Foreword

Government leadership, especially in overseeing the strategic use of data and technology, is critical if countries are to reap the benefits of the digital revolution and improve social well-being.

The study, Digital Government in Chile – Making the Digital Transformation Sustainable and Long-Lasting, assesses the evolution, achievements and challenges in the design and implementation of digital government strategies in Chile since 2004. It aims to support the Government of Chile in framing and implementing future strategic decisions and developing digital capacity throughout the public sector. In particular, it looks at how Chile can build a whole-of-government approach to embed digital approaches into everyday government operations.

The study builds on the 2016 OECD publication, Digital Government in Chile: Strengthening the Institutional and Governance Framework, which delivered the policy recommendations that guided subsequent reforms to the institutional framework for digital government in Chile. These reforms were critical in underpinning the current ambitions to promote greater digital maturity across the Chilean public sector.

Chile is a widely recognised leader in Latin America when it comes to digital government. This achievement reflects the commitment to establishing a sound governance framework, developing an ambitious Digital Transformation Strategy and upgrading the country’s legal framework.

Nevertheless, to ensure the sustainability of this progress, Chile should work towards shared ownership of, and responsibility for, the digital government strategy throughout the public administration. To do this the study highlights the need for engagement and coordination within and between government institutions, the importance of building technical leadership and digital skills in recruitment and training as well as proposing new approaches to funding and the evaluation of delivery. Above all, for Chile’s digital government approaches to increase citizen well-being through more responsive, protective and trustworthy government, the study calls for developing service design and delivery approaches that prioritise user research, recognise the value of data and foster digital inclusion.

This study was requested by the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency (Ministerio Secretaría General de la Presidencia, MINSEGPRES) and the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda). It is based on the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies and draws on the insights gathered through the comparative assessment of the design and implementation of digital government strategies in several OECD member and non-member countries.

This study also contributes to the global policy debate on the digitalisation challenges and opportunities across different policy areas, including digital government. This work is part of the Going Digital Project, which is the OECD flagship initiative designed to address this important policy issue.

Foreword