Platform for Citizens to Access Data the Government Holds about Them (DK0068)

• What’s in the 2019 Action PlansGovernment Data Platform (August 1, 2020)

What is the social problem that the commitment will address?
The conversion to digital processes since the beginning of the millen-nium has led the Internet to become the main way that Danes inter-face with the public sector. However, it can sometimes be difficult to establish a total overview of what information and personal data that has been collected and is being used by public authorities. It can also be difficult to gain an overview of ongoing cases with the various au-thorities. This can cause confusion for the citizen and unnecessary ad-ministration for the authority. These challenges will be effectively ac-commodated when My Overview is launched.

What does the commitment entail?
My Overview is a personalised, user-friendly page on borger.dk that presents the citizen with a combined digital overview. The most im-portant data that public authorities have about each user will be com-bined in one place. This will present a full overview of ongoing case processing, economic support that has been awarded, outstanding payments, deadlines, agreements with the public sector etc. In other words, My Overview will be an information guide for the citi-zen that will supplement existing authorities’ platforms. Being closely linked to other public authorities, My Overview will ensure that relevant existing data is only presented for the benefit of the citizen.

How will the commitment contrib-ute towards solving the social problem?
Based on citizens’ need to access their own data in a personalised so-lution, My Overview will help to ensure that citizens feel secure about public sector digitisation. Currently citizens are far too frequently un-certain about what information the authorities hold as well as who to contact for an overview of this information. My Overview will allow citi-zens to experience a new and far more manageable way of accessing their own data. As the individual citizen will have easily manageable access to the most important and relevant data, this will mean better clarity and insights, for instance making citizens better able to follow the progress of their own cases. The solution will also send notifica-tions to the citizen about agreements with the public sector, thus mak-ing it easier for the citizen to plan their time, as well as contribute to reduce the failure to attend rate.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
Open government, access and insight are key elements towards de-veloping trust in public digitisation. My Overview will help to increase transparency between the public sector and citizens by creating a plat-form that will combine the display of already existing data, giving citi-zens an improved overview of their own data. It will thus be easier for citizens to inform the authorities of any information that may be incor-rect or deficient. Interaction and collaboration between citizens and the public sector will be improved as a result, making citizens better able to follow the use and sharing of data in the public sector. My Overview is therefore an important step towards increasing trust in that Digital Denmark is a safe and secure space for the individual.

Additional information
https://www.fm.dk/~/media/files/nyheder/pressemed-delelser/2019/09/aftale-om-regionernes-oekonomi-for-2020.ashx?la=da (page 19)

5. My overview ("Mit overblik")

Main Objective

"My Overview is a personalised, user-friendly page on borger.dk that presents the citizen with a combined digital overview. The most important data that public authorities have about each user will be combined in one place. This will present a full overview of ongoing case processing, economic support that has been awarded, outstanding payments, deadlines, agreements with the public sector etc. In other words, My Overview will be an information guide for the citizen that will supplement existing authorities' platforms. Being closely linked to other public authorities, My Overview will ensure that relevant existing data is only presented for the benefit of the citizen." [15]

Milestones

My Overview will be implemented in four annual stages leading up to 2023. Below are examples of data that is expected to be available in the particular year/stage.

• Personal and contact information, occupation and benefits
• Health, Schools, housing, economy and tax
• Family Situation, daycare, leisure and culture, and combined overview of agreements with the public sector, deadlines and outstanding payments
• Construction, transport, livestock, fisheries, etc.

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Denmark's action plan at https://digst.dk/media/21659/ogp-nap-2019-2021-english.pdf, pp. 19-20.

Commitment Analysis
This commitment seeks to create a centralised online platform on http://www.borger.dk, where Danish citizens will be able to access a broader overview of their personal data administered by public institutions, including from across levels of government and different sectors, called 'mit overblik' ("my overview"). It builds on a commitment from Denmark's third action plan (2017-2019), which covered most of the preparatory work for this initiative, including analysis of user needs, development of a reference architecture, and pilots in collaboration with local authorities. [16] "My overview" will be implemented in four stages, and the commitment provides examples of the data expected to be made available during each stage.

The commitment is relevant to the OGP value of access to information, as "my overview" will provide the public with improved access to existing personal data and cases being processed (e.g. economic support) via a user-friendly and individually tailored display. [17]

Currently, Danish citizens do not have access to a centralised overview of the types of data that public institutions hold about them. As a consequence, personal data is not always easy to retrieve, and it can be difficult to identify which institution is responsible for a given case, be it debt health records, or work-related cases. [18] The increasing digitisation of personal information in Denmark has gained much attraction and influenced public trust. According to a 2019 survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), only 60 percent of Danes demonstrated trust in public institutions' data management. [19]

If fully implemented, the "my overview" platform could improve citizens' access to their active cases and provide them with an easier way to identify responsible authorities. In addition, it could make it easier for citizens to correct inaccurate information. [20] This is not likely to lead to any direct changes in government practice in- and by itself. However, it may enhance citizens' trust in authorities if the implementing agencies ensure transparency and compliance with the rules and regulations of data protection. The webpage will eventually cover all information stored by public institutions that are relevant to citizens' cases. However, several datasets are expected to be available only in 2023, after the conclusion of the current action plan's 2019-2021 period.