e-GOVERNMENT IN FINLAND - ePractice.eu

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development of Internet service delivery channels. Here, the mobile phone sector already plays an active role (see Part 4.4.2, “Alternative Internet access channels”). 335. It is based on interaction between enterprises, data-collecting companies (TYVI brokers) and administrative agencies/data users: firms send their information only once over the Internet directly to a broker, which then forwards it to the appropriate authority or authorities. An official from the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers pointed to the role of the private sector in enhancing the development of e-government as a way to create an environment that suits enterprises’ needs and to improve public sector productivity. Key Points -50 x In Finland, public-private partnerships are based on a common vision of the information society. At the operational level, however, there is still much room for developing partnerships by finding complementary uses of infrastructure and client knowledge in ways that add value and avoid duplication Outsourcing and IT capacity 336. In Finland as in other OECD countries, the outsourcing of ICT services is an important element of e-government. Between 1997 and 2001, rentals and services were the two IT spending categories that rose fastest (61% and 17%, respectively, on an average annual basis – see Figure 3.1, Part 3.2.1). Most ministries have kept small internal IT units, but have contracted out the development of IT applications and IT maintenance. For example, maintenance and updating of the Ministry of Justice’s Finlex site is entirely outsourced. Practically all of the government-wide e-enablers, from the citizen portal to the TYVI Project, were also developed by outside contractors under guidance from the MoF. 337. Some limited IT capacity remains in the central administration. The Government Information Management Unit, for example, runs an optical fibre network linking all ministries. All ministries have a connection to the government network and some have maintained their own network in addition, as well as IT services such as e-mail and intranet. Ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and of the Environment also have separate agencies that provide IT services. 338. In general, however, agencies increasingly turn to the private sector for expertise in developing solutions. Several agencies interviewed saw outsourcing as a way to improve the depth of their services. For example, many agencies already use the form service www.lomake.fi , which has a direct support from web forms to back office processes. Outsourcing, however, can also raise problems relating to personal privacy and industrial secrecy when partnerships give contractors access to potentially sensitive information. Perceptions of weak security and uncertainty about finding the right solution can delay the launching of projects. 339. Outsourcing has also raised the issue of the management skills needed to manage contractors when a project is not done in-house. The capacity imbalance between large contractors and small agencies, in particular, is a cause for concern. Outsourcing is here to stay, but, as the next section will show, the central administration needs to ensure that its agencies have the skills and tools to adapt to this new environment. In addition to basic IT skills, they need the skills to manage risk and performance and innovative ways to monitor and evaluate (i.e. independent verification and validation of projects by thirdparty contractors). 118
340. Agencies have reported that the MoF training sessions are especially valuable in terms of the networking opportunities that they provide, notably in terms of tendering, since this allows them to find out which companies can provide the services they need and how to buy them. Said one IT official, “People like me are not familiar with IT terms in the same way that IT consultants are. They are experts on something that I am not and yet I am buying from them.” 341. An official from TUKES noted the difficulty of finding good contractors. TUKES would like more co-ordination and technical support so as to get more results with less effort. “There should be a group of agencies or ministries with similar types of customers. Together, they can make plans for how to serve the customers. With more people, it would also be easier to get good contractors.” 342. Solutions need not involve a centralised approach. MoF training seminars have provided a good opportunity for agencies to network and to compare information on potential contractors. Additional technical support could encourage agencies with similar needs to band together and produce joint tenders, thereby pooling expertise and buying power. E-procurement Key Points - 51 x Outsourcing requires agencies to develop new skills and build their capacity to negotiate with private sector contractors, including through consolidated purchasing. This is particularly a problem for small agencies that lack technical skills and experience and purchasing volume. 343. The OECD’s The E-government Imperative (2003) suggests that e-procurement can be an effective tool for improving efficiency of simple procurement. Centralised procurement is difficult when agencies use different and often incompatible systems. Collaboration between agencies helps reduce this problem, but closed legacy systems make the technical barriers difficult to overcome. For this reason, the MoF would like to make more use of open source software, which the state payment system has already adopted, so that agencies can do their own tailoring. However tailoring of off-the-shelf solutions requires both technical and planning skills, which agencies may or may not possess. 344. Efficient collaboration for e-procurement can be difficult, as the Hansel procurement system in Finland demonstrates (see Box 4.7). The MoF’s Budget Department has considered making use of Hansel mandatory for all procurement. Others feel, however, that it would be better to increase the involvement of agency heads or budgetary officers as a way to take into account the overall savings objectives of the organisation. The government is already moving in this direction, for example, by requiring agencies for the first time to submit procurement plans along with their e-government strategic plans. An improved system of checks and balances in procurement, especially with increased transparency of procurement decisions, would allow agencies the flexibility to solve specific problems optimally. 119
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OECD e-GOVERNMENT STUDIES e-GOVERNM
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Secretariat wo
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4.2.5 Managing multiple service cha
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This report provides a first compre
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Finland could reinforce citizen sup
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Technical issues have been recognis
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The central government, however, la
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E-government has helped improve pla
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OVERALL ASSESSMENT The first phase
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6. The constitutional independence
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6. As the first OECD report of its
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Box 1.1. E-government co-ordination
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x The central administration does n
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2 THE CASE FOR E-GOVERNMENT 25. The
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Key Points - 4 x Public administrat
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40. As a result of these earlier go
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is illustrative. An online transact
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Health care 50 29 21 Unemployment 8
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3 BARRIERS TO E-GOVERNMENT 61. E-go
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action unclear. In interviews, IT o
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80. As noted in Chapter 2, the Stat
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equired to provide e-government str
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most important way to fund e-govern
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obtain (38%), followed by funds for
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Figure 3.4. E-government technologi
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113. Not surprisingly, the OECD sur
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3.3.2 Types of barriers 119. Respon
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x Technology neutrality in legislat
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“backbone” of the government ne
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egional authorities is decisive, ev
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Box 3.5. The development of mobile
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x Improving the public administrati
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political leaders to impress upon t
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Page 70 and 71: levels of government. In particular
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Page 76 and 77: Key Points - 31 x The proportion of
Page 78 and 79: Key Points - 32 x Basic online info
Page 80 and 81: Key Points - 33 x Interactive infor
Page 82 and 83: of using more efficient electronic
Page 84 and 85: Key Points - 35 x The proportion of
Page 86 and 87: 233. The Finnish Vehicle Administra
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Page 90 and 91: 4.3.2 E-engagement at the ministry
Page 92 and 93: Key Points - 38 x E-engagement init
Page 94 and 95: 255. At the end of 2002, the curren
Page 96 and 97: Themes portal (e.g. environmental,
Page 98 and 99: partnerships”). The most signific
Page 100 and 101: job satisfaction enquiry and models
Page 102 and 103: Key Points - 42 x Structural impact
Page 104 and 105: Key Points - 43 x Change management
Page 106 and 107: Figure 4.17. E-government leadershi
Page 108 and 109: 297. Interviews with ministries and
Page 110 and 111: x Horizontal co-ordination: lack of
Page 112 and 113: Figure 4.22. Government-wide leader
Page 114 and 115: catalyst as well as formal or infor
Page 116 and 117: operation of the Ministry of Social
Page 120 and 121: Box 4.7. Adapting E-Procurement for
Page 122 and 123: strategies but also the ability to
Page 124 and 125: 361. Moreover, the lack of opportun
Page 126 and 127: 372. The OECD report on the Finnish
Page 128 and 129: x E-government plans are important
Page 130 and 131: 5 NEXT STEPS 385. In May 2003, the
Page 132 and 133: completely new architecture for gat
Page 134 and 135: 399. Brokers receive revenue from t
Page 136 and 137: 409. In 1998, the government agreed
Page 138 and 139: Figure 6.3. Finnish electronic citi
Page 140 and 141: 430. For both municipalities and KE
Page 142 and 143: 6.3 Case study 3: The citizen porta
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Page 146 and 147: Key Points - 60 x The citizen citiz
Page 148 and 149: 7.2 Appendix 2: Reports, strategies
Page 150 and 151: x Public Management in Finland (200
Page 152 and 153: ought together government, civil so
Page 154 and 155: freedom of choice and availability,
Page 156 and 157: 499. The Ministry of the Interior c
Page 158 and 159: decision requires it to provide net
Page 160 and 161: 522. Contrary to former reports by
Page 162 and 163: x By comparison, the term Web site
Page 164 and 165: 7.4.2 List of acronyms AFLRA: The A
Page 166 and 167: 7.5 Appendix 5: Methodology 7.5.1 D
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2. Responses are not included in ov
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8 BIBLIOGRAPHY ACCENTURE (2001),
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JUSSILAINEN, M. (2003), “Knowledg
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OECD (1992), “ICCP Reviews of Inf
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“GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION ON HIGH-QU
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VISTI, S. (1998), “Electronic Ide
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