2. Policy levers to lead the digital transformation | Digital Government Review of Slovenia : Leading the Digital Transformation of the Public Sector

Introduction

Chapter 1 has highlighted that overall political support and commitment for digital government, coupled to an empowered public sector organisation to steer and lead the agenda that is supported by institutional co-ordination mechanisms are critical for strong and resilient governance of digital government. To take this governance into effective and efficient implementation requires tools that guide, align and enforce coherent and sustainable efforts across the public sector (OECD, 2016[36]). The OECD E-Leaders Handbook on the Governance of Digital Government (forthcoming[24]) identifies policy levers – soft or hard – as suitable tools to support governments in achieving system-wide change. These policy levers can be powerful in promoting the use of key enablers across the administration (such as those discussed in Chapter 4 that include digital identity, interoperability or standards and guidance) and securing the proper monitoring and impact assessment of policy efforts to boost public sector digital maturity.

This Chapter provides an assessment of Slovenia based on the third facet of the OECD Framework on the Governance of Digital Government – policy levers – that examines four dimensions: 1) strategy, 2) project management tools, 3) financial management mechanisms, and 4) legal and regulatory frameworks (OECD, forthcoming[24]) (Figure 2.1). The first section is dedicated to analysing the digital government strategy in Slovenia, the model used for its design and its relevance to the ecosystem of stakeholders. A second section centres the analysis on relevant management tools and financial mechanisms such as business cases, project management standards, information and communications technology (ICT) procurement and digital government investments. A third and last section analyses and discusses the digital government legal and regulatory framework in Slovenia, including the recognition and protection of digital rights.

Figure 2.1. The OECD Framework on the Governance of Digital Government: Policy levers

Strategy

Given the complexity of the machinery of government, a digital government strategy is essential to set the vision, align objectives, define priorities and structures and determine the the lines of action to be adopted across the administration. The strategy should be able to reflect the political agenda in place for the digitalisation of the public sector, mobilising the different sectors and levels of government around common policy purposes. The document should make the necessary bridges with other public governance agendas (e.g. innovation, open government, administrative modernisation, integrity), or broader policy priorities in place (e.g. sustainable development, science and technology, education, wellbeing, climate change and environment) in order to foster policy coherence and a systems-thinking vision, culture and practice across the public sector.

Practically all OECD members countries have a digital government strategy in place that sets the policy objectives for the digital transformation of the public sector (Figure 2.2) (OECD, 2019[37]). Regardless of the name used to describe this document (e.g. strategy, agenda, action plan), or whether it is presented as a stand-alone document or included in broader public sector strategies (e.g. public administration, digital economy, information society) the critical point for governance analysis is that such policy documents exist. More than ambitious statements, these documents set out the vision and frame the national/federal policy around digital government over a given period.

Figure 2.2. Existence of a national digital government strategy in OECD countries

In Slovenia, two central documents guide the digital government policy:

Digital Slovenia 2020 – Development Strategy for the Information Society until 2020
In 2016, the Government of Slovenia launched a long-term strategy for the development of a digital economy and society, representing a “commitment for a faster development of the digital society and the use of opportunities enabled by ICT and the internet for general economic and social benefits” (Republic of Slovenia, 2016[8]). As a broad national digital economy and society strategy, Digital Slovenia 2020 prioritises topics such as the development of digital infrastructure, increased competitiveness of ICT industry, digital entrepreneurship, strengthened cybersecurity and the advancement of an inclusive information society.
Besides digital society and digital economy-oriented policy streams, the Digital Slovenia 2020 strategy establishes relevant objectives for the public sector in areas such as innovative data-driven services, interoperability standards, open government data, digital rights, digital identity management and ePayments for digital public services.
The strategy reinforces the country’s commitment to take advantage of digital transformation underway, prioritising the development of a digital society and the proper context for the deployment of innovative approaches in the use of digital technologies and data. Simultaneously, securing citizens digital rights is embraced as a fundamental requisite to reinforce trust in the public sector (European Commission, 2020[38]).
Public Administration 2020, Public Administration Development Strategy 2015–2020
With a 2015-20 timeframe, the overall objectives of the strategy focus on quality and efficiency, transparency and responsibility of public administration, as well as activities supporting a higher level of professionalism, innovation and responsibility of civil servants (Ministry of Public Administration, 2015[39]). The strategy underlines the importance of structured policy action in the public sector able to create direct benefits responding to citizens’ expectations and needs. The strategy also highlights that strengthening the digital transformation of the public sector will positively influence the achievement of goals in several other policy areas, as well as in the development of a digital economy and society in Slovenia (European Commission, 2020[38]).
Although digital and data topics can be found across the different chapters of the strategy, the document dedicates a specific section to digital government policy work streams. Critical elements for the digitalisation of the public sector are highlighted, including integrated digital services for citizens and businesses, information technology management, development of common building blocks, digital skills, and fostering the use of technologies such as cloud computing and data analytics across the public sector.

The Digital Slovenia 2020 strategy and the Public Administration Development Strategy 2015–2020 – two complementary documents – make a strong connection between digital government development and the overall digital economy and society, as well as with specific objectives of public sector development in the country. When questioned, the Slovenian stakeholders who participated in the OECD fact-finding mission to Ljubljana in October 2019 and in the OECD Digital Government Survey of Slovenia were able to correctly identify both documents as central policy instruments guiding the digital transformation of the country’s public sector policy (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3. Acknowledgment of existence of a national digital government strategy in Slovenia

However, when asked about the relevance of these strategies, only 13% of the public sector organisations that answered the OECD Digital Government Survey of Slovenia considered it strong from a policy guidance perspective. The vast majority of the surveyed stakeholders considered the relevance moderate (58%), and a surprisingly high percentage considered it weak (29%) (Figure 2.4). Given the relevance of digital technologies and data across all public sector activities, there is substantial room for improving the significance of the digital government strategy for its stakeholders.

Figure 2.4. Relevance of national digital government strategy to Slovenian public sector organisations

The development model of the national digital government strategy is a critical opportunity to involve the ecosystem of stakeholders in defining and implementing policy. Collaborative approaches to the design of digital government strategies favour joint responsibility and shared ownership across the public, private and civil society sectors involved in its definition. The reported experience of OECD member countries in the broad involvement of the ecosystem of stakeholders is globally positive. Sixty-eight percent of countries that responded to the OECD Survey on Digital Government (OECD, 2020[35]) confirmed that the national digital government strategy was developed by the public sector organisation that leads the digitalisation policy in the public sector, in collaboration with other relevant public sector organisations and levels of government and the public/civil society. In contrast, 19% reported that the strategy was developed without the involvement of public/civil society stakeholders (Figure 2.5).

Figure 2.5. Development model of the national digital government strategies in OECD countries and Slovenia

In Slovenia, the development process of both Digital Slovenia 2020 and the Public Administration Development Strategy 2015–2020 was open and collaborative. According to the OECD Survey on Digital Government, both documents were designed involving the central and local level public sectors organisations, as well as the civil society. A list of diverse active participants in the design of Digital Slovenia 2020 is available publicly, and the Public Administration Development Strategy 2015–2020 benefited from a public consultation process (OECD, 2019[37]). However, when questioned in the OECD Digital Government Survey of Slovenia, only 49% of public sector organisations recognised the full range of stakeholders involved in the development of the digital government strategy (Figure 2.5).

Since both documents were reaching the end of their timeframes during the drafting of this report, the Government of Slovenia was working on a new digital strategy to cover the digital economy, society and government policies, expected to be launched by the end of 2021. Given the cross-cutting role and range of digitalisation of the public sector policies, as well as the importance of linking digital government objectives with other policy areas, the Slovenian government could consider complementing the strategy with a specific action plan. As an extension of the new strategy, the action plan could allow the digital government policy to be properly framed and detailed, favouring its relevance and the guidance that should be provided to different Slovenian stakeholders.

The design process of the new strategy is also a critical opportunity to involve the different public, private and civil society stakeholders in defining the digital government policy, favouring their engagement in future stages of the policy cycle such as implementation and monitoring. Collaboration from the start is a valuable mechanism to secure that the strategy responds to the expectations and needs of the different stakeholders, allowing simultaneously broad commitment for achieving the different policy goals.

As mentioned in Chapter 1, during the drafting of this report, the Government of Slovenia launched a Strategic Council for Digitalisation in the Office of the Prime Minister, bringing together a wide range of public, private and civil society stakeholders in order to discuss and prepare proposals that can boost the country’s performance in the current digital transformation context. This initiative seems a good example of how to ensure that the new digital strategy results from an open, inclusive and collaborative process that will reinforce its applicability and sustainability.

Management tools and financial mechanisms

Coherent investment in digital technologies and the use of common management models across the public sector are critical to optimise efficiency and avoid duplication of efforts and expenditures. The OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies (OECD, 2014[32]) provides specific key recommendations underlining the value of business cases, agile project management methodologies and the strategic procurement of digital technologies. These policy levers promote streamlined policy implementation aligned with the digital government strategy in place and enable improved sustainability for initiatives and projects.

Business cases

The use of business case methodologies and approaches for designing digital investments promotes the rationalisation of public financial efforts around the digitalisation of government and contributes decisively to secure better coherence and cohesion in implementing digital government policy. Business cases are able to improve the planning, management and monitoring of digital investments in the public sector (OECD, 2014[32]). Building on the importance attributed to this policy lever by the OECD Working of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders), a specific thematic group that brought together several OECD members and non-member countries developed a Business Case Playbook setting different plays that government should consider when designing and applying their business case models (Digital Transformation Agency, 2020[40]). Benefiting from the coordination of the Australian Digital Transformation Agency, the playbook highlights fundamentals such as understanding the problem, engaging the sponsors and stakeholders as well as defining options and testing solutions (Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6. Business case playbook - plays

Although the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies (OECD, 2014[41]) underlines the importance of business case methodologies, 45.5% of the countries that answered the OECD Survey on Digital Government declared not having a standardised model/method (Figure 2.7). This high percentage does not mean that business case methodologies for digital projects are not adopted in those countries, just that there is no standardised model and different public sector organisations might use their own models of business cases. Nevertheless, the OECD advocates for a standardised model/method for business cases as a support for improving co-ordination and cohesion of digital investments and acting as an important policy lever for streamlined compliance with national policy goals, technical standards and guidelines for digital government development.

Figure 2.7. Use of business cases in OECD countries

In Slovenia, The Strategic Board of the Governmental Council of Informatics Development in Public Administration, the main digital government steering and co-ordinating body in Slovenia, is responsible for reviewing and giving its consent to all projects above EUR 20 000 (see also section Co-ordination and compliance of Chapter 1 and section Slovenia presents in this sense a considerable level of maturity in the procurement/commissioning of digital services and projects. The guidelines are well connected with different digital government enablers, and the level of acknowledgement and importance attributed by the ecosystem of stakeholders is quite high. Considering the importance of this policy lever for digital government implementation and the new Slovenian digital strategy now being prepared, the Government of Slovenia should consider using the current momentum to update the existing guidelines, properly involving the Slovenian public, private and civil society stakeholders. An updated version would constitute an opportunity to address topics related to emerging technologies to such as data ethics or algorithm transparency. In addition, given policy instruments such as the OECD ICT Commissioning Playbook and the Digital Buying Guide mentioned above, the update of guidelines could help continue the shift towards transformative, iterative and commissioning approaches.

Financial measures and mechanisms of the current chapter). When digital government projects meet this budget threshold then there is an expectation of using a standardised model to develop and present business cases according to a value proposition assessment model. The investment proposals must be aligned with Slovenian public sector guidelines on topics such as digital identity/digital signatures, interoperability framework, cloud computing, the ICT procurement strategy/framework and digital security. This alignment mechanism for all the digital public investments above the threshold allows strategic enforcement of important standards, reinforcing the coherence, cohesion and sustainability of digital government implementation across the different sectors of the Slovenian public administration (OECD, 2019[37]).

The standardised business case model in Slovenia was developed with the participation of the entity leading the digital government policy (Directorate of Informatics of the Ministry of Public Administration), different line ministries and academia and civil society stakeholders. This collaborative approach secures the acknowledgement and alignment of all the stakeholders with the methodology being adopted as well as promoting shared responsibility and joint ownership regarding its implementation (OECD, 2019[37]).

In the OECD Digital Government Survey of Slovenia (OECD, 2020[35]), when questioned about the existence of a standardised model/method to develop and present business cases or define a value proposition for digital investments, 57% of public sector institutions responded positively. Twenty-nine percent answered that they did not know about the existence of this policy lever, and 14% responded negatively (Figure 2.8). Additionally, the survey revealed that 16% of institutions use business cases or similar value propositions in all projects and that 49% use it when projects meet specific criteria. This means that more than one-third (35%) of Slovenian public sector organisations rarely or never use business case approaches (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.8. Existence of business cases in Slovenia

Figure 2.9. Use of business cases by public sector organisations in Slovenia

This section has positively underlined the existence and compulsory use of Slovenia’s standard business case methodology for approving digital government projects above the threshold of EUR 20 000. It also highlighted the connection of the business case methodology with structural digital government guidelines in areas such as digital identity, interoperability, cloud computing or digital security. However, the analysis noted that there is room for improvement in the level of acknowledgement and adoption of business case approaches. Building on the important knowledge and methodology suggested in the Business Case Playbook (Digital Transformation Agency, 2020[40]) the Government of Slovenia should consider using the momentum offered through preparing a new digital strategy and the reactivation of the Governmental Council of Informatics Development in Public Administration to reinforce the country’s approach to this important policy lever. As part of the new strategy, the Slovenian government should consider reemphasising the role of business cases in its implementation and renewing the involvement of stakeholders in any possible updates to the model if deemed appropriate.

Agile project management

Project management tools are critical to secure consistent digital government implementation efforts. Besides being precise in the definition of task and duties, project management approaches help define responsibilities between the different stakeholders involved, whether in terms of design, leadership or supervision of processes. In line with key recommendation 10 of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies (OECD, 2014[32]), project management approaches are fundamental for digital government maturity, and their agility is essential to promote efficiency and evidence-based policy making, as well as the capacity of public sectors to quickly monitor, evaluate and iterate based on periodic feedback (OECD, forthcoming[24]). Standardised and agile project management approaches also improve forecasting capacities since they consider all the data collected, and they can be used as a mechanism of accountability and transparency of digital government implementation efforts.

As shown in Figure 2.10, two-thirds of countries that participated in the OECD Digital Government Index have a standardised model for ICT project management. This reflects the importance placed on this policy lever for improving consistency in digital government implementation across the different sectors of public administration.

Figure 2.10. Existence of a standardised model for ICT project management in OECD countries

Slovenia is among those countries. Its public sector organisations are required to use the standardised project management model when digital projects meet the budget threshold of EUR 20 000. The Slovenia Governmental Project Office defines the broad strategic approach and guidelines that all public sector organisations should follow when managing their projects. In addition, a specific methodology for managing digital projects developed by the Ministry of Public Administration is available as a reference for monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation (Ministry of Public Administration, 2016[42]) (OECD, 2019[37]).

The methodology is aligned with critical digital government key enablers, namely in areas such as digital identity, interoperability, data protection and digital security. It is considered by the Governmental Council of Informatics Development in Public Administration for the approval of all the digital government projects above EUR 20 000 (see Chapter 1), demonstrating an important connection between the existing policy tools in Slovenia. This alignment contributes to reinforcing the coherence of public administration efforts on digital projects, allowing improved efficiency and consistency.

When questioned about a standardised model of project management at central government level, only 43% of Slovenian public sector organisations confirmed its existence, with 40% denying it and 17% answering that they do not know (Figure 2.11). However, of those public sector institutions that acknowledged its existence, only 56% use it. As such, there is a low level of overall adoption for a mandatory and critical policy lever in pursuit of consistent and sustainable digital government implementation (Figure 2.12).

Figure 2.11. Existence of a standardised model for ICT project management in Slovenia

Figure 2.12. Use of the standardised model of ICT project management in Slovenian public sector organisations

Similar to the assessment made in the previous section on the Slovenian business case approach, the existing project management methodology seems to be well connected to fundamental digital government key enablers (e.g. digital identity, interoperability). Nevertheless, despite being a compulsory tool, the level of acknowledgement of its existence and the level of use are below what would be expected or anticipated in achieving higher digital maturity. For this reason, the Government of Slovenia should use the current momentum of defining the new digital government strategy to update the project management methodology and involve the ecosystem of digital government stakeholders in order to improve shared ownership of this policy lever. Attributing a new centrality to agile project management in the implementation of the new strategy would also contribute to reinforced co-ordination and compliance across the different sectors and levels of government.

Towards digital commissioning

The OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies (OECD, 2014[41]) underlines in its provision no. 11 the importance of specific and strategic procurement approaches for digital government investments. Considering the fast pace of innovation in digital technologies and data work streams, governments are required to address the acquisition of digital projects with specific approaches that include the necessary agility to secure valuable and quality acquisitions. As illustrated in Figure 2.13, the benefits of coherent and structured approaches to ICT procurement are numerous. A sound ICT procurement policy can allow improved adoption and compliance with national digital standards and guidelines, generate savings through demand aggregation, and contribute decisively towards improved transparency and accountability, allowing policy leaders and implementers to have more structured monitoring of the investments being made and priorities adopted across the public sector. Coherent and structured approaches for ICT procurement are in this sense essential policy levers for digital government maturity.

Figure 2.13. Benefits of coherent and structured approaches to ICT procurement

The ICT Commissioning Playbook (GDS & OECD, 2019[44])and more the Digital Buying Guide (Government Digital Service, 2020[45]) are based on principles such as understanding the users’ needs, guaranteeing agility or embracing openness and transparency, establishing several plays that help governments to embrace procurement of digital projects with transformative-driven approaches embedded in a commissioning mindset.

Box 2.1. Digital Buying Guide

Building on the work of the Thematic Group on ICT Commissioning and its ICT Commissioning Playbook, the UK Government Digital Service developed a Digital Buying Guide in 2020. The guide is divided into the four central dimensions of the buying lifecycle, providing practical advice on acquiring digital government products and services:

5. Plan – Plan your procurement strategy, exploring different solutions with users and suppliers.
6. Inform the market – Share what you need with the market, encouraging open competition.
7. Evaluate and award – Evaluate suppliers using clear and objective criteria, and select a winner.
8. Manage delivery – Ensure that projects run smoothly by working with your supplier.

The guide was developed with the support of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the OECD, the International Telecommunication Union and United for Smart Sustainable Cities.

Source: Government Digital Service (2020[45]),Digital Buying Guide, www.digitalbuyingguide.org/en/.

OECD countries have varied policy approaches towards ICT procurement and commissioning, reflecting their institutional cultures. Nevertheless, there appears to be consistency between policy instruments to secure coherency and sustainability of the procurement of digital projects and services across federal/national public sectors. According to the OECD Survey on Digital Government, only a minority of countries (12%) have a central/federal strategy covering ICT procurement but the vast majority (67%), use formal guidelines on ICT procurement to promote coherency and sustainability of policy implementation (Figure 2.14).

Figure 2.14. ICT procurement/commissioning in OECD countries

Concerning the involvement of providers and stakeholders through collaborative approaches in the broad procurement of digital products and services, the experience among OECD countries is polarised. Fifty percent of the countries confirmed the existence of institutional mechanisms that promote such involvement, while the other half responded negatively (Figure 2.14). Since the involvement of providers and stakeholders is an important indicator of openness and agility in the ICT procurement policy, as it demonstrates the commissioning mindset that can contribute towards greater digital government maturity, considerable space for improvement remains in the overall OECD countries’ approaches.

Slovenia does not have a central strategy specifically ICT procurement. Procurement for the overall public sector is addressed in the Public Administration Development Strategy 2015–2020. In addition and more specifically, the country has the guidelines for public procurement of digital solutions. The Ministry of Public Administration is the entity responsible for overseeing and promoting its compliance across the public sector (Ministry of Public Administration, 2017[46]). The guidelines cover relevant topics such as insource vs. outsource development and private sector cloud vs. government cloud, providing important instructions to digital government stakeholders on how to decide on the different options available.

In line with the business case model and the project management methodology analysed in the previous sections of the current chapter, these procurement guidelines are aligned with important digital government key enablers: sharing of government data, privacy and data protection, digital identity/digital signatures, interoperability framework, cloud computing framework, digital security and open source adoption (OECD, 2019[37]). This alignment of different policy instruments is critical to secure consistency in digital government investments.

The level of acknowledgement of the existence of ICT procurement guidelines among the Slovenian stakeholders is very high. Eighty-six percent of public sector organisations that participated in the OECD Digital Government Survey of Slovenia were aware of its existence (Figure 2.15). During the OECD fact-finding mission to Ljubljana, the ICT procurement guidelines were frequently mentioned by the interviewed stakeholders as a central co-ordination mechanism to secure coherent and sustainable policy implementation.

Figure 2.15. Existence of ICT procurement guidelines in Slovenia

Slovenia presents in this sense a considerable level of maturity in the procurement/commissioning of digital services and projects. The guidelines are well connected with different digital government enablers, and the level of acknowledgement and importance attributed by the ecosystem of stakeholders is quite high. Considering the importance of this policy lever for digital government implementation and the new Slovenian digital strategy now being prepared, the Government of Slovenia should consider using the current momentum to update the existing guidelines, properly involving the Slovenian public, private and civil society stakeholders. An updated version would constitute an opportunity to address topics related to emerging technologies to such as data ethics or algorithm transparency. In addition, given policy instruments such as the OECD ICT Commissioning Playbook and the Digital Buying Guide mentioned above, the update of guidelines could help continue the shift towards transformative, iterative and commissioning approaches.

Financial measures and mechanisms

Institutional frameworks for the allocation of financial resources that can promote and secure policy implementation are also important policy levers that governments can use to support digital government development. It is valuable for the public sector institution with responsibility for the digital government policy of the country to be able to influence national budget priorities in order to guarantee the coherent implementation of public sector digitalisation. Moreover, the existence of a budget threshold determining that, above a certain financial value, digital government expenses need to be centrally pre-evaluated is a clear instrument for securing efficient and strategic use of existing resources and coherently bringing public sector policy actions into line with overarching priorities. Funding or co-funding mechanisms to support digital government initiatives and projects in different sectors and levels of government can also support coherent and efficient policy implementation, simultaneously assuring the dissemination of standards and key enablers that act as building blocks for a cohesive digitalisation of the public sector.

The experience of OECD countries varies considerably regarding the existence of such financial measures and mechanisms. Nevertheless, there is a common acknowledgement across the members of the Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) that these kinds of hard policy levers can play a decisive role in the strategic promotion, effective enforcement and cross-cutting monitoring of policy implementation.

In Slovenia, the most relevant financial mechanism is the budget threshold for digital government investments above EUR 20 000. All public sector organisations that need services or goods above that amount must have their investments pre-evaluated and cleared by the Strategic Board of the Governmental Council of Informatics Development in Public Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (see Chapter 1). As the main digital government co-ordination body, the board reviews and gives its consent based namely on the compliance with the existing business case model and project management methodology, as well as the alignment with the ICT procurement guidelines (see sections on Business cases, Agile project management and Similar to the assessment made in the previous section on the Slovenian business case approach, the existing project management methodology seems to be well connected to fundamental digital government key enablers (e.g. digital identity, interoperability). Nevertheless, despite being a compulsory tool, the level of acknowledgement of its existence and the level of use are below what would be expected or anticipated in achieving higher digital maturity. For this reason, the Government of Slovenia should use the current momentum of defining the new digital government strategy to update the project management methodology and involve the ecosystem of digital government stakeholders in order to improve shared ownership of this policy lever. Attributing a new centrality to agile project management in the implementation of the new strategy would also contribute to reinforced co-ordination and compliance across the different sectors and levels of government.

Towards digital commissioning). The existing budget threshold functions in this sense as an important policy lever for improved co-ordination and compliance for digital government implementation across the different sectors of the administration.

Since the Strategic Council has not met since April 2018 and the writing of the current report, the pre-evaluation process has been handled directly by the Directorate of Informatics of the Ministry of Public Administration. Although the application of this policy lever is essential, the digital government stakeholders interviewed during the fact-finding mission to Slovenia in October 2019 recognised that its effectiveness and legitimacy had been clearly affected in recent years due to the Strategic Council not having met. In fact, possibly reflecting the decrease in the use of this mechanism during the past years only 40% of public sector institutions involved in the Digital Government Survey of Slovenia acknowledged its existence (Figure 2.16).

Figure 2.16. Budget threshold for digital government investments in Slovenia

The existing budget threshold is an important tool for contributing to the strategic alignment and improved coherence of digital government implementation in the country. Nevertheless, in order to reinforce the recognition of its relevance across the different public sector organisations, the Government of Slovenia should prioritise resuming the meetings of the Strategic Council. Since this is expected to happen in July 2021 according to the information shared with the OECD peer review team, the existing budget threshold will certainly resume its policy centrality in the Slovenian digital government panorama.

Legal and regulatory frameworks

Towards an enabling legal and regulatory context

Today’s fast pace of digital change requires permanent efforts by governments to keep the legal and regulatory frameworks updated. Policy actions need to be backed by clear laws and regulations that can guarantee principles such as openness, accountability, proportionality and impartiality, together with unquestionable respect of citizens’ and businesses’ rights; thus governments’ agility and responsiveness to institutionally navigate the rapid changes underway are two of the critical challenges of the digital age. Legal and regulatory frameworks should enable digital opportunities to be seized and risks tackled, avoiding creating bureaucratic resistance to the transformation of economies and societies, minimising risks and maximising benefits (OECD, forthcoming[24]).

OECD countries have progressed a lot in the last decades through the establishment of digital rights, the formal recognition of digital artefacts such as documents and signatures, the reinforcement of personal data protection and cybersecurity legal frameworks, and the increasing regulation on data governance (Figure 2.16). Depending on the institutional culture of their public sector, some countries have more legalistic approaches, further developing their regulatory framework in different policy streams and detailing processes and procedures in order to secure effective implementation and compliance. Countries with Latin institutional cultures, such as Chile, Colombia, France, Italy and Portugal, tend to follow this approach. Countries that have a more consensus-based institutional culture generally have a minimalistic approach to legislate and regulate different topics. Anglo-Saxon countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom are good examples of the consensus-based approach (OECD, forthcoming[24]).

Figure 2.17. Legal and regulatory framework

Based on the OECD Survey on Digital Government, Figure 2.18 presents a good picture of the digital government topics covered by OECD member and partner countries in their legal and regulatory frameworks. For instance, almost all respondents (93%) confirmed having legislation on digital signatures, access to public information, and privacy and data protection. Laws and regulations covering digital identity (82%), sharing of government data across the administration (82%), cybersecurity (79%), digital documents (79%) and open government data (76%) are also common in countries that answered the survey. In contrast, laws on cloud computing (33%) or digital by design (24%) are less frequent in those countries.

Figure 2.18. Legal and regulatory panorama in OECD countries

Slovenia is characterised as a predominantly legalistic institutional culture. In other words, government practice tends to support policy implementation through detailed laws and regulations that can secure coherency, consistency and sustainability across the different sectors and levels of government.

Slovenia has an extended digital government legal and regulatory framework. The existing laws and regulations in the country are able to cover the main policy issues presented in Figure 2.17 and Figure 2.18. For instance, the decree on Administrative Operations (Official Gazette No. 9/18) regulates digital communication between the administration and citizens. The Access to Public Information Act covers access to public information but also topics such as open by default and open government data (Official Gazette No. 51/06). Info-inclusion and accessibility are covered by the Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications Act and digital identity, and digital signatures are covered in the Electronic Business and Electronic Signature Act. Another relevant example regards e-procurement. The Slovenian Public Procurement Act requires, for instance, that procurement notices be published in the Public Procurement Portal (https://www.enarocanje.si) and that communication and submissions in the procurement procedures be handled electronically.

As a European Union member country, Slovenia has a digital government legal and regulatory context that is highly influenced by existing European directives and regulations. For instance, privacy and data protection are determined by the General Data Protection Regulation (European Parliament and Council, 2016[47]), and digital security is based on the Directive (EU) 2016/1148 concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union (European Parliament and Council, 2016[48]). Access to public information is determined by the European directive on open data and re-use of public sector information (European Parliament and Council, 2019[49]), and activities in the area of digital identity are aligned with the regulation on eIDAS (electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services) (European Parliament and Council, 2014[50]). Finally yet importantly, the Slovenian Public Procurement Act transposes the European directives 2014/24/EU and Directive 2014/25/EU in this area (European Parliament and Council, 2014[51]) (European Parliament, 2014[52]).

The level of acknowledgement of the existing laws and regulations across the Slovenian ecosystem of digital government stakeholders is a good indicator of the involvement in and awareness of the structural pillars of the Slovenian digitalisation of the public sector context. As presented in Figure 2.19, the Slovenian public sector organisations that participated in the OECD Survey on Digital Government easily acknowledged the existence of laws in areas such as digital signatures (91%), access to public sector information (86%), privacy and data protection (80%), digital identity (77%) and e-procurement (75%). However, existing legislation and regulation in the areas of ICT procurement (46%), digital inclusion (25%) and open by default (21%) was not easily recognised by the public sector organisations. Considering how structural these later legislative and regulatory pieces are, further awareness could be expected from the Slovenian ecosystem of digital government stakeholders.

Figure 2.19. Legal and regulatory panorama in Slovenia

The predominantly legalistic culture was frequently acknowledged by the Slovenian public sector organisations interviewed during the OECD fact-finding mission to Ljubljana in October 2019. Some stakeholders mentioned this as a challenge that can block agile policy making and implementation while others underlined the existence of important legal and regulatory gaps in specific areas (e.g. digital identity, emerging technologies). This underlines the need to update some of the existing laws and regulations, given the fast pace of innovation observed in the current digital transformation context. Besides the level of acknowledgement, it is also important to access the national stakeholders’ perception of the potential for improving the existing regulatory framework. In Slovenia, this indicator provides clear insights, since 93% of the public sector organisations that participated in the OECD Digital Government Survey of Slovenia considered that there is potential for improvement, against only 7% that were happy with the existing panorama Figure 2.20.

This legalistic culture of the country can partially explain the high level of demand and expectations from the ecosystem of stakeholders regarding the existing legal and regulatory framework as a fundamental mechanism to secure policy implementation. It also provides a clear indication that the Government of Slovenia should continue prioritising the update of the framework in order to keep up with the fast pace of innovation and disruption in the current digital transformation context.

Figure 2.20. Potential to improve the regulatory framework in Slovenia

The Slovenian government should also consider reinforcing its efforts towards the development of a digital-by-design culture among its policy makers responsible for new legislation and regulation. This would allow law-making processes to represent a digital mindset that can enable the legislative and regulatory framework in Slovenia to be progressively developed, taking from the start the full benefit of digital technologies and data. The digital-by-design culture and mindset applied through the policy lifecycle could also support the development of a more agile and less legalistic culture across the public sector, enabling the Slovenian government to more easily seize the benefits and tackle the challenges of the digital transformation underway.

Digital rights for a people-driven transformation

In line with the benefits of the penetration of digital technologies and data into today’s economies, societies and governments, new risks also emerge in areas such as inclusion, privacy or security. Governments are required to guarantee that the digital disruption underway is not a threat to democratic core values, namely to the rights of its citizens in the digital age. During the last decades, different waves of digital rights have framed the relations of the citizens with the public sector (Figure 2.21), depending on the level of digital maturity presented by countries. The first generation of digital rights is typically committed to protecting the basic rights of the citizens when digital technologies and data start deeply penetrating the public sphere. In an intermediate stage of digital maturity, governments start prioritising more advanced digital rights that can enable their citizens to embrace the digital transformation underway more effectively.

With the progressive penetration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things or big data analysis, a third generation of digital rights starts to emerge and attract the attention of legislators focused on topics such as trust and ethics, as well as proactive service delivery models

Advanced digital rights approaches are increasingly reflected in international declarations, principles and regulations, such as the European General Data Protection Regulation, (European Parliament and Council, 2016[47]), the Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government (European Commission, 2020[53]) (Box 2.2) and the OECD Good Practice Principles for Data Ethics in the Public Sector (OECD, 2020[54]) (see Chapter 4).

Box 2.2. Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government

Following the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment, the Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government signed in December 2020 re-affirms European leaders’ strong commitment to fundamental rights and European values and emphasises the importance of digital public services.

The Declaration presents seven principles to guide policy at national and European Union (EU) level:

9. validity and respect of fundamental rights and democratic values in the digital sphere
10. social participation and digital inclusion to shape the digital world
11. empowerment and digital literacy, allowing all citizens to participate in the digital sphere
12. trust and security in digital government interactions, allowing everyone to navigate the digital world safely, authenticate and be digitally recognised within the EU conveniently
13. digital sovereignty and interoperability, as a key in ensuring the ability of citizens and public administrations to make decisions and act self-determined in the digital world
14. human-centred systems and innovative technologies in the public sector, strengthening its pioneering role in the research on secure and trustworthy technology design
15. a resilient and sustainable digital society, preserving our natural foundations of life in line with the Green Deal and using digital technologies to enhance the sustainability of our health systems.

Source: European Commission (2020[53]), Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/berlin-declaration-digital-society-and-value-based-digital-government.

Adopting a digital rights approach to updating the current legal and regulatory framework would reinforce the policy orientation in Slovenia to be increasingly people-driven, with all the benefits for strengthening citizens’ trust in the public sector and linking the digital transition with other policy agendas such as well-being, sustainable development, and the transition towards a low-carbon and green economy. Using the country’s European Union and OECD memberships as an opportunity to move fast and leapfrog among the most digitally mature economies in the world, Slovenia should build on the current national momentum where a new national digital strategy is being formulated to strengthen the digital rights of its citizens.