Information Technology in Denmark
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Network Policy

IT for All - Denmark's Future - IT and Telecommunications Policy Statement 2002:
In April 2002 the Government published an IT and Telecommunications Policy Statement and Action Plan. The purpose of the statement is to set out the Government's IT and telecommunications policy objectives for the coming years. The aim of the IT and telecommunications policy is to contribute to generating economic growth, reforming the public sector and equipping the nation for the knowledge society of the future. The IT Action Plan sets out how the Government intends, with respect to the following seven action areas, to ensure that as Danish IT develops, its useful yield is improved: More IT in Danish business and industry; A competitive telecommunications sector; Strong IT skills in Denmark; An IT-based public sector; IT security; Useful content on the Internet and Danish impact on IT in the EU. The IT Action Plan, which will be realised through a number of concrete initiatives in 2002, is the first phase in a long, tough process which the Danish Government will be carrying on over the coming years. A review of the status of the IT Action Plan will be carried out at the beginning of 2003.

IT and the Danish Police
Over the period 2000-2003 Denmark's Police IT systems will be distributed to all police stations and offices as set out in the Multi-Year Police Agreement. An integrated IT strategy will be formulated for the Danish Police, and, among other initiatives, a programme will be carried out to implement technological facilities for police operations and resource management. As part of the Multi-Year Police Agreement, the introduction of IT within the police force will be continued and strengthened with a full DKK 650 million. The Multi-Year Police Agreement expires in 2003.

IT Strategy for the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark
The Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs' IT strategy bill has been submitted for general consultation in the Danish national church (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark). The IT strategy has been published on the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs' homepage and an online debate forum has been established to discuss the strategy. The Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs has appointed a steering group for the IT strategy. The steering group consists of representatives of the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs' executives, a representative of Denmark's bishops, of the Danish Union of Clergy, of the Danish Union of Deans and of the National Union of Parish Council Members.

IT Strategy for the Education System
In August 2001 the Danish Ministry of Education issued an IT strategy for the entire education system. The strategy is entitled "Denmark's Strategy for Education, Learning and IT". Part 1 of this strategy, "We must move on", describes 6 focus areas under the headings: Instruction - substance, forms and inclusiveness; Educators and managers spearheading the development; Tools for knowledge-sharing; Learning with IT in everyday life - on the Internet; Quality in education for the IT sector, and A special effort with IT (special needs teaching, bilingual pupils). Under these focus areas the strategy paper sets out a number of action areas and concrete initiatives, a number of which have already been approved and implemented, while others are awaiting financing. Part 2 of the strategy: "Elaboration and Perspective" treats in more detail the potentials and impacts of using IT in education. In conjunction with the IT strategy a comprehensive platform has been developed for knowledge-sharing. This platform also publishes updated analyses and English translations of the IT strategy and other key publications.

IT Strategies for all Ministerial Jurisdictions
The network policy statement for 2000, "Et net af muligheder" (A Web of Opportunities), sets out the decision to formulate an IT strategy for all ministerial jurisdictions. The object is to achieve coherence in the coming years' progress in the use of IT and attendant organisational development. In June 2001 the national IT Council issued a guide in support of the process of formulating the IT strategy. In the latter half of 2001, all the ministries initiated the work on a joint IT strategy for their respective ministerial jurisdictions. The findings from this work have been positive, and a number of ministries have presented action plans with a view to establishing joint networks and joint IT functions. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation plans to undertake a review of all the ministries' IT strategies and will seek, among other things, to identify needs and opportunities for inter-ministerial initiatives in support of further IT development. In 2002 DKK 3 million has been allocated to information gathering, communication and consultancy in connection with central government's use of IT.

Government IT Policy and Action Plan
In 1994, the Ministry of Research was allocated the overall jurisdiction on the applications of information technology. In this process, the Government's IT policy was transferred from the Ministry of Finance while the purview of telecommunications was transferred from the former Ministry of Communication and Tourism. As outlined in Information Society 2000, the Danish government has established the following main components and strategic goals with regard to the development of IT within Denmark:
· Before the year 2000, the public sector shall finish the work for a coherent electronic, public service network to the benefit of citizens and companies.
· Before the year 2000, Danish companies shall have mutual electronic communication of business documents and furthermore make an effort to get in the forefront with the integration of IT in their products. All Danes shall have access to the active use of IT in order to avoid a division into an A-team and a B-team in terms of information technology.
· For central culture-bearing media areas a particular effort must be made to secure a well-maintained Danish supply.
· Based on Danish aims and values, Denmark shall try to influence EU policies on the IT area and also try to achieve maximum benefit from relevant EU programs.

Research and Development within the IT/Telecom Sectors
The Danish government recognizes the importance of education based on research and science, and its potential with regard to developing the knowledge of society as a whole. The government's research policy is based on the desire that research must contribute to (Research Policy 1996):

  • technological renewal and increased employment,
  • improved quality of life, environment and health, and
  • cultural development in a national and international perspective.


    • A basic principle of the present government is that research must be given a high priority. The establishment in 1993 of an independent Ministry of Research and Information Technology was a clear indication that research was to be given a high political priority. The Ministry was given the task of improving the coordination of public research efforts and of strengthening the interplay between the public and private efforts.
    Through its policy for research, the government wants to ensure:

  • Increased research - the private sector will be motivated to keep in step with an increase in public research activities.
  • Improved prioritization and organization - the possibilities of national and international coordination are to be better utilized.
  • Better conditions for creativity and dynamism - a better basis must be created for the encouragement of talent, mobility and the utilization of research results.

    The "global village" of research is already a reality in the world of telecommunications and research. Drafts for articles are written in Copenhagen and sent by Internet, the global network, for a comment at a colleague in California, who naturally answers the author via the Internet. Also, test results made at international research centers such as the European research center CERN can quickly be transferred for further analysis at institutes around the world via electronic networks.

    Over a 10-year period the R&D expenditure in the selected IT/telecom related industries has doubled. R&D efforts within this sector are today comparable with the R&D efforts of the pharmaceutical industry. Concurrently, the focus is shifting from hardware-oriented IT, construed as the manufacturing of office machinery, DP-equipment, process control systems, etc., towards more software-oriented IT, construed as data processing activities. Thus, in 1993, data processing was the line of business that spent most on R&D, while in 1983 it was the line that spent the least.

    From 1981 to 1993, the total R&D expenditure of the public and private sectors has risen steadily, from 1.1% to 1.8% of the GDP. Public research spending within IT/telecom is estimated by the Ministry of Research and Information Technology to amount to about DKK 400m annually, DKK 300m on IT and 100m on telecom. As within the private sector, a great deal of IT -related R&D is not being registered as such. This is due to the fact that the available statistics are not well suited to elucidating the extent and development within the IT sector, since the international OECD classification of R&D statistics is not sufficiently detailed within this field, and an internationally accepted definition of IT is still missing.

    As outlined in The Info-Society for All - The Danish Model, the Minister of Research and Information Technology recognizes the importance of undertaking the tasks of realizing several extensive infrastructure projects, including the following:
  • The liberalization of the telecom sector must immediately lead to vigorous development of new, improved teleservices, including effective integration with IT applications, as well as dropping prices. This must include:
  • The development of the Internet so that it is as easily available and easy to use a part of the Danish infrastructure as the conventional telecom network;
  • Ensuring the security of the network via legislation on the introduction of digital signatures and of secure communications keys, not least in the form of "intelligent cards," such as the "Citizen's Card," as well as the development of an effective payment transaction system in the network;
  • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): The rapid specification of so-called "EDIFACT" based standard for the interchange of business documents and the development of internal company IT infrastructures for handling such documents can give Danish companies a competitive edge;




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