Serbia's AI Factory, Lebanon's super-app, and Northern Europe's digital diplomacy
Edition #112 As cross-border digital collaboration intensifies in Europe, the US's decisions to cut down its digital government teams could have global ramifications...
In our previous roundup, we focused on the delicate balancing act many governments are treading between innovating parts of their digital government and maintaining legacy systems. We highlighted advancements in cloud sovereignty, AI integration, and digital identity, alongside cautionary tales of technological overreach and bureaucratic inertia.
This week, governments across Europe and beyond are grappling with the challenge of building inclusive, interoperable, and citizen-centric digital public infrastructure. We cover ambitious cross-border collaborations and standardization efforts in the Nordic region and EU health data initiatives, reflecting on the need for resilient, trusted digital services in the face of organizational upheaval and evolving societal needs.
Our main stories this week:
Sweden, Finland and Norway collaborate on improving digital government services
As EU pushes for digitized medical records, Germany’s e-patient files fall behind
Pentagon’s “SWAT team of nerds” resigns en masse
As a reminder, we have recently begun to expand our digital government coverage away from just Substack and onto Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram. For original content, audience engagement, and roundups of all our pieces, feel free to follow us over on those channels. Also check out our sister newsletter, interweave.africa.
Sweden, Finland and Norway collaborate on improving digital government services - Si Ying Thian, GovInsider
The digital government agencies of Sweden, Finland, and Norway are collaborating across borders, with the goal of creating a more seamless and safer digital service environment for their citizens.
This Nordic DigiGov Lab project will run for 2 years, with Sweden, Finland, and Norway collaborating on 3 different proof-of-concept projects.
These PoCs will focus on the life events of death and inheritance, assisting citizens with their rights and benefits and developing human-centric digital governance strategies for both the Nordic and Baltic states.
The need for cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic states has become more prescient, with greater citizen expectations keeping pace with increasing digitalization. Their collaboration aims to maintain national flexibility while still promoting regional standardization where possible.
As the EU pushes for digitized medical records, Germany’s e-patient files fall behind - Magdalena Kensy, Euractiv
Germany's rollout of electronic patient files (ePA) has been delayed by technical, security, and bureaucratic challenges, leaving the country behind in the EU's push for digitized cross-border medical records under the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
Germany's ePA launch faces setbacks on the grounds of cybersecurity concerns, a lack of interoperability and insufficient digital infrastructure, causing delays beyond the original February 2025 target.
The EHDS aims to standardize and facilitate health data exchange across the EU, but Germany's slow progress highlights broader European challenges such as privacy standards and technical barriers.
Other EU countries like Estonia and Finland are seen as leaders in digital health data sharing, with Germany being urged to learn from these models to achieve compatibility and meet EU regulations.
Pentagon’s “SWAT team of nerds” resigns en masse - Mohar Chatterjee, Politico
The Defense Digital Service under the Pentagon has seen “nearly all” of its staff resign over pressure from Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency, with the resignations effectively shutting down the decade-old initiative at the end of April.
Dubbed the “SWAT team of nerds”, the effort was ironically an initiative designed to inject Silicon Valley-style innovation inside the Pentagon, and helped facilitate rapid responses during the Afghanistan withdrawal and after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The former director of the office, Jennifer Hay, believed that it was going to become a key part of Elon Musk’s AI automation strategy, but instead the service was left sidelined.
Our Take: While we traditionally don’t look at news outside of Europe and Asia at interweave, the erosion of digital government service teams in the US is particularly noteworthy and will likely reverberate in the capitals of the country’s allies, particularly in Europe and the Indopacific.
GovTech News in Brief
Transforming government through smart procurement: a blueprint for a digital marketplace - Tiago Carneiro Peixoto and Vlad Dragos-Cristian, World Bank
Digitally enabled and streamlined procurement empowers governments like Romania to modernize public services efficiently and inclusively, argues the World Bank, serving as a model for agile, citizen-centric digital transformation worldwide.
Malaysia: PKR leverages Blockchain to strengthen electoral integrity - Alita Sharon, OpenGovAsia
Malaysia’s People’s Justice Party (PKR) has become the first political party in the country to use blockchain technology for its internal elections in an effort to enhance transparency, security, and electoral integrity through digital identity verification and encrypted e-voting.
Lebanon working on Super App to accelerate digital government services - Ayang Macdonald, Biometric Update
Lebanon is on track to create a “super app” that will streamline digital government services. Eventually, the plan is for the app to integrate with all of its ministries, beginning with the Ministry of Finance.
Copilot comes to Canberra: lessons from the world’s largest whole-of-government AI trail - Will Prothero, David Diviny and Virginia Wong, The Mandarin
Australia’s trial of Microsoft 365 Co-pilot across government involved 5000+ civil servants across 60+ agencies, with 40% of staff reporting that the tool helped them reallocate their time to higher-value activities such as staff engagement, culture building and mentoring, and building stakeholder relationships.
One app, many services: How Laos is integrating public services to increase efficiency - Sol Gonzalez, GovInsider
As part of GovInsider’s Festival of Innovation, the Deputy Director General of Lao PDR’s Digital Government Center shares the country’s efforts to improve the quality of its digital government services by uniting them under the Gov-X app.
Eurocities Digital Forum places digital rights at the heart of cities - Eurocities
The Eurocities Forum was held in April to discuss the challenges of technological revolution at the city level, arguing that local governments have a crucial role in safeguarding citizens’ rights and in shaping a fairer digital future.
Digital generation gap: bridging the divide between youth and elders in Kazakhstan - Dinara Shokayeva, The Astana Times
Despite Kazakhstan’s emergence as a regional digital leader, it remains hamstrung by urban-rural inequalities, argues Dinara Shokayeva. She suggests solutions for the challenges, from government-led training initiatives to more accessible public service centers.
“Test, test and test”: How GovTech strengthens the cyber resilience of public services - Si Ying Thian, GovInsider
Singapore is adjusting its cybersecurity posture to be more dynamic and proactive, including implementing bug bounty programs and AI for continuous detection of vulnerabilities.
Tajikistan struggles to realize benefits from a digital transformation - Asia Plus
While Tajikistan’s government is increasingly prioritizing digital transformation, the Asian Development Bank’s flagship economic publication highlights its challenges in attempting to innovate in the contexts of limited rural digital penetration.
France to introduce Digital Identity Cards via Mobile App in 2025 - ID Tech
France is preparing to launch a digital national ID card in mid-2025 via the France Identité app - which already supports digital drivers licenses and healthcare credentials - with the goal of enabling users to authenticate with public and private services and access online government portals.
Vietnam’s National Data Centre set to launch of August 19 - Vietnam News
Vietnam’s National Data Centre will serve as the country’s central hub for integrating, managing, and sharing government data.
Serbia establishes national AI factory - Aninda Chakraboty, Tech Monitor
A joint project between the Serbian government and Eviden, the AI factory will serve as a centralized hub providing access to shared AI resources including computer hardware, software tools, technical expertise and specialized personnel.
The Theory Behind the Practice
What happens to an economy with digital public infrastructure? - Sanjay Jain, Gates Foundation
In a time where development aid is declining and debt is rising, the Gates Foundation argues that DPI provides a solution that balances the creation of lasting value and the conservation of resources.
Empowering Europe: boosting strategic autonomy through the digital euro - Piero Cipollone, ECB
The ECB has emphasized the urgent need for a digital euro to strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy in payments, reduce dependence on foreign providers, and ensure both cash and digital payment options remain secure, resilient, and under European governance in an increasingly unpredictable global environment.
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