The Slovak government approved on 21st of January 2004 the Strategy for Building an Information Society. The aim of the business roundtable eGovernment in Slovakia - Possibilities and Challenges was to evaluate the present state of eGovernment in Slovakia, to introduce progressive world solutions and to analyse what the academic community, commercial sector, public sector and the branch informatics expect from the approved Strategy.
First a list of leading Slovakian projects enabling e-government:
Webocrat: “Web technology supporting direct participation in democratic processes - Webocracy ”, was realised within the framework of the 5th Framework. The Programme co-ordinated by the Technical University in Kosice, the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology. Project partners: Wolverhampton University (Great Britain), Regensburg University (Germany), JUVIER, s.r.o. (Slovakia), CITEC Information Oy Ab (Finland), Kosice Town Quarter Tahanovce (Slovakia), Kosice Town Quarter Dargovskych Hrdinov (Slovakia), Wolverhampton City Council (Great Britain). Web system that has been developed in the framework of the project, provides citizens with innovated tools for communication with public administration. An interesting example of a new type of service provided is the possibility of electronic submissions, which has been realised and tested at the request of the Kosice Town Quarter Dargovskych Hrdinov (http://www.kosice-dh.sk). It is currently possible to send selected forms as well as non-form submissions electronically via the Webocrat system, where the sender has the possibility to track the current status of how their submission is being handled. This has even led to a shortening of the average period for handling a submission from 21 days before in the case of submissions sent by mail to 6 days in the case of electronic submissions now. The WEBOCRAT system brings public administration closer to citizens, making it more accessible and easier to understand. The system encourages more participation in democracy as well as making administration more efficient.
Občan.sk (Citizen.sk - www.obcan.sk): It is a public information portal facilitating communication of public administration with citizens. Občan.sk is a foundation of public administration transition to its own electronisation, i.e. foundation stone of eGovernment development in the Slovak republic. Občan.sk is aimed for wide population as a gate to public administration information. It searches for offices address according to localization and provides instructions how to proceed during the administrational chores in various life situations. Public information portal Občan.sk has been prepared in such way that it becomes an electronic gateway for electronic office, a place, through which citizens will have possibility not only collect and search for information but also submit declarations and solve their requirements. Variety of public information portal useful information significantly facilitates citizens to orientate in contact with public administration.
Mesto.sk: It is since 2002 being operated by NGO eSlovensko (eSlovakia), founded in 2002. The main aims of this association are to support the development of IT through: eGovernment services, internet presentations and portals, public meetings and conferences, consulting, publishing and informing activities, trainings, seminars and other forms of educational activities and tourism through information technology. On the main website of MESTO.SK is a map of Slovakia with 138 towns or cities. The website of each city or town has the same structure, function and design. The aims of MESTO.SK are to build the infrastructure for its producers and users, to create interesting and useful eContent and provide IT education for users of MESTO.SK. The Project is managed by the Slovak National Library in association with the University of Žilina. The Project included description (using MARC 21) and scanning of graphical documents, such as historical photographs, postcards, vedutas and portraits. The record files and digital materials will migrate to a new software environment, in which digitization of selected library material will proceed further.
Virtual Library of Slovakia (VIKS): It will represent an integrated complex of electronic primary and secondary information resources that belong to the most important collections of the Slovak National Library, other libraries or Slovak museums, archives and galleries. The aim of the VIKS Project is to create technological and organizational conditions for digitization of Slovak cultural heritage. The Project will be build on the objectives and experience of similar EU and US projects in the area of content information industry, so that Slovakia becomes an equal partner to other European countries.
Key actions proposed to ensure a further fruitful development in Slovakia:
- Access to public services for all via multiple platforms (PC, TV, mobile terminals);
- New services via broadband development;
- Trust and confidence building measures;
- Swift adoption and transposition of directive on re-use of public sector documents
- Three-year action plan on electronic public procurement by 2004;
- Development of pan-European services;
- Interoperability framework to be adopted by end of 2003;
- New approaches to benchmarking needed;
- One-stop shop for eGovernment related activities of the EU.
Slovakia, which became the member of the EU since 1st of May must do a lot of work to bring e-Government into real life. The main aims of eGovernment are to increase the efficiency and transparency of public administration, to increase the quality and accessibility of public administration for citizens as well as businesses. Achieving these aims will have a positive effect also on the economy's development of Slovakia.
Lessons Learned |
|
|
|
In introducing of eGovernment in Slovakia there are many barriers as organisational (e.g. need for information sharing across departments, organisation change), financial (costs), and social (e.g. trust and confidence in online interaction with governments, digital divide etc.). On the basis of the discussion at the BRT on 22nd of April 2004 with regard to the approved document Strategy for Building an Information Society and an Action Plan that is derived from the tasks in the initiatives of eEurope+ and eEurope 2005 we propose following recommendations:
· A gradual centralization of jurisdictions in the area of information society to one coordinating institution, the office of the government commissioner for information society. It should be an independent central state agency responsible for development of information society with its own budget and defined competencies.
· Building information society should be a priority for the government, the tasks declared in the Action Plan should be fulfilled with the active use of Public Private Partnership,
· The new law for Information Systems of Public Affairs should correspond with EU standards and should create a space for implementation of necessary legislations for the dynamic and sustainable development of an information society,
· Education and training are essential to ensure that citizens have the necessary digital literacy to be able to take full advantage of the services offered by eGovernment. Digital literacy of all state administration by the year 2006 should be the priority. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BRT 17 |
|
|
Date: |
22 Apr 2004 |
|
Topic: |
"e-Government in Slovakia - Possibilities and Challenges" |
|
Category: |
e-Government |
|
Location: |
Under the Auspices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Kukan - held in the Slovak Parliament in Bratislava, Slovakia |
|
Organizer: |
Dr. Sona Makulova, PhD. (sona.makulova@elet.sk) - Organized by ELET in cooperation with Partnerships for prosperity IT Association Slovakia (ITAS) |
|
Host: |
Slovak Parliament |
|
Panellists |
· Peter Badík - Director of the Research; Taylor Nelson Sofres SK
· Beata Brestenská - Member of Parliament
· Jakub Čech - The SR Government Office
· Milan Csaplár - Director Computerpress
· Anton Čižmár – Vice-Rector; Technical University Košice
· Milan Dado – Vice-Rector for Development; University of Žilina
· Jozef Gál - Director Microcomp - Computersystem
· Maroš Herda - IBM Slovakia
· Martin Hílek - Slovak Radio
· Juraj Homoľa - Business Director; ELET
· Milan Istváň - Executive Director; Partnership for Prosperity
· Peter Lang - Director Datalock
· Ivan Lužica - Executive Director; S&T Slovakia
· Soňa Makulová - Company ELET; president SlovakPrix MultiMedia
· Renata Malecová - IT Association Slovakia
· Marián Marek - General Director; PosAm Bratislava
· Jozef Mečiar - Company CIT
· Vladimír Ondrovič – Chairman; Association of Telecommunication Operators
· Mária Ondruchová - Office of the Prime Minister
· Zdeno Rýdl - Media Partner SITA
· Monika Ruffini - Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications
· of the Slovak Republic
· Tomáš Sabol - Dean of the Faculty of Economy; Technical University Košice
· Juraj Sabaka – President; IT Association Slovakia
· Róbert Šimončič - General Director; Microsoft Slovakia
· Braňo Ondruš - President Partnership for Prosperity
· Lenka Tichá - eBiz
· Ivo Trávniček - Media Partner SITA
· Peter Weber - General Director; Hewlett-Packard Slovakia
· Štefan Zachariáš - Chairman of the Commission of ZMOS for statistics and informatics |
Public sector administrations in all member states still remain rather hierarchical. Decisions are made in a top down process. This means, that the most senior civil servant and the senior civil service in general have to be convinced of the importance of e-learning. Keeping this in mind the EC should launch a programme to especially target this group of senior civil servants in order to facilitate a recognition and well-perception of e-learning in the public administration.
So far there has been very little research done on the positive effects on e-learning compared to traditional learning. The EC should support comparative research in the European Union with particular focus on the member states and on comparisons between the private and public sector.
E-learning so far has been understood and dealt with in the public sector as well as everywhere else as a very much technical driven process. The EC should encourage and support best practices which focus on the human side of the learning process, both on learners and trainers.
Although there are significant differences concerning the current state of e-learning structures and programmes within the member states, there is still in all countries a prevailing scepticism in the field of e-learning and a lack of e-learning tradition. The EC should use the chances of the enlargement to launch a programme encouraging the use of blended learning approaches to foster a new public sector learning community. Such a programme should be based on the idea that public service gets innovated by using the diversity of public service cultures as a competitive advantage.
In summary, the EC should support the following:
- Comparative research in the European Union with particular focus on the member states and on comparisons between the private and public sector;
- Best practices which focus on the human side of the learning process, both on learners and trainers;
- A network of public service training institutes in order to create a forum of exchange on a regular basis;
- Train-the-trainer approaches since much motivation on the part of the learner can be destroyed by poorly-prepared facilitators;
- A programme to especially target the group of senior civil servants in order to facilitate a recognition and well-perception of e-learning in the public administration;
- Research on the impact of legislation on e-learning especially in the public sector;
- The production of a learning landscape of Europe in the public sector as a basis for organisational learning initiatives;
- Joint initiatives of public service institutes within the member states to help to create more competitive European administrations;
- Initiatives bringing together public service training institutions and public service departments as well as senior civil service officials from different countries to foster best practice examples;
- The development of innovative business models which brings together public administrations, private companies and internet experts to create new co-operations and opportunities between the public and private sector as well as non-profit-sector institutions across the Europe.
Lessons Learned |
|
|
|
Networking and legislation:
- The experts identify very little exchange in the field of e-learning in the public sector so far. The recommendation to the EC thus is to support a network of public service training institutes in order to create a forum of exchange on a regular basis.
- As a legally-driven system for the public sector, training legislation is an important determining factor, which might be a barrier for using e-learning as a tool. Therefore the EU should support research on the impact of legislation on e-learning especially in the public sector.
Towards a competitive European public sector:
- Organisational learning is generally considered as one of the key elements for competitive organisations both in the public and the private sector. The cultural circumstances - including the learning cultures - might differ in various countries. The EC should support the production of a learning landscape of Europe in the public sector as a basis for organisational learning initiatives.
- The boundaries between learning, e-learning and daily work are becoming less and less important which means e-learning and knowledge management will play an important role for the modernisation of the public services in Europe. The EC should thus support joint initiatives of public service institutes within the member states to help to create more competitive European administrations.
- Concerning the efforts made by the EU and the OECD to encourage the modernisation of the public administration e-learning can play an important role. Therefore the EC should support initiatives bringing together public service training institutions and public service departments as well as senior civil service officials from different countries to foster best practice examples.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bringing together the private and public partnership:
- The start-up costs of e-learning are very high and are therefore a significant obstacle to overcome. A possible answer to this might be the creation of new business models. The EC should support the development of innovative business models which brings together public administrations, private companies and internet experts to create new co-operations and opportunities between the public and private sector as well as non-profit-sector institutions across the Europe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BRT 18 |
|
|
Date: |
23 Apr 2004 |
|
Topic: |
"e-Learning: Content and Infrastructure in the Public Sector" |
|
Category: |
e-Learning |
|
Location: |
Karlsruhe, Germany |
|
Organizer: |
MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg in conjunction with the Fuehrungsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg |
|
Host: |
Fuehrungsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg |
|
Panellists |
Panelists:
· Dr. Gabriela Azevedo, Instituto Nacional de Administraçăo (INA), PT (www.ina.pt)
· Anders Ekeland, Centre for Innovation Research (STEP), Oslo, NO (www.step.no/)
· Dr. Erwin Ernst, Führungsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg (FA), DE (www.fuehrungsakademie.landbw.de)
· Dr. Katalin Horváth, Budapest University of Economics and Public Administration (BKAE), HUN (www.bkae.hu)
· Ken Ingram, Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS), UK (www.cmps.gov.uk/)
· Wojciech Osinski, National School of Public Administration (KSAP), PL (www.ksap.gov.pl)
· Oliver Will, Führungsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg (FA), DE (www.fuehrungsakademie.landbw.de)
· Jan Wozniakowski, National School of Public Administration (KSAP), PL (www.ksap.gov.pl)
Moderators:
· Dr. Andrea Buchholz, MFG Baden-Württemberg (MFG), DE (www.mfg.de)
· Dr. Guenter Clar, Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ), DE (www.sez.de) |
