OECD countries jointly draft guidelines for e-government
Berne, 30.10.2013 - Today in Bern, at the eleventh High Level Meeting on E-Government, the delegates from more than 30 OECD countries defined ten strategic principles for modernising public administration through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). These guidelines drafted by the OECD countries' ICT managers will be submitted to interested parties in the OECD countries for consultation.
Yesterday in Bern, the Federal Chancellor Corina Casanova and the former Prime Minister of Belgium and current Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Yves Leterme, opened the two-day international conference, which has been jointly organised by the Federal IT Steering Unit (FITSU) and the OECD. On the first day of the event, the OECD delegates, delegates from partner countries and representatives from the private sector, academia and civil society discussed the strategic further development of public administration using information and communication technologies. Various contributions were made via video conference. The event was followed live via webcast in 36 countries.
Business-oriented and citizen-centric administration thanks to e-government
The framework paper "OECD Principles on Digital Government Strategies" was drafted by the OECD delegates today. The long-term objective of the paper is to set up principles for all OECD countries which focus on the benefits for citizens and businesses when implementing e-government. The strategic guidelines in the paper follow three main thrusts: the first goal is listed as establishing transparent, open, administration activities. By increasingly making freely accessible official data available, citizens' trust in the administration will be strengthened. Secondly, the framework paper underlines the importance of a comprehensive strategy for the reorganisation and new organisation of the administration. For e-government to develop successfully, it is not only political support which is of crucial importance, but also support from administrative units. A third focal point is the cost effectiveness of e-government solutions. In order to be able to ensure positive returns on investments in the area of e-government, strategic project management must be strengthened, with special attention paid to the cost effectiveness of ICT solutions to be introduced. Moreover, the OECD principles assume an ongoing review and update of the legal framework to ensure value-adding use of ICT in public administration.
Consultation until the end of 2013
During the meeting, a lively discussion took place between the ICT managers from the OECD countries and partner countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia, as well as the e-government players from academia and business circles, as well as from civil society. The OECD Principles on Digital Government Strategies which were drafted today will now go back for broader consultation in the OECD countries and partner countries. The consultation procedure will last until 20 December 2013. This will be followed by the finalisation of the guidelines and planning of the next steps, including approval by the OECD Council.
Address for enquiries
Stephan Röthlisberger, eGovernment Switzerland
Tel. +41 31 324 79 10, stephen.roethlisberger@isb.admin.ch
Publisher
Federal Department of Finance
https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home.html
