Trust in digital government: Opportunities and challenges

 

Technological trends and developments

In Gartner's forecast for technology trends in 2019, smart spaces rank eighth. The concept of smart spaces represents an environment in which human- and technology-oriented systems are connected, communicating in an open, coordinated and intelligent ecosystem. The most far-reaching example of smart spaces are smart cities, which make use of data from urban ecosystems when designing areas with businesses, industry and residential communities. Steps in this direction are also being taken in the Netherlands. For example, the municipality of Helmond has ambitions to build the world's smartest district, Brainport smart District. Other examples include the municipalities of Amsterdam and Eindhoven. Not coincidentally: on spot nine of the same list is "Digital ethics and Privacy. Consumers and residents are increasingly concerned about the use of their personal data by companies and governments. Contributing factors include the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Tax Authority's Incubator and numerous data breaches at public and private organizations.

Showstopper or digidrive

These concerns should not be a showstopper for government. Digital transformation offers opportunities to make services to citizens better, cheaper and more responsive to future needs. The ability to apply for a permit from a municipality digitally instead of going to the town hall will be seen by many as a positive outgrowth of digital transformation. The pre-completed tax return also makes life easier. The use of data to predict care requests in the future, so that timely budget and capacity can be reserved, also does not worry the average Dutchman. In addition, the (anonymous) collection of data by sensors in municipal waste containers to measure fill rates, the installation of sensors in traffic lights or the road surface to measure factors such as traffic flows and average speeds, can generally count on positive appreciation. There, the individual's willingness to contribute to the common good with data is generally high. The digital transformation of government requires diligence in ten implementation. The digital transformation of government demands that the government proceed carefully. Indeed, support exists mainly as long as the individual citizen is not adversely affected or benefits. For example, if data from the individual is used for an automatic remission of municipal tax. It becomes a different story when data is used for purposes that adversely affect the individual. For example, if a possible fraudster or resident with problematic debts is predicted on the basis of a profile. The System Risk Indication (SyRI) is an example of this. This involves linking a large amount of data files and using an algorithm to predict which residents have an increased chance of committing fraud. This has major consequences for the individual citizen. He must answer to a government and prove that he has not done what an algorithm predicts an increased likelihood of doing or has done. This system is not uncontroversial and the Dutch state has now been taken to court by several civil society organizations. Similarly, the halting of childcare allowance benefits because an Eindhoven-based childcare agency was suspected of fraud is not doing the resident's trust any favors. The problem here is not that fraud is detected, but the fact that it is done on the basis of outdated information and the government's insistence on being right. Individual citizens file lawsuits where they have to prove that they did not commit fraud. This is not easy, and it is ultimately journalists and the House of Representatives that force the Secretary of State to acknowledge that wrongful actions were taken against citizens. The digital transformation of government thus means for municipalities and governments not only to look for opportunities to make services better, cheaper and tailored to future needs, but also to do so carefully.

Read the rest of the article 'Trust in digital government: Opportunities and challenges ' in the free magazine Privacy and the municipality.

This article can also be found in the Digital Transformation dossier