Saturday, September 10, 2022

Collection of digital social innovations used in Estonia

This post is a collection of digital social innovations used in Estonia as part of the e-Estonia movement. This is not a complete list of innovations. There are 10 innovations listed below alphabetically.

Wikipedia says, "e-Estonia refers to a movement by the government of Estonia to facilitate citizen interactions with the state through the use of electronic solutions." (Wikipedia: e-Estonia, 9.9.22 UTC 02:44)

Data Embassy
"Data Embassy is an extension in the cloud of the Estonian government, which means the state owns server resources outside its territorial boundaries... Data Embassy resources are under Estonian state control, secured against cyberattacks or crisis situations with KSI Blockchain technology, and are capable not only providing data backups, but also operating the most critical services." (e-Estonia: e-Governance)

e-Banking
"Its hard to overstate the enormous role Estonia's banks have played in creating the promoting the nation's e-government solutions. Banks wholeheartedly embraced e-ID, encouraging customers to use their ID cards for secure transactions, and even giving away free card readers." (e-Estonia: East of doing business)

e-Identity
"All Estonians, no matter where they happen to live, have a state-issued digital identity... e-ID and the ecosystem around it is part of any citizen's daily transactions in the public and private sectors. People use the e-IDs to pay bills, vote online, sign contracts, access their health information, and much more." (e-Estonia: e-Identity)

e-Health Record
"Functioning very much like a centralized, national database, the e-Health Record actually retrieves data as necessary from various providers, who may be using different systems, and presents it in a standard format via the e-Patient portal. A result is a powerful tool for doctors that allows them to access a patient's records easily from a single electronic file." (e-Estonia: Healthcare)

e-Residency
"The program provides holders of e-Residency with a transnational digital identity. This identity allows them access to a platform built on inclusion, legitimacy, and transparency. E-residents also have access to the EU business environment and can use Estonian public e-services." (e-Estonia: e-Identity)

e-Tax
"e-Tax is an electronic tax filing system set up by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Each year, around 98 percent of all tax declarations in Estonia are filed electronically." (e-Estonia: Ease of doing business)

i-Voting
"Internet voting (i-Voting) is a unique solution that conveniently engages citizens in the governance process. This system allows voters to cast their ballots from any internet-connected computer anywhere in the world. During a designated pre-voting period, the voter logs into the system using their government-issued e-ID and casts a ballot." (e-Estonia: e-Governance)

KSI Blockchain
"KSI is a blockchain technology designed in Estonia and used globally to ensure networks, systems, and data are free of compromise, all while retaining 100% data privacy. A blockchain is a distributed public ledger - a database with a set of pre-defined rules for how the ledger is appended by the distributed consensus of the participants in the system." (e-Estonia: Cyber security)

School management systems
"To engage people in the digital society, the state has cooperated with the private sector to deliver several education programs... Estonia uses numerous smart solutions that make school life more efficient and smooth: digital textbooks, e-learning materials, digital class diary, digital assessments, also various applications" (e-Estonia: Education and research)

X-Road
"The X-Road software-based solution is the backbone of e-Estonia. Invisible yet crucial, it allows the nation's various public and private sector e-service information systems to link up and function in harmony." (e-Estonia: Interoperability services)