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It’s time to talk about GovTech – citizens need to be placed at the center of digital service development

As demographics evolve and our population ages and diversifies, the target groups for digital services change, creating diverse needs and an escalating risk of digital disparity. At the same time, the public sector is undergoing rapid retirement with over a third of current staff expected to retire in the next decade. There is an urgent need for the public sector to reassess its priorities and traditional ways of working, leveraging digital solutions for enhanced efficiency and improved processes within tighter timelines. 

Mikko Lehto, Nortal Head of Government & Health business area, highlights in magazine Talouselämä Finland’s high level expansion and adoption of digital services – and with good reason. While many processes have seamlessly transitioned to digital, such as tax returns, ongoing societal challenges will necessitate further digital development. 

– Mikko Lehto, Nortal Head of Government & Health business area

For a long time, we have talked about FinTech in finance and HealthTech in health – now it's time to talk about GovTech in Government.

Lehto continues by highlighting that challenges always bring opportunities. The opportunity to advance to the next stage of the digital evolution in public services, placing citizen-centric digital services at the forefront, is too great to ignore. He points out the fragmented nature of public digital services, spread across various agency systems and platforms. Accessing specific services requires citizens to know where they are located and who provides them. The GovTech approach aims to streamline this process by offering personalized digital solutions, tailored to citizens’ life situations and service useage, eliminating the need of active search and retrieval. 

Lehto emphasizes the need for a shift towards citizen-centric digital service delivery, addressing the limitations of the current fragmented systems in Government: many existing digital processes often replicate outdated manual methods. He calls for a digital transformation towards more comprehensive and user-friendly citizen services. GovTech is proposed as a means to achieve this, aiming to prioritize citizens’ needs and streamline service delivery across administrative sectors. 

– Mikko Lehto, Nortal Head of Government & Health business area

Neglecting these issues could lead to digital services failing to adapt to the evolving needs of our society.

Lehto calls for improved collaboration between government departments and the public-private sectors to accelerate the development and delivery of citizen-centric digital services.  

Explore the full article in Talouselämä, for a closer look at Lehto’s approach to GovTech. 

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