A document that summarizes Italy’s digital strategy. Tell us what has been done so far. And what remains to be done in the coming years, until 2026. The Department for Technological Innovation and Digital Transformation (Mitd) published what we might call the minister’s will Vittorio Colao and his team. A document that aims to be “a summary point from which the next government can start in implementing the country’s digital agenda, to ensure continuity in implementation and facilitate compliance with the commitments made with the European Commission”.
The role of the NRP
It unfolds on the main points of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) which the 27% of resources overall to the digitization of the country. Approximately 18 billion. Funds needed both to relaunch Italy after the pandemic and to bridge the gap on the digital front with respect to other European partners. Some milestones have been achieved. All those foreseen by the Pnrr by October 2022, the document specifies. Others are in the pipeline and need to be completed to achieve the objectives set by the European Union: a profound digitization of public administration services, both for citizens and those necessary for their own functioning.
In the background a principle, from which the whole document moves. The whole Midt strategy. The department writes: “Without a full and convinced digitization of the state, Italy and our citizens will not be able to fully access the new opportunities of digital jobs and services today essential for living in an open society “. And, at the same time, the outgoing and future executive will have to “guarantee young Italians that they will invest in technologies and scientific developments more than in the recent past, to set up a competitive and sustainable development model for their future”.
The strategy: digital Italy 2026
Italy in March 2021 adopted its own digital strategy. It is called Digital Italy 2026. A plan in line with the European Digital Compass 2030. But with shorter deadlines. Developed thanks to funding from the NRP, the plan provides, as stated in the document:
guaranteeing ultra-broadband connectivity to the whole country by 2026;
accelerate the digitization and dissemination of digital services and public platforms;
accelerate the digitization of public health and harmonize its dissemination throughout the territory;
increase the level of cybersecurity in the country and intervene on citizens’ digital skills.
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Digital: what has been done so far
The document lists what has been done from 2021 to today:
All the activities necessary to start the construction of the ultra-broadband connectivity projects were completed: all the tenders were awarded between April and June and the contracts were signed between June and September.
I work for the National Strategic Pole (PSN) have started and the PSN will be active by December. The tender ended in June and the contract was signed in August.
The new platforms for interoperability of public databasesfor digital notifications, proxies and payments are operational or in the pre-release phase.
THE funds for digitization of central and local public administrations have largely already been assigned. The operational support of Mitd personnel on site was started.
The Cybersecurity Agency was established and is now fully operational.
The new architectures for the digital healthcare.
All the initiatives on digital skillsthe largest of which was the creation of the innovative Fund for the Digital Republic.
All Pnrr and ordinary funds planned for Space sector have been awarded. Tenders and subsequent implementation are underway. The Low Earth Orbit constellation “Iris”, the largest European initiative in this area, has been launched.
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The four thematic areas of intervention for digital
The department specifies that “in the general strategy for relaunching the country’s technological and innovative capacity, the Government focused in particular on four areas, shared between the Mitd, the Minister of University and Research (Mur) and the Minister of economic development (Mise) “:
Strategic space, industry and market for the historical Italian industrial competence, where to strengthen the national position in launchers, in the commercial development of the space economy, in Earth observation and in all downstream applications.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), applied to private industrial systems, services, research and public administration.
Advanced technology and deep tech, in particular microelectronics and semiconductors, essential for national and European technological and strategic autonomy.
European and Italian regulatory framework, as regards the definition of the conditions for the development of competition on digital markets, responsibility and obligations relating to content and services, access and governance of data for the development of AI, in compliance of privacy protection.
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What remains to be done, according to the Mitd
Goals remain. Of ‘minestrone’ as the document calls them. He lists them. From connectivity to digital skills.
Connectivity
The ambition to be in the leading group among the EU member states as early as 2026, four years ahead of European targets, is based, explains the department, “on the desire to bridge the digital divide in Italy”. The Italian strategy aims at “spreading coverage of ultra-broadband networks with high connection speeds, obtained thanks to the implementation of six complementary interventions to ensure complete coverage for all citizens”.
Migration to the Cloud and Digital Services of the PA
The goal is “to allow Italy a leap in competitiveness,” this time based on a harmonized vision of technology, applications and private and public infrastructures, at the center as well as locally. “For this, explains the department, it is necessary to” simplify and facilitate the relationship between the public administration, citizens and businesses bringing PA services to the citizen and not vice versa through the adoption of interconnected platforms “and” improving the satisfaction and productivity of public employees, reducing repetitive administrative tasks “.
The intervention “takes several years to complete” and is based on a “integrated vision of interactions between citizens, technological platforms and digital infrastructures “. It serves:
the adoption of modern cloud infrastructures;
set up all the foreseen national registries;
incentivize PAs to open their data;
provide PA services through more modern digital identity systems; assign digital domicile to everyone;
enable the display of digital attributes, certified directly on citizens’ devices; allow citizens, through the PagoPa payment platform and App Io, to instantly pay and receive the amount due.
Digital Health
2.3 billion the funds allocated by the NRP for digital health. They will allow patients and operators to have digital health services available throughout the Italian territory and full access to online health data and documents. The Mitd lists the key actions to be completed:
The digital native Electronic Health Record (ESF) as a single point of access to online health throughout the national territory. Each patient will be able to digitally access their clinical history.
Privacy-friendly data processing methods.
Homogeneous telemedicine services throughout the national territory.
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Digital skills
To overcome Italy’s delays on issues of digital skills in the Public Administration, certified by the Desi index, the department has ordered some measures that it deems necessary to continue.
Large-scale basic training, through the Digital Civil Service and Digital Facilitation Networks.
Professional training, through the Fund for the Digital Republic with the aim of innovating the financing model for training, giving recognition to the “result” instead of only the training “performance”
Technology and space
Mitd has developed investment strategies in three sectors of great global growth: the space economy, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies (in particular semiconductors).
Space represents a sector of strength for Italy and a great opportunity for further development, explains Mitd. The country “possesses important scientific skills and an articulated industrial chain recognized and appreciated at a global level, which make Italy one of the main players in the new space economy”.
Compared to the‘Artificial intelligence“the country is competitive in terms of academic research but struggles to translate research into innovation, lagging behind its European partners in the adoption of AI solutions in the PA and industry.”
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To bridge this gap, Mitd has coordinated with Mur and Mise the elaboration of the Strategic Program for AI, which identifies “the causes of this delay and indicates 24 policy initiatives to remedy”. Following the publication of the Program, the Mitd / DTD has started “setting up the five initiatives under its responsibility for the adoption of AI in the PA. These range from enabling projects, such as the preparation of structured datasets to allow companies to develop and train algorithms, initiatives to support the birth of innovative govtech companies that can become suppliers of the PA and modernize the services offered to citizens “.
The Mitd “also aims to promote the so-called deep tech, or new technologies that lead to innovations in strategic sectors with high economic potential “. To encourage investments in these areas, Mitd has introduced a simplified administrative process for large, high-impact investment projects. One of these strategic sectors is” l semiconductor industry, over which Italy and Europe aspire to develop strategic autonomy. The government has created a 4.2 billion euro fund to promote the development of this sector in Italy “.
