“Simplify” (“Enkelt Og Greit”) (NO0038)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Norway Action Plan 2013-2015
Action Plan Cycle: 2013
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: The Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs.
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
E-Government, Public ParticipationIRM Review
IRM Report: Norway End-of-Term Report 2014-2015, Norway Second IRM Progress Report 2013-2014
Starred: No
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: Not Relevant
Implementation i
Description
The government’s “Simplify” project was initiated by the Norwegian Prime Minister in
February 2013. The Project was coordinated by the Ministry of Government
Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, and launched in June 2013. The project was
based on the values in OGP, and the final document is marked with the OGP Logo.
The main goal of the project was, in cooperation with civil society, to identify fields or
issues where the government can simplify the everyday lives of citizens.
In this project, the Government adopted a number of different working methods:
Dialogue between the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment
(Difi) and civil society organizations (NGOs)
Consultation between the Prime Minister and representatives from civil
society
Dialogue between some ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister
An electronic mailbox on the Internet where the citizens were able to make
suggestions and comments
“Simplify” was worked out by the former government. The new government will
consider this document in connection with its efforts to modernize public sector.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
3. “Simplify” (“Enkelt og greit”)
Commitment Text:
The government’s “Simplify” project was initiated by the Norwegian Prime Minister in February 2013. […]
The main goal of the project was, in cooperation with civil society, to identify fields or issues where the government can simplify the everyday lives of citizens.
In this project, the Government adopted a number of different working methods:
• Dialogue between the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi) and civil society organizations (NGOs)
• Consultation between the Prime Minister and representatives from civil society
• Dialogue between some ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister
• An electronic mailbox on the Internet where the citizens were able to make suggestions and comments
These processes resulted in more than 300 proposals from citizens, NGOs and civil servants. Different ministries are responsible for the 45 commitments. The “Simplify” document has 45 commitments.
COMMITMENT DESCRIPTION
Simplify was worked out by the former government. The new government will consider this document in connection with its efforts to modernize public sector.
Responsible institution: Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs
Supporting institution(s): None
Start date: Ongoing End date: Ongoing
Editorial note: The text of the commitments was abridged for formatting reasons. For full text of the commitment, please see http://bit.ly/1QlVIja.
Policy Aim
Responses to the Norwegian government’s national survey on citizen satisfaction in 2010 indicated some dissatisfaction with the quality of digital services and bureaucratic processes.[Note 16: “Innbyggerundersøkelsen,” Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, updated January 14, 2010, accessed September 14, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/innbyggerundersokelsen/id591513/.] This led to the initiation of the “Simplify” project in 2013.[Note 17: “Enkelt og Greit,” Office of the Prime Minister (2013), accessed September 4, 2016, http://bit.ly/1LYdm92.] This commitment addresses related policy processes by committing the Norwegian government to consider a report produced by the Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs. The report presents recommendations for consultations to determine how access to public services could be simplified.[Note 18: Ibid.] The former government led the production of this report in consultation with citizens through the use of a blog where citizens could offer suggestions.[Note 19: Described in “Regjeringen vil gjøre hverdagen enklere for deg og meg,” Fornyings-, administrasjons- og kirkedepartementet, accessed September 9, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/enkler-hverdag/id731194/. ] The blog is no longer available, but the government reports over 200 citizen suggestions were submitted.[Note 20: ”Enkelt og greit - 200 forenklingsforslag fra innbygggerne,” Fornyings-, administrasjons- og kirkedepartementet, accessed September 9, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumentarkiv/stoltenberg-ii/fad/lyd-og-bilde/2013/enkelt-og-greit---200-forenklingsforslag/id717889/. ] These submissions provided the foundation for the subsequent report (which noted that over 300 suggestions were received), proposing such simplification initiatives as social media engagement with the recipients of social benefits and the development of infrastructure to receive GPS data and images from callers to emergency telephone services.[Note 21: ”Enkelt og greit - 200 forenklingsforslag fra innbygggerne,” Fornyings-, administrasjons- og kirkedepartementet, accessed September 9, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumentarkiv/stoltenberg-ii/fad/lyd-og-bilde/2013/enkelt-og-greit---200-forenklingsforslag/id717889/.] Though the initiative was discontinued with the change in government in 2013, the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation (KMD) notes that the current government has initiated many projects with comparable objectives. These are encapsulated in the government’s policy priority area “En enklere hverdag for folk flest” (A simpler day-to-day for common people), which emphasizes the minimizing of bureaucratic processes, regulations, and taxes.[Note 22: “En enklere hverdag for folk flest,” Office of the Prime Minister, accessed September 4, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/om-regjeringa/solberg/Regjeringens-satsingsomrader/Regjeringens-satsingsomrader/enklere-hverdag/id2397849/. ]
Status
Mid-term: Unable to tell from government and civil society responses
The “Simplify” report contained recommendations from the previous government on simplifying bureaucratic interaction with citizens. The IRM researcher found no evidence of any formal processes through which the report had been “considered.”
End-of-term: Complete
KMD reports that “En enklere hverdag for folk flest” includes several activities that are consonant with this commitment, such as the “time thieves” project, which KMD reports identified over 8,000 activities and processes which “steal time” and produce inefficiencies in bureaucratic processes.[Note 23: “Tidstyver i forvaltningen,” Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi), accessed September 13, 2016, https://www.difi.no/fagomrader-og-tjenester/tidstyver/.] Though the way in which the former government’s report (“Simplify”) was “considered” while developing the new government’s approach (“En enklere hverdag…”) has not been documented and remains unclear to the IRM researcher, this end-of-term report assumes that the Simplify report was considered and is at least partly responsible for the consonance in policy objectives across the government transition. The commitment is thus understood to be complete.
Did it open government?
Access to information: Marginal
This commitment is understood to be related to a number of policy initiatives that are directly relevant to the OGP process. Some of these may have marginal implications for improving access to certain types of information. For example, the “time thieves” initiative has resulted in the creation of a public database where public agencies publish information about processes they identified as “time thieves” and the efforts they are taking to mitigate their impacts on citizens.[Note 24: Ibid. ]
Carried forward?
This commitment has not been carried forward in the Norwegian government’s third national action plan, which is available on the OGP website.[Note 25: ”Norway’s third action plan Open Government Partnership (OGP),” Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, accessed September 4, 2016, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Norway_2016-17_NAP.pdf.]
Commitments
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Archiving Documents
NO0054, 2019, Capacity Building
-
Making Energy Statistics Available
NO0055, 2019, Anti-Corruption
-
e-Access and Expansion
NO0056, 2019, Access to Information
-
Open Cultural Data
NO0057, 2019, Access to Information
-
Digital Spatial Planning
NO0058, 2019, E-Government
-
Streamline Public Procurement
NO0059, 2019, Anti-Corruption
-
Preventing Corruption
NO0060, 2019, Anti-Corruption
-
Beneficial Ownership Registry
NO0061, 2019, Anti-Corruption
-
User Orientation
NO0045, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Electronic Public Records (OEP)
NO0046, 2016, E-Government
-
Transparency Regarding Environmental Information
NO0047, 2016, E-Government
-
Disclosure of Financial Data
NO0048, 2016, Access to Information
-
Transparency Regarding Rainforest Funds
NO0049, 2016, E-Government
-
State Employees’ Ownership of Shares
NO0050, 2016, Anti-Corruption
-
Promote Freedom of Expression and Independent Media
NO0051, 2016, Civic Space
-
Country-By-Country Reporting
NO0052, 2016, Anti-Corruption
-
Register for Ultimate Beneficial Ownership
NO0053, 2016, Anti-Corruption
-
Public Review and Public Consultation
NO0020, 2013, Capacity Building
-
Registering and Preserving Digital Documentation Produced by Public Bodies
NO0021, 2013, Access to Information
-
The Norwegian Citizen Survey (Innbyggerundersøkelsen)
NO0022, 2013, Public Participation
-
Whistleblowing
NO0023, 2013, Anti-Corruption
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Strengthened Information Exchange for More Efficient Crime Prevention and Combating
NO0024, 2013, Justice
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Strengthening the Transparency of Public Authorities and Administration
NO0025, 2013, Access to Information
-
Egovernment with an End-User Focus
NO0026, 2013, E-Government
-
Plain Legal Language
NO0027, 2013, Capacity Building
-
Norwegian Grants Portal (MFA)
NO0028, 2013, Aid
-
An International Convention or Agreement on Financial Transparency
NO0029, 2013, Private Sector
-
Reducing Conflicts of Interests – Post-Employment Regulations
NO0030, 2013, Anti-Corruption
-
Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector
NO0031, 2013, Security & Public Safety
-
A Better Overview of Committees, Boards and Councils – More Public Access to Information and Better Opportunities for Further Use
NO0032, 2013, E-Government
-
Modernizing Public Governance
NO0033, 2013, Capacity Building
-
Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues
NO0034, 2013, Anti-Corruption
-
Transparency in the Management of the Government Pension Fund (GPF)
NO0035, 2013, E-Government
-
Transparency and Anti-Corruption Efforts
NO0036, 2013, Anti-Corruption
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The Municipal Sector
NO0037, 2013, Education
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“Simplify” (“Enkelt Og Greit”)
NO0038, 2013, E-Government
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Electronic Public Records (OEP) – (Offentlig Elektronisk Postjournal)
NO0039, 2013, Access to Information
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Re-Use of Public Sector Information (PSI)
NO0040, 2013, Access to Information
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Access to Health Data
NO0041, 2013, E-Government
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Renewal of the Government’S Website (Regjeringen.No – Government.No)
NO0042, 2013, E-Government
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Declaration of Principles for Interaction and Dialogue with NGOs
NO0043, 2013, Capacity Building
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Simplification and Digital Administration of Arrangements for NGOs
NO0044, 2013, Capacity Building
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An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government
NO0001, 2011, Anti-Corruption
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Measures to Promote Gender Equality and Women’S Full Participation in Civic Life, the Private Sector, the Public Administration and Political Processes.
NO0002, 2011, Gender
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Gender Equality – Participation in the Private Sector
NO0003, 2011, Gender
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Increase Women's Representation in Local Government
NO0004, 2011, Gender
-
Gender Equality Program
NO0005, 2011, Gender
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Gender Equality – Inclusion of Immigrant Women
NO0006, 2011, Gender
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Gender Equality – Combat Gender Stereotypes
NO0007, 2011, Gender
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Gender Equality – Youth Initiatives
NO0008, 2011, Gender
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Gender Equality – Combat Domestic Violence
NO0009, 2011, Gender
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Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency
NO0010, 2011, Aid
-
Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency – Government Global Pension Fund
NO0011, 2011, Fiscal Openness
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Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency – Combat Tax Evasion
NO0012, 2011, Fiscal Openness
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Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency – Multi-National Companies
NO0013, 2011, Fiscal Openness
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An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – Create Central Communication Policy
NO0014, 2011, Fiscal Openness
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An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government
NO0015, 2011, E-Government
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An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – Public Data Use
NO0016, 2011, Public Participation
-
An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – National Statistic Publication
NO0017, 2011, Access to Information
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An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – National Public Opinion Survey
NO0018, 2011,
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An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government
NO0019, 2011, Public Participation