Public data should be freely available to all citizens. Institutions that hold public data must accept that this data belongs to the public, not to the institutions themselves. Business models based on the sale of public data should be reformed, open data policies should be mandatory for all institutions, both at the central and local levels. Centralized planning of the data infrastructure under a single entity is needed to ensure consistency, efficiency, and interoperability between all state institutions, as well as the participation of civil society in the digital transformation.
These are part of the draft recommendations that emerged from today’s 3rd session of Working Group 6-Anti-Corruption (Chapter 5-Public Procurement, Chapter 18-Statistics, and Chapter 32-Financial Control) on the topic: “Building a cohesive digital infrastructure for the development of advanced public finances” which was held in Skopje under the organization of the National Convention on the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia.
Source: National Convention on the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia
The second panel of the working group was attended by Mila Josifovska Danilovska, Program Manager at the Metamorphosis Foundation, who pointed out the importance of an efficient, transparent, and inclusive digital transformation in accordance with the needs of citizens, which should be a priority. Furthermore, she added that the need to introduce digital technologies in the public sector should not be reduced only to the moment of keeping up with innovations or meeting the criteria for entry into the European Union, but should be based on a substantive solution to the existing challenges that we face every day.
When discussing the prerequisites for a comprehensive digital transformation and the introduction of artificial intelligence in the public sector, in addition to improved regulation, interoperability, process optimization, and capacity building, Josifovska Danilovska addressed the importance of open data in creating innovative digital solutions. “Open data is very important, not only because of transparency but also because artificial intelligence-based systems improve and become smarter only if they are fed with information and data. Open data can make this possible, providing a large number of datasets from which artificial intelligence-based systems that institutions may eventually wish to introduce will have something to learn from.”
Finally, she appealed for a joined-up and collaborative approach between all stakeholders, including the civil society sector, towards building a digitally empowered ecosystem as a dynamic hub of innovation and growth, which uses digital tools, data analytics, and information systems to improve the delivery of public services to citizens and effectively address societal challenges.
Source: National Convention on the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia
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