Electronic governance, also known as e-government, means that public services are provided to citizens and businesses using digital technologies (Internet, e-mail, mobile apps, etc.). The advantages of e-governance include the possibility of faster service delivery and reducing costs incurred by citizens.
However, these benefits must be weighed against the challenges posed by the current state of e-governance in Poland and its development prospects in the near future.
In this article, I provide an overview of Poland’s journey in leveraging technology in government, which may be helpful to anyone interested in e-governance.
Overview of e-governance in Poland
The digital transformation of governance is a popular topic nowadays, mainly incited by the COVID19 pandemic.
Governments around Europe and also in other parts of the world are finally convinced that a well-designed digital platform can facilitate communication between citizens and officials.
The case of Poland shows how rapidly such solutions can be implemented. Before 2006, only a few government services were available online. However, within a few years, almost all major functions have migrated to digital platforms.
In Poland, the Ministry of Digital Affairs has been responsible for digital policies, public administration reform, public sector digitalisation and development of electronic government since 2015. In 2020, it was merged into the Chancellery of the Prime Minister; however, the relevant departments continue to provide leadership in the digital domain.
Digital infrastructure in Poland
The Polish public administration is actively involved in open data initiatives. A good example is Open Data Portal. This portal allows everybody to get information about different areas: from education, economy or transport to environmental issues and water resources. There is a special Data API for developers allowing them to develop their own applications using public sector data.
The ePUAP Portal (Electronic Platform of Public Administration Services) allows government institutions to provide services to the public via electronic communications channels. It enables citizens and/or enterprises to take care of official matters and administrative procedures with no charge.
The obywatel.gov.pl portal has dozens of the most popular services provided by the public administration available for easy access and convenience.
Promoting transparency and accountability in the public sector
The Polish government has been actively promoting transparency and accountability within its public sector for several years now. This means that Poland has put itself among a small number of trailblazers who are at the forefront of digital government.
For instance, Poland ranked 24th out of 193 countries according to the E-Government Development 2020 Index (EDGI). Meanwhile, it ranked 9th out of 193 countries in e-participation, according to the same report. This is a massive improvement compared to the 36th place it had in 2018.
The 2021 DESI index (which takes into account only countries within the EU) congratulates Poland’s efforts in public digitalisation even though it ranked 24th out of 27. According to this study, the government made progress in many indicators. Still, given the equally positive developments in other countries, this was not translated into a change in its overall position.
However, while progress is being made, there are still many challenges ahead if Poland is to achieve its goal of becoming an e-government leader.
What are the challenges of e-governance in Poland?
Some of the obstacles the government has to overcome are
- Transparency
- accessibility
- information security
- distrust among citizens towards public institutions
- legal implementation of new technologies
- better connectivity
These obstacles could be overcome by using examples from European Union countries and cooperation with civil society. Improvement of information systems is also a crucial condition for developing e-governance.
However, it should be noted that the development of these systems won’t have any effect if citizens don’t trust them or have no reason to do so.
Finally, Poland’s performance is offset by a below EU average scores in digital public services. Currently, the government needs to improve its performance regarding public services. It can remedy this by encouraging citizens and businesses to procure and complete certain transactions online.
Such an approach does not require significant investment but results obtained through it will be very positive for all those involved: i.e., for citizens who feel more connected to state institutions; for state institutions that can present better services; for companies cooperating with the public sector as such cooperation will be much easier thanks to electronic means of communication.
Sources:
https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/en-us/Data/Country-Information/id/135-Poland
