Latvia fourth in EU for digital services, but expert warns about productivity
Latvia ranks fourth in the European Union for digitalisation of public services, with more than €129 million from the recovery instrument allocated to public-sector digital transformation. An industry executive argues that success should be measured by outcomes, not by the number of systems introduced.
Latvia is the fourth-best performer in the European Union when it comes to the digitalisation of public services, according to European Commission data. Figures published by the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development show that more than €129 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility has been earmarked for digital transformation in state and local government institutions. However, the head of Helmes Latvia argues that large investments alone will not automatically raise productivity.
The author of the commentary notes that Latvia does not lack technological solutions – digital tools are available in many areas and many of them work well. Problems arise when digitalisation is treated as an end in itself. Instead of focusing on the technology, projects should be designed around the user: systems should be easy and intuitive to use, requiring no special adaptation on the part of the citizen.
One of the most common myths is that moving a process online makes it more efficient. In reality, simply digitising a slow, bureaucratic process does not remove the bureaucracy – it only makes it electronic. Before choosing a technology, public institutions should ask whether the process is needed at all, whether every step adds value, and whether users really need to enter the same data into multiple systems. Without eliminating unnecessary steps, no technology can deliver a significant productivity boost.
The article also criticises the habit of measuring success by the number of implemented systems. More meaningful indicators, the author writes, are whether a service has become faster, whether users need to perform fewer actions, whether error rates have fallen, and whether the process is clearer. In the private sector, companies increasingly test a prototype with real users before committing large sums, allowing mistakes to be caught early and at a lower cost. That approach also requires the courage to abandon a project if it turns out not to be viable.
Latvia, the author concludes, needs smarter digitalisation – one that begins with dropping unnecessary processes, rethinking long-established procedures, and designing services from the user's perspective. Only when digitalisation stops being applied to bureaucracy and the processes themselves are simplified will large technology investments start delivering the expected gains in productivity, user experience, and efficiency.
