Norway has laid solid foundations for the development of a national digital government. These foundations are based on sustained efforts to use technology to improve the organisational efficiency of public sector institutions. This has led to high levels of citizen satisfaction with public services in areas such as health care and education that are well above the OECD average. The creation of an electronic identification system (eID), citizens’ digital mailboxes, one-stop-shop portals for citizens and businesses and the development of inclusive digital strategies and services are all results of the government’s commitment to improving and simplifying the relationship between the public sector and the Norwegian population. A system of basic data registries, as well as the adoption of digital government principles, such as not asking users to provide the same data more than once, have also made it easier for public institutions to share data and become more closely integrated.

The digital transformation of the public sector is imperative to achieve the transition from e-government to a fully developed open, and efficient, digital government. The rapid and pervasive uptake of digital technologies worldwide is generating innovative business models and drastically changing the lives of citizens. Constant access to online products and services, and the increasing convenience and simplicity of digital services has also raised citizens’ expectations regarding communications and services in the public sector. Governments need to rapidly capitalise on the availability of new technologies to better serve their constituencies.

This chapter discusses the evolution from e-government to digital government in Norway since 2005, when the OECD published the OECD e-Government study of Norway. It highlights the path the Norwegian government has followed in terms of the governance for digital government in the country. It also underlines the main social, economic and policy context driving the digital transformation of the public sector in Norway, and the potential contribution of digital technologies for the achievement of national and supranational policy goals.

This chapter analyses and discusses the governance of the digital transformation of the public sector in Norway, based on the OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies and the analytical work conducted on the governance of digital government in a number of OECD member countries and partner economies. The chapter starts by considering the Norwegian Digital Agenda and the digital government priorities assumed by the public sector. It then assesses the governance and co-ordination framework in place and the institutional arrangements that support digital government development in the country. It concludes by exploring the challenges and opportunities for the development of a more robust system-thinking culture in the public sector, to improve the public administration’s performance in delivering value to its citizens and businesses.

This chapter focuses on the existing capacities across the Norwegian public sector to support an efficient, coherent and sustainable digital transformation. Starting with an overview of the information and communications technology (ICT) expenditures in the Norwegian public administration, the analysis will assess the cost-benefit practices in use, namely business-case methodologies to guide ICT investments. The existence of standardised models for ICT project management in the public sector will also be explored as a relevant policy lever to increase co-ordination, synergies, knowledge sharing and sound monitoring of digital government development. The chapter will discuss the landscape of digital skills in the Norwegian public sector and the strategic selection of responsibilities between the public and private sector with regard to core functions and tasks, e.g. related to ICT projects management. The analysis will close with an assessment of the Norwegian public sector’s experience and practices in the procurement of ICT.

This chapter analyses the digital service delivery landscape in the Norwegian public sector. It discusses citizens’ digital rights in regard to their interaction with the public administration, and assesses the culture and practices of openness and public engagement across the public sector in relation to the design and delivery of digital public services. It highlights those enablers that should be in place in order to properly support the digital transformation of the public sector, through the strategic integration of digital service delivery, underlying the potential of digital technologies for crossborder services in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

This chapter seeks to understand the actions required to unleash the power and strategic use of data for the digital transformation of the Norwegian public sector. It discusses the governance of the public sector data value chain, including the role and legacy of the Norwegian basic data registries and open government data. Consequently, it addresses the development of skills and competencies and a propitious organisational environment inside Norwegian public sector institutions as a precondition to fully reap the benefits of data-driven technologies for public sector productivity and growth.