How many of you did encounter the problem of holding all your documents in your pocket at once “just in case”? How many of you feared losing those? And how many of you had enough bureaucracy associated with public services? I would assume that the majority of readers indeed experienced one of the above.
In 2020 Ukraine made an attempt to make lives of thousands of it citizens easier and launched an app Diia that incorporates more than 70 key government services available digitally.
So, how it works?
Diia allows Ukrainians to store and access nine type of legal documents (ID card, foreign biometric passport, driver’s license, student card, vehicle registration certificate, vehicle insurance policy, tax number, birth certificate, and IDP certificate) while also being able to make use of public services such as registering a business or requesting a birth certificate of the newborn. For instance, you can register your company within 10 to 15 minutes just by clicking through the app.
In addition, Diia provides an extra layer of security even in comparison to physical documents. Whenever there is a digital signature requested, the app does not trust neither the government cloud nor the user’s personal mobile device, thus, it splits the signature in two by sending one part to the cloud and another one to the citizen’s device. Only once the identity of the user is confirmed the app brings two parts together. Moreover, even when documents are called for, they are not stored in the app. The relevant information is requested from the government registry, and proof provided as needed. But whether it’s a signature or codes, be they QR codes, bar codes, or number keys for financial services, they are designed so that they are refreshed every three minutes, making it next to impossible for someone to copy them by photo or other duplication.
Finally, Diia made Ukraine the first country in the world where digital documents are legally equivalent to the physical ones.
What’s in there for the government?
Diia triggers the reduction of bureaucracy associated with public services and increases government’s savings. It reduces a need for having a big amount of people employed in the government sector, which results in hundreds of millions of savings for the government budget. For example, in the first year of the app functioning Ukraine decreased the number of government employees by 10%. Furthermore, the app increases transparency of public services and decreases corruption.
In addition, the app contributes to overall digitalisation of the country as more and more people are becoming digitally-educated and the usage of digital services becomes a part of their daily routine.
Future
The app has already gained some popularity within some of the EU countries and continues to do so. For example, Estonia is going to be the first one to launch its own “Diia” based on its Ukrainian parent-app. Ukrainian developers will work closely with Estonian Ministry of Digital Affairs to develop an Estonian version of the application.
So, is the future of e-government services indeed just around the corner and will we be able to see more and more countries worldwide adopting Diia in the nearest future?
Very interesting article Valeriia! Indeed, the Diia platform looks like a great example to illustrate how the full digitalization of bureaucracy is slowly being introduced in our lives. I believe it is a crucial matter to tackle in this new technology era. Gathering all personal documents under one unified platform would alleviate problems such as personal data loss and would also increase the productivity in bureaucracy processes. I was pretty impressed by the fact that the platform also allows to register a business directly through the app. This just shows Ukraine’s approach towards facilitating entrepreneurship and promoting business development. I strongly believe Diia could serve as an excellent model for other countries to replicate. From my personal experience in Spain, my home country, a platform like this would solve the complex bureaucracy problems for the people, as the current platform is currently slightly outdated. Additionally, the Spanish platform is far from unified and many documents’ requests still take days or weeks. A platform like Diia is definitely the way to go. Nevertheless, governments must be cautious when implementing platforms that concentrate such a high volume of delicate personal data. Privacy and security risks can arise easily for being a potential target for cyberattacks.