e-GOVERNMENT IN FINLAND - ePractice.eu

citizens’ access to information is consistent with Finnish attitudes even prior to the use of IT in the public
administration. Finland has been traditionally at the forefront in providing a legal basis for public access to
information, the first step towards effective public participation in policy making. Legislation on access to
public documents dates back to the 1950s. 48
240. In more recent times, increased citizen participation and easy access to public databases have
been central points of official papers and government action programmes. 49 The Finnish central
government has been active in stressing the need for citizen involvement in policy making, in particular in
its early stages (agenda setting). The 1998 government Resolution on High-quality Services, Good
Governance and a Responsible Civic Society set out the government’s aims to “create possibilities for the
active participation of citizens”.
Key Points - 37
x Finnish initiatives to improve online access to information and to facilitate e-engagement
continue a longer-term trend of valuing openness, transparency and citizen participation.
They have been enabled, however, by legislation which defines legal rights and
responsibilities, as well as values such as agency responsiveness.
x The diffusion of information and increasing interest in e-participation are the two main
trends identified by the OECD survey. It seems that, after a pioneering phase devoted to the
increased diffusion of online information, more attention is going to be given to eparticipation.
Very few OECD countries have as yet begun to experiment with eparticipation.
Finland provides some of the leading examples to date.
4.3.1 E-engagement at the national level
241. The Act on the Openness of Government Activities, which came into force in 1999, has ensured
greater public access to documents. The goal of this important reform was “to increase the openness of
government activities, to enhance the implementation of the openness principle relating to these activities,
to improve the possibilities to participate in the public debate and to influence the management of common
issues”. This act makes public authorities’ responsiveness to citizens’ requests for information a basic
principle.
242. This Act represented a major achievement in defining the right of access to information in
official documents, and it has paved the way for the development of e-engagement, as it increases the
potential for disseminating information in electronic form more widely than in the past. In fact, far from
being a substitute for traditional means of information, electronic methods of collecting and providing
information have integrated traditional ones, increasing the possibility of information and data sharing. 50
243. As new ICTs began to be considered a major driver for a comprehensive renewal of the public
administration, electronic access to public information and participation in policy making have been
receiving greater attention by the government. A number of pilot projects have been developed both
centrally and within individual ministries and agencies (for example, see Part 4.4.1 for a discussion of the
48 Publicity of Official Documents Act, 1951.
49
See the Standpoint of the Ministerial Steering Group on the Reform of Central Government, Ministry of Finance,
Public Management Department, 2001.
50 This was further promoted by the Act on Electronic Services in the Administration, 2000.
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