This document summarizes a report from Norway's Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi) on governing common e-government components. The report outlines objectives of better digital services for citizens and a more efficient public sector. It defines common components and identifies five that are particularly important. The report recommends standardizing management roles, financing cross-sectoral tasks, increasing coherent priority-setting, and pressure on line management to achieve goals of utilizing common components across agencies.

1. Governance of common
e-Government components
Highlights from an ongoing process in Norway
Ellen Strålberg, assistent director general
Department for ICT-governance and coordination
Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi)

2. The Soria Moria Declaration:
Revitalisation of the public sector shall be
done through better use of technology
Objectives:
better services for the citizens
make the public sector more
efficient
The Government policy:
digital first choice
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3. A vision of a modern digital public sector
“My objective is that we should be able to do most things digital in the future.
The government's goal is digital first choice. This means that communication
with the public that today is performed by paper mail, telephone or in person,
in the future as far as possible should be done digitally, it will say on the
Internet.
Today you receive a paper invoice automatically. If you want an e-invoice,
you must explicitly ask for it. Many government agencies do not give us the
opportunity. The point of the digital first choice is to facilitate the opposite:
The digital communication with the public shall be the automatic first choice
– and if you do not want digital communication, you must explicitly ask for it.”
Rigmor Aasrud, Minister of Government Administration and Reform
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4. Two reports to the Storting outlines important
principles for the reform of Governmental
agencies
Report no. 17:
The development of common IT
components is one of three main
principles
Report no. 19:
lists six overarching goals for
public administration, amongst
theese are:
Good total use of resources
Clear areas of responsibility
Coordination and good
leadership
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5. Definition of common components
Components (or building blocks)
delimited parts of an IT solution
may include software, hardware, databases etc
may comprise a number of building blocks
Common components
Components in IT solutions that can be jointly used or reused in
several IT solutions within the public sector.
Common "building blocks" that allow the development of
electronic services.

6. Common components serve cross-sectoral
needs, but the responsibility is located in one
Ministry/agency
An efficient public administration
requires that public agencies use
common components
That means common components
have to serve cross-sectoral needs
The responsibility for common
components is placed in several
Ministries
That means they have
responsibilities for cross-sectoral
goals and tasks.
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7. What is the situation now?
Reaching cross-
sectoral goals in
the public sector
is challenging
The Ministries
tend to be
represented as
silos with a
weak horizontal
coordination.
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8. Some common components are of particular
importance
According to 4 criteria:
1.A state agency is responsible for
managing the component.
2.The component meets a need across
many sectors and/or administrative tiers.
3.The component is central to the
existing and planned electronic services
of a number of public agencies.
4.It has great socio-economic
significance.

9. Difi recommends 5 common components
The Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities
(basic information about legal entities)
National Population Register (basic information about
persons)
The New Cadastre (basic information about property)
Altinn (-components)
Common infrastructure for eID in the public sector
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10. 1. Standardisation of the management role
and a clear national responsibility
The quality and We propose the following
trustworthiness of the measures:
national com-mon •Acceptance of the cross-
components are critical sectoral responsibility
to the all the agencies •Establish common
mandatory principles for the
This requires trust management of national
between the manager of common components
the common
componen-ts and the
service owners with
regard to the
functionality, availability,
and term-s of use

11. 2. Financing of cross-sectoral tasks
Challenges today: We propose the following
costs and benefits are not measures:
linked Financing of national
benefits may accrue common components must
significantly later be ear-marked so that the
finan-cing promotes the
state budget processes
desired service development
are unable to handle the
need to invest in order to
realise benefits at a later Development of a cost-
date or in other sectors and distribution key at the
agencies. Ministry level for national
common components.

12. 3. Coherent prioritisation in a consensus-
based committee structure
Forpliktende konsensusfremmende fora
Kun den øverste eksisterer i dag med tverrsektorielt helhetsansvar
Stats- Fornyings- Regjerings- Finans-
minister minister minister minis
minister minister konferansen minister
Etats-
Departements- Xx-
styrere FAD FIN NHD HOD AD
utvalget dep
(eksempel)
IT-samordnings-
linjen
Virksom- Strategisk
topplederutvalg
heter Difi Skattedir. Brreg Helsedir. NAV Xx
(eksempel)
Behov for tydelig forpliktende konsensusstyring på flere nivå for
å få samordnet it-styring og helhetlig fokus på formål

13. 4. Increased pressure on line management
Still, the most important We propose the following measures:
Develop guides for managers in how to
challenge in reaching the actual
reform the agencies and improve efficiency
objectives of the components will using IT and common components.
remain: Develop and implement a competency and
net-work programme for departmental
managers in the Ministries, focused on how
New and better electronic IT can ensure reformation and regeneration,
efficiency improvements and benefit
services to residents and realisations in the agencies.
businesses from all public Develop and implement a competence and
net-work programme for strategic and
agencies tactical senior managers in the agencies.

14. Next step?
The report is sent to the Ministry of Government
Administration and Reform.
They have sent it on a broad hearing and is now
processing the responses.
A general comment is that the report makes an
important contribution to shed light on what an
increased cooperation on national common
components provide concering opportunities and
challenges.
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