E-GOVERNMENT OECD E-Government Studies, Finland.Pdf
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OECD e-Government Studies « Finland Since the 1990s, Finland has been a leader in exploiting information and communication technology (ICT) to reinvent its economy and to reform its public administration. It has created its own path to achieving e-government based on proactive services, data sharing, open government, protection of privacy and a common vision of an information society, while preserving the fundamental values of Finnish society. It is OECD e-Government Studies also committed to using e-government to reform the delivery of public services, ensuring both quality and increased efficiency. As in the case of all OECD countries, however, e-government is relatively new and its impact on the public administration is only now starting to be assessed. What has been the impact of e-government on Finland the public administration in Finland? Has the Finnish e-government model been successful in bringing better services to citizens? Have accompanying changes occurred in the administrative structure, processes and culture? What major obstacles does the government still face in order to implement effective e-government policies? While Finland is an e-government pioneer, it continues to face a number of crucial e-government and broader governance challenges such as communicating a clear e-government vision and increasing inter-agency collaboration. Other challenges also include strengthening internal governance structures, managing public-private partnerships, improving e-government planning and monitoring and evaluating OECD e-Government Studies the results. This report analyses what has been done to date and what the results have been, and makes suggestions on what actions are still necessary to make the most of e-government. This is done through a detailed peer review of the e-government policy cycle, focusing on the role of the central state as an e-government actor. For outside observers, this report provides concrete examples of e-government co-ordination and collaboration challenges. It draws lessons from Finland's pioneering experience in setting up a public authentication infrastructure and a business to government (B2G) reporting system. It also examines Finland’s establishment of national databases which have improved administrative efficiency while protecting against unauthorised use of personal data. The first in a series of national e-government reviews, this report uses a common analytical framework developed by the OECD e-Government Project that will assist countries in evaluating their e-government policies, ensure international comparability of findings and systematically build up a body of empirical evidence regarding good e-government practices. OECD’s books, periodicals and statistical databases are now available via www.SourceOECD.org, our online library. This book is available to subscribers to the following SourceOECD themes: Governance Science and Information Technology Ask your librarian for more details of how to access OECD books on line, or write to us at Finland [email protected] www.oecd.org -:HSTCQE=VUWZ^U: ISBN 92-64-10259-0 42 2003 08 1 P © OECD, 2003. © Software: 1987-1996, Acrobat is a trademark of ADOBE. All rights reserved. OECD grants you the right to use one copy of this Program for your personal use only. Unauthorised reproduction, lending, hiring, transmission or distribution of any data or software is prohibited. You must treat the Program and associated materials and any elements thereof like any other copyrighted material. All requests should be made to: Head of Publications Service, OECD Publications Service, 2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. OECD E-Government Studies Finland ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: – to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; – to contribute to sound economic expansion in member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and – to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996), Korea (12th December 1996) and the Slovak Republic (14th December 2000). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention). Publié en français sous le titre : Études de l'OCDE sur l'administration électronique Finlande © OECD 2003 Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France, tel. (33-1) 44 07 47 70, fax (33-1) 46 34 67 19, for every country except the United States. In the United States permission should be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer Service, (508)750-8400, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA, or CCC Online: www.copyright.com. All other applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this book should be made to OECD Publications, 2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. FOREWORD Foreword With backing from the Finnish government (Ministry of Finance), the OECD E-Government Project has conducted this country study of e-government in Finland to identify the challenges facing e-government implementers and to assess how e-government strategies and solutions contributed, and could contribute in the future, to good governance objectives. The report was completed in March 2003. It draws on a survey of Finnish ministries and agencies administered in 2002 and on a set of interviews with Finnish officials during the period May to November 2002. This report is the first in a series that will look at ICT use in government, implementation challenges, and governance implications. As a pilot study, it has contributed greatly to the establishment of an analytical framework for the OECD report, “The E-Government Imperative”, which was published in 2003, as well as for other country studies. The report was written by Edwin Lau of the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate (GOV), with the assistance of Marco Daglio and Stine Dragsted. It was prepared under the supervision of Christian Vergez and Hélène Gadriot-Renard (GOV). The report is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. OECD E-GOVERNMENT STUDIES – FINLAND – ISBN 92-64-10259-0 – © OECD 2003 3 FOREWORD Acknowledgements. The Secretariat would like to thank the peer reviewers that participated in interviews and/or commented on the report: Tomás Orozco La Roche (Mexico), Birgitta Rosen (Sweden) and Brian Stewart (Australia). Special thanks also go to Olavi Köngäs, Director of Informatics and Chief Information Officer of the Finnish Ministry of Finance, and his team in the Information Management Unit for their generous collaboration and commitment to the successful realisation of this report. Finally, thanks are due to Elizabeth Muller who reviewed and commented extensively on the report and to Marie Murphy, Elaine Newton and many others, without whose support this report would never have been published. 4 OECD E-GOVERNMENT STUDIES – FINLAND – ISBN 92-64-10259-0 – © OECD 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Assessment and Proposals for Action ............................................................ 9 Part I Country Study Introduction........................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 1. E-Government Structure and Context ...................................... 31 1.1. The e-government administrative structure and key players 32 Chapter 2. The Case for E-Government........................................................ 39 2.1. Public reform imperatives........................................................... 40 2.2. Spillover from the information society..................................... 44 2.3. Demand for e-government ......................................................... 48 Chapter 3. Barriers to E-Government ........................................................... 55 3.1. Legislative and regulatory barriers ............................................ 56 3.2. Budgetary barriers........................................................................ 61 3.3. Technological barriers................................................................. 69 3.4. The “digital divide” ...................................................................... 82 Chapter 4. Implementing E-Government....................................................