In Poland, 84% of all government services are now available online, which exactly matches the European average. In an annual report assessing over 15,000 government websites, Poland gained 7 points compared to the previous year. Only Turkey, Greece, and Serbia showed faster development. Malta and Estonia are the leading countries in terms of government digitalization.
The latest Capgemini eGovernment Benchmark report shows the level of achievement of key factors required to reach the digital goals of the European Union, namely the Digital Decade.
The leaders in Europe are Malta (96 points) and Estonia (92). Also in the lead are Luxembourg (89), Iceland (88), Finland (86), the Netherlands (85), Lithuania (85), Denmark (85), Latvia (82), Turkey (81), and Norway (80). The average score in Europe is 70 points, and Poland received 62, seven more than the previous year.
“The common goal of the European Union countries is the digitization of all key public sector services by 2030. Poland is among the fastest developing countries in this regard. Our Achilles’ heel is so-called cross-border services, that is those available to citizens living abroad. In this respect, we are well below the European average, which is 57 points. Poland received 36, placing us 30th in Europe,” says Marek Woźny, Deputy Chairman, Managing Director Market Segment Poland at Capgemini Poland.
Cross-border services represent a challenge not only for Poland. According to the report, less than half (49%) of public services in Europe are available online for transnational users, a significantly lower result than for national users.
This situation results from several factors, particularly the lack of electronic identification possibilities – only 25% of websites offer eID authentication outside their countries. Additionally, many government websites are only available in the national language.
However, it should be noted that in 2022, 46% of services were available online for transnational users, 3% less than currently. Therefore, governments are striving to improve the situation.
In Poland, the availability level of these services is 40%, and the possibility of authentication from another country is offered by 22% of government websites.
Secure and transparent services are the cornerstones of a trustworthy e-government. The solution that guarantees users secure authentication is the use of a national electronic document. This option is assured by 70% of European government websites. Moreover, government services almost as often (68%) automatically fill in personal data when needed to complete a service. Polish systems exceed the European average: eID is available in 75% of cases, and automatic data filling in 78%.
“Security is one of the most important aspects of online services. Cybercrime is increasing year by year, and the data used in government services are among the most sensitive. Therefore, we are delighted with the excellent result that Poland has achieved. The security of the services is also the basis for building trust in digital services, and without it, people will not readily use the proposed solutions,” comments Marek Woźny.
An important aspect that encourages the use of services is design – transparent and accessible to many groups. The Capgemini report shows that during service delivery, eight out of ten services in Europe notify about the successful completion of a given stage of the process, but less than half (46%) inform about how long its completion will take. Additionally, most (82%) public sector websites violate one or more Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) criteria and are therefore not compliant with accessibility requirements. In terms of process transparency, Poland also exceeds the European average, scoring at 69%.
The report also revealed noticeable progress when it comes to mobile device friendliness: over nine in ten (94%) of all government websites are supported on mobile devices, compared to just 60% in 2017. However, still only six in ten services (63%) can be performed on smartphones. While navigating these websites on mobile devices is simple, you can still encounter certain barriers when more complex actions, such as eID authentication, are required. In terms of service availability on mobile devices, Poland, with a score of 93%, is on a similar level to other European countries.
Online services provided at the local level are not as well-developed as those provided by central government organizations. Local and regional authorities often lack the necessary technological infrastructure for the efficient operation of high-quality services.
“It is necessary to bridge the gap between the level of digitization of local and central institutions. Currently, 88% of central administration services are fully online, compared to 76% of regional ones and 62% of local ones,” says Marek Woźny.
The key to improving this situation is implementing common systems that can be easily adapted to local needs. An added benefit of implementing systems like the Single Digital Gateway is the ability to introduce twin solutions in all European countries, which would certainly make their use easier.
