The Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, which is also responsible for IT policy, is redoubling its efforts to promote digitalisation of public administrations. Staff members will now be blogging on ‘Digitalt Först’ (Digital First), a blog that was started in parallel with the government digitalisation plan presented in 2015.
“Digital First is the government's initiative for digital restoration of the government of Sweden”, the blog introduces itself. The blog is an important part of efforts to strengthen governance and coordination and create a simpler, more transparent and more efficient management, it adds. The activities are coordinated with Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration, Ardalan Shekarabi, who became responsible for digitisation and IT in public administration in 2016.
The most recent initiative showcased on the blog is Severat, a project by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions that offers restaurant owners and those wishing to start a restaurant an easy, online way to acquire all of the relevant permits and licences. According to the blog post, there are different laws and regulations in each of Sweden’s 290 municipalities, and restaurants will also need to contact the tax authorities, businesses registration office, county administration, and the police.
An earlier post emphasises the importance of citizen-driven digitisation processes, reflecting experiences from a government expert in employment and pensions.