Digital transformation Germany is taking e-government initiatives. But, it still ranks low on international benchmarks. Why is this the case?
Read on to know more.
Digital Transformation Germany: e-Government Initiatives
It’s been years since Germany has taken some e-government initiatives. But it is still not enough.
This is because there are few online services available for residents and businesses. Also, the services available are not that user-friendly.
As a result, few are using their digital public services.
So, they made the Online Access Act. This acts requires all public services to be available online by the end of 2022.
Meaning, all 575 services in all German government levels.
Thus, what are its government doing to digitalize its services and reach the deadline?
Federal System Digital Transformation
Germany has the IT Planning Council. It is the policy management body for IT and e-government.
Its objectives are:
- Enable cooperation in all Germany’s governance system
- Give user-friendly digital services
- Provide needed operations for public administration
In 2018, it made the Federal IT Cooperation Body (FITKO). And this needs to work together with the Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community.
These two are going to take the lead in the digitalization program in the country. And with only 5 years in their hands, they need to make sure they are efficient in all their steps.
Users-first Approach
To succeed in making users-first services, the German government is taking different steps. One that goes through organizational boundaries and responsibilities.
So, what they did is to cluster all 575 public services into 14 thematic areas. Such as:
- Health
- Family and children
- Work and retirement
And each area has a head: a federal ministry and a federal state. They are then taking the lead in digitalizing the services within the thematic area.
The idea behind this is the division of labor. This is so that each federal state can help each other end enjoy each one’s efforts.
Also, this can help avoid duplication and ensure uniformity.
Additionally, the user-first approach is analyzed from the user’s eyes. One sample of this is from the view of German parents.
After their child is born, they need to apply for a lot of services. And that is done with different government offices. These are for:
- birth announcement
- child allowance
- parental benefit
And in these services, they need to give the same information again and again. But with the user-first approach, they aim to ease this with digital solutions.
In making this, they placed the services in one thematic area based on one thing. Its digitalization potential.
But there are challenges in making and giving these services.
Digital Transformation Germany: Challenges
One of the challenges they are facing is how to make these digital ideas into reality. And this needs to be a useful service on a very large scale.
So, policymakers and service-delivery agencies are still working together to succeed. Aside from the efforts they are making, they are getting ideas outside the country.
With all these, hopefully, 2022 will see a successful digital transformation for Germany.
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