Accenture's fifth annual global e-government study

Building integration from decentralization
Accenture interviewed Gunnar Lund, Sweden’s minister for International Economic Affairs and Financial
Markets, about the elements of high performance in online service delivery. We share his thoughts here.
How do you define high-performance government
Increased efficiency and improved availability are particularly important. The increased availability creates a
whole new relationship between the official machinery, citizens and corporations. What we have seen so far
is only the beginning and the possibility to achieve greater benefits is substantial.
How does a government know it is successful in eGovernment
It is very simple. The measurement of success is simple. It’s that demand increases. The key is to identify the
demand, the need, and understand it.
What is the biggest challenge to successful eGovernment
Traditional public administration has taken care of citizens separately, depending on subject area. For our
part, we have, for quite a long time, aimed to break these barriers and get rid of that way of thinking…We
have to tie all the pieces together to get an overall picture. And that is where we have an instrument in the
Government Offices. We are steering the official agencies.
How is Sweden dealing with this challenge
We have now a fantastic instrument—a catalyst. The public officials at the public agencies realize that they
have a need for and an interest in creating more horizontal cooperation. But naturally cooperation can be
pushed further and we, from the government, are trying to do this.
What will successful eGovernment in Sweden look like in your mind
Of course, the end purpose is to have one single portal and from there be able to access the whole Swedish
public administration instantly. That is obviously the ideal and that, I think, is possible to develop very far—
the sky’s the limit.