Achieving integrated e-government in a federal state: the Flemish experience

Transcription

1 Knowledge and practices of creating and implementing egovernment in Europe Achieving integrated e-government in a federal state: the Flemish experience Hans C. Arents, senior advisor strategy & technology, (CORVE) Tel: Fax: hans.arents@bz.vlaanderen.be Boudewijngebouw Balkon 4, Boudewijnlaan 30, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Web: 1of 75

2 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 2of 75

3 Why have you invited me? 4As a representative of a regional administration in a federal state trying to achieve integrated e-government Flanders: one of the 3 regions in Belgium Belgium: a complicated federal state 4 What s the challenge? a lot of different levels of power in one single country a lot of possible interactions between these different levels 4 What s the Belgian approach? realistic and pragmatic ( innovate while improvising ) strong and lasting political leadership (+ appropriate budgets!) have a long term vision, work in silence, be willing to wait for results other European administrations are interested in our approach 3of 75

4 The Belgian federal state 4 Six consecutive state reforms: from a unitary to a federal state 1970, 1980, 1988, 1993, 2001, 2004 and another one planned for after the next federal elections in Resulting in a very complicated federal system: 1 federal state (10.4 million inhabitants) 3 regions (territory-related) Flanders (6 million inhabitants) Wallonia (3.4 million inhabitants) Brussels Capital Region 3 communities (person-related) Flemish Community French-speaking Community German-speaking Community 10 provinces (5 in Flanders) 589 municipalities (308 in Flanders) regional local 4of 75

5 Regions versus communities 4 Flanders provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Western Flanders, Eastern Flanders and Flemish-Brabant 4 Wallonia provinces of Liège, Hainaut, Namur, Luxemburg and Walloon-Brabant 4 Brussels Capital Region (bilingual) 19 municipalities 5of 75

6 Regions versus communities 4 Flemish Community inhabitants of the Flanders region + Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels 4 French-speaking Community inhabitants of the Wallonia region + French-speaking inhabitants of Brussels 4 German-speaking Community 6of 75

7 Division of competences 4 Regions: territory-related or hard policy sectors Economy and foreign trade Tourism and employment Energy and environment Transport and infrastructure Agriculture and fisheries Regional policy (town and country planning, housing) 4 Communities: person-related or soft policy sectors - Culture - Education - Youth - Sports - Public health - Control over local authorities 4 Federal: residuary powers and left-overs - Social security and taxes - Justice and internal security - Overall foreign policy and defence 7of 75

8 Division of responsibilities 4 No hierarchy in norms regional decree = federal law federal government on an equal footing with regional governments 4 No shared competences competences are either exclusive or mixed every conflict is automatically a conflict of competences various judicial and political mechanisms for dealing with these conflicts 4 Asymmetric regional state structures each region and each community has a parliament and a government in Flanders the institutions of region and community have been merged in the French-speaking part of Belgium the institutions remain separated 1 federal government + administration and 5 regional governments + administrations (and all the local administrations ) = world record? 8of 75

9 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 9of 75

10 What are we trying to achieve? 4Goal: ideally, the Belgian governments together should provide integrated e-government 4 i.e. an e-government that provides the citizen or enterprise with all the information and services he needs without him having to know the internal structure and organization of the government 4 Yesterday: focus on ourselves administrations were working purely based on their own internal logic citizens and enterprises were considered to be nothing more than a necessary evil 4 Today: focus on our customers citizens and enterprises (+ civil servants!) 10 of 75

11 The 7 principles of federal e-government 4 Provide total (e-)solutions for the government customers front-office and back-office working together, people with the right skills 4 Make the structure & organization of the administration irrelevant citizen or enterprise shouldn t have to know his way around 4 Share the data that the administrations already possess citizen or enterprise should have to say it only once 4 Limit the administrative formalities to the absolute minimum avoid using paper, don t ask what we don t need to know 4Guarantee personal privacy to achieve the necessary trust citizen has the right to inspect what we know and what we do with it 4 No extra cost for the citizen or the enterprise 4 Avoid the development of a digital divide 11 of 75

12 The 5 principles of Flemish e-government 4 Accessible = we lower the barriers as much as possible Right-channel access, affordable use 4 User-centered = we listen as best as possible to you Ask beforehand, measure afterwards Readable information, useful services 4 Simplified = we ask as little as possible more than once Once-only data collection, multiple data (re)use Streamlined processing, pro-active service offering 4 Integrated = we work together as closely as possible Sharing data, integrating applications Shared data sources & shared services 4 Secure = we manage & protect your data as best as we can Respect for privacy, right to know how it s used, safe from abuse 12 of 75

13 What the customer wants from e-government Accessible User-centered Simplified less expected by the customers of e-government Integrated Secure 13 of 75

14 What e-government has to do for its customer more efforts demanded from the providers of e-government Accessible User-centered Simplified Integrated Secure 14 of 75

15 Front-office is just the tip of the iceberg FRONT-OFFICE OFFICE Accessible not electronification of the administration BACK-OFFICE User-centered Simplified 20% IT but 80% BPR Integrated Secure 15 of 75

16 We certainly want to avoid this back-office 16 of 75

17 But we also want to avoid this back-office 17 of 75

18 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 18 of 75

19 Similar vision on e-government architecture Portal Authentication services Information Services Back-end systems Authentic data sources Shared applications Secure extranet Integration services Secure intranet Secure extranet Security & Management 19 of 75

20 Similar vision on e-government architecture 4 Integrated e-government requires 7 key building blocks: portal co-ordinated (not centralized!) point of access to e-government services and information authentication services registration, authentication, identification, authorization, digital signature, information and services using shared applications: e-forms, e-payment, e-invoicing, e-procurement, based on authentic data sources about citizens and enterprises integration services for integrating existing or newly built back-end systems both internal and external (other governments, private partners, ) secure intranet and extranet secure data exchange & application integration both inside and outside covered by the necessary security and the appropriate management 20 of 75

21 Federal e-government architecture SECURITY & PRIVACY USER MGT. FedPORTAL OTHER INSTITUTIONS AUTHENTIC AUTHENTIC DATA DATA SOURCES SOURCES access access to to information information & services services UME UME (Universal Messaging Engine) FedMAN network FPS FPS MinInt MinInt FPS FPS MinFin MinFin FPS FPS MinEco MinEco... FPS FPS MinSoc MinSoc OTHER GOVERNMENTS 21 of 75

22 Flemish e-government architecture FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES OF FLANDERS INDEPENDENT FLEMISH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LOCAL GOVERNMENT ordinary citizens civil servants special groups ACM (Access Control Management) ACM (Access Control Management) U M E frontoffice frontoffice Flemish portal frontoffice own website frontoffice frontoffice own website frontoffice own website own website frontoffice frontoffice own website frontoffice own website KSZ RR information services information services information services information services information services information services information services information services information services KBO backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice VIP (Flemish Integration Platform) VIP (Flemish Integration Platform) VKBO VKBP CRAB 4 A secure service-oriented architecture using the Belgian eid card to access and use authentic data sources in federal, regional and local government 22 of 75

23 Authentic data sources 4 The guiding principle of Belgian integrated e-government: once-only data collection, multiple data (re)use i.e. a government that does not ask for what it already knows is truly certain of what it knows 4 Why do we want to achieve this? to improve service delivery by the government reduce administrative burden for enterprises pro-active delivery of entitlements to citizens to improve the internal operations of the administration avoid unnecessary double work (data entry & quality) simplify and streamline existing administrative processes 4 What s the problem in achieving this? 23 of 75

24 What s the problem? 4 Multitude of government services citizens enterprises (government government) institutions information information information EDUCATION get a study grant, ECONOMY get an industrial subsidy, find a job, CULTURE get a cultural subsidy, action(s) action(s) action(s) citizens enterprises (government government) institutions each government service requires information to perform its action(s) each service likes to believe that its information needs are unique 24 of 75

25 What s the problem? 4 Multitude of government processes citizens enterprises (government government) institutions information information information GOVERNMENT PROCESS collect data collect and use data use data GOVERNMENT PROCESS collect data collect and use data use data GOVERNMENT PROCESS collect and use data action(s) action(s) action(s) citizens enterprises (government government) institutions similar data for different government processes problems of data collection, data handling, data sharing 25 of 75

26 What s the solution? 4The use of authentic data sources citizens enterprises (government government) institutions information information AUTHENTIC DATA SOURCES collect all relevant data GOVERNMENT PROCESS collect and use data GOVT. PROCESS use data GOVT. PROCESS use data action(s) action(s) action(s) citizens enterprises (government government) institutions single sources of data that can considered to be authentic once-only data collection, multiple data (re)use 26 of 75

27 Types of government data sources base registers registers authentic data sources data sources 27 of 75

28 Types of government data sources 4 Non-authentic data sources data sources that have been created and are being managed by government entities according to their own needs and requirements contain missing data, wrong data, no longer correct data 4 Authentic data sources high quality data sources, with explicit guarantees about the quality of the data (the completeness, correctness and timeliness) and about the appropriate use that can be made of that data 4 Registers authentic data sources, created to satisfy a federal law or regional decree, that can be used by other government entities 4 Base registers registers that by law must be used by other government entities 28 of 75

29 Types of authentic data sources DATABASE CROSSROADS BANK RR KSZ (authentic) data sources in the network of social security 4 Database: contains authentic data adheres to strict rules on data management who collects/checks/updates, what data, about whom, for how long, for what purpose, 4 Crossroads bank (references database): does not contain authentic data, but points to databases with authentic data and makes it possible to exchange data between these and other databases adheres to strict rules on data exchange who can ask, who can provide, what data, about whom, for what purpose, 29 of 75

30 System of authentic data sources 4 Federal: Rijksregister (RR, National Register for Natural Persons) is a database that serves as an authentic data source with data on natural persons Kruispuntbank Sociale Zekerheid (KSZ, Crossroads Bank for Social Security) is a references database pointing to authentic data sources within the different institutions of the social security sector (e.g. child care and holiday pay) Kruispuntbank Ondernemingen (KBO, Crossroads Bank for Enterprises) is a references database pointing to authentic data sources with data on enterprises 4 Flemish: Verrijkte Kruispuntbank Ondernemingen (VKBO, Enriched Crossroads Bank for Enterprises) will offer an enrichment of the data provided by the federal KBO data on schools & hospitals, information on Flemish dossiers about enterprises Verrijkte Kruispuntbank Personen (VKBP, Enriched Crossroads Bank for Persons) will offer an enrichment of the data provided by the federal KSZ + RR data on cultural & social organisations, information on Flemish dossiers about persons Centraal Referentie Adressen Bestand (CRAB, Central Reference Database on Addresses) is a database that serves as an authentic data source for addresses Grootschalig Referentie Bestand (GRB, Large-scale Reference Database) is a references database pointing to authentic data sources on buildings 30 of 75

31 System of authentic data sources (Persons) (Addresses) (Cartographic maps) RR + KSZ / VKBP CRAB??? (Enterprises) (Buildings) (Cadastral maps) KBO / VKBO GRB Kadaster Federal / Flemish authentic data sources 31 of 75

32 Using each others authentic data sources FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES OF FLANDERS INDEPENDENT FLEMISH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LOCAL GOVERNMENT ordinary citizens civil servants special groups ACM (Access Control Management) ACM (Access Control Management) U M E frontoffice frontoffice Flemish portal frontoffice own website frontoffice frontoffice own website frontoffice own website own website frontoffice frontoffice own website frontoffice own website KSZ RR information services information services information services information services information services information services information services information services information services KBO backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice backoffice VIP (Flemish Integration Platform) VIP (Flemish Integration Platform) VKBO VKBP CRAB 4 A secure service-oriented architecture using the Belgian eid card to access and use authentic data sources in federal, regional and local government 32 of 75

33 Benefits of using authentic data sources 4 Example of the federal Crossroads Bank for Social Security: 185 electronic services for mutual information exchange amongst actors in the social sector, defined after process optimization nearly all direct or indirect (via citizens or enterprises) paper-based information exchange between actors in the social sector has been abolished in 2005, half a billion electronic messages were exchanged amongst actors in the social sector, which saved as many paper exchanges 34 electronic services for employers, either based on the electronic exchange of structured messages between software applications of the employers and software applications of the actors in the social sector, or via an integrated portal site 50 social security declaration forms have been abolished in the remaining 30 declaration forms the number of headings has on average been reduced to a third of the previous number in 2005, 15.7 million electronic declarations were made by all 220,000 employers, 98 % of which from application to application 33 of 75

34 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 34 of 75

35 Single legal framework for protecting privacy 4 When using these authentic data sources and exchanging data, how do Belgian governments avoid becoming big brothers? 4 Government has to respect: European Convention on Human Rights, article 8: Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life Interference is only allowed when in accordance with the law, and if it is necessary in a democratic society Belgian Constitution, article 22: Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life Except such as is in accordance with, and within the conditions of the law European Directives: Directive on Personal Data Protection 1995/46/EC Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications 2002/58/EC both transposed into Belgian law (in 1998 and 2005) specific laws on National Register for Natural Persons (1983), Crossroads Bank for Social Security (1990) and Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (2003) 35 of 75

36 Single legal framework for protecting privacy 4 Basic definitions in the Belgian law on privacy are very broad: processing: any (electronic) operation or set of (electronic) operations create, store, modify, exchange, link with one another, personal data: any information about an identified or identifiable natural person including their unique identification numbers! 4 Guiding principles of Belgian law on privacy: Principle of Legitimacy Law or decree as a legal basis for the processing of personal data Principle of Finality Personal data can only be processed for a well-defined and legitimate purpose Principle of Proportionality Only relevant (pertinent, necessary and not excessive) data needed to achieve the purpose can be processed + Data can be kept no longer than needed for the purpose Principle of Transparency Citizens have a right to inspect which personal data of theirs is processed, for what purposes and by whom 36 of 75

37 Single legal framework for protecting privacy 4 The exchange of personal data is only allowed: with prior permission from the Commission for the Protection of Personal Privacy sectoral Committees: Social Security, National Register, Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, Federal Government, Justice check legality, finality and proportionality keeps a register of permitted exchanges of personal data with prior control whether the permission is being respected before every exchange of personal data using a trusted third party (e.g. KSZ) with additional security measures in place: independent security consultants, security plan, logging and auditing, 4 Strong but sometimes very rigid legal framework federal government has given itself more room for manoeuvre KSZ created by law as the trusted third party for the whole social sector Flemish government would like to get similar room for manoeuvre creation by decree of a Flemish trusted third party + own sectoral committee 37 of 75

38 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 38 of 75

39 Organisational support for e-government 4 At each government level is a similar type of e-government unit: separate central unit with horizontal responsibilities responsibility for e-government service provision stays in the vertical departments and agencies primary mission: to be a facilitator help define e-government vision and formulate e-government policy stimulate, co-ordinate, support and advise, communicate e-government actions & initiatives and projects secondary mission: to be an enabler develop the building blocks for the e-government back-end define the necessary e-government standards interoperability, security, identity, offer the right e-government guidelines meta-data, archiving, accessibility, usability, privacy, in continuous dialogue and close co-operation with the own vertical departments and agencies, and with the other e-government units through formal working groups (and lots of informal meetings!) 39 of 75

40 The different e-government units 4 Federal: FedICT horizontal FPS (Federal Public Service) focus on ICT and e-government 4 pillars: information management, service management, standards and architecture, project management 4 Flanders: CORVE ( ) interdepartmental co-ordination cell focus on e-government only key activities: VIP platform, Magda programme, VIP projects 4 Wallonia: EASI-WAL (E-Administration and SImplification) special Commissariat focus on e-government and administrative simplification key activities: 8 transversal building sites and 22 sectoral activities 40 of 75

41 Size and importance of the e-government units 4 FedICT: Annual budget: 30 million Euro Personnel: 54 ( 83) + Crossroads Bank for Social Security: Annual budget: 14.2 million Euro Personnel: 70 + National Register, Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, 4 CORVE ( ): Annual budget: 3.8 million Euro Personnel: 6 ( 12) 4 EASI-WAL (E-Administration and SImplification -Wallonia): Annual budget: 2.7 million Euro Personnel: of 75

42 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4 Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 42 of 75

43 E-government at the political level 4 E-government does not have the same political priority at all levels Federal: e-government falls under the responsibility of the Minister of Work and Informatisation of the State used to be under the Prime-Minister, but is still followed up by him e-government is used as a tool by all the ministers in the federal government Flanders: e-government now falls under the responsibility of the Minister for Administrative Affairs, Foreign Policy, Media and Tourism other government ministers are invited to contribute to the Flemish e-government programme Wallonia: e-government still falls under the responsibility of the Minister-President other government ministers are encouraged to contribute to the Walloon e-government programme 4 A lot is done on a voluntary basis, but not on a mandatory basis e-government action plans, e-government policy notes, calls to action, 43 of 75

44 Joint political agreement 4 Intergovernmental e-government co-operation agreement: official 4-year co-operation agreement between the federal government and all the regional governments first agreement in 2001: intention-based services, joint portal platform, joint transaction engine, eid use use of the same unique identification numbers and authentic data sources second agreement in 2005: integrated e-government stated as an explicit intergovernmental goal definition of the principles of integrated e-government: intention-based services, joint use of authentic data sources, maximum interoperability (organisational, semantical, technical), maximum reuse of components working groups (bi-monthly): unique identification numbers, authentic data sources, content, architecture, security & privacy (+ public e-procurement) special focus on: joint development ( mutualisation ) of key e-government back-end building blocks, sharing information and best practices, continuous dialogue with local governments 44 of 75

45 Joint political event 4 Yearly Belgian e-government conference: since 2003, organised by TMAB ( an occasion for everybody involved in Belgian e-government (politicians, civil servants and stakeholders) to get to know each other a moment for making bold announcements about future plans and for clearly demonstrating political commitment 4 Belgian e-gov awards: since 2004 awards in different categories: achievements in the front-office / back-office at the federal / Flemish / Walloon / Brussels / local level a way of recognizing the efforts of all the people involved a means of getting media coverage about the most important new e-government services and initiatives launched during the past year 45 of 75

46 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 46 of 75

47 Intention-based portal navigation 4 When the first Belgian government portals were being built, a choice had to be made on the navigation structure to be used not an organisational / thematic navigation structure too much supply-driven instead of demand-driven but an intention-based navigation structure based on life events, i.e. significant moments in the life of a citizen / enterprise at that time widely considered to be the best practice for government portal navigation of 75

48 Intention-based navigation: citizens life events 48 of 75

49 Intention-based navigation: enterprises life events 49 of 75

50 Same intention-based portal navigation? Federal and Walloon portal navigation structure is only partially the same, the Flemish portal navigation structure is (again) completely thematic based on the experience of the Flemish Infolijn (government call-center) lack of dialogue and agreement between the different levels of government 50 of 75

51 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 51 of 75

52 Shared definition of authentication needs 4 Soft authentication something that you know 4Hard authentication something that you have or that you are (biometry) Security level 0: public access Security level 1: user ID + password Security level 2: user ID + password + token Security level 3: eid Level 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 52 of 75

53 Belgian eid card project 4Aim: to give Belgian citizens an electronic identity card enabling them to authenticate themselves towards diverse e-government applications and to sign with qualified electronic signatures Proof of identity Signature tool 4 Electronic data = visible data + address 4 Authentication + signature certificates 4 No encryption certificate 4 No biometric data (yet) 4 No electronic purse 4 No storage of other data 53 of 75

54 Belgian eid card uptake 4 more than 3,5 million active eid cards 3,500,000 cards (but only 8% have a card reader and less than 1% have already used their card on-line) 4 ~10,000 eid cards produced per day # eid certificats ,000,000 certificates : end of rollout 8 million eid cards for citizens > 12 years ,3 million eid cards for citizens < 12 years sep/05 okt/05 nov/05 dec/05 jan/06 Source: Certification Authority end June of 75

55 Shared government authentication services 4 Flemish ACM (Access Control Management) takes care of: authentication offer the user the possibility to prove who he/she really is identification find out with certainty about the user who he/she really is authorisation through identity management access: give the user access to certain information & services use: allow the user to do something with that information & those services single sign-on + personalisation give the user access to multiple information & services by authenticating himself/herself only once + adapting the available offer to his/her profile Benefits to Flemish government agencies: can avoid the cost of building their own secure access solution are prepared for future technological evolutions in eid technology 55 of 75

56 Shared government authentication services federal authentication and identity data Flemish government website 2. Authenticate user at security level X 6. If authenticationok, receive identity data: rijksregisternummer (RRN) 5. Send authentication data username + password 8. Please come in 1. Log in on website to gain access to Information or service 7. Have authenticated user, here are his/her identity data 3. Choose authentication method and identify yourself 4. Give authentication data ACM federal token federal eid federal eid + biometry 56 of 75

57 Shared government authentication services 4 Advantages: reliable authentication and identification of the government customer all the problems of authentication and identity management, i.e. physically delivering the federal token / electronic identity card (eid) providing a helpdesk for solving user problems during delivery or use eid: management of the electronic certificates (validation / revocation) are gladly outsourced to the federal government 4 Disadvantages: citizen needs to have a federal token or eid to get access the application being accessed needs to have the legal authorisation to use the rijksregisternummer (RRN), i.e. comply with privacy law get permission, appoint security consultant, implement security plan, the application being accessed needs to be capable of using the RRN, i.e. the RRN has to be used internally as the unique identifying key 57 of 75

58 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 58 of 75

59 Public e-procurement 4 Public e-procurement should be every government s priority: public procurement in EU is estimated to be at about 16% of the EU s GDP or 1,500 billion in 2002 e-procurement can lead to 30% savings in administrative costs for government, and 10 to 50% savings in money spent on procurement 4 Public e-procurement is certainly an European priority: European directives 2004/17/EG and 2004/18/EG on public e-procurement to be transposed in national law by 31st January 2006 political commitment expressed in the i2010 egovernment Action Plan: by 2010, 100% of public procurement can be carried out electronically, with 50% actual usage above the EU public procurement threshold 4Public e-procurement is also a Belgian priority: federal public e-procurement roadmap, calling for joint development ( mutualisation ) of key e-procurement building blocks save money! 59 of 75

60 Joint public e-procurement: what should happen joint development separate development enotification etendering eawarding eordering einvoicing/epayment Preparation of Notice Publication of Notice Q&A Session Submission of Tenders eauction Bid Evaluation ecatalogues Placing of Orders Orders Invoicing Orders Payment FEDERAL WALLONIA FLANDERS 4 joint development ( mutualisation ) of key e-procurement building blocks joint specification, separate development and financing, integration 60 of 75

61 Joint public e-procurement: what is happening enotification etendering eawarding eordering einvoicing/epayment Preparation of Notice Publication of Notice Q&A Session Submission of Tenders eauction Bid Evaluation ecatalogues Placing of Orders Orders Invoicing Orders Payment FEDERAL operational (since 2002) being developed (june 2006) being specificied togetherwith the French government! talks to WALLONIA operational (since 2004) has been prototyped (end 2005) talks to FLANDERS commercially available (since 2003) 4 federal government is moving full speed ahead (political will, financial means) regional governments will have to decide: build as-wanted or take as-is? 61 of 75

62 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 62 of 75

63 Remaining challenge: local e-government 4Where are new e-government services needed most? federal government: few competences and little direct interaction with government customers (except for social security and taxes) regional governments: lots of competences but also little direct interaction with government customers (except for grants and subsidies) local governments: municipalities is where most of the direct interaction with the government customers (especially citizens) takes place e-government should be most visible at the local level! 4 Problems: local authorities have different needs and different capabilities 13 Flemish central cities (Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, ) have well-established and successful e-government offerings smaller municipalities have a lot less or very little at all to offer both the federal and the regional level are still looking for the right model to co-operate successfully with the local level 63 of 75

64 Centralized/de-centralized model 4 Finding the right balance between centralized: provide central point of access & data collection infrastructure de-centralized: create and manage local data, use collected data locally robust technical infrastructure & substantial organisational support 4 Flemish examples: Premiezoeker (Subsidy Search System) tells the citizen, using automatically generated question lists, which local, provincial, regional and federal housing subsidies he is entitled to CultuurWeb (Culture Portal) makes basic information about all the cultural activities in Flanders better available, using multiple channels, tailored to the needs of the public future: Government products and services catalogue should give a description of (and provide access to) all products and (e-)services offered by local, provincial, regional and federal governments 64 of 75

65 Centralized/de-centralized model CultuurWeb Culture portal for Flanders serving as a one-stop shop Web Services Immediate publication using multiple access channels CultuurDatabank an open technical platform storing basic information about all the cultural activities in Flanders (including Brussels) Partner channels and media Information management De-centralized input, validation and management of cultural data Information exchange Two-way exchange of data with existing local cultural databases Partner databases 65 of 75

66 Remaining challenge: public/private partnerships 4 Several PPP successes at the federal level: project PeeCeeFobie ( PeeCeeFobia ) sensibilisation of Belgian citizens (together with the ICT-sector) media campaign, book and website, safe internet weekend project Internet Voor Iedereen ( Internet for all ) basic e-government package (fixed price, with tax credit) desktop/laptop + card reader, internet connection, training 200 Enterprise Service Counters operated by 10 private institutions using the KBO, the time needed to create an enterprise is reduced to 3 days 4 Almost no PPP successes at the Flemish level: a lot of experience with hard infrastructure provision projects road construction, school buildings, no experience with soft service provision projects a first attempt: a public e-procurement enotification site as an ASP service 66 of 75

67 Achieving integrated e-government 4 The Belgian federal state 4 What are we trying to achieve? 4 How are we trying to achieve this? technological & legal organisational political 4Illustrative examples of integrated e-government unsuccessful: use of the same intention-based portal navigation successful: shared e-government authentication services not (yet?) successful: joint public e-procurement 4 Challenges that still remain open 4 Lessons that we ve learned 4 Conclusions 67 of 75

68 Lessons that we ve learned 4 More than 15 years of federal e-government and almost 10 years of Flemish e-government has taught us: -lesson 1: Proceed slowly but steadily -lesson 2: Create realistic expectations -lesson 3: Involve all levels of government -lesson 4: Accommodate the user s true needs -lesson 5: Set the correct technological priorities 68 of 75

69 Lesson 1: Proceed slowly but steadily 4 Evolving from a supply-oriented towards a demand-oriented e-government requires a fundamental rethinking of the organisation and processes of the administration 4 The big challenge is not to manage the introduction of new technologies, but to manage the resulting changes in the organisation and processes of the administration 4 E-government success requires belief, hope and love belief: civil servants who stay motivated to experiment and innovate hope: politicians who keep providing the necessary financial resources love: citizens and enterprises who remain excited about e-government 4 Think big, start small, scale fast slowly but steadily e-government success comes by taking little but continuous steps forward 69 of 75

70 Lesson 2: Create realistic expectations 4 The politicians have to be taught the crucial difference between an e-government quick win and a deep change quick win: fast result, but doubtful sustainability deep change: slow progress, but lasting improvement 4 Avoid preventable disappointments when offering a completely new e-government service first test, re-test and test again then launch silently using a restricted test audience finally open to the public at large, but with the necessary warnings 4 Offering new e-government services prematurely without truly changing the underlying processes and back-office will inevitably make the government look worse rather than better 70 of 75

71 Lesson 3: Involve all levels of government 4 The federal state structure (with different levels of government: federal, regional, provincial, local) has made the Belgian e-government challenge extra complicated continuous open dialogue and lots of good will are necessary re-using technical solutions and adhering to the same technical standards can help, but the real devil is in the organisational details 4 Local government is the first point of contact of the citizens, but they have the least people and resources available to create a full-fledged e-government services offering close co-operation of the local level of government with the higher levels of government is crucial 4 The demands of the European level are only increasing! i2010 egovernment Action Plan asks for more high-impact key services 71 of 75

72 Lesson 4: Accommodate the user s true needs 4 The biggest challenge: the people that need our services most are precisely the people who make the least use of the internet continued and sustained efforts to bridge the digital divide 4 The more complicated the interaction with the government, the less likely the average user is to do this using the Internet the telephone has been and remains the favourite way of contacting and interacting with the government channel integration, not substitution the classic person-to-person service provision has to stay, but should be better supported by advanced technological means even more efforts have to go into accessibility and user-friendliness 4 E-government does not save much money the first couple of years, it may even require some additional money because the classic offline services still have to be offered as well 72 of 75

73 Lesson 5: Set the correct technological priorities 4 Front-end: build with the user in mind transaction > interaction > information, but... understandable information > interaction user-friendly interaction > transaction offer e-services through the correct, not all possible access channels 4 Back-end: think first, build second the creation of authentic data sources, the safe exchange of data, the alignment of administrative processes,... require far more thought (dialogue, agreements, standards, guidelines) than action 4 Avoid fruitless discussions about goals and means put IT-people with enough government business knowledge together with government business -people with enough IT knowledge let politicians formulate the necessary ambitious goals, but make sure that they then also provide the necessary people and financial means 73 of 75

74 Conclusions E-government success is the result of political commitment financial commitment organisational commitment above all personal commitment! 74 of 75

75 Thank you for your attention Any questions? More information about Flemish e-government and the : 75 of 75