Accenture's fifth annual global e-government study

to some 3,000 public administration sites that are
providing the majority of services. The Italian government
recognizes the need for improvement in its
portal and the role different levels of government
will play. In fact, the Italian Ministry for Innovation
and Technologies emphasizes that for future portal
enhancements, these disparate agencies must
remain involved (www.innovazione.gov.it/eng/
egovernment/infrastrutture/portale.shtml).
While eGovernment efforts primarily are directed
through local authorities, the central government
does gather and disseminate information related to
successful practices from central, regional, provincial
and municipal offices. The BuoniEsempi website,
www.buoniesempi.it, includes brief descriptions of
the projects, as well as supporting documentation
and useful guides. It also contains job offers for
those interested in working and training with the
local authorities that carried out the projects.
BuoniEsempi.it is an initiative of the Department
of the Public Administration and Formez (a publicsector
professional training institute), and was
developed as part of the new “Cantieri” program for
promoting innovation in public administrations.
The Italian government focused significant attention
on issues of security and data privacy in 2003. Most
notably, it developed the new personal data protection
code, which went into effect on January 1, 2004. This
code brings together the many fragmented updates
and amendments to Italy’s existing framework for
personal data protection, Law 675/1996. While many
of the rules remain the same, the new code simplifies
them and introduces several innovations aligned
with the European Directive 2000/58 regarding privacy
and the Internet. Its work in developing the code has
been done in conjunction with preparations for setting
up a single unique identifier (not yet available
to the citizen) and testing of an electronic identification
card and a national services card.
The “Vola con Internet” (Fly with the Internet)
project, sponsored by the Minister for Information
and Technology (www.innovazione.gov.it) provides
incentives for the use of the Internet among young
people. The initiative is backed through funding
approved by a 2003 financial amendment that provides
all teenagers born in 1987 with a subsidy
of €175 if they decide to buy a computer with
Internet access. The Italian Ministry for Innovation
and Technologies has also launched a political and
legislative antidiscrimination strategy to ensure
people with disabilities have the right of access to
the services and information distributed through the
Internet. To this end, the ministry introduced a bill
on the accessibility requirements for all the Italian
public administration websites.
Italy continues to make modest eGovernment
improvements, but seems to lack the focused strategy
and action plan needed to bring together the
many, far-flung online elements of its public administration.
As its governmental reform continues to
progress, the country will need to develop a detailed
model of eGovernment collaboration that will lead
to a truly seamless and enhanced service experience
for its customers.
The Italian government is also undertaking a number
of new initiatives to encourage take-up of its
eGovernment services. These initiatives focus primarily
on increasing access—an important priority for a
country with the relatively low Internet penetration
of 31 percent.
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