NIDS lessons from Estonia

Chief Technical Director in the Office of the Prime Minister, Jacqueline Lynch-Stewart, has returned from a visit to Estonia with fresh enthusiasm over the proposed National Identification System (NIDS).

Lynch-Stewart, who has oversight for the implementation of NIDS, was among several Caribbean policymakers who went on an intensive week of training and consultations in Estonia recently.

"They were absolutely good people, who shared with us their mistakes and their successes," Lynch-Stewart told The Sunday Gleaner.

"They started the digital transformation in 1991 and that is why I constantly remind people that the introduction of the NIDS is a process and not an event," added Lynch-Stewart.

With a population of 1.3 million people, the European country of Estonia is the world's leading example of how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) could be used to improve the lives of citizens and their interaction with the state.

Based on Estonia's track record of ICT innovation, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) designed, and funded, a week of training at the Estonian e-governance academy to support the reform and modernisation of Caribbean public administration using the tools of ICT.

The cornerstone of Estonia's e-governance system is the establishment of each citizen's strong digital identity.

This is bolstered by secure data exchange and connectivity. Information on every citizen of Estonia is stored in government agency databases. This could include medical records, school records and tax history. Secure digital gateways then link individual data to other files.

A system called 'X-Road' connects citizens' records to doctors, the police, banks or any other agencies which individual users interact.

With 99 per cent of all government services available online and a growing number of private services also available, it means that written prescriptions, paper forms, and long lines are extinct in Estonia.

There is also the 'once only' principle that ensures citizens never have to enter the same data twice.

 

PROVEN TO BE SECURE

 

Additionally, the e-governance system has proved to be secure, since citizens are the owners of their data. Breaches are flagged, and perpetrators are punished under law.

During the week of training, Caribbean policymakers were introduced to a vast array of ICT-related solutions. They were introduced to how Estonia's e-governance system was created, as well as challenges in implementation and successes over the years, including savings of two per cent of GDP.

Of particular interest to the Caribbean delegates were the sessions on e-health solutions, e-policing, I-voting for nationwide elections, and the company registration portal.

Delegates were impressed to discover that it is possible to register a new company in Estonia in less than 20 minutes. It currently takes between three and 21 days to open a business in the Caribbean.

As part of the training, delegates were asked to reflect upon what they had learnt and how it could improve government services in the Caribbean region.

"The NIDS will provide Jamaicans with a digital name and that will provide the foundation for us to move into the digital world. There were six countries represented on the tour and everyone left excited. Jamaica can delay and allow the others to lead or we can move ahead and be a leader," said Lynch-Stewart as she gushed about what she saw in Estonia.

"I will have to try my best to try to get other members of my team to go there," she added.

The International Best Practices Study Tour to Estonia was funded by the IDB. The tour was attended by high-level policymakers, including ministers of government and permanent secretaries from The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as senior IDB executives, including Caribbean Country Department General Manager Therese Turner-Jones.

The training courses were tailor-made for the Caribbean delegates based on the status of the digital agenda in each country.