Ministry of the Economy and Innovation: moving towards modern governance of the State's information resources

Today, the Government approved the submission to the Seimas of the new draft Law on the Management of State Information Resources prepared by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation. It establishes a qualitatively new governance and management model in line with modern trends in the management and development of information technologies, which will help our country to achieve fundamental changes in the field of state information resources.

"Our aim is to establish in law a model for the management of the State's information resources that is in line with modern trends in the management of information technologies. This will ensure the development of digitalisation, facilitate the achievement of the planned objectives of digital transformation, and enable the rational use of the state budget funds allocated to this area," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

The amendments to the Law define the objectives of state information systems and data management, and establish the principles of data and information systems management and governance. The amendments will oblige the use of common information systems, data quality assurance, data sharing and the creation of user-friendly electronic services. The implementation of security requirements will become an integral part of the development of information systems.

"The updated law will have a positive impact on the level of maturity of information technology management in institutions. It will allow for a more rational use of funds allocated for the digitisation of public sector institutions and the transfer of their services to e-space. It will also ensure a higher quality of the information systems being developed and the provision of more convenient and reliable e-services to citizens," said Erika Kuročkina, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

The law will also define the status of the state's Chief Digital Officer (CDO).  

Public authorities will also have their own Digital Commissioners, who will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the principles of governance and management of public information systems and the data processed in them. Furthermore, the authorities will be required to draw up information technology development plans, monitor their implementation and evaluate the results achieved.

The law gives much more extensive powers to the Information Society Development Committee, which currently implements and oversees the implementation of the national information resources policy. It is entrusted with some 20 functions relating to the accreditation of established information systems, the identification of funding needs for information technology projects and the monitoring of the implementation of these projects, as well as the monitoring of the implementation of the State's information technology architecture.

The legislation also extends the use of cloud services for the development of the State's information resources, creating a more resilient hybrid infrastructure for the State's information resources.

The current Law on the Management of State Information Resources was adopted back in 2011. Since then, the fundamental principles of the management and development of state information resources have remained largely unchanged, despite the tremendous technological advances that have been made in the world during this period.

The draft Law on the Management of State Information Resources will soon be submitted to the Seimas for consideration.