EC updates DESI - digital ranking of Member States
When it comes to digitisation of public services, Europe’s top-three Member States are Estonia, Finland and the Netherlands, according to the EC’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), published on 8 March.
The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is a composite index published every year by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect). It measures progress of EU countries towards a digital economy and society, by looking at five policy areas, which group 31 indicators, including broadband telecommunications capability, Internet skills, Internet use, eCommerce and eGovernment.
To measure the level and quality of digital government services, the DESI researchers determine for each country if citizens can use the Internet to send files to public administrations, if there are pre-filled electronic forms available, and how many major life events including the birth of a child, or a change of address, can be managed online. Here DESI also records whether Member States have an Open Data policy in place, how much open data is available and how much it is being used.
From the report:
The quality of European online public services slightly improved, with an increase in the number of public services available online (online service completion score increased from 75 in 2014 to 82 in 2016). At the same time, the score measuring the reuse of user data already known to the public administration as a way of facilitating the delivery of online services remained stable.
As for the demand side, 34 % of internet users returned filled forms online to the public administration (i.e. have used online public services for more than just obtaining information), up from 27% three years ago.