Main strategic objectives and principles

Last updated: October 2011

IT and eGovernment Strategy (2008 -2011)

Building upon the success achieved up to date, Liechtenstein’s IT and eGovernment Strategy 2011 aims to address future challenges with the best possible efficiency.

In particular, the strategy has the following three main goals:

Establish a modern Public Administration and transform the country into an attractive business location

The eGovernment strategy 2011 acknowledges the importance of efficient eGovernment services for a modern information and knowledge-based society, and considers them essential for Liechtenstein to be a modern state and an attractive business location. eGovernment services shall be fast and easy to understand while public and users’ participation shall be possible without the need of an advanced technical background.

The provision of advanced eGovernment services shall be based upon a set of comprehensive and versatile basic services, called one-for-all services, aimed to provide fundamental functionalities to eGovernment applications. The basic services will constitute a solid foundation, upon which single applications may be based. Their versatile usage shall allow achieving the highest possible efficiency, exploiting synergy effects and enabling the long term use of services. An eGovernment-related example of a basic service is the implementation of a solution for the creation of generic public administration eForms, which could be customised to meet the requirements of more specialised application-fields.

Fulfil external requirements

There are several situations, where the country has to comply with a broad spectrum of IT and eGovernment-related requirements, which originate from external institutions. Those requirements are namely those set by the EU within the framework of the 'i2010' initiative, or those relating to the implementation of EU directives.

A concrete project in this area has already been successfully completed. It concerned the implementation of the updated EU directive regarding disclosure requirements in respect of certain types of businesses. To this end, the Electronic Register of Corporations (elektronisches Öffentlichkeitsregister) was put in place and became operational on 1 January 2007.

Another project, currently in development, concerns the implementation of the EU directive on services in the internal market, which highly affects both the Information Technology and eGovernment, as it aims to overcome bureaucracy burdens and facilitate cross-boundary services while promoting process transparency and the use of electronic procedures.

The IT and eGovernment Strategy 2011 focuses on the fast and efficient implementation of such projects, as they constitute a major prerequisite for implementing Pan-European Public Administration services and for solving related interoperability, identity management and authentication issues.

Meet users’ needs

An online survey, held at the end of 2005, clearly showed that users were highly satisfied with the quality of the www.llv.li portal services. At the same time, the respondents wished to enhance interactivity.

The IT and eGovernment Strategy 2011 aims at addressing users’ needs in the most comprehensive manner and at achieving an open-minded, customer/user-oriented and progressive Public Administration, which would set an example of innovation and quality for both the public and private sectors.

Previous eGovernment Strategies

Initial eGovernment Strategy

Background

The development of eGovernment in Liechtenstein, affected by its campaign to enhance its image, started in 2001. To this end, the Image Liechtenstein Foundation group was set up in March 2002, constituted by the Government, state agencies and leading trade associations, and chaired by Otmar Hasler, the Prime Minister at that time. The foundation proceeded on two parallel tracks: assessing domestic and foreign attitudes in Liechtenstein to pinpoint weaknesses and define what messages should be conveyed. By May 2003, recommendations were ready. The principality's Internet website, previously an assemblage of administrative data, was re-launched as an attractive illustrated source on a wide range of information from finance to tourism, culture and history. In November 2004, the Image Liechtenstein Foundation group held a competition to select a consultancy to translate its new positive messages into graphic form, thereby creating a 'brand' defining Liechtenstein. The new national logo unveiled in July 2004, is called the 'democratic crown' and features on government and official documents, as well as on material from private sector bodies.

Aims

The initial eGovernment Strategy of Liechtenstein, approved by the Government in October 2001, constituted the basis for the further development of the information society in the country. The strategy aimed at simplifying Public Administration procedures, reducing bureaucracy and ensuring quick response time to user’s requests. In particular, the strategy aimed to:

• increase the flow of information and improve the quality and the quantity of Public Administration services (efficiency);
• facilitate access to public services as well as their customisation to better meet the needs of the various users’ categories (flexibility);
• provide users with a clear view of responsibilities and business processes in the public sector (transparency);
• promote users’ participation in political processes (participation).

The main carrier for achieving the aforementioned objectives was the National Administration Portal of Liechtenstein (LLV eGovernment Portal). Thereby, four major stages in the development of its services were envisaged:

• Publishing - supply of static content (e.g. texts, pictures)
• Interaction - supply of dynamic content (e.g. contact information), which the citizens can use for electronic communication
• Transaction - correspondence between citizens and administration in a standardised form (e.g. eForms) and electronic transmission
• Integration - comprehensive illustration and treatment of administrative processes.

Within this framework, the Electronic Register of Corporations (elektronisches Öffentlichkeitsregister) was implemented and went on production on 1 January 2007, aiming to provide compliance with the updated EU directive regarding disclosure requirements, in respect of certain types of businesses.