EVA Report ‘In Search of Modern Times’ is published

The report points out that without well-functioning online services we’re not going to be able to face the challenges posed by aging population, financial crisis and globalisation.

According to the most essential indicators Finland is no longer on the cutting edge of the information society development. Several studies demonstrate that Finland is in this sense less developed as e.g. Sweden and Denmark.

Fortunately, Finland has the capacity to improve. We have know-how and mature solutions so all we need is decisions and implementation.

The report’s recommendations highlight the central role of the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry should assure that the different information systems in the public sector will be made compatible with each other. It is highly important that the public sector will get collective information system architecture and shared registers.

To speed up the deployment of some digital services, eg electronic invoicing, is also recommended. The public sector should liberalize its large information reserves and enable their usage for new value-creating private activities.

The public services have to made available online through personal online accounts, the so called ‘citizens’ homepages’.

The writer of the report as well as the steering group believe that these practises could create conditions for growth of productivity both in the public and in the private sectors.

The report is available only in Finnish and can be downloaded here

Liite: 2570_Announcement_2010.pdf