The Development of eServices in an Enlarged EU: eGovernment and eHealth in Estonia

In 2005, IPTS launched a project which aimed to assess the developments in eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning in the 10 New Member States at national, and at cross-country level. At that time, the 10 New Member States were Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia. A report for each country was produced, describing its government and health systems and the role played by eGovernment and eHealth within these systems. Each report then analyzes, on the basis of desk research and expert interviews, the major achievements, shortcomings, drivers and barriers in the development of eGovernment and eHealth in one of the countries in question. This analysis provides the basis for the identification and discussion of national policy options to address the major challenges and to suggest R&D issues relevant to the needs of each country ¿ in this case, Estonia. In addition to national monographs, the project has delivered a synthesis report, which offers an integrated view of the developments of each application domain in the New Member States. Furthermore, a prospective report looking across and beyond the development of the eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning areas has been developed to summarize policy challenges and options for the development of eServices and the Information Society towards the goals of Lisbon and i2010.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

On State-Level Architecture of Digital Government Ecosystems: From ICT-Driven to Data-Centric

The \digital transformation" is perceived as the key enabler for increasing wealth and well-being by politics, media and the citizens alike. In the same vein, digital government steadily receives more and more attention. Digital government gives rise to complex, large-scale state-level system landscapes consisting of many players and technological systems { and we call such system landscapes digital government ecosystems. In this paper, we systematically approach the state-level architecture of digital government ecosystems.We will discover the primacy of the state's institutional design in the architecture of digital government ecosystems, where Williamson's institutional analysis framework supports our considerations as theoretical background. Based on that insight, we will establish the notion of data governance architecture, which links data assets with accountable organizations. Our investigation results into a digital government architecture framework that can help in large-scale digital government design e_orts through (i) separation of concerns in terms of appropriate categories, and (ii) a better assessment of the feasibility of envisioned digital transformations. With its focus on data, the proposed framework perfectly _ts the current discussion on moving from ICT-driven to data-centric digital government

Tacit Web: Entrepreneurial Discovery, Institutional Complexity and Internet Diffusion

This dissertation investigates how institutional frameworks and entrepreneurial discovery processes condition internet diffusion. While internet and internet-based technologies have received considerable scholarly attention, the dissertation emphasizes tacit elements in understanding internet diffusion. In order to do so, it incorporates perspectives on insttitutional complexity stemming from interactions of formal and informal institutions and different institutional logics. Empiral part consists both macro level comparisons of Estonia and Slovenia as well as micro level analysis of internet diffusion processes within Estonia. Estonia and Slovenia are selected for comparison because of considerable variance in insitutional frameworks. At the same time, both countries are relatively small and members of the European Union. This allows to focus on specific institutional configurations and path-dependencies in constraining and enabling the diffusion of internet. I find that internet is diffused more extensively and intensively in Estonia. Different socio-economic groups use more sophisticated online services in Estonia than in Slovenia. Once specific institutional configurations in general and in the telecom sector in particular are considered then it emerges that insitutional frameworks in Estonia have been more facilitative of entrepreneurial discovery processes over time. As a result, supply and demand for innovative online services in Estonia is greater than in Slovenia. After comparative perspective on two countries, the dissertation proceeds to analyze specific cases of online initiatives in Estonia such as internet banking and internet voting. Examination of outcomes shows how some of these initiatives have been successful and created reasons for adoption and use of internet on the individual level leading to a greater diffusion on macro level. My analysis demonstrates that positive outcomes have often been unintended result of experimentation through the process of entrepreneurial discovery within the context of institutions and path-dependencies. Evidence for this finding is bolstered by study of heterogeneous cases of various ICT initiatives. By emphazing institutional complexity and policy heterogeneity, the dissertation illuminates and explains the tacit nature of internet diffusion in a specific context of Estonia. This implies that Estonia has followed a unique developmental trajectory which cannot be generalized and transferred to other countries

Internet voting in Estonia 2005–2019: Evidence from eleven elections

Internet voting is a highly contested topic in electoral studies. This article examines Internet voting in Estonia over 15 years and 11 nation-wide elections. It focuses on the following questions: How is Internet voting organized and used in Estonia? How have the Estonian Internet voting system and its usage evolved over time? What are the preconditions and consequences of large-scale deployment of Internet voting? The results suggest that the rapid uptake and burgeoning usage rates reflect the system's embeddedness in a highly developed digital state and society. Through continuous technological and legal innovation and development, Estonia has built an advanced Internet voting system that complies with normative standards for democratic elections and is widely trusted and used by the voters. Internet voting has not boosted turnout in a setting where voting was already easily accessible. Neither has it created digital divides: Internet voting in Estonia has diffused to the extent that socio-demographic characteristics no longer predict usage. This, combined with massive uptake, reduces incentives for political parties to politicize the novel voting mode

The State of the Electronic Identity Market: Technologies, Infrastructure, Services and Policies

Authenticating onto systems, connecting to mobile networks and providing identity data to access services is common ground for most EU citizens, however what is disruptive is that digital technologies fundamentally alter and upset the ways identity is managed, by people, companies and governments. Technological progress in cryptography, identity systems design, smart card design and mobile phone authentication have been developed as a convenient and reliable answer to the need for authentication. Yet, these advances ar enot sufficient to satisfy the needs across people's many spheres of activity: work, leisure, health, social activities nor have they been used to enable cross-border service implementation in the Single Digital Market, or to ensure trust in cross border eCommerce. The study findings assert that the potentially great added value of eID technologies in enabling the Digital Economy has not yet been fulfilled, and fresh efforts are needed to build identification and authentication systems that people can live with, trust and use. The study finds that usability, minimum disclosure and portability, essential features of future systems, are at the margin of the market and cross-country, cross-sector eID systems for business and public service are only in their infancy. This report joins up the dots, and provides significant exploratory evidence of the potential of eID for the Single Digital Market. A clear understanding of this market is crucial for policy action on identification and authentication, eSignature and interoperability.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Hajusraamatutehnoloogia kasutuselevõtu õiguslikud takistused: tehnoloogia neutraalsuse ja funktsionaalse samaväärsuse põhimõtetele tuginev analüüs

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneKäesolev väitekiri käsitleb hajusraamatutehnoloogia (HT) kohtlemist Eesti ja EL õiguse alusel konkreetsete kasutusjuhtude näitel. HT on “mitmeotstarbeline tehnoloogia”, millel on rida erinevaid kasutusvõimalusi, sh. selle kõige tuntumad näited nagu plokiahelatehnoloogia ning bitimünt. Kuivõrd olemasolev õigusraamistik on loodud tsentraliseeritud infrastruktuuride ning mitte hajutatud andmestruktuuride jaoks nagu seda on HT, siis tihtipeale takistab olemasolev õigusraamistik HT kasutamist selles sisalduvate nii otseste kui ka kaudsete kallutatud nõuete tõttu. Nimetatud dissonants on sarnane analoogmaailma jaoks loodud õigusnormide takistava mõjuga digitaalsete lahenduste kasutuselevõtmisel. Seega ei ole väitekirjas käsitletavad takistused vaid HT-le omased vaid seotud iga uue tehnoloogia kasutuselevõtuga. Toodud probleemi uuritakseväitekirjas kolme konkreetse HT kasutusjuhu pinnal: (i) bitimündi vahetusteenuse osutamine; (ii) HT-põhise osanike nimekirja pidamine ; (iii) HT-põhise hübriid-targa lepingu ning elektroonilise allkirja kasutamine. Uurimise mõõdupuuna kasutatakse tehnoloogia neutraalsuse põhimõtet ning funktsionaalse samaväärsuse alampõhimõtet, et tuvastada kallutatud nõudeid ning piirata riigivõimu voli eelistada konkreetseid tehnoloogiaid samas teisi tehnoloogiaid diskrimineerides. HT kasutusjuhtude pinnal saab järeldada, et olemasolev õigsraamistik ei ole tehnoloogia-neutraalne ning eelistab tsentraliseeritud lahendusi ning ei taga HT-põhistele funktsionaalselt samaväärsetele lahendustele samaväärset kohtlemist. Arvestades toodud järeldusi uuritakse väitekirjas ka kallutatud nõuete põhjuseid ning strateegiaid kuidas jätkusuutlikult lahendada kallutatusest tekkinud takistused HT kasutusele. Väitekirja teema on oluline arvestades ka 2020. aasta lõpus avaldatud EL-i digitaalse finantspaketi määruste eesmärki, milleks on toetada HT kasutuselevõttu EL-is.This dissertation focuses on the treatment of distributed ledger technology (DLT) applications under the existing regulation in Estonia and the EU based on the analysis of specific use cases. The existing regulatory frameworks in most jurisdictions were built for centralized infrastructures and not for distributed ones, such as built on DLT. Consequently, current legal frameworks may inhibit the use of DLT due to either apparent or non-apparent biases written into the regulation. DLT on the other hand represents a “general-purpose technology” that, therefore, has abundance of applications including its most well known examples of blockchain and Bitcoin. The discrepancy between old rules and new tools is nothing new as the development of the digital world in comparison to the physical world led to the same problem. Therefore, the research problem addressed in the dissertation is not specific to DLT, but linked to the uptake of any new technology. With the aim to explore the potentially inhibiting effect of existing regulation, specific DLT use cases are investigated: (i) bitcoin exchange-service provision; (ii) DLT-based shareholder ledger maintenance and (iii) use of DLT-based electronic signature and hybrid smart contract agreements. In this exploration, the principle of technology neutrality and its sub-principle of functional equivalence are utilized as benchmarks for the identification of biases. The aim of these principles is to prohibit regulators from favouring some technologies and discriminating against others. The use case analyses show that some of the existing regulation is not technology-neutral due to inbound bias for centralized solutions. Furthermore, effects equivalence is not granted by existing regulation to functionally equivalent DLT-based solutions. Against this background, the dissertation discusses the reasons for these biases and regulative strategies to resolve these in a sustainable manner. The dissertation is especially relevant considering the goal of the proposed EU regulations of the Digital Finance Package introduced in late 2020 to promote the use of DLT in the EU.https://www.ester.ee/record=b542731

Blockchain in Education

This report introduces the fundamental principles of the Blockchain focusing on its potential for the education sector. It explains how this technology may both disrupt institutional norms and empower learners. It proposes eight scenarios for the application of the Blockchain in an education context, based on the current state of technology development and deployment.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

EU:s Gemensamma Digitala Ingång och dess genomförande i finsk elektronisk förvaltning: En fallstudie

Electronic government systems are evolving towards platform-like public service single point of contacts, where citizens and businesses can complete most public administration procedures fully online. However, this progress has been slow since digitalization of the public sector is not only a technical but also a legal, semantic and organizational challenge and it requires extensive reorganization of government. When creating a governmental system of systems across the public sector, technical, legal, semantic and organizational interoperability is needed. This thesis compares electronic government with digital platforms and investigates what resources in electronic government environments resemble digital platforms’ boundary resources. The aim is to identify what kinds of resources governmental platform owners should provide to public service providers for expediting the development, adoption, and growth of governmental platforms. A case study on EU’s Single Digital Gateway regulation was conducted. The objective of the regulation is to create an EU-wide public service portal that helps citizens and business use their right to free movement within the union. The Finnish public administration platform Suomi.fi and the labor market platform Työmarkkinatori will be connected to the portal and are examined as subunits in the case study. Data collection consisted of qualitative semi- or unstructured in-depth interviews with Finnish electronic government specialists involved in the case. The findings of the study indicate that electronic governments face a similar paradox of control as digital infrastructures and digital platforms. The main boundary resources that are paramount for an interoperable cross-border electronic government platform are high-level identification tools, secure data exchange tools, secure messaging tools, interoperability components and solutions, regulatory documents, transparency resources, and instructions and documentation. To accelerate electronic government development, the platform owners should enhance the communication with the third-party service providers, give sufficient flexibility to third parties in their development, set realistic schedules, concentrate on overcoming legal, organizational and semantic interoperability challenges, and try offer incentives for actors on the platform.Elektroniska förvaltningssystem utvecklas mot plattformliknande kontaktpunkter för offentliga tjänster, där medborgare och företag kan fullgöra de flesta offentliga förvaltningsförfarandena på nätet. Denna utveckling har dock varit långsamt, eftersom digitaliseringen av den offentliga sektorn inte bara är en teknisk utan också en juridisk, semantisk och organisatorisk utmaning och kräver en omfattande omorganisation av förvaltningen. När man skapar ett statligt system av system över hela offentliga sektorn behövs teknisk, juridisk, semantisk och organisatorisk interoperabilitet. Avhandlingen jämför elektronisk förvaltning med digitala plattformar och undersöker vilka resurser i elektronisk förvaltning liknar de digitala plattformarnas gränsresurser. Syftet är att identifiera vilka typer av resurser statliga plattformsägare bör tillhandahålla offentliga tjänsteleverantörer för att påskynda utveckling, adoption och tillväxt av statliga plattformar. En fallstudie genomfördes om EU:s förordning om inrättande av en gemensam digital ingång. Syftet med förordningen är att skapa en EU-omfattande portal för offentliga tjänster som hjälper medborgare och företag att använda sin rätt till fri rörlighet inom unionen. Den finska offentliga förvaltningsplattformen Suomi.fi och arbetsmarknadsplattformen Työmarkkinatori kommer att anslutas till portalen och granskas som enheter i fallstudien. Datainsamling bestod av kvalitativa halv- eller ostrukturerade djupintervjuer med finska elektronisk förvaltningsspecialister. Undersökningsresultaten visar att elektronisk förvaltning står inför en liknande paradox av kontroll som digitala infrastrukturer och digitala plattformar. De viktigaste gränsresurserna som är avgörande för en interoperabel gränsöverskridande elektronisk förvaltningsplattform är identifieringsverktyg på hög nivå, säkra verktyg för datautbyte, säkra kommunikationskanaler, komponenter och lösningar för interoperabilitet, förordningsdokument, transparensresurser samt instruktioner och dokumentation. För att påskynda den elektroniska förvaltningsutvecklingen borde plattformsägare förbättra kommunikationen med tredjepartsleverantörer, ge tillräcklig flexibilitet till tredje parter i deras utveckling, fastställa realistiska tidtabeller, koncentrera sig på att övervinna juridiska, organisatoriska och semantiska interoperabilitetsutmaningar och försöka erbjuda incitament för aktörer på plattformen