Service Delivery and Electronic Identification (eID) - Session 1 - Panel discussion 2 & Closing panel

Notes from the World Bank workshop on “Service Delivery and Electronic Identification (eID)” in Washington.

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Estonia Case Study: Arvo Ott, Chairman, e-Governance Academy, Estonia and Tarvi Martens, Development Director, SK - Estonian ID Agency

People in Estonia are using a lot of technology - they are very savvy

Everyone has an ID card, it’s compulsory for citizens

Certification is done in the private sector - values are stored in a central database

• It’s used for public transportation
• authentication to log in e-citizen portal
• secure email - for C2C, B2C, G2C
• internet voting

public sector is obliged to accept eIDs

PKI - public key infrastructure - infrastructure has to be created first

Cards were issued - but users were not there

Reasons:

• Habits
• Barriers - software
• Promotion - people didn’t know about it

Average EU citizen

• uses government e-services 1 time a year
• uses e-banking 1 time a week
• how to increase the first number?

Measures

• Availability
• Wide support and usability
• Reader distribution
• SW installation made easy -  multi-platform upgrade on the way

Alternative - MobileID

• PKI capable SIM cards
• Instantly ready to use
• But still in early stage

Number of users did increase

Policy aspects

• is the government responsible for building the PKI?
• simple plastic cards vs. smart cards
• many eIDs or just one?
• politicians expect fast results

Lessons learned

• Infrastructure for all - public, private sector …
• Simple tools for eID
• technology neutral tools are important
• data protection is in most cases on the side of the end user
• there are a lot of critics

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Belgium Case study: Frank Leyman, Manager International Relations, FEDICT, Belgium

Belgium situation is complicated - different regions have different desires

National decision - reorganize public services

• Interconnected databases of different ministries, on top of that a secure layer
• Window to the outside world:national portal website
• Smart card that “opens the door” - get access to certain services
• The key is used to get access to an application

Future: integrated e.g. social security card with eID card

layered model, open, not dependent on private suppliers, authentic host;

Never outsource your core product

Three different IDs for under 12, oder 12, foreign residents

Security measures for children cards

eID is available to anybody wanting to identify people / companies

eID offers possibility to retain localized information

even ministers sign their laws and decrees from home with their eID

tools developed with & for the eID card

• citizen portal
• website about all kinds of questions around the ID
• interactive map with appllications that use eID
• quick install toolbox e.g. for a card reader
• insight what personal data ministries keep & when and where it was checked
• website for checking Belgian ID

International aspects

trying to connect to other countries

in Europe - connect authentication systems of all the countries

Failures

• Underestimated communication & education
• Number of card readers was to low
• Price of internet & PCs is very high
• Number of applications is small

10 action points

• National political consensus
• Create legal framework
• Clean your authentic sources
• Typcial layers - create good rules of the game
• Tools so everybody can develop around it
• Spend enough time that everyone finds out
• Don’t forget the world outside

Q & A:

Afghanistan:Related to e-government, there are various case studies - but we want to know how to best start e-government and eID in a country such as Afghanistan, recovering from year-long war.

Bangladesh: Challenges - poor people can’t afford eID cards, high number of inhabitants, also many in rural areas. How can eID bring a benefit for poor people?

Grenada: Concern - political will. We have a World Bank project dealing with eID, educating the public. Politicians have more concerns creating jobs than giving people eID cards.

India: Has there been use of eID in the education and tourism sector? Is the national ID becoming a global ID? There is no standard in biometrics, there is no standard providing IDs, many agencies and none talk to another.

Mozambique: Who has the ownership of eID projects.

Russia: eID systems which are used by the states have often problems with interoperability? Do you use own, custom made technological solution; if not- how can you assure that everything works? What number of Smartcards for getting paid services? How sophisticated should the devices into which a simcard is put, be?

Uganda: How do you get power in remote areas to benefit from technology?

Tanzania: Who is really eligable to register as Tanzanian? Online vs. Offline system - what makes more sense for Tanzania? How to motivate a Tanzanian to register for an eID?

Twitter: Is the issue of PPPs being looked at for successful implementation?

Mr. Leyman

• How to start e-government in a poor country? You need a fitting project; if eID fits there, good
• Cost of eID? Municipalities: 8€ per card + 1€ per certificate;
• Political will? You should not give in
• Tourism & eduction? Enrolment to universities via internet, registration of hotels;
• Biometric standards? Not yet present
• Ownership? Different from country to country; Belgium: government level
• HW/SW? Wrote application ourselves, but outsourced the programming
• Tanzanian? How do I rebuild my national register - in Congo for election purposes all the people were photographed & fingerprints were taken & people were put in a database
• Online vs. Offline? Take small steps, online is generally better

Mr. Hakeem

• Infrastructure? Same problems in Pakistan - practical steps: create benefits for people to register for cards; politicians want to get their voters registered, social security is a motivation;

Mr. Ott & Mr. Martens

• How to start e-government in a poor country? Make a clear picture who is motivated and who is responsible; partnership with private sector engagements
• Online vs. Offline? If the infrastructure is not in the place - offline; although they are more risky and more expensive
• PPPs? Was one of our main driving forces
• Mobile solutions? Every mobile phone can be used, which has a simcard
• Eduction? E-school - everything is electronic and a meeting place for pupils, teachers, parents
• HW/SW? If something is out there which is good take it - no need to reinvent the wheel every time

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Closing Panel: “How to Move Forward on Mainstreaming Electronic Identification in Development Agenda”

Ernesto May - Sector Director, SASPF

Main conclusion - challenges not related to technology, but technology can be brought in to tackle these challenges

It’s vital for governments to more efficiently reach their citizens & provide their services

We need to be adressing issues in a tactical matter

Sharing experiences is important - and bring experiences to the local conditions

Tags: #eid09, eID, electronic id, event, service delivery, world bank

Service Delivery and Electronic Identification (eID) - Session 1 - Panel discussion 2 & Closing panel was published on May 7th, 2009 by Florian Sturm.
It files under global.

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