Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503641
Where public sector leads, digital society and economy follow Evangelos Chrysafidis EVANGELOS CHRYSAFIDIS is Microsoft CEE, Middle East & Africa 10 OPINION 13.7.2023 P ublic sector leaders across Central Europe have been dealing with an unprecedented series of challenges, significant geopolitical and economic vola- tility in recent years, as well as some unique opportunities for growth and resilience. Within this context, managing risk, bolstering resilience and navigating pressure on public budgets have become the most immediate and urgent priori- ties. When EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager was asked if Europe's digital as- pirations are still on track, she replied "If anything, they'll be accelerated. Neither the digital transition nor fighting climate change can stop." And I couldn't agree more. Microsoft's Digital Futures Index, a da- ta-led exploration of digital development in Europe, established that more digital- ly advanced countries are greener, more productive, innovative and competitive. Central Europe experienced a spur of technology adoption and digital trans- formation during the Covid-19 pan- demic and showed how public sector digitisation plays a catalyst role, not only improving the resilience, agility and ef- ficiency of the 'business of government', but also creating the conditions for broader digital economic growth and greater digital inclusion. Gaining a deeper understanding of why and how this happens will help leaders make more informed policy and invest- ment decisions. Digitising public services triggers a spiral of progress e Index shows that investment in ICT, cloud, IoT, and AI is a major driver of digital progress and leads to economic and societal benefits. When that invest- ment is used to fuel digitisation of gov- ernment and the public sector, it delivers outsized gains for a country. In particular, digitized public services are more efficient as well as more con- venient for citizens. In Estonia, a glob- ally recognised leader in e-government, e-voting is 20x cheaper than regular vot- ing, for example, filling personal tax re- turns now takes just minutes rather than hours, and registering a new business is 14x faster. Fascinatingly, Malta has become one of the most advanced countries in the world when it comes to delivering digital public services mainly through an agile cloud-first strategy developed by the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), the information and commu- nications technology agency which sup- ports the whole of the Maltese govern- ment. Cybersecurity today is a key priority for governments and an essential foun- dation for accelerated digitisation. When security is at the very heart of the gov- ernment's digital platform, services can roll out faster knowing that users and sensitive data will be kept safe. e Index also showed that higher levels of digital interaction with govern- ment encourages greater participation in the digital economy amongst citizens, creating a virtuous cycle of expanding digital skills and creating more demand for digital services. Digitising public services is very strongly associated with greater produc- tivity, innovation, lower air pollution and higher average salaries. Digital technology alone isn't enough to drive transformation. Skilled IT professionals are needed to deploy and mainstream it across public sec- tor organisations. e Index showed that having more ICT specialists in the workforce further boosts the benefits of digitisation. is explains why the role of Chief Technology Officer is being elevat- ed from the backroom to the boardroom – in some cases, even reporting direct- ly into the Prime Minister. Digitisation is no longer a 'side project' but core to building a platform for the future, with data becoming a key asset on govern- ment balance sheets. The public sector as a driver of digital innovation Innovation is not the result of a few lone geniuses but a product of a con- nected ecosystem: encompassing business, the digital sector, digital in- frastructure, start-ups, talent and the public sector. Importantly, the public sector is not just a small part in this innovation mix but a major catalyst: From delivering 'lighthouse' projects, encouraging private-sector digital in- frastructure investment and advanc- ing the country's technical skills base, to launching open data initiatives and cultivating a diverse local ICT supplier base, for example. A great illustration is the Maltese government's approach to proof-of- concept projects, which help unlock innovation that can be used both for public services and by businesses. One project, for example, saw the Ministry of Tourism and Consumer Protection team up with MITA and Microsoft to run a hackathon to explore the use of AI and satellite imagery to spot waste and litter to help keep the island clean. ese technologies have a wide range of other important potential applications for Malta, including managing the im- pact of climate change on agriculture and carbon offsetting programs. Planting digital seeds to create a greener society e Digital Futures Index found a stag- gering range of correlations between different areas of digital development and sustainability, which underscores the importance of twinning digitisation and green strategies as part of national recovery initiatives. Of all the correlations we found, in- vestment in digital technology and the digital skills of the general population had the strongest positive relationships with environmental outcomes. Our analysis suggests the public sector plays a key role in both and that investing in digital technology and skills should be a top priority for advancing sustainabil- ity. One correlation I found particularly interesting was between the use of dig- ital public services and lower air pol- lution. More people accessing services remotely vs in-person means less traffic on the roads, especially in congested city centres. is shows that having the right, supportive policies and regula- tions in place that make it easy to set up and run digital platforms to deliver services to citizens is very strongly as- sociated with how well a country rates on environmental management. Investing in designing and digitis- ing government services and shaping and architecting the resilient cloud in- frastructure to enable them, is key for efficient, fast and strategically aligned outcomes. is catalyses innovation, stimulates growth and advances solu- tions to some of the most pressing eco- nomic and societal challenges we face. Where the public sector leads, society and the digital economy will follow. is article is part of Digital Future of CEE, a regional discussion series, powered by Emerging Europe, Microsoft and PwC.