MinID is developed and maintained by the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Direktoratet for forvaltning og IKT - Difi, in Norwegian), and currently gives about 2.5 million people secure electronic access to public services. In 2010 it was used 14 million times to login to various public services, including the delivery of tax returns, services of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organisation (NAV), applications for day care, applications for student loans and scholarships and applications for school and student places. These services do not require high security, since they do not process sensitive personal data nor have special security requirements.
Read more: NO: MinID provides higher security options for sensitive information
The report, entitled 'Joint ICT development in the municipal sector', describes the opportunities and challenges offered by ICT in local government. It was compiled by an independent consulting company, and was presented to Rigmor Aasrud, the Minister of Government Administration and Church Affairs, on Friday 4 March 2011.
The report, presented to Robin Kåss, State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services in February 2011, shows that if ICT systems work better in healthcare, patients will receive both faster and safer treatment. The Norwegian hospitals invest about 1.6 % of disposable assets in ICT, an amount smaller than the one invested in hospitals by the neighbouring Nordic countries.
Read more: NO: Report reveals the need for more investment in healthcare ICT
As clear as mud
“We made a survey that showed us that as many as one in three Norwegians struggle to understand letters from the government and its branches. The complex language found in laws and regulations often makes its way onto the forms and letters citizens have to fill out,” Rigmor Aasrud, the Minister of Government Administration, Reform, and Church Affairs, tells The Foreigner by email.
This shows the success of OEP among citizens since its launch in May 2010. It is also worth noting that since 4 October 2010, the mail records of 17 new agencies have been made available in the OEP. An additional 21 agencies will soon follow, 18 of which include county governments. This means that by the end of October 2010, 70 government agencies will have joined the OEP.
Read more: Norway: Electronic database of public mail records proves highly successful