ŠAVŠ/TAČR Digital Czechia in a Digital Europe

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identify and report any shortcomings to the relevant department. However, the Czech Republic largely has neglected this important element in the current process of digitalization of public administration and services. Therefore, the Czech Republic should continuously invest in the systematic collection of data and information related to the digitalization of public administration (questionnaire surveys, focus groups, online surveys, etc.). Without these data and the ability to react, the effective implementation of digitalization processes becomes very complicated. As of December 2018, the Citizen’s Portal officially offered up to 60 services – compared to the 37 services that the Portal offered in July of the same year. This fact undoubtedly represents a significant shift. 11 However, what is the user experience with these services: logging in to the Portal, intuitiveness and navigation within the offered services (so-called user-friendliness), and how actively are e-Identity Cards used by purchasing the necessary chip card readers, etc.? If the state apparatus does not provide feedback, i.e. data that could assess the quality of the services offered, there is a significant risk that the Citizen’s Portal will offer dozens of services as a platform, but they will not be used at all by citizens. Despite the above number of services that the Citizen’s Portal currently offers, it had only 13,000 visitors at the beginning of 2019. By way of comparison, the Norwegian equivalent of such a portal already offered up to 660 services 12 in 2016, and in 2015 the total number of visitors reached 67 million logins. 13 The Czech Republic should thus focus more on the end user and reflect its interests in its digitalization efforts. Regular collection of information, e.g. in the form of questionnaires and subsequent data analysis, should become routine, at least in the first few years after the launch of digital services. All such data should be presented in an annual report, which would identify the worst rated areas of digitalization from the end users’ point of view and those which need to be more user-friendly or otherwise optimized.

11 Portál občana (Citizen’s Portal) already offers 60 services. It recently included the land register. In January, it should add the driver’s licence, Czech Television, 14/12/2018, see https://ct24.ceskatelevize. cz/domaci/2679872-portal-obcana-uz-nabizi-60-sluzeb-nove-zahrnul-katastr-nemovitosti-v-lednu-ma- pribyt. 12 Hansteen Kjell, Ølnes Jon, Alvik Tor, Nordic digital identification Survey and recommendations for cross border cooperation, Norden, 2016, see http://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:902133/ FULLTEXT01.pdf. 13 Digital agenda for Norway in brief ICT for a simpler everyday life and increased productivity.