ŠAVŠ/TAČR Digital Czechia in a Digital Europe

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Austrian Approach – Ministries for digitalization

One of the Czech Republic’s neighbors that applies a centralized approach to e-Government is Austria. In recent years, political responsibility for e-Government strategy and policies in this country has been transferred from the Federal Chancellery to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs . The ministry is responsible for coordinating the process of digitalization and is supported by various other players, in particular the “ Digital Austria” Platform . This was established in 2005 by merging the original e-Government Platform (established in 2003) and the ICT Board (established in 2001). This platform ensures the active participation of all levels of government and public administration. It is composed of representatives of the federal government, regions, cities and municipalities, as well as private and public authorities. Its main task is strategic decision-making, setting priorities in the implementation of joint e-Government projects, their coordination and monitoring, including the complete communication of these activities. The platform is managed by the CIO (Chief Information Officer) and is supported by the administrative departments of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs, as well as by the PR manager. The CIO provides recommendations to the federal government at the strategic and technical levels, supports the formulation of its e-Government policies, chairs the platform and promotes Austrian e-Government solutions at the European and international levels. Last but not least, it is his/her inalienable duty to regularly inform the Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs about the ongoing activities of the Platform. The implementation role of e-Government solutions in Austria is assumed by individual federal ministries, as well as by the Directorate on Digital and eGovernment, the eGovernment Innovation Center (EGIZ), and the Austrian Federal Computing Center.