e-GOVERNMENT IN FINLAND - ePractice.eu

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x The central administration does not act alone: local and regional governments are the most important deliverers of services and therefore key partners. x The Ministries of Finance and Interior play a key role in e-government co-ordination. Legislative changes in January 2003 have given the MoF full responsibility for coordination within the central administration. 16. The Ministry of Justice sets the regulatory framework for e-government. It was instrumental in developing the 2000 Act on Electronic Service in the Administration which makes it possible to initiate, handle and serve notice on administrative issues electronically. 17. Independent agencies under parliamentary authority constitute an important exception to the central government’s co-ordination responsibilities. The most important is KELA, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution, which has over 450 offices around the country and is responsible for administering 20 benefits worth about EUR 10 billion annually. Although six ministries are involved in administering these benefits, KELA acts independently, subject only to parliamentary oversight. It is steered by a board of directors of 12 people chosen by the parliament. 18. Several permanent interagency groups in MoF and MoI act as IT co-ordinating and advising bodies across government. They draw their members from ministries, parliament, agencies and external experts. The most important are: x VATI: the Council of IT directors created in June 2002 as a result of a multiphase process in 1996 involving representatives of major agencies and the enhancement of the role of ministries in 1999. x VALTIPA: the government network of information service professionals created in 1996. x VAHTI: the government’s IT security board created in the late 1980s. x JUHTA (The Advisory Committee on Information Management in the Administration): an advisory committee for IT in the public administration created in 1989. Key Points - 2 x A number of formal and informal networks ensure the flow of information about IT initiatives and guidance among e-government officials in the ministries and agencies. x Independent agencies under parliamentary authority are not subject to the central administration’s oversight. Some, in particular, the Social Security Agency, are major providers of electronic services. 19. In addition, the Information Society Advisory Board (ISAB) was convened in 1996 and 1999 to help the Finnish government formulate and evaluate information society policies. It is chaired by a cabinet minister and its members are permanent secretaries and other high-level civil servants from state and municipal administrations as well as IT industry leaders, representatives from civil society and social partners. 20. Public administration reform and the government budget are two other areas with important implications for the implementation of e-government. Both fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance and their bearing on e-government co-ordination is treated later in the report. However, a brief 26
look at the overall process of state administration reform in Finland provides useful insight into how the state administration’s decision making and co-ordination are structured. 21. The Department of Public Management, under the MoF, is the main authority for planning and defining public administration reforms in Finland, although the Department of Personnel Policies and the Budget Department are also involved. 22. Public administration reform is organised on the basis of a two-level co-ordination model. As shown in Figure 2, the Ministry of Finance proposes general reform strategies to the government, helps prepare the guidelines for the entire state sector and promotes interagency development programmes. The Ministerial Working Group on Administration and Regional Development helps build consensus, managing the interaction between political decision makers and civil servants. Responsibility for implementing the reforms has been delegated to ministries and agencies. 23. At the political level, co-ordination is ensured by the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Finance supervises co-ordination and management in the public sector, acting as a policy-planning unit for the government. In addition, the prime minister plays a fundamental role in fostering and supporting the reform initiatives, as both decisions-in-principle and political resolutions in the Cabinet and in promoting reform initiatives by the Ministerial Working Group on Administration and Regional Development, which is currently chaired by the Minister of the Interior. This group is made up of nine ministers, and its role was expanded under the second Lipponen government to include regional development issues. 2 MoF - Department of Public Management - Department of Personnel Policies - The Budget Department…. MoI - Department for Development of Regions and Public Administration Figure 1.2. Public administration reform responsibilities in Finland proposing Ministerial Working Group on Administration and Regional Development Council of State 27 deciding Ministries / Agencies Implementing Source: OECD 24. Chapter 5, “Implementing E-government”, will look at the extent to which co-ordinating bodies understand their roles and at the agencies that deliver electronic service. It will also look at the governance frameworks in place to manage the relationships among these different actors. 2 See www.valtion<strong>eu</strong>vosto.fi for a description of tasks and participants.
Page 1: OECD e-GOVERNMENT STUDIES e-GOVERNM
Page 4 and 5: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Secretariat wo
Page 6 and 7: 4.2.5 Managing multiple service cha
Page 8 and 9: This report provides a first compre
Page 10 and 11: Finland could reinforce citizen sup
Page 12 and 13: Technical issues have been recognis
Page 14 and 15: The central government, however, la
Page 16 and 17: E-government has helped improve pla
Page 18 and 19: OVERALL ASSESSMENT The first phase
Page 20 and 21: 6. The constitutional independence
Page 22 and 23: 6. As the first OECD report of its
Page 24 and 25: Box 1.1. E-government co-ordination
Page 28 and 29: 2 THE CASE FOR E-GOVERNMENT 25. The
Page 30 and 31: Key Points - 4 x Public administrat
Page 32 and 33: 40. As a result of these earlier go
Page 34 and 35: is illustrative. An online transact
Page 36 and 37: Health care 50 29 21 Unemployment 8
Page 38 and 39: 3 BARRIERS TO E-GOVERNMENT 61. E-go
Page 40 and 41: action unclear. In interviews, IT o
Page 42 and 43: 80. As noted in Chapter 2, the Stat
Page 44 and 45: equired to provide e-government str
Page 46 and 47: most important way to fund e-govern
Page 48 and 49: obtain (38%), followed by funds for
Page 50 and 51: Figure 3.4. E-government technologi
Page 52 and 53: 113. Not surprisingly, the OECD sur
Page 54 and 55: 3.3.2 Types of barriers 119. Respon
Page 56 and 57: x Technology neutrality in legislat
Page 58 and 59: “backbone” of the government ne
Page 60 and 61: egional authorities is decisive, ev
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Page 66 and 67: political leaders to impress upon t
Page 68 and 69: showed that top management commitme
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Page 74 and 75: E-government Imperative (2003) list
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Key Points - 31 x The proportion of
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Key Points - 32 x Basic online info
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Key Points - 33 x Interactive infor
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of using more efficient electronic
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Key Points - 35 x The proportion of
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233. The Finnish Vehicle Administra
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citizens’ access to information i
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4.3.2 E-engagement at the ministry
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Key Points - 38 x E-engagement init
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255. At the end of 2002, the curren
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Themes portal (e.g. environmental,
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partnerships”). The most signific
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job satisfaction enquiry and models
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Key Points - 42 x Structural impact
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Key Points - 43 x Change management
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Figure 4.17. E-government leadershi
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297. Interviews with ministries and
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x Horizontal co-ordination: lack of
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Figure 4.22. Government-wide leader
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catalyst as well as formal or infor
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operation of the Ministry of Social
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development of Internet service del
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Box 4.7. Adapting E-Procurement for
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strategies but also the ability to
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361. Moreover, the lack of opportun
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372. The OECD report on the Finnish
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x E-government plans are important
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5 NEXT STEPS 385. In May 2003, the
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completely new architecture for gat
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399. Brokers receive revenue from t
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409. In 1998, the government agreed
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Figure 6.3. Finnish electronic citi
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430. For both municipalities and KE
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6.3 Case study 3: The citizen porta
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tourism, immigration and emigration
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Key Points - 60 x The citizen citiz
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7.2 Appendix 2: Reports, strategies
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x Public Management in Finland (200
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ought together government, civil so
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freedom of choice and availability,
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499. The Ministry of the Interior c
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decision requires it to provide net
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522. Contrary to former reports by
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x By comparison, the term Web site
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7.4.2 List of acronyms AFLRA: The A
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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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