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Denmark

Principles for collaboration on the modernisation of the public sector as well as the establishment of a centre for public innovation (DK0040)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Denmark Action Plan 2013-2014

Action Plan Cycle: 2014

Status: Inactive

Institutions

Lead Institution: NA

Support Institution(s): NA

Policy Areas

Capacity Building, Public Service Delivery

IRM Review

IRM Report: Denmark End-of-Term Report 2014-2016

Starred: No

Early Results: Did Not Change

Design i

Verifiable: No

Relevant to OGP Values: Not Relevant

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

Together with employers and employees from the public labour market, the Government has adopted seven principles for collaboration on the modernisation of the public sector. The principles are to promote a performance of public tasks and a culture with a focus on trust, collaboration, results, efficiency, innovation, quality and professionalism. At the same time, these principles serve the purpose of supporting the many good initiatives across sectors and authorities that rethink and improve the public sector.
The adoption of the principles will be followed up on in 2014-2016 by initiatives that are to contribute to spreading the principles and supporting modernisation and innovation in the public sector. The initiatives comprise the development of new forms of governance with a focus on trust and collaboration as well as the establishment of a centre for public innovation that is to support the spread and embeddedness of innovation across the public sector. The centre is also to strengthen employee and user-driven innovation in the public sector.

IRM End of Term Status Summary

Commitments 7 and 8: Modernization of the public sector & free municipalities

Commitment 7. Modernization of the public sector & establishment of a center for public innovation

Together with employers and employees from the public labour market, the Government has adopted seven principles for collaboration on the modernisation of the public sector. The principles are to promote a performance of public tasks and a culture with a focus on trust, collaboration, results, efficiency, innovation, quality and professionalism. At the same time, these principles serve the purpose of supporting the many good initiatives across sectors and authorities that rethink and improve the public sector.

The adoption of the principles will be followed up on in 2014-2016 by initiatives that are to contribute to spreading the principles and supporting modernisation and innovation in the public sector. The initiatives comprise the development of new forms of governance with a focus on trust and collaboration as well as the establishment of a centre for public innovation that is to support the spread and embeddedness of innovation across the public sector. The centre is also expected to strengthen employee and user driven innovation in the public sector.

8: “Free Municipality” pilot projects

Known as “Free Municipality” pilot projects, these projects are part of the Government’s work on the modernisation and innovation of the public sector. Lessons learned from free municipality pilot projects are to contribute to the Government’s general reform of the public sector with a focus on trust, professionalism, leadership and deregulation, which are significant parameters for a user-orientated sector.

Nine municipalities are free municipalities. They have been granted exemption from government rules and documentation requirements for the purpose of testing new ways of doing things. The objective is to find smarter, more resource-efficient and less bureaucratic solutions.

Responsible Institution: None specified for any commitment

Supporting Institutions: Commitment 7: none specified;

Commitment 8: The nine “free municipalities”

Start date: Not specified........                         End date: Not specified

Commitment Aim:

Commitment 7 set out seven principles for modernization of the private sector,[Note 17: Seven principles for public innovation, COI, http://coi.dk/om-os/7-principper/%5Dsuch as factoring citizens’ resources into public services. A series of follow up initiatives as well as the creation of a new Centre for Public Innovation followed.

Commitment 8 predates the action plan,[Note 18: http://www.kl.dk/Fagomrader/Okonomi-og-dokumentation/styring/Frikommuneforsog/De-9-frikommuner/%5D and entails a series of pilot projects held in “free municipalities.” [Note 19: Denmark’s Self-Assessment Report to OGP, September 2015, http://goo.gl/GUIr6a%5D These municipalities have been granted exemption from government rules and documentation requirements for testing new ways of doing things in order to find smarter, more resource-efficient and less bureaucratic solutions. There were nine “free municipalities” in the period 2012-2015, and results from their experience will be included in future reforms of the public sector.

Status
Commitment 7:

Mid-term: Substantial

As remarked in the IRM progress report, this commitment is vaguely worded, resulting in significant scope for interpretation to what exactly the commitment is attempting to achieve. Nevertheless, the IRM researcher finds this commitment to be substantially completed.

The evaluation of the adopted principles and implementation of initiatives to spread the principles was still on going during the first-year assessment. As noted in the IRM Progress Report[Note 20: Denmark IRM mid-term report 2014-15, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/default/files/Denmark_IRM%20Progress%20Report%202014-15_Final_eng.pdf%5D the government had conducted governance workshops to develop new governance models focused on trust, collaboration, and civil engagement. It also established a Center for Public Sector Innovation that produced the world’s first Public Sector Innovation Statistic.

End of term: Substantial

This commitment has not seen further implementation since midterm evaluation. Since the IRM progress report, the Centre for Public Innovation has hosted many activities, meetings, and workshops (for a complete list, see the news on the COI-website[Note 21: News from COI, http://coi.dk/nyheder/%5D), however it is unclear how many of these pertain to this commitment. Together, the work of the Centre for Public Innovation and the adoption of the seven principles are an on-going process, scheduled for conclusion in 2019.[Note 22: COI to continue their work, COI, http://coi.dk/nyheder/2016/coi-fortsaetter-arbejdet/%5D

Commitment 8:

Mid-term: Substantial

According to the Danish government’s mid-term self-assessment report, municipalities piloted 250 experimental approaches to almost all municipal tasks. Examples include beginning foreign language instruction in earlier grades of schools, or indeed in kindergarten, and new ways of welcoming citizens into job service functions. For further information, please see the IRM mid-term report.[Note 23: Denmark IRM mid-term report 2014-15, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/default/files/Denmark_IRM%20Progress%20Report%202014-15_Final_eng.pdf%5D  A midterm evaluation of the experimental pilot projects performed by Rambøll and released in January 2014 confirmed that implementation was advancing according to the specified timeline.[Note 24: Midterm evaluation of the free municipalities, January 2014, Rambøll, http://www.kl.dk/ImageVaultFiles/id_75799/cf_202/Tv-rg-ende_rapport_-_Midtvejsevaluering_af_frikomm.PDF%5D

End of term: Complete

The period for the free municipalities ended in 2015, the commitment is now considered complete. The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Interior announced that the participating municipalities would publish self-evaluations of their experiments by 30 April 2016.[Note 25: Free Municipalities 2012-2015, Ministry of Social and the Interior, http://sim.dk/frikommuneforsoeg-ii/frikommuneforsoeg-i-(2012-2015).aspx] Only Fredensborg Kommune[Note 26: Evaluation of free municipality trial, Fredensborg Kommune, https://www.fredensborg.dk/Admin/Public/Download.aspx?file=Files%2FFiles%2FKommunen%2FFrikommune%2FFrikommune_Evalueringsrapport_endeligt+udkast.pdf%5D had published such a report at the time of writing, and there is no aggregated assessment like the evaluation performed by Rambøll.

Did it open government?

Access to information: Did not change

Civic Participation: Did not change

Public Accountability: Did not change

Neither of the commitments are eligible for the “did it open government” question, a neither of them had any OGP value relevance.

Commitment 7 aims to establish the Centre for Public Innovation, have a series of activities and adopt seven principles for innovation in public offices. However, as implemented it remained unclear how the commitment is relevant to OGP values. As noted in the end of term completion, it is also unclear what relation the activities held at the COI, have to the commitment. Since the adoption of the seven principles is still on-going, any effects or indication of changes in government practice is hard to determine. Especially, given the unclear relevance to any of OGP values.

Commitment 8 aims to perform a series of experiments in the “Free Municipalities”, but it does not specify how these experiments were to be adopted into policy on the national or local level. During the period the pilot project lasts, “free municipalities” are allowed to be exempt from complying with policy or legislation in order to find smarter, more resource-efficient and less bureaucratic solutions. As noted in the IRM progress report the relevance of this commitment, as written, to OGP values is unclear.[Note 27: Denmark IRM mid-term report 2014-15, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/default/files/Denmark_IRM%20Progress%20Report%202014-15_Final_eng.pdf%5D From desk research and interviews with government officials responsible for commitment implementation, the IRM researcher has not found concrete evidence of policy changes. There is no evidence that the experiments conducted by free municipalities in Commitment #8 changed how government discloses information, opens spaces for participation, or is held accountable. Since the commitment is at the local level, it is beyond the scope of this research to examine each action.

Carried forward?

According information found on the COI website,[Note 28: COI to continue their work, COI, http://coi.dk/nyheder/2016/coi-fortsaetter-arbejdet/%5D activities of the Centre for Public Innovation will continue until 2019.

A new free municipality project was announced spanning 2016-2019,[Note 29: Free Municipalities 2016-2019, Local Government Denmark, http://www.kl.dk/Okonomi-og-administration/Okonomi-og-dokumentation/styring/Frikommuneforsog/%5D and 43 municipalities have applied to conduct this next round of municipal experiments.[Note 30: Free Municipalities 2016-2019, Local Government Denmark, http://www.kl.dk/Okonomi-og-administration/Okonomi-og-dokumentation/styring/Frikommuneforsog/Frikommuneforsog-II/%5D In late August 2016, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Interior postponed the appointment of new free municipalities.[Note 31: Free Municipality appointment delayed, Ministry of Social and the Interior: http://sim.dk/nyheder/nyhedsarkiv/2016/aug/udpegning-af-frikommunenetvaerk-udskydes.aspx%5D

Denmark's Commitments

  1. Open data for citizens and media

    DK0050, 2017, E-Government

  2. Data registers on a shared public distribution platform

    DK0051, 2017, E-Government

  3. Information portal for day-care facilities

    DK0052, 2017, E-Government

  4. Open data and Smart City forum

    DK0053, 2017, Capacity Building

  5. Open Data DK

    DK0054, 2017, Capacity Building

  6. Overview of own cases and benefits

    DK0055, 2017, E-Government

  7. Nationwide deployment of telemedicine

    DK0056, 2017, E-Government

  8. My Log

    DK0057, 2017, E-Government

  9. Civil Society National Strategy

    DK0058, 2017, Marginalized Communities

  10. Report a rule

    DK0059, 2017, E-Government

  11. OGP Forum

    DK0060, 2017, OGP

  12. Denmark’s country program for Uganda

    DK0061, 2017, Aid

  13. The 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference

    DK0062, 2017, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  14. IATI (International Aid Transparency Initiative)

    DK0063, 2017, Aid

  15. Service check of local government consultations

    DK0034, 2014, Public Participation

  16. Call on all municipalities to facilitate advance voting

    DK0035, 2014, Marginalized Communities

  17. Letter of invitation to first-time voters urging them to vote

    DK0036, 2014, Marginalized Communities

  18. User friendliness requirements regarding digital self-service solutions

    DK0037, 2014, Capacity Building

  19. Plan for inclusion during the transition to digital communication

    DK0038, 2014, Capacity Building

  20. Common public sector digital communication campaign

    DK0039, 2014, Capacity Building

  21. Principles for collaboration on the modernisation of the public sector as well as the establishment of a centre for public innovation

    DK0040, 2014, Capacity Building

  22. “Free Municipality” pilot projects

    DK0041, 2014, Subnational

  23. Recommendations from growth teams

    DK0042, 2014, Private Sector

  24. Strategy for Digital Welfare

    DK0043, 2014, E-Government

  25. Implementation of a new charter for interaction between Volunteer Denmark/Associations Denmark and the public sector

    DK0044, 2014, Civic Space

  26. “Open Data Innovation Strategy” (ODIS)

    DK0045, 2014, Capacity Building

  27. Data Distributor for the distribution of basic data

    DK0046, 2014, Open Data

  28. Open Government Camp 2014

    DK0047, 2014, Capacity Building

  29. Open Government Assistance to Myanmar

    DK0048, 2014, Aid

  30. Opening key public datasets

    DK0049, 2014, Capacity Building

  31. Online Open Government Partnership community

    DK0001, 2012, E-Government

  32. Online OGP handbook for public authorities and institutions

    DK0002, 2012, E-Government

  33. Starred commitment Management labs and new forms of co-operation

    DK0003, 2012, Public Participation

  34. Consultation and Transparency of Development Aid Programmes: Design aid programmes

    DK0004, 2012, Aid

  35. Innovate with Aarhus

    DK0005, 2012, Capacity Building

  36. Citizen self-services: Increasing the use of user ratings in the citizen’s port borger.dk

    DK0006, 2012, E-Government

  37. Open Government Camp

    DK0007, 2012, OGP

  38. Renewed effort for open government data

    DK0008, 2012, E-Government

  39. Regional initiative on open data

    DK0009, 2012, Open Data

  40. Reuse of open source software in the public sector

    DK0010, 2012, E-Government

  41. Citizen self-services: Binding guidelines for self-service solutions

    DK0011, 2012, Capacity Building

  42. Citizen self-services: Guidance and information on accessibility to digital solutions

    DK0012, 2012, E-Government

  43. Citizen self-services: Peer-to-peer learning programmes to help citizens use digital self-service

    DK0013, 2012, Capacity Building

  44. Citizen self-services: Location-based content and re-use of content in borger.dk

    DK0014, 2012, E-Government

  45. Less reporting through increased re-use of key data

    DK0015, 2012, E-Government

  46. MyPage” for businesses

    DK0016, 2012, E-Government

  47. Companies to be “born digitally”

    DK0017, 2012, E-Government

  48. Creating a mediation and complaints institution for responsible business behaviour

    DK0018, 2012, Human Rights

  49. International human rights conference

    DK0019, 2012, Human Rights

  50. Promote social responsibility in the fashion business

    DK0020, 2012, Private Sector

  51. Reporting on human rights and the climate

    DK0021, 2012, Human Rights

  52. Country by country reporting in the extractive and forestry industries

    DK0022, 2012, Extractive Industries

  53. Legislative principles for the digital age

    DK0023, 2012, Legislature

  54. Consolidated key data

    DK0024, 2012, E-Government

  55. App Store for digital learning resources

    DK0025, 2012, E-Government

  56. Starred commitment Preparing a digital reform of the public welfare areas

    DK0026, 2012, E-Government

  57. Consultation and Transparency of Development Aid Programmes: Transparency in aid

    DK0027, 2012, Aid

  58. Tracking progress of universities’ transition to digital-only administrative communication

    DK0028, 2012, Education

  59. Disclosure of status reporting from the National IT Project Council

    DK0029, 2012, E-Government

  60. Overview of public ICT architecture

    DK0030, 2012, E-Government

  61. Publication of Educational Materials on the Government’s ICT Project Model

    DK0031, 2012, Capacity Building

  62. Smart Aarhus and Smart Region: Smart Aarhus

    DK0032, 2012, E-Government

  63. Smart Aarhus and Smart Region: Smart Region

    DK0033, 2012, E-Government