The digital government era is over – a new post-digital era of Personal Government is on the rise

We are witnessing the end of the digital government era, making room for something new – the era of Personal Government. This transformation involves turning the traditional government view inside-out, prioritizing what citizens should experience – their data, contextual opportunities, and obligations – while minimizing everything else.

Watch the recording of the discussion with industry experts Andres Raieste, Senior Vice President of the Public Sector at Nortal, Mihkel Solvak, Associate Professor at the University of Tartu, and Ville Sirviö, CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions, as they dive deep into the future of public services, emphasizing the critical role of trust in digital services and exploring the future of interoperability from a global and whole-of-society perspective.

Personal government is a vision that considers the next stage of already developed digital societies to provide more human-centric public services, considering the complexities where traditional digital government approaches do not necessarily provide a straightforward solution.

Revolutionizing government: Turning the traditional view inside-out

For the past several decades, the gradual adoption of new technologies in society and the digitalization of public services have allowed many nations to increase the efficiency and approval of public services. However, the maturity and impact of digitalization vastly differ based on the extent to which society has adopted new technologies and services in everyday life.

The most significant differentiator in various maturity levels is how society has established trust in digital services and fostered high cooperation between authorities and citizens to build a robust data-based society and governance.

In societies where the fundamentals of digital governance have been reasonably resolved, new types of services that cut across governance domains begin to emerge. Typically, these services do not have direct traditional analogs.

The full realization of the possibilities of public services in the era of personal government requires the adoption of emerging technologies and the reorganization of the government’s working principles in terms of service provision and cooperation between institutions. Achieving high cooperation, enabled by interoperability and a whole-of-society approach to service delivery, is essential.

All these capabilities are either well within today’s technological development or within reach and can be realized in the foreseeable future.

Andres Raieste, Senior Vice President of the Public Sector at Nortal

As the digital transformation of public services has lasted for decades, we are now witnessing the rise of a new post-digital era. This shift not only enhances the equity of government services but also significantly elevates efficiency and sustainability.

About the speakers

Andres Raieste

Senior Vice President of Public Sector at Nortal

As a Senior Vice President at Nortal, a leading global government consulting and tech powerhouse, Andres Raieste is responsible for innovation and growth in the public sector across markets. Andres began his career in Estonia, one of the most digitalized countries in the world, and since then has been responsible for many high-impact, large-scale government transformation programs and reforms globally. He has also (co-)authored white papers and other thought leadership pieces on digitalization and public administration.

Mihkel Solvak

Associate Professor, University of Tartu

Mihkel Solvak is a Senior Researcher in Technology Studies at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu. He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Tartu, Estonia. His research primarily centers around legislative studies, electoral behavior, predictive modeling, and impact assessment of e-governance.

Ville Sirviö

CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS)

Ville Sirviö is the CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS), known for the X-Road® open-source software with hundreds of millions of end users worldwide. He is also a board member of the Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud. Sirviö has international business experience ranging from startups to Nasdaq-listed companies in the technology industry. He is a recognised expert in digital government, interoperability and open-source software and has been a frequent speaker and panellist at various technology conferences and events.

Rethinking how public services work

Personal government is a vision that considers the next stage of already developed digital societies to provide more human-centric public services, considering the complexities where traditional digital government approaches do not necessarily provide a straightforward solution.

Explore more from our white paper