Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 15th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview VI. Working Group on E-government Author(s) Leo Aadel I do not belong to any Institution Tallinn Estonia Title Analysis of electronic governance in Estonia File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract Involvement in the knowledge based society and the successful civil society is based on people’s free access to information and, more extensively, to ICT based services. Access to information has also been said to be a human right. Extensive employment of information technology provides additional possibilities for involving citizens in decision making processes that require deliberation, and enable the citizens to lead a sustainable life and protect their living environment. Employment of new technologies prepares the way, first and foremost, for a new way of thinking and competing with the so-called old member states at the open European market. Freedom of information and the principle of openness are the best guarantees against arbitrary exercise of authority and corruption, and for ensuring positive and active interaction between citizens and the state. The real role of the state is to enhance the development of a balanced society where regulation of the information environment by the medium of the state is an entirely reasonable solution. The mission of the state of Estonia in terms of information technology is recognition and protection of such values all over the world. Introduction of technological solutions means, in its turn, reducing the number of officials and would enable the citizen to communicate with the state by means of a single information window. This, in its turn, would reduce bureaucracy and involvement of the citizens in it. Developing a person centred, efficient and transparent public sector has to become a badge of Estonia. Shifting emphasis from information technology solutions to developing the information society as a whole, poses challenges to the general model of co-ordination. ICT and the reputation of Estonia as an e-state enable us to introduce at the international level solutions that exceed the level of public departments, the central government and local governments, and the public and private sectors in order to provide the final consumer with the highest good possible. Just prior to the NISPAcee annual conference, a general election takes place in Estonia. It has been predicted that electronic voting at the election can become a positive example and lead to e-voting being introduced in other countries, both at elections and in public administration. The e-voting pilot project was successfully carried out in Estonia at the 2005 local election. In his paper delivered at the previous conference, the author discussed the advantages and disadvantages of e-voting based on the Estonian experience addressing the reasons of developing an information society and, thus, providing Estonia a competitive advantage in Europe. The present article analyses the shortcomings endangering the success of e-governance that are emphasised in a recent State Audit Office report. The report makes an assessment of general co-ordination of public sector ICT at the level of public departments, balanced and sustainable financing of information technology infrastructure and the network of new innovative electronic solutions for customers. The article is based on findings of international research, the economic development strategy for 2006-2008, the information society development plan, the national development plan for 2007-2013, and on an analysis of the actual electronic capacity and the effect of the applied solutions.
