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

VIII.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
This chapter examines the Danish approach to monitoring and evaluating e-government, at both
the all-of-government and individual organisation levels.
Monitoring and evaluation at the all-of-government level
At the all-of-government level, e-government monitoring and evaluation occurs in the context of
the Danish e-government strategy. The strategy is notable for setting relatively sophisticated targets
(i.e. not simply blunt objectives, such as having a certain percentage of services online by a certain
date) called “signposts” for achieving e-government by 2006. It also specifies how these targets will
be measured. The emphasis on setting measurable targets in the latest version of the strategy reflects
the Government’s vision that e-government will deliver tangible results for Danes, as expressed in the
subtitle of the strategy – “Realising the Potential”.
The targets set by the strategy are expressed in outcome-oriented terms. A mix of internal and
external targets is included in the strategy. The external targets focus on the Government’s vision of
e-government helping to create a coherent, citizen-focused public sector providing an improved
quality of government services. The internal targets focus on the major steps that the public sector
must take to achieve the e-government vision, namely creating an improved operating environment,
achieving increased efficiency and effectiveness, and changing organisational behaviours. Each
signpost is accompanied by measures that will be used to assess whether government organisations
have achieved the goal (see Box 8.1).
Box 8.1 Design of Danish e-government targets and measures
The Danish e-government strategy does not set blunt targets for e-government, such as putting all government
services online by a certain date. Instead, it includes five major “signposts” that together support achievement of
the Government’s e-government vision. Two signposts involve outcomes that are external to the public sector,
while the other three are internal. The signposts are:
External outcomes
Signpost 1: The public sector must provide coherent services with citizens and businesses in the centre.
Signpost 2: E-Government must result in improved service quality and the release of resources.
Internal outcomes
Signpost 3: The public sector must work and communicate digitally.
Signpost 4: E-Government must be based on a coherent and flexible infrastructure.
Signpost 5: Public sector managers must lead the way and ensure that their own organisations are capable of
realising the vision.
Achievement of each signpost will be assessed using a number of measures. For example, measures for
Signpost 1 include:
“By the end of 2006, the aim will be to ensure that:
• At least 60 percent of the population uses the public sector's digital services (2003: 40 percent).
• At least 95 percent of all businesses use the public sector's digital services (2002: 72 percent).
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