What You Should Do To Build a Functional E-government - Estonia | Margus Mägi | TEDxBratislava

Summary

The speaker discusses Estonia's digital transformation, highlighting how e-services have revolutionized daily life, from establishing companies to filing taxes online. Estonia's approach to digital governance, including the use of a national ID card for secure access to services and the 'once-only' principle to minimize paperwork, is emphasized. The talk also touches on the country's vision for the future, with plans to expand its digital community through e-residency and the concept of Government 5.0, aiming for seamless, proactive public services.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Estonia has a highly developed digital infrastructure that allows for almost all government services to be conducted online.
• 🏢 It's possible to establish a company in Estonia within 18 minutes online, highlighting the efficiency of their e-services.
• 📱 Tax filing in Estonia is streamlined, with most information prefilled and the process often taking only a few minutes.
• 🏥 Citizens have online access to their medical records and can share them with healthcare providers of their choice.
• 💊 Prescriptions can be managed online, allowing for the purchase of medicine from any pharmacy without physical paperwork.
• 📱 The Estonian government has been proactive in embracing technology, as illustrated by the former president's story about setting the national anthem as his ringtone.
• 🌉 The country's history of invasions and geographical dispersion has influenced its approach to governance and technology, favoring distributed systems.
• 🏛️ Estonia's government services are built on a distributed architecture where each ministry manages its own信息系统, but data is shared among them as needed.
• 🔐 The national ID card in Estonia serves as a secure digital identity, enabling citizens to access services and provide signatures without physical visits to government offices.
• 📉 Estonia has one of the lowest corruption rates globally, with a high percentage of financial transactions and tax filings happening online.
• 🚀 The Estonian government is working towards 'Government 5.0', aiming to provide services without requiring citizens to submit applications, instead using existing data.
• 🌟 The e-Residency program allows non-Estonians to access Estonian e-services, potentially expanding the country's influence and economic reach.

Q & A

What is the significance of the Estonian e-services mentioned in the script?

The Estonian e-services are significant because they enable citizens to perform almost all government-related tasks online, such as establishing a company, filing taxes, and accessing medical records, which greatly simplifies administrative processes and reduces the need for physical presence at government offices.

How long does it take to establish a company in Estonia using online services?

According to the script, it is possible to establish a company in Estonia within 18 minutes using online services.

What is the 'once-only' principle mentioned in the script?

The 'once-only' principle refers to a concept where citizens only need to provide their information to a government institution once, after which the institution is obligated to reuse this information without asking for it again.

What role does the Estonian ID card play in the country's e-services?

The Estonian ID card, which contains a chip, allows citizens to log into any governmental service without pre-registration and to give digital signatures, enabling them to conduct transactions and sign documents from home without visiting a government office.

Why did Estonia look towards Finland for inspiration during its development?

Estonia looked towards Finland because it was seen as a model country with higher income, low corruption, a proper government structure, and technological advancements like Nokia, which Estonia aimed to emulate.

What does the term 'e-resident' mean in the context of Estonia?

An 'e-resident' refers to a non-Estonian citizen who has access to Estonian e-services through a digital ID card. This allows them to establish a company, open a bank account, and sign documents digitally and legally, all from a distance.

What is the goal of Estonia's e-residency program by 2025?

The goal of Estonia's e-residency program is to increase the number of e-residents to 10 million by 2025, effectively expanding the nation's capabilities and influence in a digital context.

How does Estonia's approach to government services differ from traditional models?

Estonia's approach differs by focusing on digitalization and data sharing between government institutions, reducing the need for citizens to repeatedly provide the same information. It also aims to automate services to the point where the government works 'behind the scenes' without requiring extensive applications from citizens.

What is the 'Government 5.0' concept mentioned in the script?

Government 5.0 refers to the future vision of Estonia's government services where all necessary information about citizens is already known to the government, allowing for seamless service provision without the need for citizens to submit extensive applications.

What is the historical context behind Estonia's distributed approach to governance?

The historical context is rooted in Estonia's past as a small nation that has been invaded multiple times. This led to a survival instinct of living in dispersed, self-sufficient communities, which influenced the country's approach to building a distributed, rather than centralized, information system for its government services.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Estonia's Digital Transformation

The speaker introduces Estonia as a country that has successfully implemented eServices, allowing citizens to conduct a wide range of government-related tasks online. These services include registering a company, filing taxes, and accessing medical records. The talk highlights how Estonia has managed to digitize its public services to the extent that it can save time and reduce the need for physical documentation. The story of Estonia's former president, Mr. Leonard Murray, and his quest to have the Estonian anthem as his mobile ringtone exemplifies the nation's innovative spirit and its drive to find solutions that benefit its citizens.

05:03

🏡 Estonia's Historical Survival Instinct and Digital Architecture

The speaker discusses Estonia's historical context, explaining how the country's geographical location and past invasions have shaped its people's survival instincts, leading to a dispersed living pattern. This historical perspective is connected to Estonia's approach to building its government services. The country opted for a distributed architecture for its information systems, where each ministry manages its own data but shares information with citizens as the data owners. This approach has enabled Estonia to implement the 'once-only' principle, reducing the need for citizens to repeatedly submit the same information to different government institutions.

10:03

🌟 Estonia's Vision for a Seamless Government Experience

The speaker outlines Estonia's ambitions to further digitize its government services, aiming to make the process seamless and invisible to the citizens. Estonia is recognized as one of the least corrupt countries with a high percentage of online transactions and digital voting. The concept of 'e-Residency' is introduced, allowing non-Estonians to access Estonian eServices and participate in the digital economy. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need for strong political will and modern legislation to achieve a truly digital society and encourages the audience to support politicians who are committed to driving this change.

Keywords

💡eServices

eServices refer to electronic services provided by the government to its citizens, allowing them to perform various tasks online without the need for physical presence. In the context of the video, Estonia has implemented a vast array of eServices, enabling citizens to establish companies, file taxes, and access medical records online, exemplifying the country's digital transformation and reducing the need for physical queues and paperwork.

💡Digital Signature

A digital signature is a type of electronic signature that provides the authenticity and integrity of a message or document. The video highlights how Estonian citizens can use digital signatures to sign documents from home, eliminating the need to visit government offices. This technology is a cornerstone of Estonia's e-governance, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency.

💡Once-Only Principle

The once-only principle is a concept where citizens are required to submit their information to the government only once, after which the government has the responsibility to reuse this information across different departments. This principle is crucial in Estonia's e-governance model, as it reduces redundancy and the burden on citizens, as illustrated by the video where citizens do not need to repeatedly provide the same information for different services.

💡National ID Card

The national ID card in Estonia is more than just an identification document; it contains a chip that allows citizens to access various government services online and perform secure digital transactions. The video emphasizes the role of the national ID card in Estonia's digital society, enabling services like online banking and digital signatures, which are integral to the country's e-governance system.

💡eResidency

eResidency is a government startup initiative by Estonia that allows non-Estonians to access Estonian e-services, including company establishment, banking, and digital document signing. The video discusses eResidency as a means to expand Estonia's digital community and economy, aiming to increase the country's effective population by attracting global citizens to participate in the Estonian digital ecosystem.

💡Digital Transformation

Digital transformation refers to the process of converting traditional methods and systems into digital formats to improve efficiency and accessibility. The video showcases Estonia's journey of digital transformation, where the government has digitized its services, making them accessible online and significantly reducing the need for physical interaction, thus enhancing the quality of public services.

💡Centralized vs. Distributed Architecture

The video discusses the choice between centralized and distributed information systems architecture in the context of Estonia's e-governance. Estonia opted for a distributed architecture where each ministry manages its own information system, but data is shared among them, allowing for a more flexible and efficient service delivery model that respects data ownership and privacy.

💡Legislation Adaptation

Legislation adaptation is the process of updating laws to align with new technologies and societal changes. The video emphasizes the importance of Estonia updating its laws, such as the digital signature law in 2000, to support the digitalization of government services and to ensure that the legal framework supports the country's digital ambitions.

💡Corruption Reduction

The video mentions Estonia as one of the least corrupted countries in the world, attributing this in part to the implementation of eServices and digital governance. By digitizing government processes, transparency is increased, and opportunities for corruption are reduced, as transactions are logged and traceable, enhancing the integrity of public services.

💡Government 5.0

Government 5.0 is a concept introduced in the video that refers to the next generation of government services, where the government operates seamlessly in the background, using existing data about citizens to provide services proactively without requiring additional input from them. This represents a shift towards a more proactive and citizen-centric approach to governance, aiming to further reduce bureaucracy and improve service delivery.

Highlights

Estonia has a vast amount of eServices, allowing citizens to perform almost all government-related tasks online.

Establishing a company in Estonia can be done within 18 minutes online without leaving home.

Tax filings in Estonia are streamlined, taking only five minutes with prefilled information and mobile phone assistance.

Estonian citizens can view their medical records online and choose hospitals and doctors to share them with.

Estonia's ePrescribing system allows for purchasing medicine from any pharmacy of choice.

The Estonian government's approach to digital services was inspired by the need to serve a dispersed population efficiently.

Estonia adopted a distributed architecture for its information systems, allowing each ministry to manage its own data.

The 'once-only' principle in Estonia means citizens only need to submit information to the government once.

Estonia's national ID card enables citizens to log into any government service and provide digital signatures.

Estonia has one of the lowest corruption rates globally, with 99% of bank transactions and 98% of taxes filed online.

30% of votes for Estonia's Parliament are cast over the Internet.

Estonia is working towards Government 5.0, aiming to provide services without requiring applications from citizens.

The e-Residency program allows non-Estonians to access Estonian eServices and establish companies online.

Estonia aims to become a 'big nation' by 2025, expanding its e-Residency program to include 10 million virtual residents.

Strong political will and modern legislation are essential for implementing a digital government like Estonia's.

Estonia's digital transformation is a model for other countries seeking to reduce bureaucracy and improve citizen services.

Transcripts

have you ever imagined a country without

queues have you ever imagined the

situation when you have a newborn and

you want to give her a name and you

would not have to take her to the

government office especially when the

weather is like this have you ever

imagined the situation that you would

not have to carry loads of papers from

one office to another in order to prove

that you are you this is actually

possible today I'm going to tell you

about Estonia and the Estonia and how we

have managed to do that in Estonia we

have a vast amount of eServices pretty

much you can do almost everything online

you can establish a company within 18

minutes online without leaving a home

you can file your taxes in a bus with

the help of your mobile phone because

everything is prefilled and the only

thing you have to do is push the next

button it takes you five minutes if

you're slow you can see your medical

record online and you can choose the

hospital and you can choose the doctor

to show your medical record too and you

can use Ypres scription in order to buy

your medicine from whatever pharmacy you

choose from I'm going to tell you what

it takes in order to build a proper

government and what are the steps we

have taken and where we are heading this

fancy man there this is our former

president mr. Leonard Murray

he was the proud owner one of the first

mobile phones in Estonia when he got a

new one he got this one if you remember

back in the days that if we wanted to

have a custom ring

don't you had to put in letters and

numbers in order to have this fancy

ringing tone whatever you wanted so he

had this phone and he talked to his

office that hey guys I would like to

have Estonian anthem as my ringtone so

make it happen you can imagine the faces

of the guys of his office

come on what we gonna do No so they

started to type in the numbers and

letters it took them whole night in

order to make it happen but early in the

morning when mr. merry had a meeting

somehow it cut the call it was ringing

Estonian anthem he was picking it up

hello

I can hear you so during the time and it

has been always like this we have been

looking toward Finland as a proper

country they had like everything in a

place and we started to build our own

new Estonia in early 90s

we were looking towards Finland again

they had higher income they had low

corruption they had proper government

structure in place and can you imagine

they had Nokia so Leonard Mary told that

we as Estonians should look for Estonian

Nokia so wise men gathered and the

government office and started to think

what should we do

so we were in a situation that we are a

small nation and we were starting to

build up our governmental services and

what people expect from a regular

government but it was pretty obvious

that in order to have a proper service

level from government point of view then

you would have to pretty much higher all

Estonians because we are only 1.3

million so decision was made that we

should optimize it as much as possible

because it might save some costs and

otherwise we are not able to provide the

services anyway so we started to look

for Estonian Nokia and our plan was to

build a government actually we didn't

have

Plan B so I'm taking you a bit back of

time Estonia is a small country nation

in northeast of Europe and somehow this

is a really popular piece of land we

have been invaded so many times by so

many nations that you lost account

Swedes have been there Danes have been

there sweetest as we just I don't you

yeah

Germans Russians poles okay so bunch of

people so now imagine yourself put

yourself in the shoes of Estonian

peasant like 700 years ago I know this

is tough one but still try you would

like to live your life really peacefully

but you have all the foreigners all the

time in your backyard you can actually

go to your potatoes because there is one

sweet guy in tourism Russian and so on

so it's difficult you know so how would

you live your life how would you survive

think instinct was that in order not to

be killed and have a proper life you

would go as far away as possible from

the others so our villages are built in

dispersed way it means that our villages

our houses in the villages are sometimes

tens of kilometers away from each other

this has been a survival instinct for us

so when we started to build up a

government then we got scared again from

technical point of view when you look to

our he lecture of information systems

then there are like two bigger options

you are the centralized or information

into one server or you use it from

different locations you can imagine

which solution we Duke we do distributed

architecture basically what it means

that each ministry is a kingdom in

itself they can manage their own

information system but the citizen is

the data owner and we are exchanging

data between different governmental

institutions so what it has enabled us

it has enabled us

to implement the concept of once-only

so basically what it means is that you

only have to file in your information to

the government institution once and then

the government institution has the

obligation to reuse this information

they cannot ask it this from you so you

can see from this picture that for

example but my picture is pulled from

police importer card my information

about my education is pulled from

education board and my information about

my family doctor and napoleonic of

events in here is built from the Social

Affairs so with the help of this kind of

approach we can always build up services

without asking you what kind of

information government actually needs in

order to provide it because the

government actually has this information

already another thing which we did we

got it from Finn's this is a national ID

card it's a kind of a piece of plastic

but he has a chip in it and with the

help of this chip you can actually log

into any governmental service without

the need to a pre register and you can

give digital signatures with it with the

help of digital signatures you don't

have to go to the government office

physically anymore to take papers there

you can do this from your home you can

sign documents from your home and you

can send them we our services or we are

email or whatever it was really obvious

from the beginning that in order to make

it happen we have to change our

legislation for example we accepted

digital signature law back in 2000

because we knew that that many of the

legislation is dating back like ages and

it doesn't fit to the modern age and now

wonder for the future maybe the law can

be written in code so now where we are

now Estonia is one of the least

corrupted countries in the world we have

99 percent of bank transactions done

online we are

a voting for our Parliament 30% of our

castes were voted over Internet and we

we do everything pretty much online 98%

of taxes are filed in online so what we

have for the future we are living in the

age of artificial intelligence

self-driving cars free internet access

and the government asks you to file in

a4 format applications to get something

done

stamp it put the picture end what's your

name it's ridiculous what we have

figured out in a Sonia that even if you

take this a4 format application and you

put it online and ask people to fill it

in online even this is electronical

stone-age what we are working at the

moment is government 5.0 let's say the

government which has all the information

already about you anyway and we are

reusing it and putting the government

work behind the seeds so instead asking

applications from you in order to get

some kind of a benefit from the

government we are pushing this we have a

long way to go still we have some

services but we have a long way to go

but we are working on this so that the

government could work seamlessly behind

the scenes we are scared again and we

know that there are new hectic times

ahead

you remember what the Estonians do when

they get scared they get distributed so

we have a plan how to become a big

nation because at the moment we have 1.3

million but by 2025 we want to be 10

million it's a car quite burden for 4

ladies I would say

but we have a different approach as

usually we have come up with a concept

of ear esident see this is a

governmental start-up and basically what

we have done is that we are providing

you if you want to access to our in

government and you can use our eServices

with the help of our a residency card if

you want to establish your company you

can do this online if you want to open a

bank account you can do this online if

you want sign documents digitally and

legally binding you can do this with the

help of Ian residency at the moment we

have 10,000 e residents so we have still

way to go but this has not been live for

long and we have already around 400

something companies registered we are

building global Estonian village

you cannot go more distance distributed

as this so for a conclusion I would say

that in order to have a society of

running in your country or a government

in place you have to have strong

political will you have to change your

legislation according to the 21st

century standards because otherwise we

would be using legislation which is

dating back to 1800 something you have

to convince all the parties governments

citizens and everybody that we are in

the same boat and if we account don't go

in the same way then we are not going

anywhere and for a conclusion

if you want to live in a modern-day

society and the country without the

queues you have two options one option

is to become es toner or a resident or

the second option is to vote for those

guys who are actually willing to put

themselves out there in order to make it

happen thank you