I I I . I N N O VAT I V E P U B L I C A D M I N I S T R AT I O N The Federal Government is committed to implementing a digital transformation within the public sector. We want citizens to be able to avail of digital services from public authorities as easily and efficiently as they would from private service providers, while being able to rely on the high standards of confidentiality and security. At the same time, we want to ensure the efficiency and security of the State’s information technology systems in the long term. As a major procurer of IT services, we will play a role in promoting innovation and security in IT. Our aim is to have a transparent state offering easy access to reliable data. To tackle the tasks ahead, we must join forces across all government and public sector levels. We therefore wish to intensify cooperation within the IT Planning Council and call on Länder and local authorities to help implement sustainable public administration across the board. 1. Public sector digital services for citizens and companies In order to offer attractive, user-friendly and secure digital services, the Federal Government will apply the following principles to its actions: zzFurther modernisation of public administration can only succeed if we implement measures in a coordinated and effective manner. We are therefore taking a cross-departmental approach in our government programme “Digital Administration 2020”, which brings together a series of measures. zzWe work closely with the Länder and local authorities and support the development of user-friendly local e-government services. zzCitizens must be able to rely on straightforward, secure communication with public administration. We are therefore setting up citizen accounts in conjunction with the Länder: these accounts will also allow secure authentication using the eID function on identity cards and facilitate simple and secure use of the maximum possible number of administration services at local authority, Länder and government level. 19 zzThe provision of electronic services for public adminis- tration requires efficient interfaces between public administration, citizens and companies. We are further developing existing, cross-level solutions, such as the single government contact or government hotline 115 already established. We are making all useful public administration services available online. zzIt should be possible to contact public authorities via a range of channels, in a simple and secure manner. We are rolling out De-Mail, the encrypted electronic letter system, at national level. To expedite this roll-out, a joint working group is being set up with industry. The group will exchange experiences and address any identified obstacles promptly. zzExisting administrative formalities, such as those requir- ing a handwritten signature or personal appearance at the office of an authority, are greatly hampering the further expansion of electronic services. We are therefore reviewing all administrative formalities and dispensing with these where possible. zzAt European level, we are working towards enabling citizens in other member states to use electronic iden­ tification in a secure manner. We are also working on the cross-border recognition and use of electronic signatures, including company signatures. zzThe digitisation of innovative public services and pro- cesses both facilitates and dictates further openness with regard to state geo data, statistics and other datasets (open data). With open data, we are also supporting the growth of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. As a result of our efforts, the federal authorities are pioneering the provision of open data in Germany. In this context, we are presenting a “National Action Plan on Implementing the G8 Open-Data Charta“. zzRemote sensing data such as satellite images are increas- ingly vital for industry, science and many federal authorities. We are therefore examining ways of providing central digital access to such data and derived products.