Digital Public Goods in the Service of Digital Self-Determination,
Digital Sovereignty, and Sustainable Development
Study Trip from India to Switzerland on Digitalisation – Bern, 20 February 2023
Beat Estermann, Opendata.ch Association
Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon 2018, Swiss National Museum, Zürich. Wikimedia Commons, User:TomBo79, CC BY-SA 4.0

Overview
▶ The Opendata.ch Association – Taking Stock after 10 Years of Existence
▶ The State of Public Sector Transformation in Switzerland
▶ Opportunities for Collaboration between Switzerland and India
▶ What Can the Swiss Experience in the Area of Digital Governance
and Innovation bring to the Table for India?

The Opendata.ch Association
Taking Stock after 10 Years of Existence

Evolution of the Strategic Foundations
▶ 2011: Open Government Data Manifesto
Promote “Open Government Data” in the interest of:
• Transparency
• Innovation
• Efficiency
▶ 2019: Opendata.ch Strategy 2.0
Shape the digital transformation of society by promoting a culture of openness, transparency, participation
and cooperation:
• Transparency & Accountability
• Sustainable & Open Data Ecosystem
• Cooperation between Organizations & Networking with Citizens and Customers
• Equal Access to Data and Information for All

Activities: Advocacy
Dialogue with Government
Representatives and Public Officials
Parliamentary Initiatives
Participation in Public Consultations

Activities: Promoting Innovative Applications

Activities: Community

Activities: Awareness Raising

The State of Public Sector
Transformation in Switzerland

Common orientation framework of
the EU and EFTA States for the
digital transformation of public
administration
Digital transformation of public
administration not only as a
national, but also as an international
coordination task
Link: original text of the declaration

The Five Principles of the Tallinn Declaration (1/3)
In order to increase the efficiency and user orientation ("user centricity"), the
services of public administrations should be digital, inclusive, accessible and barrier-
free by default ("digital by default", "inclusiveness", "accessibility").
Source: Marti, M., Estermann, B., Neuroni, A. (2022): Die Tallinn-Prinzipien als Wegbereiter der digitalen Transformation des öffentlichen Sektors in der Schweiz.
In: Mertes, A., Pleger, L. E. (2022): Digitale Transformation der öffentlichen Verwaltung in der Schweiz. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
1
For central services of the public sector, the principle applies that citizens or
businesses need to provide the same information to the public administration only
once ("once only"); the administration takes care of the internal transfer of the
information at the behest of citizens or businesses.
2
Public services must be trustworthy and secure ("trustworthiness", "security"),
whereby privacy is to be respected and national eID solutions are to be used.
3

The Five Principles of the Tallinn Declaration (2/3)
In the spirit of openness and transparency ("openness", "transparency"), citizens
and companies should be enabled to manage data concerning them in base regi-
stries themselves and to exercise a certain degree of control over their use.
Furthermore, administrative data that is useful for the economy or society should
be made available as open data for free further use ("open by default") and linked
to reference databases ("automatic linkages to databases"). In addition, long-term
digital preservation of public sector data and information must be ensured (“long-
term preservation”).
4
Source: Marti, Estermann, Neuroni (2022)

The Five Principles of the Tallinn Declaration (3/3)
IT applications of the public sector should be interoperable ("interoperability by
default"). In addition, open source solutions and open standards should be used
to increase the reusability of IT applications – both within the public administra-
tion and beyond ("make ICT solutions available for reuse"). When setting up
service infrastructures, duplications should be avoided ("avoid sectoral
duplication of service infrastructures").
5
Source: Marti, Estermann, Neuroni (2022)

Several accompanying measures are intended to promote the digital transformation of the
public sector:
▶ Promotion of “digital skills” within the public administration at all levels
▶ Promotion of “digital leadership skills” among top civil and public servants
▶ Broader use of data by the public administration itself (“widen and deepen the use of
data and analytics”)
▶ Faster innovation cycles (“more and faster innovation”)
▶ “Agile ways of developing and deploying digital technology”
Tallinn Declaration: Accompanying Measures
Source: Marti, Estermann, Neuroni (2022)

▶ Switzerland has taken the principles into account in the relevant strategies and has –
with a few exceptions – the necessary basis for their implementation.
▶ There is however still room for improvement in the actual implementation, namely in the
following areas:
• The principle of “digital by default” has not yet been implemented across the board; the lack of identity
and authentication services complicates end-to-end digital administrative procedures.
• The necessary legal and organisational prerequisites for widespread implementation of the “once
only” principle are still lacking.
• Consistent implementation of the principle “open by default” is still pending at the federal level, while
the picture is mixed in the cantons and cities. A cultural change and legal adjustments are still needed
here.
• Further efforts are needed with regard to establishing semantic interoperability of government data.
State of Implementation of the Tallinn Principles
in Switzerland

Opportunities for Collaboration between
Switzerland and India
Take-aways from the CyFy 2022 Conference, New Delhi

Digital Public Goods in the Service of Digital Self-Determination,
Digital Sovereignty, and Sustainable Development
Possible Focus of International Collaboration
“Digital public goods are open-source software, open data, open AI models, open
standards, and open content that adhere to privacy and other applicable laws and best
practices, do no harm by design, and help attain the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).” – Digital Public Goods Alliance

Potential Synergies (1/2)
IndiaStack
Core e-government and e-business services based on
the principles of open source software and with the
goal of providing public services accessible to all
Large Domestic User Base
Currently 800 mio. Internet Connections
Signficant Need & Potential for
Development
Connecting rural India
 India is an excellent sparring partner for the
development of Global Digital Public Goods
&
Similar Take on Governance Principles
• Innovation-friendly Governance
(striking a balance between regulation
and innovation)
• Preserving the Digital Sovereignty of
Independent Nations
• Empowerment of the Users/Citizens
(Digital Self-Determination)
Strong Track Record & Ambitions
in the Area of Technology Innovation

Potential Synergies (2/2)
World-Renown Research Institutions &
Innovation Hubs
Public Universities & Private Sector form a very innovative
ecosystem
Strong Engagement in the Area of Internet
Governance and the Governance of Future
Technologies
Key Role in the Creation of the Internet Governance Forum;
Creation of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator
& & …
Natural Allies:
• Norway: University of Oslo as a
forerunner in the development of
Digital Public Goods (Health
Information Management System)
• Estonia: Leading Role in
E-Government Development in
Europe

▶ Data
• Once Only
• Open by Default
• Semantic Interoperability
• Interlinking with Reference Databases / Base Registers
▶ Applications
• Interoperability by Default
• Make ICT solutions available for reuse / Prioritization of Open Source Software
• Avoid sectoral duplication of service infrastructures
▶ eGovernment Services
• Trustworthiness & Security
• Inclusiveness & Accessibility
Digital Public Goods as a Means to Promote Public Sector
Transformation in Line with Tallinn Principles

▶ Increased use of the « Ecosystem » Metaphor in leading the digital transformation:
Data Ecosystems, Data Spaces, etc.
• Ecosystem Governance & Leadership
• Stakeholder Involvement
• Data & Applications
• Business Models / Economic Sustainability
▶ Increased focus on the Ethical Dimension:
• User Empowerment
• Inclusion of Underprivileged Groups
• Decolonization / Dealing with the Colonial Past
• Addressing Equality Issues
• Sustainable Development Goals
Current Trends

What Can the Swiss Experience in the Area
of Digital Governance and Innovation bring
to the Table for India?

Some Initial Thoughts…
▶ Code of Conduct for Trusted Data Spaces
• Currently being elaborated at the national level in Switzerland
(multi-stakeholder consultations)
• Publication of Version 1.0 planned for April/May 2023
• After that: Promotion among Swiss stakeholders from the public and private sectors,
academia and civil society
• The launch of a similar process at the international level is in the planning.
▶ Strong Track Record in the Area of Internet Governance and Governance of New
Technologies at the International Level
▶ Very innovative ecosystem (Public & Private)
▶ etc.

But I Would Rather Pass this Question on to Our
Visitors from India…
What Can the Swiss Experience in the Area of Digital
Governance and Innovation bring to the Table for India?

On an Afterthought…
How can Switzerland and India cooperate in multilateral
settings to promote a digital transformation that respects
Digital Self-Determination and Digital Sovereignty, and
advances Sustainable Development?

Contact
Beat Estermann
Opendata.ch
Member of the Board
beat.estermann@opendata.ch
Slidedeck available at: https://www.slideshare.net/beatestermann