OECD Peer Review of E-Government in Denmark - ePractice.eu

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VII. USER-FOCUS In the early phases of e-government, many OECD countries implemented programmes that were focused on a simple push to put all government information and services online. Now, governments are pursuing more sophisticated approaches to e-government, aimed at more targeted, efficient and effective delivery of better public services through improved use of public sector information and ICT. As part of this new approach to e-government, a growing emphasis is being placed on providing services that better meet the needs of users, rather than reflecting the imperatives of government agencies. This chapter looks at the extent to which Denmark has developed this type of user-focused approach in implementing e-government. In particular it examines: 1) what government has done to understand user needs and the demand for e-government; and 2) the extent to which e-government service delivery is user-focused. The chapter also looks at measures designed to improve online access and openness in government. Overall, the Danish vision for e-government is clearly user-focused. It is informed by, and consistent with, the broader set of user-oriented goals articulated under the Citizens at the Wheel (2002) public sector modernisation programme. Interviews conducted for this review revealed that both on- and offline service delivery at all levels of the Danish public sector is influenced by inherently user-focused attitudes. Danes’ high level of overall satisfaction with government services indicates that these attitudes do translate into user-focused services. Interviewees made it clear that a focus on service users is part of the status quo for Danish government, and that officials believe e-government can enable organisations to move even further in this direction. Most people interviewed were conscious of Danes’ relatively high levels of satisfaction with government services, and felt that the question of how to develop more user-focus through e-government was of less concern than other challenges, such as how to deliver more effective and efficient cross-organisation services. Interviews revealed that somewhat more emphasis is being put on delivery of user-focused e-government by organisations whose roles and functions relate to businesses. Two main reasons for this are: 1) service delivery to businesses is more easily e-enabled; and 2) it is less complex to focus on the needs of business users. While there is a pervasive commitment to delivery of user-focused services, many interviewees indicated that they experience little public demand for consultation or participation in the design and delivery of e-government services. As shown below, few organisations are taking strongly proactive steps to ascertain what users need and expect in terms of user-focused e-government. This may mean that demand for participation is latent, rather than non-existent. It is, however, much more likely to reflect the fact revealed by the OECD survey that government organisations feel that the main drive for their e-government efforts comes from the Government or from within their own organisations, rather than from citizens and businesses. 119
Figure 7.1 Drivers of e-government in individual organisations 70 60 50 40 % 30 20 10 0 The Danish Government Within your organisation Citizen demand Business demand No significant drive Source: OECD E-Government Survey: Denmark. Demand for e-government As outlined in Chapter 3, Danes are among the highest users of the Internet in the world, with both individuals and (especially) businesses going online in large numbers to communicate with government. Despite this, individual government organisations are generally not putting a great deal of effort into ascertaining users’ demand for e-government services. This may reflect the overall levels of public satisfaction with government services, and the focus that Danish organisations have placed on using e-government to achieve efficiency gains and develop more cross-cutting services. It is notable that the OECD could not identify civil society or consumer interest groups focused on the quality of government services with whom to discuss this aspect of Danish e-government. Government-wide assessment of users’ e-government needs, demands and experiences Individual organisations are not placing heavy emphasis on assessing demand for e-government. However, as a result of a partnership agreement set up in 2000 between the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MVTU) and Statistics Denmark, at the all-of-government level there is a very good body of relevant statistical information about the Danish information society and economy, and public sector use of ICT, that is readily available to government organisations. Much of this research has been produced in connection with the various government ICT action plans and strategies put in place since the mid-1990s. The MVTU has been particularly active in this area, but other organisations such as the Ministries of Finance, Education, and Economic and Business Affairs have also been producing relevant research. The three most notable studies of demand for e-government recently undertaken at this level (all conducted in 2004) are: 120
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OECD PEER REVIEW OF E-GOVERNMENT IN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ASSESSMEN
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ANNEX A: OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL AND
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OECD PEER REVIEW OF E-GOVERNMENT IN
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While it is vital that the Governme
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Finance and the MVTU following thes
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this challenge was frequently menti
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Alongside the problem of the reliab
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In terms of its impact on organisat
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and businesses. While it is not cer
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considerable strategic importance t
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government organisations are aware
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8. Monitoring and evaluation Denmar
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Abstract There is a favourable envi
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E-government context Government pol
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The Structural Reform Between 2005
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administrative procedures. The find
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Figure 1.2 E-government structure a
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II. THE CASE FOR E-GOVERNMENT Denma
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• Creation of a competitive marke
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Abstract Government organisations c
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Source: OECD E-Government Survey: D
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Figure 3.2 Legislative and regulato
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modernisation process, especially i
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and the generally high level of tru
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fund it has created providing a tot
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outright barriers. The clearest evi
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Figure 3.5 Use of public digital se
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• Employment status: students and
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APPENDIX TO CHAPTER 3: INFORMATION
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Figure 3.A.4 ICT usage among Danish
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Figure 3.A.8 Internet access among
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IV. PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP The e-g
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The strategy notes that Denmark is
Page 69 and 70: exchanged electronically. This is e
Page 71 and 72: with even lower rankings for driver
Page 73 and 74: involvement in e-government therefo
Page 75 and 76: In addition to support for the Join
Page 77 and 78: Figure 4.5 Responsibility for desig
Page 79 and 80: V. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE This chapt
Page 81 and 82: Structural Reform and e-government
Page 83 and 84: The Task Force has initiated a proj
Page 85 and 86: Figure 5.2 Share of documents recei
Page 87 and 88: Box 5.1 Improving middle management
Page 89 and 90: Abstract Collaboration is relativel
Page 91 and 92: Co-ordination of e-government polic
Page 93 and 94: Box 6.1 Key e-government co-ordinat
Page 95 and 96: The CRS encompasses a number of reg
Page 97 and 98: Digital signatures are now being wi
Page 99 and 100: Denmark - something that could be a
Page 101 and 102: Staffed by employees from the Digit
Page 103 and 104: The additional workload is connecte
Page 105 and 106: such a framework be designed; and 3
Page 107 and 108: schemas used in different areas of
Page 109 and 110: • Changing conditions in the publ
Page 111 and 112: municipalities, which might otherwi
Page 113 and 114: The current situation has evolved o
Page 115 and 116: Figure 6.6 Impacts of partnerships
Page 117 and 118: Source: OECD E-government Survey: D
Page 119: Abstract The Danish vision for e-go
Page 123 and 124: • To ensure internal knowledge of
Page 125 and 126: • The lack of information and the
Page 127 and 128: Figure 7.2 Source and type of e-gov
Page 129 and 130: Figure 7.4 Constraints on demand fo
Page 131 and 132: When asked about the level of impor
Page 133 and 134: eing for one group or another (e.g.
Page 135 and 136: Figure 7.8 Use of electronic delive
Page 137 and 138: The national portal www.denmark.dk
Page 139 and 140: identification of the relationship
Page 141 and 142: Abstract At the all-of-government l
Page 143 and 144: • At least 60 percent of all publ
Page 145 and 146: External audit Another important el
Page 147 and 148: can have impacts: 1) “service cha
Page 149 and 150: Figure 8.4 Responsibilities for mon
Page 151 and 152: CASE STUDY 1: STANDARDS-BASED E-GOV
Page 153 and 154: pharmacies (e.g. referrals and disc
Page 155 and 156: Danish approach of flexible decentr
Page 157 and 158: CASE STUDY 2: ACHIEVING E-GOVERNMEN
Page 159 and 160: Estimation of benefits for both eDa
Page 161 and 162: ANNEX A: OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL AND
Page 163 and 164: ANNEX B: INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT AND
Page 165 and 166: Administrative environment Organisa
Page 167 and 168: Other State government responsibili
Page 169 and 170: − Models to support inter-organis
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ICT usage As discussed in Chapter 3
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Promotion of IT Research and Educat
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other reforms. The plan identified
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Overall, these action plans were su
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E-mail addresses for everyone Anoth
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had developed extensive practical k
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ANNEX E: METHODOLOGY Definition of
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The survey asked State and local go
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ANNEX F: GLOSSARY This glossary was
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Agency for Governmenta
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Ministry of Science, Technology and
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Statistics Denmark (2004b), Nyt fra
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