Digital Iceland
Iceland ranks # 4 in Digital in Europe
4th August 2022
Iceland lands 4th place in eGovernment Benchmark 2022 and continues to climb the list, following Malta, Estonia, and Luxemburg.
This success results from the Icelandic Government's emphasis on digital public service through policy changes to become global leaders in digital. Through digital, Iceland aims to increase its competitiveness, provide better public service, improve infrastructure safety, and have a more modern work environment.
Digital Iceland has led this transformation over the last couple of years by supporting Icelandic institutions on their journey. Investing in digital has already proven fruitful both financially and in better public service.
The Icelandic government aims to make digital services the primary means of communication between its agencies and the Icelandic people, as it can simplify processes for all. Digital Iceland, operated by the ministry of finance and economic affairs, works toward these goals across all ministries and government agencies.
Bjarni Benediktsson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs: "In the last few years we have set high goals in this important and constantly evolving field. I am very pleased to see those goals achieved by our excellent team. This result is a recognition of how hard we have worked and we are determined to build upon that work, aiming even higher in the coming the years to come ".
Iceland has made significant transformations in a short time but still feels it is at the starting line, so it will be interesting and educational to follow up on their story over the next few years.
On eGovernment Benchmark: (from eGov)
The eGovernment Benchmark compares how governments deliver digital public services across Europe. It has become an internationally recognised study that sheds light on eGovernment in 36 European countries by evaluating so-called life events based on specific indicators. Life events include packages of government services that support citizens or entrepreneurs through key points of their lives, such as the birth of a child or starting a business.
These indicators are clustered within 4 main top-level benchmarks:
User Centricity
– indicates the extent to which a service is provided online, its mobile friendliness, and usability in terms of available online support and feedback mechanisms.
Transparency
The process of delivery
the responsibilities and performance of public organisations
The personal data processed in public services.
– indicates the extent to which governments are transparent about:
Cross-Border Mobility
– indicates the extent to which users of public services from another European country can use the online services.
Key Enablers
– indicates the extent to which technical and organisational pre-conditions for eGovernment service provision are in place, such as electronic identification and authentic sources.