WIREDGOV

At the Digital and Open Government conference it was stressed that ‘digitisation is a tool that governments can use to provide the public with better services’.  This conference will play a role in improving the exchange of data between institutions, countries and the general public.

Numerous benefits

Vice-President of the European Commission Andrus Ansip strongly urged the attendees to act on the recommendations given at the conference on increasing digitisation in their organisations and their private lives. Digitisation creates cost-savings, better democracies and more openness. It’s also better for the environment.

Estonia

According to William D. Eggers from Deloitte Services, the main thing governments need, if they are become more digital, is courage. This means having the courage to try out new digital applications, hire different kinds of employees, take a new approach to projects and take risks. Mr Eggers also emphasised the importance of agile working.  Instead of launching ready-to-use products, why not release trial versions so that improvements can be made based on direct feedback? Interestingly, Mr Eggers mentioned that the number one country in the world when it comes to digitisation is Estonia. That is because of the pioneering role its President, Toomas Hedrik Ilves has played in the process.

Conference on digital and open government

Chaired by Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, the conference brought together decision makers and digitisation policymakers from EU member states, EU institutions and the scientific community. They discussed the opportunities and potential solutions that digital government presents. The European eGovernment Action Plan aims to accelerate development in this area. It will help the public, businesses and governments to exchange digital data easily and reliably, while guaranteeing the privacy of citizens.  At present, some countries already provide many public services digitally, while others are still in the early stages of eGovernment.

European eGovernment Action Plan

There were three main topics on the conference’s agenda, namely the new relationship between governments and the public, better use of data, and confidence in digital government. These topics were discussed in group sessions. A record will be made of the findings of this two-day conference, along with the steps that need to be taken next. Member states will respond to the action plan by way of Council Conclusions during the next Presidency, which will be held by Slovakia during the second half of this year. 

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For more information on the conference programme and participants, go to www.digitalopengov.nl.