ŠAVŠ/TAČR Digital Czechia in a Digital Europe

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Although in many respects the Czech Republic has yet to draw level with its European counterparts in digitalization of public administration and services (whether in terms of the number of people using the services or the quantity and quality of services offered), it should not focus solely on closing the gap but should also factor in the developments that digitalization will continue to take. Therefore, with the development of online platforms (e.g. the Citizen’s Portal), it is necessary to simultaneously create user-friendly versions for smartphones or tablets. This should ensure that communication with the government offices is possible at virtually any time and that the necessary forms can be completed from anywhere. Similarly, more emphasis should be placed on developing systems/online platforms for digitalized public administration and services that are proactive and not just reactive. In the first phase of successful digitalization, platforms should be created that will allow the end user (an individual or legal entity) to communicate with authorities easily, intuitively and effectively. The second phase, which some European countries are already developing in a targeted way, is to create platforms that will be proactive, i.e. they will initiate communication with natural persons and legal entities themselves. The current development of digitalized services suggests that demand for such interactively set-up platforms will increase significantly in the medium to long term. The advantages of such systems are particularly evident in areas such as e-health. Finally, when creating digitalization processes, the public administration should purposefully strive to involve as many interest groups from the private sector as possible. In doing so, the aim should be to continuously and systematically build a network and database of all potential institutions and organizations that are at least to some extent stakeholders in the digitalization process. The ability to plan, coordinate and implement projects together with the private sector is the key to their digital success in many European countries (see, for example, Austria). A detailed list of recommendations for the Czech Republic in this area is found on pages 45 and 46.