made innovation a part of its national development plans. Building permits
play a crucial role in a country's development, and their timely approval is essential to keep the
progress going. To speed up the process, the government introduced the BENAYAT Portal in
2018, an electronic system that simplifies the issuance of building permits.
This research aims to identify the opportunities and challenges that affect the issuance of
permits to achieve more effective use of the BENAYAT Portal. The methodology employed
in this research involved a multi-method approach that aimed to collect, analyze, and combine
both qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the factors that influence the issuance
of building permits. The research findings were obtained through semi-structured interviews
with 5 experts in the field, and through a research questionnaire directed to the main users of
BENAYAT and got 31 respondents. The analysis focused on non-numerical qualitative data,
while the quantitative data was used to supplement and enhance the qualitative data's findings.
This approach enabled a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues surrounding the
issuance of building permits.
The research findings highlighted the limitations of the BENAYAT system and identified
areas that require improvement to enhance the system's effectiveness. The first drawback that
causes delay in the current system is the process sequences, second is the action of resubmitting
the complete application for any change, third is the time needed for pre-approval, and finally
the engineers' availability to receive queries. The research proposed recommendations to
address these issues and others, and the first recommendation is to create easy channels of
communication, second is including all related governmental authorities in the system, third is
making it easy to change some inputs, and finally canceling the audit by municipalities after
getting the building permit.
Finally, a revised model incorporating the proposed recommendations to enhance the
issuance of building permits was developed. The recommendations and the revised model are
expected to streamline the application process, minimize potential delays, and open the door to
adding the missing services to the BENAYAT Portal. The goal is to improve the BENAYAT
Portal and make it a more efficient and user-friendly system for applicants
