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

and product developers to participate in a competition on ideas for such products. The initiative was
successful, and products such as Web pages accessible to all were created.
From Hardware to Content – Internet all over Denmark
This strategy, launched in 2001, aimed to stimulate the creation of a nationwide ICT
infrastructure which was fast, cheap and secure. The strategy was based on ensuring an optimal
framework for a market-based Danish ICT infrastructure, and on measures for increasing demand for
ICT-based services and digital content. The strategy identified target areas for new forms of digital
content exchange within the public sector, between the public sector and private sector, and between
various private players including the general public.
Use and Reuse of “Base” Data
In 1998, a report was published on the use of basic information held in the Danish public
registries. This was an essential element in the Danish strategy towards the information society. The
two major principles for future use of this data promulgated in the report were that: 1) basic
information reported to a public institution would only have to be provided once; and 2) it should be
easy to access that information (within the constraints imposed by data protection legislation).
In essence, the report stated that public information held in registries should be treated as a
common resource, and that technical/organisational barriers should not unnecessarily stand in the way.
The report also focused on issues related to the quality of public sector data. The conclusions and
recommendations of the report were based on examination of the three basic public registers in
Denmark: the Building and Housing Register, the Central Personal Register and the Central Business
Register.
Security
In 1995, the Government established the IT Security Council, charged with advising government
on IT security issues and formulating proposals for a Danish IT security policy. The vision for
Denmark’s IT security policy was that it should create a security framework (including regulations)
that would enable people and businesses to confidently undertake electronic transactions, such as
online electronic payments. The Government required the expected IT security policy to address the
security interests of all Danish citizens, businesses and organisations.
This was the first time that discussion of ICT policy in Denmark included examination of security
issues (and related regulatory issues). The Council’s proposals, made in the report Denmark’s IT
Security Policy, became the basis for future Danish ICT security policies. One of the most significant
proposals made by the Council was for an initiative to develop a public key infrastructure as the basis
for secure online communication with the public sector.
Digital Signatures
In 1998, the Ministry of Research and Information Technology launched a pilot project on digital
signatures. The objectives of the project were: 1) to make the use of digital signatures among public
authorities more widespread; 2) to stimulate the market-based development of products and services;
and 3) to prepare necessary standards and protocols.
In 2000, evaluation of the project’s progress showed that all these objectives had been met. The
project had demonstrated that digital signatures could successfully be used among public authorities. It
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