Digital governments play a vital role in managing and responding to the rapid changes arising from the digital transformation of public sectors, economies and societies. Since the adoption of the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies in 2014, the OECD has been promoting digital government in OECD Member and Partner countries and supporting them in their efforts to achieve government digital maturity. The 2021 G20 Digital Ministerial Declaration, adopted under the G20 Italian Presidency, and its related outputs developed with the support of the OECD, were a strong testament to the importance of digital government in building accessible, human-centred and trustworthy public services and of enablers such as digital identity systems. In the context of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, digital governments have an opportunity to strengthen inclusive, equitable and sustainable public policies and services for the digital age, centred on and driven by the needs of citizens and businesses.
To attain these outcomes, robust governance (i.e. legal and administrative structures, institutional arrangements and mechanisms, policy instruments) is needed to reap the full advantages of being digital and data-driven and to encourage a holistic systemic transformation. As governments mainstream the use of digital technologies and data across sectors and levels of governments, the effective design and implementation of digital government policies need clear and solid leadership, together with the involvement and accountability of relevant stakeholders of the ecosystem. A successful digital transformation requires close co-ordination between the digital government strategy design and execution, efficient and agile management, consistent and coherent planning, and investment in digitalisation projects and initiatives in the public sector.
All these governance elements play a pivotal role in establishing solid foundations for digital government maturity and the long-term sustainability of public sector digital transformation. This is especially true in a post-COVID-19 context where the efforts that went into the overnight adoption of digital tools and operations may not have the political support and commitment they need to continue. More importantly, digital governments would benefit from making the digital agenda an integral part of broader public sector reform and policy agendas. This will help create cross-cutting synergies between digital government and policies that are core to public sector modernisation (e.g. openness, innovation, agility, administrative simplification), as well as with other key priorities of COVID-19 recovery, such as the green transition and efforts to reinforce democracy. Establishing the right governance is, therefore, essential to reap the benefits from decades of investments in the digital transformation of public sectors, and ensure that value-based and digitally mature governments contribute to shaping better outcomes for digital economies and societies.
Building on the outcomes of the OECD Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) meetings in Seoul (2018) and in Brussels (2019), this Handbook elaborates on the concept and approaches of governance of digital government based on the concrete experiences of the E-Leaders, and provides a practical and easy-to-use toolbox for policy makers to improve their digital governance maturity. It also seeks to reflect the new opportunities, challenges and priorities that digital governments have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Handbook provides public sector digital leaders a wealth of knowledge drawn from the experience from OECD digital governments, which can help establish the appropriate governance for their own digital transformation, adapted to their national context. Going forward, regular iterations and updates of this Handbook will ensure its usefulness and responsiveness to the evolving opportunities and challenges faced by governments, and maintain a governance framework that meets the needs of governments. The OECD stands ready to support countries in implementing the approaches proposed in the Handbook so that the digital transformation of the public sector produces better policies for better lives.