Committente: Comitato Europeo delle Regioni (CdR) (Framework Contract EYCR – Education, Youth, Culture and Research)
Periodo: 2015
URL: Towards a new update of the Digital Agenda and creation of the Digital Single Market: challenges and opportunities for Local and Regional Authorities in the European Union
Descrizione:
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) innovation has transformed national, regional, and local economies at an unprecedented pace. The implementation of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) and the completion of the Digital Single Market (DSM) imply the evolution of business models and the generation of both positive and negative externalities that need to be appropriately managed to maximise the benefits and minimise the unfavourable effects. The European Commission (EC) prioritises the development of Europe’s digital environment and the achievement of the DSM. Public administrations at all levels are directly concerned in setting appropriate policy priorities to effectively gain from the creation and consolidation of a digital society in terms of employment, growth and convergence. A number of locally-led initiatives has contributed in recent years to build up the necessary commitment at the territorial level. These initiatives outline a common framework for public administrations across the EU for awareness creation, strategic planning and/or action. Among the significant examples are the Digital Local Agenda (DLA), the Citadel Statement, and ICT-focussed European networks for partnership development, such as ELANET and ERNACT. Indeed, collaboration and partnering across the EU have contributed significantly to the definition of common tools, architecture, and standards at the local and regional level which form the basis of cross-border interoperability. There are also initiatives by the EC which are directly addressed to the territorial level and add to the locally-led calls for action. These initiatives, intended to support regions in the implementation of the DAE and in better benefitting from the use of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), relate to tools or guidance documents for developing digital strategies, identifying investments, or tying innovation to ICT deployment. Notwithstanding this important progress, the achievement of the DAE lags behind in some parts of Europe. For some targets, slow progress is evident throughout the EU. The scope of this report is to highlight the challenges, the trends, and the strategies most commonly undertaken by local and regional authorities (LRAs) to gain maximum benefits from the implementation of the DAE and the completion of the DSM (Part 1). On the basis of the evidence gathered through the review of empirical studies and of several initiatives by LRAs (illustrated throughout the report and in Part 2, in the form of selected case studies), a set of potential policy options is drawn in Part 3. Approaches by LRAs vary greatly. In order to organise them coherently we have used a closed loop rationale which allows us to link the strategies and the recommended policy options to the different level of competencies or preparedness of regions. This level is determined on the basis of a few main indicators from the Information Society (IS) and ICT domains. Within this rationale, we have grouped the strategies implemented towards the objectives of the DAE under four broad thematic areas: ICT infrastructure; ICT take-up; ICTenabled services, applications and products; and ICT sector development.
Questo rapporto, svolto in collaborazione con Progress Consulting S.r.l., fornisce un’analisi delle principali strategie, implementate a livello locale e regionale, rivolte alla realizzazione dell’Agenda Digitale Europea e alla creazione del Digital Single Market. Vengono presentati 15 casi riferiti a differenti aree geografiche in Europa. Inoltre, nel rapporto sono delineate proposte di politiche per il miglioramento delle infrastrutture ICT, l’adozione e l’implementazione di servizi ICT e lo sviluppo del settore.