UAE President announces new authority fully led by citizens
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered the launch of the Community-Managed Virtual Authority — an initiative inspired by the vision of late Sheikh Zayed.
It comes at the conclusion of the Year of Community — 2025. “The vision of the authority is to role model and encourage qualified citizens to contribute towards shaping the future of the nation.”
It takes a page out of the alternative government rule book that centers on community engagement. Under this new system, qualified individuals (as enshrined in the federal government’s human resource law) of the local community in the UAE will be employed for the very first time ever to run an authority. A Director General and colleagues will be seconded at intervals to manage and operate the authority for fixed periods – long enough, we hope, to ensure that our products are meaningful contributions that deliver enduring value for the nation and its people.
The UAE is leading this new mechanism as it contributes to the vision of the President, being a model in empowering and investing in people, exploring their potential for society’s welfare.
People participate in governance
The new body aims to be a model of global participatory governance for human development and local empowerment. It has been developed pursuant to the UAE Centennial 2071 initiative, which aims to design a framework for progress and create the best conditions for human development, as part of an ambitious project through which we hope the government will become a role model in its vision for future governments around the world, while also serving as an open laboratory container that fosters innovation and strengthens social interest.
How will the leaders be selected?
Community-Managed Virtual Authority uses a non-rigid process for selection of members who would possess certain levels specified in terms of, skills knowledge and can apply them to achieve the objectives of the authority.
“So it is envisioned that having a new Director General and the team from the whole community who are rotating will bring in fresh ideas, by retaining less expertise recurring across each of these teams."
The agency is hoping to appeal to a range of Emiratis seeking employment – from experts and professionals to academics, youth entrepreneurs and retirees with relevant experience. Each team will have something to add from their sector.
What will the authority do?
The main task of this Community-Managed Virtual Authority is to create proposals, programmes and practical solutions that will be innovative and mature enough to be implemented. Its outputs will be focused on high-impact research that is directly driven by the needs and aspirations of the community.
Continuity within rotating model
While leadership changes continue, continuity is to be ensured through consideration of defined frameworks and endorsed reference models. Clearly articulated processes and protocols, staged action plans, and a formal means by which knowledge passes back-and-forth across team boundaries will sustain momentum and prevent initiatives from getting dropped.
First-of-its-kind governance model
This innovative experiment provides a new model of governance, unprecedented in the institutional history of our country, which grants the community itself an overall control on a public authority through forms of management internal to it.
Through blending of administrative flexibility, community activation and direct investment in human capital, it contributes to promoting participatory governance, supporting the UAE’s status as a global model for government innovation and showcasing the country’s ability to create and share best practices that brings about profound transformations by building authentic partnerships between authority (the state) and society.
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