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Conclusions on Digital Transformation by Bojana Bajic, regional expert

Bojana Bajic, Digital Transformation of Public Administration Specialist, and ex-Head of the IT Department of the Ministry of Finance, Montenegro, regional expert on digital transformation shared her concluding thoughts and recommendations related to the topics discussed during the conference.

  1. Recognizing digital as a key priority, fully implementing the digital-by-default principle, and accelerating digital transformation for modern societies to harness the potential of digital technologies fully. These measures can lead to improved efficiency, better citizen services, increased competitiveness, and enhanced overall digital readiness.
  2. Ensure political support and putting in place a clear strategy, strong policies and targeted investments with main goal to digital transform the society.
  3. Enhance the Legal and Regulatory Framework to support digital transformation - some economies still need to adopt the missing pieces of legislation (e.g., Bosnia and Herzegovina lack legislation related to the Re-use of Public Sector Information). Candidate and potential candidate countries should also ensure that domestic legislation is fully aligned with the EU acquis.
  4. Strengthen the measurement and monitoring of the strategic goals to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to drive the digital transformation journey forward.
  5. Strengthen the coordination and cooperation mechanism between all institution responsible for digital transformation and innovation in WB economies.
  6. Explore the potential use of the latest emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), smart and sustainable cities and communities.
  7. Improve the benefit realisation of EU investments in digital transformation – monitoring of the investments to increase potential of the investment. The EU provides significant support for research and innovation. All EU Member States can benefit from the EU’s research programmes, especially where there is scientific excellence and solid investment in research.
  8. Prioritisation of digital literacy program in WB economies on their agendas in the coming years that target various segments of society, including students, educators, professionals, and vulnerable groups, unlock the full potential of digital technologies and build a prosperous and inclusive digital future.
  9. Include a Digitization-Ready Legislation Principles as a set of guidelines or principles that aim to ensure that legislation is designed and drafted in a way that facilitates digital transformation and adaptation to new technologies (recognize Technology Neutrality; promote compatibility and interoperability; consider the needs of all users, including individuals with disabilities, by promoting inclusive design and accessibility standards; incorporate provisions to protect personal data and ensure privacy in the digital context, in line with relevant data protection regulations; should address cybersecurity risks and establish measures to safeguard digital systems, networks, and infrastructure; should prioritize the needs and rights of citizens, ensuring that digital services and solutions are designed with their best interests in mind.
  10. Improve current eID, eSignature and PKI solutions and implement the SSO. Complete transposition and implementation of the eIDAS Regulation will help the WB achieve this goal and ensure easier access to online services for cross-border users. Moreover, all public sector websites and online service offers must be available and integrated into the SSO. In combination with advanced mobile application solutions and biometric authentication, all economies can have integrated and fully operational national eID, PKI and SSO.
  11. Enhance technical infrastructure, promote the once-only principle, and improve data interoper ability and sharing. These efforts will lead to more efficient, reliable, and citizen-centric digital services, supporting the overall digital transformation of the public sector.
  12. Enhance the accessibility and usability of their online services, providing citizens and businesses with a convenient and efficient way to access government services through the national one-stop portals. This will contribute to their readiness to meet the requirements of the SDGR and offer better digital experiences to their populations.
  13. The increase in business digitalisation needs to be followed with the sufficient use of advanced digital technologies such as cloud computing, big data analysis and artificial intelligence.
  14. To ensure effective, evidence-based policy making, the data collection process needs to be improved in the WB region, especially in the area of digital technology usage in enterprises as most of the missing indicators relate to this segment. Existing gaps in data availability should be addressed, control over the data collection process improved and a regular data collection process established.
Document type
  • Presentation
Language

English

Publication Year

2023

Geographical focus
  • Western Balkans
Scientifc field / Thematic focus
  • General
Attachments
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Entry created by Admin WBC-RTI.info on September 29, 2023
Modified on September 29, 2023