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Norway

“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 Participation

IRM Review

IRM Report: Norway End-of-Term Report 2014-2015

Starred: No

Early Results: Marginal Marginal

Design i

Verifiable: No

Relevant to OGP Values: Not Relevant

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion:

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/sites/default/files/Norway_2016-17_NAP.pdf.]

Norway's Commitments

  1. Archiving documents

    NO0054, 2019, Capacity Building

  2. Making energy statistics available

    NO0055, 2019, E-Government

  3. E-access and expansion

    NO0056, 2019, Civic Space

  4. open cultural data

    NO0057, 2019, E-Government

  5. Digital spatial Planning

    NO0058, 2019, E-Government

  6. streamline public procurement

    NO0059, 2019, E-Government

  7. Preventing corruption

    NO0060, 2019, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  8. beneficial ownership registry

    NO0061, 2019, Beneficial Ownership

  9. User orientation

    NO0045, 2016, Capacity Building

  10. Electronic Public Records (OEP)

    NO0046, 2016, E-Government

  11. Transparency regarding environmental information

    NO0047, 2016, E-Government

  12. Starred commitment Disclosure of financial data

    NO0048, 2016, E-Government

  13. Transparency regarding rainforest funds

    NO0049, 2016, E-Government

  14. State employees’ ownership of shares

    NO0050, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  15. Promote freedom of expression and independent media

    NO0051, 2016, Civic Space

  16. Country-by-country reporting

    NO0052, 2016, Extractive Industries

  17. Register for ultimate beneficial ownership

    NO0053, 2016, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  18. Public review and public consultation

    NO0020, 2013, Capacity Building

  19. Registering and preserving digital documentation produced by public bodies

    NO0021, 2013, E-Government

  20. The Norwegian Citizen Survey (Innbyggerundersøkelsen)

    NO0022, 2013, Public Participation

  21. Whistleblowing

    NO0023, 2013, Whistleblower Protections

  22. Strengthened information exchange for more efficient crime prevention and combating

    NO0024, 2013, Justice

  23. Strengthening the transparency of public authorities and administration

    NO0025, 2013, Capacity Building

  24. eGovernment with an end-user focus

    NO0026, 2013, E-Government

  25. Plain Legal Language

    NO0027, 2013, Capacity Building

  26. Norwegian Grants Portal (MFA)

    NO0028, 2013, Aid

  27. An international convention or agreement on financial transparency

    NO0029, 2013, Private Sector

  28. Reducing conflicts of interests – Post-Employment Regulations

    NO0030, 2013, Conflicts of Interest

  29. Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector

    NO0031, 2013, Security

  30. A better overview of committees, boards and councils – more public access to information and better opportunities for further use

    NO0032, 2013, E-Government

  31. Modernizing Public Governance

    NO0033, 2013, Capacity Building

  32. Transparency in the management of oil and gas revenues

    NO0034, 2013, Extractive Industries

  33. Transparency in the management of the Government Pension Fund (GPF)

    NO0035, 2013, E-Government

  34. Transparency and anti-corruption efforts

    NO0036, 2013, Anti-Corruption Institutions

  35. The municipal sector

    NO0037, 2013, Education

  36. “Simplify” (“Enkelt og greit”)

    NO0038, 2013, E-Government

  37. Electronic Public Records (OEP) – (Offentlig elektronisk postjournal)

    NO0039, 2013, E-Government

  38. Re-use of public sector information (PSI)

    NO0040, 2013, Capacity Building

  39. Access to health data

    NO0041, 2013, E-Government

  40. Renewal of the Government’s website (regjeringen.no – government.no)

    NO0042, 2013, E-Government

  41. Declaration of principles for interaction and dialogue with NGOs

    NO0043, 2013, Capacity Building

  42. Simplification and digital administration of arrangements for NGOs

    NO0044, 2013, Capacity Building

  43. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government

    NO0001, 2011, Capacity Building

  44. 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

  45. Gender Equality – Participation in the Private Sector

    NO0003, 2011, Gender

  46. Increase Women's Representation in Local Government

    NO0004, 2011, Gender

  47. Gender Equality Program

    NO0005, 2011, Gender

  48. Gender Equality – Inclusion of Immigrant Women

    NO0006, 2011, Gender

  49. Gender Equality – Combat Gender Stereotypes

    NO0007, 2011, Gender

  50. Gender Equality – Youth Initiatives

    NO0008, 2011, Gender

  51. Gender Equality – Combat Domestic Violence

    NO0009, 2011, Gender

  52. Transparency in the management of oil and gas revenues / financial transparency

    NO0010, 2011, Aid

  53. Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency – Government Global Pension Fund

    NO0011, 2011, Fiscal Transparency

  54. Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency – Combat Tax Evasion

    NO0012, 2011, Fiscal Transparency

  55. Transparency in the Management of Oil and Gas Revenues / Financial Transparency – Multi-National Companies

    NO0013, 2011, Fiscal Transparency

  56. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – Create Central Communication Policy

    NO0014, 2011, Fiscal Transparency

  57. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government

    NO0015, 2011, E-Government

  58. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – Public Data Use

    NO0016, 2011, Public Participation

  59. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – National Statistic Publication

    NO0017, 2011, Open Data

  60. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government – National Public Opinion Survey

    NO0018, 2011, Records Management

  61. An Open Public Sector and Inclusive Government

    NO0019, 2011, Public Participation