Building the Finnish information society – the Government Information Society Programme 2003-2007

Prime Minister Vanhanen’s first Cabinet wanted to add momentum to the information society development in Finland and launched an intersectoral Information Society Policy Programme in 2003. In addition to the thirteen ministries, the municipal sector, several enterprises and third sector organisations also participated in the implementation of the programme. A broad-based Information Society Council with seven sections was appointed to support the implementation of the programme. The Council was chaired by the Prime Minister and its members comprised other ministers and various stakeholders.

The objective of the Government Information Society Programme was to boost competitiveness and productivity and promote social and regional equality through effective utilisation of information and communications technologies throughout the society. The Information Society Programme also aimed to maintain Finland’s status as one of the leading ICT producers and users. The mission of the Programme was information society for all.

The content of the Information Society Programme was updated every year and the ensuing changes reflected the developments which had taken place in the course of the implementation of the programme. The focus has shifted for example from state information management to the utilisation of ICT throughout public administration, electronic services are considered as part of the development of service production, digitalisation of business is promoted instead of e-business and, in 2005, the international dimension was added as a completely new area to the information society development.

The main objective of the Information Society Programme was to increase cooperation and reform the structures of public information management to ensure the availability and quality of public services. As a result, there was a noticeable increase in the level and readiness to cooperate between and within public and private sectors. The programme brought about a significant paradigmatic change: As regards the utilisation of ICT, Finland can now be seen as a single national entity which allows for the provision of, for example, electronic services throughout public administration. The national electronic archiving service applied within the social and health care sector provides a good example of this. Determined progress has also been achieved with regard to the structural reform of information management within public administration. The state IT management unit (ValtIT) was established in 2005 and the municipality IT unit (KuntaIT), which coordinates information management cooperation between Finnish municipalities, began its work in the Ministry of the Interior on 1 October 2006. In 2006, resources for steering information management within the social and health care sector were increased in the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health.

Citizens’ and businesses’ ability to utilise the information society developed positively during the past electoral period and currently almost 96% of Finns can purchase an access to broadband. The World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2005-2006, measuring the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments, ranked Finland on fourth place after Denmark, Sweden and Singapore. Finns are the world’s most active users of public services on the net. However, work on the information society is not completed. Efforts must be made to develop IT skills among the elderly and within educational institutions and the reform of public sector service structures must be continued. The achieved results, however, provide an excellent basis to continue work on the information society development.

In the meeting of the state IT management group, State Under-Secretary Juhani Turunen described the Information Society Programme as follows: “The Information Society Programme is a prime example of what can be achieved with high-level leadership, sound stakeholder cooperation and few resources. At times, the programme has also served the role of the whip.”  In line with our objectives, we managed to turn words into action. You can read more on these words and deeds in the final report of the Information Society Programme which was issued today.

At the end of the programme period it is important to also look towards the future. The third national Information Society Strategy was prepared in 2006 as part of the implementation of the Information Society Programme: Innovative, human-centric and competitive Finland. The focus of the strategy is on the year 2015. A concrete and detailed implementation plan of the strategy was issued in March 2007. The strategy is also reflected in the Government Programme of Prime Minister Vanhanen’s second Cabinet with a commitment to the implementation of the strategy. According to the Government Programme, a ministerial-led advisory committee on information society issues will be established and the development of public administration and information management (incl. ValtIT and KuntaIT) will fall within the responsibility of one minister. This is in line with the proposal put forward by the KuntaTIME Working Group in 2005.

The Office of the Information Society Programme wishes to thank all stakeholders for their enthusiasm, activeness and commitment to the programme. Our special thanks go to the ministerial group which met almost every month and provided us with clear political guidelines and decisions.

And now the Office of the Information Society Programme closes down. On 30 April 2007. For good. But the work will continue.

The Office of the Information Society Programme