Digital transformation of the state: in the interests of citizens and business

Achieving leadership in the modern world is possible only on the basis of the widespread use of digital technologies in all sectors of the economy and in the social sphere. And here the key role is played by the factor of quality and accessibility of public services, which need to go through digital transformation in order to meet the increased requirements of citizens and businesses. In July Presidential Decree No. 474, digital transformation is defined as one of the five national goals, which best emphasizes its strategic importance.

In the global ranking of the digital transformation of Tholons Services Globalization Index for 2020, Russia ranks 7th, holding it for the second year in a row. In general, this can be considered a worthy result, but it must be understood that all countries are actually only at the beginning of this path, the leaders have not yet decided, and you can compete for the achievement of better indicators. Since technology is developing ultra-dynamically, in no case can you relax and slow down - having lost pace, you can quickly be on the sidelines of digital progress.

Invest in the "figure" constantly

To prevent a strategic backlog in digitalization issues, it is necessary to constantly invest in this area. This means not just allocating a budget for the purchase by government agencies of equipment, software and services, but conducting systematic, focused and coordinated work in order to create a single digital space in which all public services will be available in electronic form, and where also in electronic form there will be interaction between authorities in the performance of their functions.

During the transformation, 460 services will be reengineered, of which 84 public services (over 100 thousand appeals per year) are mass socio-significant, which provide more than 220 million appeals per year. More than 70 percent of this number of appeals will be electronically converted by 2023, and the average period for the provision of public services will be reduced by more than 2 times from 30 to 13 days. It is worth noting that 197 public services will be transferred from paper to electronic form.

Figure 1. Planned indicators of transformation of public services

Naturally, such a large-scale project should be carried out by all departments in a coordinated manner, therefore, the Ministry of Digital Affairs implements the function of coordinating digital transformation, and the ministry transferred part of its powers in this area to the Center for Competencies with a transformation figure on the basis of FSBI "CECI."

In absolute figures, the total planned costs for the digital transformation of FOIV for the period of 2021-2023 are 574 billion rubles, this year it is planned to spend 178 billion rubles on the digitalization of public administration.

For the period from 2017 to 2019, as part of the implementation of the national project "Digital Economy," activities were financed for 261.7 billion rubles, of which 98.8 billion for the creation and development of ICT systems in government authorities, and 162.8 billion for operation.

HPCC - a new tool for coordinating digital transformation

In October last year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed Decree No. 1646, which involves the introduction of a fundamentally new approach to the digital transformation of federal departments.

In this regard, since 2021, the process of coordinating the digital transformation of FOIV has undergone significant changes and is now being carried out through a new tool - departmental digital transformation programs (HVCT). The previous procedures for harmonizing departmental spending on ICT did not allow a qualitative breakthrough in the field of digitalization of public administration. Therefore, a new approach was required to move from cost harmonization to managing the goals and results of digital transformation.

Speaking the usual human language, the HVCT is a plan for the life of the department for three years. First of all, it focuses on the indicators that need to be achieved, and in dynamics by year. For example, if you want to lose 15 kg in three years, you say that in the first year you will drop 8 kg, in the second 4 kg and another 3 kg in the last year. Accordingly, the budget is also planned in relation to specific activities to achieve the stated goals.

To make it easier for departments to get used to the new reality, an institute of digital curators was created in the Ministry of Digital Affairs in the middle of last year. Their mission is to ensure the proactive interaction of the Ministry of Digital Affairs with the authorities. They act as facilitators or consultants, on the one hand, explaining to the authorities the requirements of the Ministry; and on the other hand, they are deeply immersed in the industry specifics in order to convey it to the IT people. Also, they conduct an examination and monitor the implementation of programs, helping state authorities undergo transformation. Currently, there are 12 curators, it is planned to increase their number to 20 people.

Figure 2. HPCR budgets by departments for 2021-23, distribution of Pareto < nowiki > * </nowiki > Excluding the Ministry of Digital Affairs

<sup>Table 1. HPCP budgets for the period 2021-23
* The main part of the budget of the Ministry of Digital Affairs is spent not on internal digital transformation, but on the creation of digital platforms (information systems) aimed comprehensively at transforming public services and functions of other departments (for example, such projects as GEOP, operation of IEP, GIS TOR LPC, standard automated place of civil servant, etc.)
* * The Ministry of Labor, FIU, Rostrud and FSS implement a single HPCC</sup>.

Energetic start

We can state that the transition to a new model for managing the digital transformation of FOIV has already borne the first fruits. If earlier the approval of informatization plans lasted many months, which delayed the launch of projects, then this year a significant effect was achieved in reducing the timing of the placement of state orders.

At the very beginning of January, 25 departmental programs were published despite the fact that there was very little time for their development. And as of February, all 60 programs were approved by the Presidium of the Government Commission for Digital Development, which made it possible to open their financing. Thus, the dynamics of procurement readiness has changed positively. For comparison: as of the beginning of 2020 and 2021, unlocked limits amounted to 4.7% and 100% of the annual budget, and ready-to-place purchases - 4.7% and 35%, respectively.

Figure 3. Procurement Readiness Dynamics

Priority on development

As you know, total IT spending is divided into two categories. The first relates to the cost of operating existing systems, the second to the development and creation of new ones. Maintaining a reasonable balance between these categories ensures the sustainable development of the IT landscape of organizations, experts recommend that the ratio between them be at least 70% by 30%. However, during periods of active growth, the introduction of new solutions needs to be given more attention.

In 2021, the share of the budget for the creation and development of information systems and information and communication infrastructure (hereinafter - ICT infrastructure) increased significantly from 37% to 52% compared to the three-year period 2017-2019. Such dynamics indicate a significant shift in the vector towards the digital development of public administration. In 2022, the share of the budget for creation and development will increase further and reach 57%, but subsequently decrease to 50%, which is still a fairly high value and serves as an indicator of the ongoing transformation.

Figure 4. Proportions of budgets for the creation + development and operation of ICT solutions in dynamics for 2021-23 g

The numbers in the chart show the budget in billions of rubles.]]

Results of the first half of the year

According to the results of monitoring the implementation of the HVAC, for the first half of the year budget commitments of 116 billion rubles were made, which is 66% of the consolidated annual budget, of which 97 billion rubles were allocated for the purchase of ICT.

During the same period, only 336.7 million applications for public services were processed. If you exclude information services from the total number and leave only those where it is necessary to perform real actions (that is, tangible, intangible and organizational-legal), then 126.5 million will remain. In fact, they are the main work on transformation, since information services by their very nature are provided in electronic form. As of the middle of this year, the number of applications for such services amounted to 74.7 million (59% of their total number).

In the second quarter, there was a slight negative dynamics (1.3%) of appeals for public services in digital form, which is obviously due to the fact that in April the deadline for filing tax returns ends, which is the most massive service and at the same time one of the most "digital" (42 million declarations were filed, of which 81% in electronic form).

In terms of the digital transformation of control and supervisory activities (LPC) in the second quarter compared to the first, there was a noticeable increase in the number of inspections carried out remotely - by 67 thousand units. However, here we are dealing with the effect of a low base, since of almost 900 thousand inspections, only 9.3% were performed in electronic format. Import substitution indicators in the first half of the year showed good progress. The share of costs for the purchase or rental of domestic software and platforms increased by 24% in the second quarter and reached a value of 65.2%, which is very close to the annual plan (75.4%). Also, the share of domestic software and components used in IP increased by 3%, reaching the level of 42.3%. At the same time, the share of domestic software installed at the civil servants' AWS decreased slightly (1%), which may be due to the commissioning of new jobs in which import substitution has not yet occurred.