Our work
The Department for Digital Transformation ensures:
the functions of directing,coordinating and stimulating the definition and implementation of programmes, projects, and action plans with regard to the digital transformation of public administration;
the functions of evaluating the proposals formulated by the administrations and controlling the implementation and use of the relative resources, with reference to the use of digital technologies. This aims at ensuring the effectiveness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and productivity of administrations as well as the transparency of administrative actions and the quality of services to citizens and businesses, making optimal use of the instruments and financial resources defined for this purpose;
the definition of strategic guidelines on open government and the enhancement of public information assets;
as far as the technological, social and cultural transformation of the country is concerned, with reference to sectors other than those of public administration, the functions of defining the strategic guidelines of the Government, coordinating, stimulating and promoting as well as evaluating the proposals formulated by the administrations, and directing and controlling the use, implementation, and deployment of incentive tools, funds and resources for the development, diffusion and use of technologies in the various social, cultural and economic sectors;
In addition, the Department ensures the promotion of maximum accessibility to technologies, with particular reference to the development and diffusion of the necessary digital skills, the attraction of new companies and the strengthening of ecosystems. It further promotes studies, research and the diffusion of emerging technologies as well as the governance of new technological ecosystems;
all activities necessary to ensure, in liaison with the administrations concerned, the development and circulation of the skills needed to use digital technologies appropriately in schools, universities and research, central and local public administration, justice, business, work and social activity;
cooperation with the authorities responsible for cybersecurity.
Our projects
The Department carries out several projects in the areas of digital transformation and innovation.
Broadband network: the strategy for the broadband network (Strategia nazionale per la Banda Ultra Larga) aims at bringing 1 Gbps connectivity across all the national territory.
Cloud and digital infrastructure: the strategy to strengthen digital infrastructures of the Public Administration and promote cloud migration of public services.
Civil registry: a safe, single digital civil registry for all citizens living in Italy and abroad, if registered within the AIRE (Anagrafe Italiani residenti all'estero).
Digital citizenship : the IO app is an open source project that provides citizens and institutions with a single access point for all digital public services.
Digital Identity: the digital identity system (SPID - public system of digital identity and CIE - electronic identity card) provides a single credential to access all public services.
Data and interoperability: the Department aims at improving the use and management of data in the public administration by implementing interoperability among institutions.
Repubblica digitale: this initiative strives to increase digital literacy with strategic actions to bridge the digital divide and close the gap within Italian society.
Designers Italia & Developers Italia: the Italian community that brings together Developers and Designers working to design and implement digital public services in Italy.
Italy’s recovery and resilience plan for digital transition
27% of the Italian recovery and resilience plan (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza - PNRR) supports digital transition with investments in connectivity (€ 6.74 billion) and in the digitalisation of the Italian public administration(€ 6.71 billion). The Department leads the implementation of the Italian digital strategy (Italia digitale 2026).
Thanks to the application of the plan, Italy will become more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities offered by the digital transition. Italy will achieve the following goals by 2026:
- Ensuring that digital identity will be used by 70% of the population;
- Bridging the digital competencies gap, by making at least 70% of the population digitally skilled;
- Ensuring that at least 75% of Italian public administration will use cloud services;
- Bringing at least 80% of essential public services to be provided online;
- Reaching, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development, 100% of families and Italian enterprises with high-speed broadband.
The Department builds the strategy upon two main lines of intervention: the digitalization of Public Administration and fostering the broadband network. Developing those two lines is key to providing all citizens with a fast internet connection. This will enable them to fully benefit from the digital society and grasp the opportunities it offers, therefore strengthening the role of the public administration as a citizen’s digital ally.
The Department's work fits within the European Commission's European Digital Strategy, which provides a vision for Europe’s digital transformation by 2030. In the Strategy, the Commission calls for a digital transition that puts people first and opens up new opportunities for businesses, while respecting the values of European society.
The Department is investing the resources of the recovery fund in two key areas of the country's digitalization.
- Digital health
Digital health provides effective solutions to make health care services people-centered, accessible and inclusive for all. Digital technology can improve patient care and assistance, reduce waiting times and hospitalizations, and optimize spending. The use of innovative solutions, such as telemedicine, enables healthcare providers to care for patients regardless of where they are physically located. It also improves diagnosis and treatment thanks to effective and safe clinical data sharing. This will be made possible by the Electronic health record.
- Space
Italy aims at leveraging the space sector as an effective tool for economic recovery and sustainable development. Italy is one of the few countries in the world to be actively operating across all areas of space activities. It has recently launched an investment strategy with the aim of strengthening the country’s innovation capabilities and its capacity to develop and implement services and infrastructures in the space sector. Investments in the Space sector planned over the 2021-2026 period cover the following fields: SatCom, Hearth observation, Space transport and Space factory 4.0, and In-Orbit Economy.
Publications
The Department produces publications related to National strategies and working plans, translated into English.
The Strategic Programme on Artificial Intelligence: illustrates 24 policy initiatives Italy should embrace to retain technological competitiveness at the international level, connect the excellent results of research with the needs of industry and address the key challenges of Italian society going forward.
Italian Cloud Strategy: aims at providing the strategic direction for the implementation and control of Cloud solutions in the Public Administration. Migration to the Cloud allows public administrations to provide digital services and have secure, efficient, and reliable technological infrastructures, in line with the principles of privacy protection and the recommendations of European and national institutions.
Reports for the G20 Digital Economy Task Force: during the dialogue on digital issues among G20 countries, three reports were developed with the support of the OECD. These documents, consistent with the pragmatic approach adopted by the Italian Presidency, guided the discussion on the three priority thematic areas, stimulated the collection of practices and case studies, and inspired the commitments agreed to in the Declaration.
Developers Italia: our open source activities
Developers Italia, a joint initiative by AgID and the Department for digital transformation, is the point of reference for the Public Administration’s software in Italy. It is also one of the strategic initiatives for the implementation of open source public policies in Europe, by helping the Digital Administration Code on open source find concrete support.
Developers Italia’s role as a strategic control room for Public Administration software will be central to ensuring quality and compliance with European best practices, including increasing investment towards open source, during the software selection or creation phases of projects under the PNRR.
The Department for digital transformation brings the experience and expertise of Developers Italia to the task force on digital commons (PDF), created by the French government in February 2022. The task force aims at building Europe’s digital sovereignty by harnessing the power of digital commons and open source. On the occasion of the Digital Assembly which took place in Tolosa, on the 21 and 22 June 2022, the task force presented its first report: Towards a sovereign digital infrastructure of commons (PDF).
International activities
The Department for Digital Transformation also carries out numerous activities in both European and international fields.