The key to promoting digital innovation in the
public sector is in the hands of the cities and
regions, the European Committee of the Regions
affirms in an opinion issued
at the request of the Estonian Presidency of the
European Council. The opinion was drafted by Frank
Cecconi (FR/ALDE), Regional Councillor for
Ile-de-France, and adopted unanimously by elected
local and regional representatives of the EU Member
States at the Committee's plenary session on 30
November.
The opinion
by Mr Cecconi urges the public sector to commit to
innovation focused on users' needs and incorporating
the principles of equal access to digital services for
everyone and every business, a high level of protection
for sensitive data, "co-production" "digital by
default" and "once only". The "once only" principle
means that public administrations will only ask for the
same information once from people and businesses.
"Going digital can help us to build a new model of
government which is more transparent, simpler, more
efficient, more inclusive and thus more in tune with
users' aspirations. The shift to digital nevertheless
poses a challenge both for administrations and for some
users who may be not be familiar with the world of new
technologies. This is why it is important to take this
change in the way public services are delivered as an
opportunity to make our administrative procedures and
working culture much simpler. Local and regional
authorities can play a crucial role here as the
administrations most immediately responsible for
providing direct, day-to-day services to the public",
said Mr Cecconi.
"A few months ago, in the Regional Council of
Ile-de-France, we launched an
app called "Anotéa"
, which is basically the Tripadvisor principle adapted
to the world of vocational training. This symbolises
the win-win philosophy that must underpin the switch to
digital. The app informs users of the range of training
courses available to them and will provide a means of
matching the training we offer more closely to the
actual situation on the ground and to user needs", Mr
Cecconi explained.
In order to provide cross-border and transnational
digital public services, the Committee sees a need to
improve interoperability between the different
administrations and to develop techniques such as e-ID
and e-signatures. "To cite just one example, Estonia
and Finland are currently working on a platform that
will ensure the direct and secure exchange of data.
Using this system, people can already obtain medicines
prescribed electronically in the other country", said
Mr Cecconi.
The opinion also points to the need for a radical
overhaul in the cultural organisation of the public
sector, focusing on the continuous training of public
officials in new digital working methods so that they
can act as "catalysts for innovation". Defining
concrete indicators will allow for reliable comparisons
to be made between public administrations as regards
their openness to digital solutions.
Finally, the opinion calls for local and regional
authorities to be more closely involved in ongoing
initiatives, including the
2016/2020 eGovernment Action Plan Steering
Board
, the
OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation
and the
Open Government Partnership
(OGP).
Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel.: +32 2 282 2063
lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu