e-GOVERNMENT IN FINLAND - ePractice.eu

INTRODUCTION
1. Finland’s success in reinventing its economy in the 1990s has drawn a good deal of attention to
the “Finnish model” of exploiting information and communication technology (ICT). A land with few
natural resources other than its forests and its people, Finland has proven remarkably apt at anticipating its
economic needs. In particular, the Finnish government has put in place the reforms and investments
necessary for taking advantage of opportunities on the horizon. In the area of e-government, Finland’s
reputation in providing proactive government services electronically has brought officials from around the
world to learn from its experience.
2. This report looks closely at e-government in Finland. It focuses on the central administration’s
role in planning, implementing, co-ordinating and promoting e-government and providing the “e-enablers”
that create the framework for transactions among ministries, agencies and regional and local government
and with businesses and citizens. It considers the impact of e-government on government administrations,
public services and relations with business and citizens, that is, its governance implications. In doing so, it
also looks at linkages among e-government and Information Society policies, information management
within government, public management reform and individual sectoral objectives. Regional and local
government, while a vital partner for delivering services and strengthening relations with citizens, is
outside of the scope of this report.
3. The report looks at all aspects of the e-government policy cycle:
1) E-government structure and context.
2) Drivers for e-government, including public administration reform imperatives, the evolving
information society and citizen and business demand.
3) External barriers to e-government, including legal, funding and technological frameworks.
4) Implementation of e-government, in terms of both front-office and back-office activities,
including e-government planning and goal setting, service delivery and e-engagement, and
monitoring and evaluation.
5) An assessment of current and future e-government objectives and activities
4. In addition, there is a discussion of three cross-cutting projects that have laid the groundwork for
seamless electronic service delivery in Finland: i) the TYVI broker system for reporting business data to
government; ii) the electronic citizen identification card (the FINEID “smart card”); and iii) the citizen
portal.
5. This report was prepared by the OECD, with financing from the Finnish Ministry of Finance. It
draws upon the OECD flagship report, The E-government Imperative (2003), as well as work conducted
under the OECD Project on E-government. It also draws on over 20 interviews with Finnish officials, a
survey of 43 ministries and agencies and an extensive review of legislation, research and background
documents. (For more on methodology, see Appendix 5).
21