There is an ongoing race at the international, regulatory and private sector levels to take advantage of digital.
As an island nation, Cyprus has worked hard to make sure its public sector works efficiently, effectively and transparently to make life better for its citizens and ensure the government’s accountability.
The heavily digitally-influenced reality that many countries have had to rapidly adapt to these past few years has helped Cyprus distinguish itself as an innovation-friendly jurisdiction.
The initiatives outlined in this article represent some of the many ways in which Cyprus’ government is moving towards a digital future where it can provide better services to its people through the use of technology.
Strategies for digital public administration
The Digital Strategy for Cyprus was approved by the Council of Ministers on 8 February 2012.
It was a comprehensive plan for 2012-2020 with a holistic approach to developing the information society in Cyprus.
Based on the Digital Agenda for Europe, the stated overall vision of this strategy was to provide “information and communication technologies to support the development of the economy, and citizen participation in the social and political domains.”
A great focus of the government was improving its citizen’s e-skills.
That’s why the Cyprus Productivity Centre, in association with the Department of Electronic Communications, launched a strategic initiative to improve digital literacy and further promote eGovernment services.
This programme had a four-year timespan from 2017 to 2021.
Until December 2020, 480 workshops and training programmes were conducted involving more than 6 500 participants.
This initiative focused on the benefits coming from eGovernment to increase awareness and take up the existing eServices.
Cyprus has also introduced several reports and policy measures in recent years with a huge focus on innovation and automation.
Namely, the “Digital Strategy for Cyprus” (2020-2025) aims to:
- achieve the digital transformation of the public sector
- promote the digital transformation of the private sector
- foster innovation in line with the country’s level of digital maturity
Moreover, the government has paid special attention to AI and blockchain development in the country.
For instance, the “Research and Innovation Strategy Framework (2019-2023)”, “the Artificial Intelligence Strategy Report,” and the “National Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).”
They all constitute welcoming initiatives that indicate the country’s appetite for adopting and investing in new technologies and research.
Still room for improvement
Most countries have already embraced digital transformation, investing in processes that enhance a digital culture and vision.
According to the DESI index, in 2021, Cyprus showed significant improvement in most categories.
However, its overall scores indicate that there is still room for improvement since it still scores below the EU average.
Overall, Cyprus ranks 21st out of 27 EU Member States in the 2021 edition of the Digital Economy and Society Index, with the most progress made in connectivity.
So, Cyprus ranks above the EU average on mobile broadband take-up, improving its coverage of Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN) and the 5G readiness.
However, disappointingly, Cyprus ranked 23rd in the EU on Human Capital which is below the EU average despite the government’s efforts.
This means that, compared to the other EU Member States, there aren’t enough ICT specialists in the country.
The government should integrate digital skills into the educational curricula to fit the industry’s needs.
What is really positive is that Cyprus scores above the EU average in Digital Public Services.
It ranks 19th out of 27 member states, with businesses actively communicating with public authorities.
But the government still has room for improvement regarding interaction with the general population.
The level of online interaction between public authorities and the general public is below the EU average.
Only 59% of Cypriot internet users actively engage in using e-government services.
Final remarks
Overall, a country’s digital transformation greatly impacts its stability as it has the power to diversify economies, enhance the job market, transform agriculture, protect the ecosystem, and significantly improve health and education.
Cyprus has done great in trying to boost interoperability for a solid, secured and integrated modern government system.
And while that is key to achieving the transformation to a digital government and society – the work is never fully done.
After all, digital is a journey, not a destination.
Even for the most digitally advanced government, there is always more to be done.
Sources:
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/inline-files/DPA_Factsheets_2021_Cyprus_vFinal.pdf
https://mof.gov.cy/assets/modules/wnp/articles/201907/480/docs/blockchain_strategy_english_final.pdf
