Overview of the agenda

Estonia’s Digital Agenda 2030 includes a vision and an action plan concerning the development of the Estonian economy, state and society with the help of digital technology in the next decade. With regard to digital society, there still persists an ambition to use information and communication technology, i.e. digital solutions as astutely and as much as possible in order to achieve the objectives of ‘Estonia 2035’1 . Namely, contributions are made via the following sub-objectives:

+ The Estonian economy is innovative and knowledge-based, using new technologies and business models as well as flexible forms of work. The contribution of the development plan lies in the creation of favourable conditions for business research and development and innovation. The Estonian economic environment invites people to work here, establish companies or do business virtually, invest, create and test new solutions which benefit the society at large.

+ The needs of all people are taken into account when shaping the living environment and the foundations of high-quality spaces and principles of inclusive design are consistently followed when making decisions in order to ensure the accessibility and convenience of spiritual, physical and digital space for everyone. The activities of the development plan contribute through the use of innovative technologies and environmentally friendly solutions which reduce the impact of climate change and the time required for covering distances and ensure a good living environment all across Estonia.

+ Estonia is an innovative country which values the creation and use of knowledge and where social life is organised by means of new human-centric and efficient technologies. The contribution of the development plan is reflected in the fact that the governance set-up promotes social cohesion, the adoption of new solutions, innovation and flexible governance. Public services function in the background and are proactive, and the data space is protected. The organisation of governance and people’s participation in it in Estonia is trendsetting and sets an example to other countries.

According to the vision of the Digital Agenda 2030, Estonia should be full of digital power. This encompasses the following:

+ our way of life is impressive – it is easy to accomplish what we need or want;

+ we are protected by the power of digitalisation – our digital life is safe and we make bold advances in digital development;

+ our economy is empowered by digitalisation – digital solutions are the engine of the entire economy; + supported by the power of digitalisation, we value every person and contribute to co-creation;

+ fertile conditions have been established for the creation of future solutions in Estonia. To implement the vision, more specific goals have been set in this development plan and lines of action have been planned in three areas:

+ the development of digital government, i.e. the use of digital solutions in the public sector, since no other development plan includes the general development of digital government and the public sector also leads and sets the direction for the development of the Estonian digital society. The main goal is to strive for the best experience when using public services, so that our way of life can be impressive, as has been highlighted in the vision. For this purpose, we plan to take the next leaps in the development of digital government and ensure the sustainability of the established solutions;

+ the development of electronic communication, i.e. connectivity, because the sufficient availability of connections forms the foundation of the use of digital solutions, be it in everyday life or business. The main goal is the availability of fast and affordable connections throughout Estonia.

+ the development of national cyber security, since we can boldly move forward on the journey of digital development formulated in the vision if sufficient trust has been guaranteed. This area includes the provision of cyber security in the public sector and more broadly in the economy. The main goal is to keep the Estonian cyberspace reliable and secure. Considering the growing risks and the established basis, it is a rather ambitious target on its own.

The implementation of the vision of digital society also depends on a number of other areas and policies covered by other development plans. Therefore, this development plan also separately formulates expectations for other policy areas because development plans should not overlap, but at the same time it is reasonable to partially address the measures of other areas.

The expectations constitute a ‘request’ stemming from the broader vision of digital society, so that we should clearly outline the needs and foundations, on the basis of which we can plan support activities for the implementation of other development plans or direct their alignment with one another. This development plan does not include specific targets or activities for promoting the introduction of ICT in various walks of life and business fields because all development plans of specific fields must encompass such plans.

When implementing the vision, it is important to consistently follow the principles highlighted in this development plan with regard to all of the subobjectives.

The implementation and updating of this Agenda and its alignment with other development plans is guaranteed by means of the organisation of management which has a steering group at its centre, headed by the minister responsible for the development of digital society. An advisory committee including state authorities and other partners directs the accomplishment of the sub-objectives of this Agenda. In addition, the Cyber Security Council is active in the field of cyber security as a subgroup of a government committee. When it comes to implementation, various formats are used to organise cooperation, plan activities and carry out monitoring.

The development plan is implemented by means of a digital society programme which is prepared for four years and updated along with the budget strategy once a year. The programme includes specific measures, metrics, responsible agents and a budget, etc. which are required as an action plan for achieving the targets and aims of the Agenda in the coming years. Advisory committees of specific fields and, naturally, the steering group of this development plan update the programme and monitor its implementation.

A more specific analysis of the current situation and the justification for the selected lines of action are presented in the chapters of the main part of the development plan. However, we present the ‘larger picture’ of the current situation in the development of the Estonian digital society here – the main conclusions of the baseline analysis for the Agenda, including an international comparison, where possible.