Erasmus Lifelong Leaning Programme - Teachers Exchange

Manuel David MassenoVaasa – 24/04/2009

Electronic Government as a Tool for Business Competitiveness

The Case of Portugal

A Starting Point: the “Lisbon Strategy”:

In the 20th March 2000, the European Council approved a Strategic Document that aimed to "make Europe, by 2010, the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world".

This Strategy leans of a strict Economic and Budgetary “Orthodoxy” and is based on concepts like: Innovation as the motor for economic change; The growing role of the “knowledge based economy”; The need of a social and environmental renewal;

Now, is quite clear that none of the objectives is about to be accomplished, far from that, as the Council acknowledge more than once, but that’s another issue…

The “Lisbon Strategy” & eGovernment

However, it’s also clear that with the Stability and Growth Pact and the EMU being the core of the current “EU Economic Constitution”, National Governments couldn’t do much more than try to improve their Public Administrations in order to undercut the so called Context Costs of Business, so promoting their competitiveness.

Then The Crisis arrived… but, again, that’s another narrative

From the eGovernment point of view, this was put forward by the way of: eEurope (2002-2005); i2010 (2005-2010)

However, even if both initiatives are, explicitly, aimed at encouraging better Public Services through ICT, they’re quite focused in promoting Citizenship, not in making life easier for Business

A Political Project: the “Technological Plan”:

But, much more might be done to improve Business competitiveness through eGovernment…

Since it took office, in 2005, the current Portuguese Government relied, even from a legitimacy perspective, upon a so called “Technological Plan” oriented to promote a fast modernization of the Portuguese Economy and Society

In short, what we have in place are the main principles the Lisbon Strategy, also, applied Business, in order to: put in place an ever faster lane for the creation of new companies intensify the use of the ICT in every relation of the Public

Administration with Business simplify and dematerialize all Business related administrative

procedures

The UCMA Task Force:

At a first stage, the Public Administration dimension of the “Technological Plan” was put under the coordination a special task force, placed apart from the old structures, the “UCMA - Unit for the Modernization of the Administration”

As Head of it was named Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, Professor of Law at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra

However, since last May 2007, the UCMA became a permanent structure and Prof. Marques the new Secretary of State for Administrative Modernization…

The “Simplex Programme”, since 2006:

The UCMA designed the Simplex ProgrameThe “Simplex” is based upon a Method: the “Simplex Test”,

based upon the “Kafka Test”, introduced in Belgium, in October 2004, and the “Regulatory Impact Assessment”, developed in the UK

It was, and, is presented as an Open Programme that intends to provide a Better Regulation instead of Deregulation

As main Objectives, it aims to: re-orient the Administration in order to provide faster and more

reliable answers to the needs of Citizens and Business help Companies to get faster all the authorizations, and other

formalities, they need to start or develop a business simplify and dematerialize all Business related administrative

procedures increase the competitiveness of Portugal, in general terms

The “Simplex Programme”, since 2006:

Directly concerning eGovernment and Business, the measures implied, namely, the implementation of:

the possibility to create a limited liability company through the Internet only;

an unique electronic declaration in order to start, change or close a business, sent to the Tax Administration;

A single reporting of the situation of the company’s balance sheet, for every agency;

a dematerialized export statement; a permanent on-line certificate concerning every aspect of

a company; the “Trademark in the Hour”;

The “Company in the Hour”:

a first approach, relying upon an ITC back office: the “Company in the Hour”:

Legal Base: Decree-Law n. 111/2005, of the 29th November no need of previous requests; no need of other formalities in order to create a (Private or

Public) Limited Liability Company; the company statutes are immediately published at a new on-

line Registry run by the Ministry of Justice; the name of the company is chosen within a pre-arranged list ; a trademark is also available, in the same conditions; a .com.pt domain name is provided, for free in the first year;

The “Company Online”:

After the very successful implementation of the “Company in the Hour”, came the next step: “The Company On-line”

Legal Base: Decree-Law n. 125/2006, of the 29th June

the creation of (Public or Private) Limited Liability Companies on-line became available;

the procedures are fully interconnected with the various agencies;

the promoters only have to choose a model of statutes and a name for the company;

the interface with the Public Administration relies on a digital certificate: in this moment, only attorneys, solicitors and notaries are able to do it; but, in the near future, everyone may bypass them, as the Card of the Citizen is getting available to everyone.

The “Simplified Business Information”:

Legal Base: Decree-Law 208/2007, of the 17th January

it implies the dematerialization of every reporting obligation of Business towards the Administration, concerning taxes, social security, labour, accounts, statistics..

the Tax Administration receives and re-sends the data to every concerned agency or authority

The “Trademark On-line”:

Legal Base: Decree-Law n. 125/2006, of the 29 th June, the same of the “Company On-line”

the “Trademark On-line” is the obvious follow up of the “Trademark in the Hour”, an offspring of the “Company in the Hour”

it concerns both trademarks and patents; the procedure is run by the National Institute of

Industrial Property; is available since the 22th December 2006; with a 30% discount…