Høykom - A support initiative for
broadband based, information intensive eGovernment services
The Norwegian Government has
expressed a clear intention to promote the development of a
coordinated and user-adapted public sector. The Government has
two overall goals in its modernisation process: Making the
general public's interaction with the authorities easier and
freeing resources which may strengthen the welfare state. In the
Government's efforts to reach these goals the Høykom programme
plays an important role by supporting public sector
organisations that wishes to utilize broadband intensive
eGovernment services within the scope of a time limited project.
The Norwegian Høykom programme is
at present in its third period of operation. The programme was
initiated in 1999, initially for a period of three years (1999 -
2001). Its third and current period of operation runs from 2005
- 2007.
Høykom is expected to be
continued as a programme on its current level, and measures will
be taken to transfer best practice experience established in
Høykom projects into public e-services and governmental practice
on a broader level. Measures will also be taken to disseminate
the large quantity of knowledge and insight into eGovernment
related issues that has been built up in the programme during
its time of operation.
The Høykom programme is
explicitly mentioned in the newly released "eNorway
2009 - the Digital Leap".
The programme has an important place in the action plan, both as
a provider of examples of successful eGovernment implementations
and projects that are candidates for extensive roll out, and by
being an important instrument in financing and coordinating
central and regional eGovernment initiatives.
Høykom has over the years
provided financial support for more than 400 projects on a
shared financing basis. Høykom sustains projects with up to 50
percent of total project costs. During the life span of the
Høykom programme this support amounts to more than 45 mill Euro
and has lead to a total project volume of more than 130 mill
Euro.
The 2005 budget of Høykom was
approximately 10 mill Euro. The programme budget is decided on
an annual basis and the budget is expected to be the same for
the next two next years. This means that in the period of 2005
to 2007 the programmes total budget is expected to be close to
30 mill Euro. With Høykom financing 50 percent of the total
project costs this implies that the total project volume will be
close to 60 mill Euro and probably more.
The purpose of the programme is
to stimulate the development and dissemination of innovative
broadband based eGovernment applications. With a few exceptions
Høykom does not found infrastructure directly. One such
exception might be remote district areas where the market is
less likely to supply broadband infrastructure and applications.
The Norwegian broadband policy is
based on the idea that broadband roll-out primarily should be
market driven, and that successful eGovernment applications will
help creating a demand that makes it economically viable for
private suppliers to provide broadband access throughout the
country. This policy has so far resulted in an expected
broadband uptake of 45 percent of private users by the end of
2005 and close to 95 percent of the population will have the
opportunity to enjoy a broadband connection (based on autumn
2005 figures). These figures of broadband coverage support the
prediction that the programme will focus even more on supporting
the development of eGovernment services as opposed to an earlier
focus on infrastructure development.
Previously Høykom has focused
solely on dissemination and development on a national scale, but
new signals from the Ministry of Modernisation implies an
extension also to disseminate programme experience
internationally and to incorporate international experiences.
The programme is in close dialogue with eGovernment initiatives
both on national and supranational level in Europe.
By being the main source of state
funding for eGovernment initiatives for the public sector in
Norway, the accumulated experience in the programme and its
presented recommendations have a major impact not only on
projects financed by the programme but also on the way
government institutions generally think and implement
eGovernment in Norway. The extensive knowledge diffusion that
has come out of Høykom makes the programme both an important
actor in the network of public institutions and private
companies working in the field of creating an innovative public
sector and a central part of the public sector innovation system
in Norway.
Organisation
The HØYKOM programme is administered by the Research Council of Norway.
