The document outlines the Digital Agenda for Europe, aimed at achieving smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth by developing a digital single market. It emphasizes the need for actions to overcome obstacles such as fragmented markets, lack of interoperability, and insufficient digital literacy. Local authorities play a crucial role in implementing these strategies, enhancing service delivery through improved access to digital resources.

1. A European vision of e-government policies
Digital Agenda for Europe
28 April 2011
Senior Advisor Tommi Karttaavi
Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities

2. Association of Finnish Local and
Regional Authorities (Kuntaliitto)
• Interest, service and development organisation of
the Finnish local government
• All Finnish municipalities are members of the
association; service agreements with other local
government organisations
• Kuntaliitto Group employs 1.310 people; 300 in the
association and others in the companies it owns
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3. Europe has been hit hard
•Unemployment rate is high
•Manufacturing jobs are moving to Asia
•Population is ageing fast
•Euro is in crisis
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4. ”We are going to Hell, but at least in the
first class”
The Danish about their financial crisis in the 80’s
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5. Digital Agenda – getting Europe
back on track
• The Digital Agenda for Europe is one of the seven
flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy
• Europe 2020 priorities:
• Smart growth: developing an economy based on
knowledge and innovation
• Sustainable growth: promoting a more resource
efficient, greener and more competitive economy
• Inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment
economy delivering social and territorial cohesion
• The main objective of the Digital Agenda is to
develop a digital single market in order to generate
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe
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6. Sustainable growth?
• “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs” (Bruntland Commission report, 1987)
• “In its physical dimensions the economy is an open subsystem of
the earth ecosystem, which is finite, nongrowing, and materially
closed. As the economic subsystem grows it incorporates an ever
greater proportion of the total ecosystem into itself and must reach
a limit at 100 percent, if not before. Therefore its growth is not
sustainable. The term "sustainable growth" when applied to
the economy is a bad oxymoron— self-contradictory as prose,
and unevocative as poetry.” (Herman E. Daly and Kenneth N.
Townsend, 1993)
• Economic growth based on the increased production of
commodities cannot be sustainable by definition
28-Apr-11 6

7. What about the digital economy?
• Internet advertising now
bigger than newspaper
advertising in US
• Google’s revenues in 2010
nearly USD 30 billion
(almost totally from
advertising)
• However, advertising is
not very sustainable – it is
trying to get us to buy
things we don’t really need
• But there’s more to digital IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report conducted by
economy than just PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)
advertising
28-Apr-11 7

8. Online industries
• Some industries can handle the whole supply
chain online
• Software industry
• Digital content industry
• Some service industries
• Moving bits instead of atoms is better for the
environment
• However, datacenters run by the big Internet
companies are using more energy than India (a
study by greenpeace, 2007)
28-Apr-11 8

9. Software industry
• Size of the worldwide software industry in 2009 was
estimated to be $242,4 billion
• In 2014, the global software market is forecast to
have a value of $330 billion, an increase of 36,1%
since 2009 (Research and Markets)
• Open Source business models make it possible for
even small regional enterprises to enter the global
market
28-Apr-11 9

10. What is open source software?
• Computer programs are written in some programming languague
(source code) and translated to binary code for execution
• Source code is human-readable, binary code is machine-readable
• You need the source code to determine how a computer program
works and to make changes to it
• Open source software means that the source code is freely
available
• Open source software is usually distributed under some permissive
licence that permits users to study, change, improve and
sometimes also to distribute the software
• For some people open source is an ideology and for some it is a
way of doing business
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11. Gurux Ltd.
• Founded in 1998, operating in Tampere, Finland,
employing 5 people
• Makes software for reading data remotely from
devices (e.g. electricity or gas meters)
• Gave up their patents and switched to open source
in 2009
• Has now a global customer base
• Business model: licence fees from customers who
use their source code as a part of their own closed
source products
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12. Digital content industry
• Digital content products (music, films, newspaper
and magazines, games, books) can be copied
infinitely with minimal use of natural resources in
the process
• European consumers used EUR 180 billion in media
content in 2010
• Size of the European digital content industry in 2010
was estimated to be approx. EUR 27 billion (15% of
the total media content market in Europe)
• Europe’s rich and diverse cultural heritage could
give it an competetive advantage in the content
market
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13. Global digital revenues share
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14. Music industry
IFPI Digital Music Report 2010
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15. What about sustainability?
• Hundreds of millions of
plastic disks with plastic
covers are produced,
shipped and stored
every year
• The same products
could be stored digitally
and distributed online
• What is stopping this
from happening?
http://blog.ecycler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/dvd-pile.jpg
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16. Music downloads - US level four
times bigger than the EU
Music single downloads per quarter (in millions)
350,0
300,0
250,0
200,0
150,0
100,0
50,0
0,0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Europe USA Asia
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17. ”We’re sorry. We could not
process your order because
of geographical restrictions
on the product which you
were attempting to
purchase.”
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18. What is the problem?
• Global digital revenues from recorded music sales grew by
6% in 2010 but it was not enough to turn around an
estimated 8-9% annual fall in total trade value (IFPI)
• Piracy is part of the problem, but the music industry is
focused on fighting it when they should be re-thinking their
business models
• The current model of intellectual property rights regulation
is too rigid for the online economy
• Record labels and IPR protection organisations are slowing
down the progress, trying to keep the status quo
• Internet is making it easier for artists to bypass record
labels, but turning downloads into revenue is not easy
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19. Video gaming industry
• Global video gaming market is expected to grow at
an annual rate of 8.9% over the period 2008-2013
to reach $76.1 billion in 2013
• Online gaming and mobile gaming are likely to be
the key drivers of the growth
• Piracy and IP protection are the key challenges for
the video gaming industry
Source: The Video Gaming Market Outlook by Business
Insight, 2009
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20. Do you have Angry Birds in your pocket?
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21. Angry Birds
• In 2003, three students from Helsinki University of Technology
participated in a mobile game development competition which
prompted them to set up their own company, Relude.
• In January 2005, Relude received its first round of investment from
a business angel, and the company changed its name to Rovio
Mobile
• In 2009 the company was on the verge of bankruptcy
• In December 2009 Rovio released Angry Birds, a game for the
iPhone
• Angry Birds has since been downloaded over 100 million times,
with paid downloads accounting for more than 25% of total
downloads, making it one of the most sold games in the Apple App
Store
• Rovio's turnover for Q1/2011 was approx. 14 million euros
• In March 2011 Rovio raised $42 million in Venture Capital Funding
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22. online paper dolls?
That’s just silly,
right?
http://connect.in.com/stardoll/photos-stardoll002-18c76923f4273102.html
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23. Stardoll.com
• Liisa Wrang, a cleaner on disability retirement, from Turku,
Finland, had always loved to draw paper dolls and in her
fifties learned to do it using a computer
• She started publishing her best dolls on her own website
• Prompted by her son she founded a company in 2004
• A venture capital company invested EUR 4 million in the
start-up
• The Stardoll community now has more than 80 million
registered users
• In 2009 Stardoll was listed as one of "The Most Valuable
Internet Startups", by online magazine Business Insider
• The estimated sales for 2009 were around USD 25 million
and a conservative valuation for the company of roughly USD
200 million
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24. What kind of services can be offered
online?
• All kinds of services that do not require physical
contact can be offered online
• Financial services
• Advisory
• Training
• Etc…
• New and surprising business models are emerging
all the time
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25. The really strange side of digital
economy…
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26. What is slowing the digital economy
down in Europe?
• The following were identified as the most significant
obstacles for the realisation of the goals of the
Digital Agenda for Europe:
• Fragmented digital markets
• Lack of interoperability
• Rising cybercrime and risk of low trust in networks
• Lack of investment in networks
• Insufficient research and innovation efforts
• Lack of digital literacy and skills
• Missed opportunities in addressing societal challenges
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27. What actions are to be taken under
the Digital Agenda?
• A total of hundred actions, under seven categories,
corresponding to the seven identified obstacles
• Achieving the digital single market
• Enhancing interoperability and standards
• Consolidating online trust and security
• Promoting fast and ultra fast Internet access for all
• Investing in research and innovation
• Enhancing digital literacy, skills and inclusion
• Leveraging smart use of technology for society
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28. Achieving the digital single market
(Digital Agenda goals and actions)
• Opening up access to content
• Key Action 1: Simplify copyright clearance, management and
cross-border licensing
• Making online and cross border transactions
straightforward
• Key Action 2: Ensure the completion of the Single Euro
Payment Area (SEPA)
• Key Action 3: In 2011 propose a revision of the eSignature
Directive
• Building digital confidence
• Key Action 4: Review the EU data protection regulatory
framework
• Reinforcing the single market for telecommunications
services
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29. Enhancing interoperability and
standards (Digital Agenda goals and
actions)
• Improving ICT standard-setting
• Key Action 5: As part of the review of EU
standardisation policy, propose legal measures on ICT
interoperability by 2010 to reform the rules on
implementation of ICT standards in Europe to allow
use of certain ICT fora and consortia standards
• Promoting better use of standards
• Enhancing interoperability through coordination
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30. What does interoperability mean?
• European Interoperability Framework: “Interoperability,
within the context of European public service delivery, is
the ability of disparate and diverse organisations to
interact towards mutually beneficial and agreed common
goals, involving the sharing of information and
knowledge between the organisations, through the
business processes they support, by means of the
exchange of data between their respective ICT systems”
• Four levels of interoperability:
• Technical Interoperability
• Semantic interoperability
• Organisational interoperability
• Legal interoperability
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31. Why is interoperability important?
• Interoperability addresses the need for:
• Cooperation among public administrations with the aim to
establish public services
• Exchanging information among public administrations to fulfil
legal requirements or political commitments
• Sharing and reusing information among public administrations
to increase administrative efficiency and cut red tape for
citizens and businesses
• The result is:
• Improved public service delivery to citizens and businesses by
facilitating the one-stop-shop delivery of public services;
• Lower costs for public administrations, businesses and citizens
due to the efficient delivery of public services
Source: European Interoperability Framework
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32. Consolidating online trust and
security (Digital Agenda goals and
actions)
• Europeans will not embrace technology they do not
trust
• Governments are obliged to help citizens be safe
online
• Key Action 6: Present in 2010 measures aiming at a
reinforced and high level Network and Information
Security Policy
• Key Action 7: Present measures, including legislative
initiatives, to combat cyber attacks against
information systems
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33. Promoting fast and ultra fast
Internet access for all (Digital
Agenda goals and actions)
• Very fast Internet is needed to for the economy to grow
and to create jobs
• Universal broadband coverage with increasing speeds must
be guaranteed
• Deployment of Next Generation Access networks (NGA)
• Open and neutral networks
• Key Action 8: Adopt in 2010 a Broadband Communication
that lays out a common framework for actions at EU and
Member State to meet the Europe 2020 broadband targets
(including funding of high-speed broadband through EU
instruments, European Spectrum Policy Programme and
encouraging investment in competitive Next Generation
Access networks)
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34. Broadband in Europe
• More than 60 percent of households and 90 percent of
enterprises are connected to broadband
• The European broadband market has developed into the
largest in the world, with 128,3 million lines.
• Some European Member States currently top the ranks in
terms of penetration rates worldwide
• The fixed broadband penetration rate in the European
Union as a whole was 25.6 percent in July 2010
• However, recently up-take has been slow and deployment
of Next Generation Access is only beginning
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35. Fiber to the home penetration
The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011, World Economic Forum
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36. Investing in research and
innovation (Digital Agenda goals
and actions)
• Europe must invest more in Research and Development
(R&D) and ensure our best ideas reach the market
• R&D investments should be focused and pooled together
• Publicly funded research should be widely disseminated
through Open Access publication of scientific data and
papers
• Industry-led initiatives aiming at standards and open
platforms for new products and services will be supported
in EU-funded programmes
• Key action 9: Leverage more private investment through the
strategic use of pre-commercial procurement and public-
private partnerships , by using structural funds for research
and innovation and by maintaining a pace of 20% yearly
increase of the ICT R&D budget
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37. Enhancing digital literacy, skills and
inclusion (Digital Agenda goals and
actions)
• No person should be without the knowledge and skills they
need to enjoy the digital era
• Digital and media literacy are the basic passport to
participation
• Key Action 10: Propose digital literacy and competences as a
priority for the European Social Fund regulation
• High speed economy demands a sufficient supply of
workers who are proficient ICT users
• Key Action 11: By 2012, develop tools to identify and
recognise the competences of ICT practitioners and users to
increase the competences and the mobility of ICT
practitioners across Europe
• Digital services should be designed to be inclusive
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38. Leveraging smart use of technology
for society (Digital Agenda goals
and actions) 1/3
• Smart use of technology and exploitation of
information will help to address the challenges
facing society like climate change and the ageing
population
• Key Action 12: Assess by 2011 whether the ICT
sector has complied with the timeline to adopt
common measurement methodologies for the sector's
own energy performance and greenhouse gas
emissions and propose legal measures if appropriate
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39. Leveraging smart use of technology
for society (Digital Agenda goals
and actions) 2/3
• Sustainable healthcare and ICT-based support for
dignified and independent living
• Key Action 13: Undertake pilot actions to equip
Europeans with secure online access to their medical
health data by 2015 and to achieve by 2020
widespread deployment of telemedicine services;
• Key Action 14: Propose a recommendation defining a
minimum common set of patient data for
interoperability of patient records to be accessed or
exchanged electronically across Member States by
2012
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40. Leveraging smart use of technology
for society (Digital Agenda goals
and actions) 3/3
• Promoting cultural diversity and creative content
• Key action 15: By 2012 propose a sustainable model
for financing the EU public digital library Europeana
and digitisation of content
• The Commission will lead by example in
implementing smart eGovernment
• Key Action 16: Propose by 2012 a Council and
Parliament Decision to ensure mutual recognition of e-
identification and e-authentication across the EU
based on online 'authentication services' to be offered
in all Member States
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41. Local and regional authorities and
the Digital Agenda (1/3)
• Local authorities can be key drivers for the implementation
of the Digital Agenda
• Digital single market
• Digital economy can create new jobs and prosperity that
benefit the local authorities as well as businesses
• Interoperability and standards
• Local authorities should participate in wide-ranging
cooperation to improve the interoperability of public
administration and the effectiveness of public service delivery
• Online trust and security
• Local authorities must meet the same requirements for
security and privacy as in the national level
28-Apr-11 41

42. Local and regional authorities and
the Digital Agenda (2/3)
• Internet access
• Access to high-quality wireless broadband at
affordable prices can increase the quality of services
provided by local and regional authorities
• Remote regions and communities are expected to
benefit considerably from more widespread and faster
access to broadband services
• The availability of radio spectrum for wireless
broadband services in remote and sparsely populated
areas should be guaranteed
28-Apr-11 42

43. Local and regional authorities and
the Digital Agenda (3/3)
• Research and innovation
• Even small institutions at regional and local level can produce
knowledge of worldwide interest in restricted specialist areas,
especially when they participate in global networks and
collaborate with knowledge-based businesses
• Digital literacy, skills and inclusion
• Local authorities have a central role in ensuring that citizens
have the essential skills needed in the information society
• Smart use of technology for society
• The Digital Agenda can act as an incentive to regions and
municipalities to reform their own service and production
processes in a framework of European cooperation
28-Apr-11 43

44. ASPA project: building better
services for citizens
• Customer service development project in the City of Oulu,
funded by the Ministry of Finance
• Multi-channel one-stop-shop for all the municipal services
• Citizen’s portal (OmaOulu.fi) for self-service
• Call center (the goal is to access all services with one phone
number)
• Service counter if the citizen doesn’t want to use online or
phone services
• Requires interoperability between various systems
• Cost savings for the municipality through efficiency
• Seamless, time saving services for the citizen
28-Apr-11 44

45. OmaOulu.fi citizen’s portal
• Personalised access to
public services
• Strong electronic
identification
• An open source
platform (components
are available at the
European Union’s open
source portal Osor.eu)
28-Apr-11 45

46. The end-result of a successful Digital
Agenda: virtuous cycle of the digital
economy
28-Apr-11 46

47. Moltes gràcies!
tommi.karttaavi@kuntaliitto.fi