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

policy had been too heavily focused on information technology. By 2002 there was a clear need for a
more balanced and “realistic” policy approach. The report urged shifting the focus of government
policy to how new technologies could help create value for individuals, businesses and society; and on
incorporating a user perspective in policy formulation.
The 2002 action plan stated that “Denmark’s future depends on the ability to create and use
knowledge technology”, and called for major efforts on education, research, innovation, and individual
citizen use of ICT. Reflecting the new emphasis on user-focused development of ICT, the plan again
pointed out the importance of all Danes having access to the ICT-related opportunities that Denmark
had to offer, and the skills required to exploit them. Thirty-seven explicit goals were stated on the
basis of seven principle policy areas:
1. More IT in Danish businesses and industry.
2. A competitive telecommunications sector.
3. Strong IT competences in Denmark.
4. An IT-based public sector.
5. IT security.
6. Useful content on the Internet.
7. Danish impact on IT in the EU.
The current IT action plan, Using IT Wisely, was published in October 2003. It showed that
Denmark had come a long way in achieving the 37 objectives established in the 2002 action plan.
Rather than allowing government to rest on its laurels, the 2003 plan aimed to strengthen Denmark’s
position as one of the world’s leading ICT nations. In this plan government efforts were targeted on
areas where the use of ICT could generate the highest value – particularly in identifying and
converting new information to useful knowledge that could contribute to strengthening Denmark as a
knowledge society.
Today, Danish government ICT policy has three major goals: 1) creating growth in Danish
business and industry; 2) qualifying Danes for the future knowledge society; and 3) reforming the
public sector.
Other major ICT initiatives
IT for people with disabilities
The 1996 IT action plan was complemented by an action plan for people with disabilities, called
Freedom to Choose, supporting the aim established in the Dybkjaer Report of ensuring that all Danes
were able to access and use ICT. The plan pointed out that, although a special plan was being created
for people with disabilities, their use of ICT should be treated as a mainstream issue by those
developing ICT in Denmark.
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