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.