The Germany-wide survey of public authorities, the ‘Zukunftspanel Staat & Verwaltung’, provides valuable data and insights on the modernisation of public administration every year. This year, there was a particular focus on the end of the legislative term and the 2021 federal election. On 17 August 2021, we will present the results of the survey as part of a press and expert discussion
The Future Panel is the only long-term study in Germany on the topic of ‘digital administration’ that systematically covers all levels of government. It dates back to 2002 – at that time under the name ‘Monitoring eGovernment’. The surveys consistently achieve high response rates, exceeding 20 per cent this year: of the 1,346 public authorities contacted, 276 replied. Among these, the proportion of federal authorities was the highest at 35 per cent, followed by state authorities at just under 20 per cent. The surveys were conducted with the top decision-makers or heads of the respective authorities.
Berlin’s CIO, State Secretary Sabine Smentek, assesses the progress of digital transformation in the State of Berlin as follows: “The level of digitalisation in public administration depends largely on financial and human resources, effective management and expertise. Digital, easily accessible and smart solutions are indispensable for the efficient and service-oriented administration of the future. Whether it’s digital files or the digitisation of numerous public services: as the State of Berlin, we have already made great progress in modernising our administration. Next year, the implementation of the Online Access Act must now be a priority. I am fairly certain that we in Berlin will be successful with regard to the OZG, thanks to the extensive preparatory work that has already been carried out.”
Key findings of the nationwide survey are:
- Heads of public authorities take a critical view of the progress made on key modernisation projects during the current legislative period (particularly the Online Access Act, the portal network and the roll-out of fibre-optic networks)
- Heads of public authorities see significant weaknesses in pandemic management to date, particularly with regard to home schooling, procurement, crisis management within the federal system, the implementation of restrictions, and public health authorities
- Progress in the digitalisation of public administration is viewed with great scepticism at all levels of government, although the outlook is significantly better than it was two years ago
Heads of public authorities are approaching politicians, amongst others, with the following demands:
- Better ensure the successful implementation of current modernisation projects
- A reorganisation of digitalisation towards a new Ministry for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation, which would also oversee other future-oriented issues
- A programme to build capacity (in terms of budget and staff) in key future-oriented areas (climate change, digitalisation, AI) and to boost investment in infrastructure.
Please refer to the presentation, which is available in our downloads section for further demands.
The Future Congress on the State & Administration, which will take place for the eighth time in Berlin in mid-December, has set itself the task in 2021 of formulate 10 future challenges for Germany and its public administration by 2025. You can find out more about this on our specialist portal “Administration of the Future”.