History
On 16 September 2016, the Special Commissioner for the implementation of the Digital Agenda was appointed for a 2-year term. The commissioner structure, headed by Diego Piacentini, has made use over time of a team of experts, the Digital Transformation Team. The Team was created to start building the country’s “operating system”, a series of fundamental components on which to build simpler and more effective services for citizens, Public Administration, and businesses, through innovative digital products The facility operated under an extension until October 30, 2018. On 25 October 2018, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers appointed Luca Attias as the new Extraordinary Commissioner for the implementation of the Digital Agenda and the structure was renewed until 31 December 2019. At the end of 2019, the commissioner structure concluded its mandate. The Team’s projects have merged into the Department for Digital Transformation of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the company PagoPA Spa.
Principles
Our strategy is inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, selected and adapted to the characteristics, priorities, strengths and values of Italy. The country we have in mind is based on fundamental principles of equality, ethics and justice, putting people and sustainability at the centre.
We want to promote innovation, the digitalization of public services, the adoption of new technologies, putting people, communities and territories at the centre, and basing our work on collaboration between the public and private sectors, in Italy and abroad. We believe in an open and transparent relationship with citizens, businesses and the entire Public Administration.
That’s why we think it’s fair to state what the principles that guide our work are.
How we work
We will be obsessed with simplification, everything we do will be easy for citizens to use. For this reason we will capitalise on existing assets: we will not rebuild what has already been achieved in the Italian Public Administration, and we will also draw inspiration from functioning international models. A shared process, therefore, that will lead us to evaluate and exploit open source technologies. Always with the firm belief that security and privacy are fundamental principles that cannot be compromised in any way. We will be constantly relying on data. We will apply Machine Learning algorithms and Artificial Intelligence techniques when needed to solve complex problems. We will follow modern design patterns; we will use service-oriented, secure, “elastic” and highly reliable architectures. We will think and design with a “mobile first” approach.
Why we do this
We do this because we believe that a culture of information technology and digital skills are essential requirements of citizenship. We will therefore invest in their promotion and fight against all forms of digital illiteracy. In this sense, we are taking a long-term view, also identifying the intermediate steps that will allow us to quickly offer value to Italian citizens.
We will always be open and transparent. We will publish documents outlining what we have built, the decisions we have taken, the errors made, and the benefits we have found. A path of growth that wants to be for all citizens but also ours. These principles will help us continue to learn. We will not limit ourselves to them, but we will continue to add new ones.
