Norway: Communities should share eGovernment services

Norway’s central government agencies and municipalities with advanced eGovernment services should help smaller communities to provide these services to their citizens, says Marit Lofnes Mellingen, senior manager at Norway’s Agency for Public Management and e-Government (Difi).

“Given that 200 of our 428 communities have fewer than 5,000 citizens, it is clear that user volume of individual services will be too small, and the gains from digitalisation as well. So there is a large potential for more interaction and for cooperation between local and inter-local government to generate services that will yield large gains”, Ms Mellingen said at the Digitaliseringskonferansen on 9 June in Oslo.

Norway’s Digital Agenda aims to have central agencies providing more of their services to other levels of government, Ms Mellingen said. “The more advanced group should take responsibility and help the others to catch up.”

A video of her presentation was posted online in October. An example of a centrally provided service, ‘eSignering’ - Norway’s eSignature solution, was provided by Jan Tore Sanner, Minister of Local Government and Modernisation, whose speech is also available online. In April, the eSignering services passed its final tests, and in the summer the service became available to central and local administrations, Minister Sanner said.

”Quite a few documents can become legally enforceable through such a signature, including contracts, references, testimonies, employment contracts and police certificates”, the Minister said. The solutions will help citizens and public administration’s save time, effort and money. Furthermore, because it reduces transport, it will have a positive impact on the environment, Minister Sanner added.

More information:

Digitaliseringskonferansen conference website (in Norwegian)
Video of presentation by Jan Tore Sanner, Minister of Local Government and Modernisation
Video of presentation by Marit Lofnes Mellingen, Senior Manager at the Agency for Public Management and e-Government