seven different documents including birth their bank details for payment receipts. All Governance Program at the United Nations
registration, salary details, social security other information is collected automatically Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
contributions, home address details and so by the system from five different databases and one of the early architects of Estonia’s
on, and then travel to local government of- and through 18 different data requests. It e-governance success. “M-Governance is
fices to present the relevant documentation. takes just a few minutes to do. unlikely to replace e-governance, but it will
With e-governance, the applicant accesses “The use of mobile systems for public add value. If lots of information needs input-
the relevant social security web page using services is growing but there are limita- ting then it is easier to use devices other
their ID card for authentication and fill in tions,” says Mr. Ivar Tallo, Manager of e- than mobiles due to the restrictions of the
small screen and small keyboard.
“We thought that our experiences would
Five lessons from Estonia
be valid for other countries in our region,
but to my surprise I am finding that peo-
ple across the world are interested in our
How has Estonia managed to create information exchange on the internet, approach. I have been invited to speak in
such an advanced e-governance system they also joined.” Africa, China and the Caribbean. Estonia has
while most other countries have lagged shown that it is possible for non-wealthy
behind?
•
Electronic ID system: “In 2002 we countries to do this.
introduced electronic IDs for everyone. “For example, in many respects Rwanda
Ivar Tallo identifies five key lessons: Each has an authentication certificate is similar to Estonia in that it has a small
and a digital signature, and in 2003 the population and limited natural resources.
•
Cooperation between the private government legislated an obligation Rwanda is becoming the Estonia of Africa.
and public sectors. “The government be- from its part to accept electronically- The Estonian example seems to be inspiring
came a smart purchaser and allowed the signed documents.” other nations,” concludes Tallo. ■
private sector to develop the technolo-
gies and then reap real business rewards
•
Investment in ICT skills: “In the
from their investments.” 1990s we invested in a national program
to connect all schools, train teachers and
•
Strong political will: “Our plans equip classrooms with computers. If we
were backed by real resources, not just had spent the money on school roofs, a
the empty words of politicians.” new generation would have been more
comfortable, but would not have the es-
•
An early open framework for data sential digital skills.”
exchange: “We started by joining three
national registries together. As other
agencies saw the benefits of digital
Photo: iStockphoto
3/2008 Expanding Horizons 7
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