Organisational Change

Norway’s early application of ICT to back office functions of government (e.g. financial and public record and payroll systems) has brought changes and benefits in terms of back office management that are now mainstreamed in government and provide an important basis for future development of front office services. Also, the impact of e-government on knowledge sharing across government has been positive and online frameworks which enhance cross government collaboration and exchange of experiences have been established. The government has also taken a step forward in strengthening the development of ICT skills in the public sector, for example by focusing on increasing employers’ access to qualified ICT workforce. As regards to central government analytical capacity, it remains limited and unevenly diffused among agencies. The transformation of Statskonsult into a publicowned limited company can, at least in the short term, further reduce the central government capacity in providing strategic ICT guidance to agencies.