International Activities

The European strategy encourages the development of eGovernment in which technologies are imagined and implemented as facilitators for the real transformation of Public Administrations. With the EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 the European Commission recommends a strategic shift in the digitalization plans of Member States, and clarifies priorities in terms of policies, reforms and investments.

The Department also contributes to the European strategy as a member of the "eGovernment Action Plan and Benchmark Steering Group" of the European Commission. The group, composed of representatives from the various Member States, helps to assist the European Union in monitoring the implementation of the actions foreseen in the eGovernment Action Plan.

The DTD also actively contributed to the drafting of the Berlin Declaration as a member of the Steering Committee on the Berlin Declaration. The Declaration was signed on 8 December 2020 by the Ministers of Digital Government - including our Minister- and ensures continuity and harmony with the Tallinn Declaration. Commitments made in Tallinn on efficient, interoperable, and user-centric public digital services are reaffirmed.

In line with the European Data Strategy, the Department for Digital Transformation aims to improve the use of data in the public sector and support administrations in this process.

Gaia-X is a project launched by France and Germany that envisages the creation of a European data infrastructure that will make the European Union autonomous for data management. Italy is in third place among the most represented countries, with 29 members between companies and associations.

Italy also supports the development of the "Important Project of Common European Interest" (IPCEI) dedicated to infrastructures and aimed, in particular at the promotion of a "European Cloud Ecosystem" that supports and accompanies Gaia-X. The aim is to define a European industrial strategy that can strengthen the technological autonomy of the EU and encourage the development of Italian and European companies. On October 15, 2020, together with 24 other EU Member States, Italy signed the Joint Declaration "Building the next generation cloud for businesses and the public sector in the EU".

Italy's position regarding the main instruments for measuring the progress of the Government and the digital society is highlighted below.

The eGovernment Benchmark is the Annual Report, published by the European Commission - DG CONNECT- and edited by Capgemini, which measures the progress of individual Member States in the digitalization of the public sector, as outlined in the eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020. According to the 2021 report, Europe's leaders in e-gov are Malta (overall score of 96%), Estonia (92%), and Denmark (85%), followed by Finland and Luxemburg. Italy ranks 27th, with an above-average positioning regarding the User-centricity criteria.

The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), established by the European Commission, summarises indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the progress of EU countries. It consists of four dimensions: Connectivity, Human capital, Integration of digital technology, Digital public services, In DESI 2021 Italy ranks 20th out of 27. Over the course of 2020, Italy significantly improved in the Connectivity dimension: concerning 5G Readiness, it has a score of 60% compared to the 39% of EU. Italy has also a widespread 30 Mbps/s broadband coverage (93% of households against the 87% of EU average). Furthermore, 3.6% of Italian families are equipped with 1Gbps connectivity, while the EU average is 1.6 %. A further positive element consists of the availability of Cloud technologies, adopted by 38% of Italian companies (EU average is 26%). One of the most critical aspects remains the performance in digital competencies, which is below the EU average.

Italy joins the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, which is one of ten key initiatives introduced in 2016 by the European Commission to address the ever-growing need for digital skills. National coalitions are partnerships of different actors in Member States working together to improve citizens' e-skills at national, regional or local level. On April 7, 2020, the Minister launched the Italian National Coalition as part of the Repubblica Digitale initiative.

Since September 2019, DTD has been participating as a Sherpa in the "Women in Digital Working Group" coordinated by the European Commission. In this function, the Department has contributed to drafting a "Ministerial declaration for women in digital", which includes the following activities: 1) proposal for the establishment of a "European day for girls & women in ICT"; 2) within the national strategy for digital skills and "Digital Republic", in-depth analysis of tools focused on the female target; 3) start-up of a collaboration with ISTAT to identify useful indicators for monitoring the participation of women in the digital economy through the "Women in digital Scoreboard".

The Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) was introduced by the European Commission with the aim of helping Member States implement institutional, administrative and structural reforms, and it covers several policy areas, including reforms and the digital transformation of the PA. The programme is accessed on the basis of submission and eventual selection of a project and is completely free of charge for the Member States.

The DTD participated in the programme with a project called "Coordinate and streamline the implementation of the public sector digital strategy nationwide", aimed at improving the multi-level governance of public administration in Italy. The project, selected and approved in January 2020, aims to identify an effective governance model for public sector digitalization, ensuring full cooperation between central and local government.

In December 2020, Italy assumed the Presidency of the G20. As part of the programme of the Italian G20 Presidency, set out around the trinomial People, Planet and Prosperity, digital played an important role in promoting the global goal of fostering sustainable and inclusive economic recovery.

During the Italian Presidency, the DTD advanced the ideas of a digital transformation, focused on citizens and on inclusiveness, which are also the foundation of the country's strategy for innovation and digital transformation, 'Italy 2025'.

The DTD participated - also at the level of working groups, through its involvement in the Digital Economy Task Force (DETF) - in the promotion of initiatives related to the ethical and sustainable development of innovative solutions to serve PA and citizens, and to the modernization of PA processes and technologies.

The culminating event for DTD was the Ministerial on Innovation and Research, which took place on early August (5-6), in Trieste. At the end of the meeting, the Declaration of G20 Digital Ministers was adopted by the Member States. The DTD also developed three position papers which guided the discussion on the three priority thematic areas of the G20: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Identity and Agile Regulation.

The DTD participates in the OECD E-Leaders group, a sub-group of the Directorate for Public Governance, Committee on Digital government. Within the group, Italy is leading a project on digital identity and has contributed to the drafting of a specific Report.

The DTD is also represented on the Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and on the Steering Committee Bureau that guides the three-year work plan and addresses areas of analysis. It also has a member on the Steering Committee of the "Going Digital Project". In this capacity it has contributed to the following "Going Digital Toolkits": "The role of sandboxes in promoting flexibility and innovation in the digital age", "National Digital Strategies and Governance", "Interoperability of Privacy and Data Protection Frameworks".

The DTD also participated in the annual exercise conducted by the OECD and supported by the MEF for the preparation of the "Economic Outlook: Italy" (24 November). The exercise took the form of participation in a hearing conducted by members of the OECD/MEF mission and the drafting of responses to a questionnaire on:

• strategy for the digitisation of the public sector, e-government, e-register and other major projects;
• how the strategy is being adapted in response to the COVID outbreak;
• developing the e-skills of civil servants;
• how businesses are responding to the crisis; what is needed to encourage greater digital adaptation, and reflections on the ability of current policies to support businesses and households;
• understanding the main obstacles preventing low productivity firms from catching up, including the role of management capacity.

The "Agile Nation Network" is an initiative of international cooperation on agile governance which is joined by Italy, the United Kingdom (proposer of the Charter), Canada, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Singapore.

The project aims to keep the momentum of the high level panel “Agile governance for the post- pandemic world” organized by OCSE and World Economic Forum (WEF) on November 2020 to promote agile regulation, which was also joined by innovative companies such as Siemens, IBM, SUADE, and Facebook. On that occasion, the United Kingdom introduced the Agile Nations Network Charter and the DTD signed it.

The mission of the Network is to promote agile regulation to remove the obstacles that companies, start-ups and researchers face when introducing technological innovations and new business models on the market, while at the same time protecting citizens and the environment. The main activities of the network consist of sharing best practices of agile governance at the domestic level and studying effective agile governnace models.

The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence - GPAI is an international initiative born out of a French-Canadian initiative, whose technical/scientific secretariat is hosted by the OECD-Directorate for Science, technology, Industry (DSTI), Committee on Digital Economy Policies (CDEP).

The Partnership aims to promote the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence, while respecting human rights and democratic values. The GPAI brings together experts from industry, government, civil society, and academia to conduct research projects on artificial intelligence.

In May 2020, MITD/DTD joined the Global Partnership, joining Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, France, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Brazil, Spain, and Poland have also joined recently, while Italy has an elected representative on the Steering Committee, which includes Canada, France, Japan, and the United States.

The innovation strategy is rooted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, the analysis of which led to the identification of three main challenges:

• the digitalization of society;
• the country's innovation;
• the sustainable and ethical development of society as a whole.

The DTD promotes an approach to digitalization in line with the spirit and goals of the United Nations. Consistent with the Innovation Strategy 'Italy 2025', the Department promotes dialogues, policies, and initiatives functional to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The DTD works closely with UN specialized agencies - such as UNDESA, UNESCO, UNIDO - also within the framework of the Italian G20 Presidency to strengthen international cooperation on innovation, social inclusion, and public sector digitalization.

In addition, the United Nations eGovernment Benchmark - an index developed every two years to monitor the level of digitalization of member countries - provides a useful orientation tool for the activities of the DTD. This is a bi-annual analysis that assigns all UN member countries a score based on the level of digitalization of services. The score is expressed through an e-Government Development Index (EGDI) that describes and analyses global trends in electronic service delivery and the distribution of online services. This assessment is based on countries' income levels and service provision in specific sectors - particularly important for sustainable development. In the eGovernment Survey 2020, Italy was ranked 37th globally.