IT increasingly permeates government budget
It is gratifying to see that IT and the internet are increasingly being taken into account in the budget bill. A few years ago, there was hardly any mention of digitization, IT, internet or broadband. In the 2012 budget bill, there are now comments on this in most areas of expenditure.
In the greatly expanded section on "Information Society Policy", we find a lot of clues to the upcoming Digital Agenda. Perhaps the most obvious is the new IT policy goal that the government is now communicating: "Sweden shall be the best in the world at using the opportunities of digitization" and the four strategically important areas that have been identified in order to achieve the set goal: Easy and safe to use, Services that create benefits, Infrastructure and Development with the help of IT. These areas include rather visionary descriptions of, for example, the need for increased digital inclusion, more efficient public authorities through e-government, the need for increased online safety and security, broadband expansion, IT for a sustainable society and gender equality in the IT industry. Conclusion.
However, there are no concrete proposals and, above all, no financial resources for implementing the objectives and directions set. It is of course correct that the state cannot and should not drive IT development, but the identified goals and directions create expectations of concrete proposals and funds that can act as a lubricant for various initiatives and parties to drive development. Let us hope that we can find more of the same in the upcoming Digital Agenda that the government plans to communicate shortly.
One exception, however, is the proposal that has already been communicated, which concerns the expansion of broadband, where an additional SEK 450 million is being allocated. This is a temporary investment over three years with the aim of accelerating the expansion in rural areas. It is a clear signal that the government is sending out - that broadband is actually a prerequisite for business and living throughout the country.
As far as the government's investments in education and research are concerned, there are some good news. An expansion of mathematics teaching has been announced, as well as an investment in teacher training in the same subject. Good news! Math is important both as brain exercise, logic training and as a subject for our future IT and technology specialists. It is also good that the number of places on civil engineering programs is being increased - now it is just a matter of continuing the good trend of increased application pressure. What is bad, and even really frightening, is that IT in schools is not mentioned in a single line. IT offers a great opportunity to develop pedagogy - but the government seems to have little interest in this.
In the environmental field, the government writes: "Through this development towards a green economy, with an increasingly large service sector and growing companies in environmental technology, we reduce emissions nationally and contribute through exports to reducing emissions globally." This should be interpreted as a major challenge and potential for the IT sector going forward. But at the same time, there is a great challenge in, based on the government's priorities and the current budget, not only talking about how traffic can be converted and made more "environmentally friendly" but also talking about how we can reduce travel in favor of IT-supported communication.
An important investment from the government is also the 10 million to support the development of, and collaboration between, actors regarding smart electricity networks. This is an initiative where electricity distribution is made more efficient with the support of digital technology and where the end user is given greater control over when, from whom and at what price electricity is purchased.
In the field of culture, it is positive that the digitization of cultural heritage is being addressed. SVT and SR receive extra funding to digitize and make older material available. Special mention is made of the EU's Digital Agenda and upcoming proposals on intellectual property rights - an extremely important part of the digital cultural world to stimulate the development of new services and make it easier for people to take part in culture in its various forms.
In summary, a fairly decent budget when it comes to visions and directions for how IT can contribute solutions and improve welfare in our country. We usually talk about welfare technology; it makes it easier and more fun to learn in school. It improves health and social care. It opens doors to the world of culture. It makes our transportation greener and smarter. It is a prerequisite for our democracy. Hopefully, this autumn's budget is proof that the government also understands the importance of integrating welfare technology into all areas of society. All that remains now is to move from words to action.