Malta has a new strategy that supports the country’s efforts to embrace ICT at all levels and truly foster a digital economy. Digital Malta covers the period 2014-2020 and lists objectives and goals to be achieved during this time to make such a vision a reality.
“Digital Malta sets a seven-year vision for the nation and is being championed by the Office of the Prime Minister. It provides high-level strategic policy direction and allows flexibility in its implementation,” explained Tony Sultana, chairman of the Malta Information Technology Agency (Mita) that was tasked with drafting the strategy and implementing it.
“This means that Digital Malta is not a prescriptive strategy per se. As opposed to previous strategies, it takes into account the realities of the ICT environment which, as you know, is very dynamic, and the technologies which will be used tomorrow are not even on the cards today.
“During these years, we will adhere to the open approach we adopted from the very start. Indeed, the strategy will be continuously monitored by a governing body and this will be composed of cross-functional stakeholders.”
The technologies which will be used tomorrow are not even on the cards today
The strategy document outlines three strategic themes – digital citizen, digital business and digital government – and these are supported by three strategic enablers, namely regulation and legislation, infrastructure and human capital.
The new strategy fills a three-year gap left by Smart Island Strategy 2008-2010, which had not been updated since then despite running its course.
The drafting of Digital Malta included four public consultation workshops attended by more than 240 stakeholders. Some 260 written comments and suggestions were also received. So how did this feedback shape the final draft?
“All the comments we received were duly studied and I’m pleased to say that many of them have actually shaped the outcome of the strategy. For example, we had comments that government websites and services should be accessible through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Others requested a simplified authentication process to access government’s online services. Others wanted that businesses, citizens and NGOs get a greater role in the design and implementation of new or enhanced government services.
“From a business perspective, the ICT industry organisations demanded alignment between the supply science, technology, engineering and math skills and the requirements of the industry. It was suggested that science subjects, such as robotics, should be introduced at an early stage. We know that technology has no age limits but we were still positively surprised that an elderly couple requested government to have a more active online presence through social media,” Mr Sultana revealed.
Digital Malta adopts the Digital Agenda for Europe targets and specifies the various mechanisms that will be used in order to measure the success of this strategy.
Robert Madelin, director general for communications networks, content and technology at the European Commission, addressed the launch event of the strategy and specifically said that building IT opportunities for the country is in line with EU’s Digital Agenda for Europe.
Both Mita and the Malta Communications Authority will have a key role in the delivery of Digital Malta. They will have to work together with others to realise specific actions and attain targets identified in the strategy.
Contrary to popular perception, wherever the terms ‘technology’ and ‘ICT’ are used, the Digital Malta Strategy does not focus only on the ICT industry, and Mita’s chairman is keen to point this out.
“ICT is not about sending an e-mail or surfing a website; we want to raise awareness of how ICT, in its wider sense, can be used to improve citizens’ daily life and work. We must ease access to technology and connectivity, foster trust in the digital world, and help citizens learn more about how they can benefit the most out of ICT.
“We believe that the utilisation of ICT should be across all businesses domains as this is the only way we can ensure that all businesses, particularly SMEs, can make the next leap forward to achieve bigger success.”
Despite the significant progress registered in Malta’s development of e-government in recent years, especially in terms of the availability of such services, take-up has been slow and this is being addressed in this strategy.
“It’s useless having the best services out there if they are not being used. We aim to increase the uptake of e-government services by a number of actions. First of all, we need to instil the idea that online government services should revolve around customers’ needs and not the other way round. We also need to make online services easier to use and accessible through mobile devices. We need to couple technology with business process reengineering more attentively when we are rethinking and redesigning resources.”
Another area where progress is expected is e-ID cards where Mita is currently carrying out the necessary consolidation exercises together with various stakeholders as a preparation for the mass roll-out scheduled to start later on this year. The aim is to develop the national electronic identity card, together with banks and other organisations, to be a trusted source of authentication.
“I want to extend the invitation to all stakeholders to think about Digital Malta as a living strategy and I guarantee that their ongoing contributions will not only be heard but will be truly considered. Their inputs will help us in achieving our goals together,” concluded MITA’s chairman.
The strategy is available at www.digitalmalta.gov.mt.