In its recently released 2006 report, Accenture not only analyzes e-government as such, but zeroes in on several factors that it feels will be crucial for governments that want to meet the growing demand for high quality, personalized service:
- Are the services provided citizen-centered?
- Do they integrate access to the various government institutions?
- Do they provide access via multiple channels or media?
- Are proactive attempts being made to communicate and educate?
Denmark comes out highest in the stack of those tied for third place, a fine achievement.
Accenture notes that one of Denmark’s greatest strengths is its high degree of cross-institutional integration. The report praises Denmark’s commitment to integrated government through cross-agency and/or cross-government level “service communities” (servicefællesskaber). By exploiting common databases as well as other means, service communities coordinate and optimize the task-solving process, making it easier for users.
Denmark also scores high in terms of being “citizen-centered”: “High priority is given to…authorities working together to create joined-up online services that are responsive to the needs of individuals and businesses.”
Resultmaker software is a vital part of Danish government service portals like Virk.dk, Digital Borgerservice (Digital Service for Citizens) and others that are excellent examples of these characteristics. Resultmaker’s XML Factory and Online Consultant are the components that integrate various government offices and databases, providing an easy and efficient path through potentially confusing sets of forms and procedures.
We congratulate Denmark on its fine progress in this area and look forward to continuing our close collaboration with governmental institutions in Denmark and other countries to develop the benefits of e-government even further.