IT&Telecom companies' investment in a "digitization forge"

Digital Challenge Digitalization

Excerpt from the newsletter Dagens Opinion from November 18, 2016

The newsletter Dagens Opinion is published one day a week and is aimed at opinion formers and decision makers. In the November 18 issue, Dagens Opinion highlighted the Digital Challenge think tank in an interview with Ellinor Bjennbacke, head of industrial policy at IT&Telekomföretagen.

Dagens Opinion notes that IT&Telekomföretagen has built up a think tank that "drives the hot issue of Digitization". The think tank lacks a permanent office and works with "unconventional methods". The background is that the digitization issues did not come up as they should. Ellinor:

"We felt that we were quite alone. When digitalization was first raised, it was in the perspective that 50% of jobs would disappear. We got caught up in discussions about threats and problems. But the change can also be compared to industrialization."

The work to engage more effectively in the debate started three years ago:

"We didn't want to be both the one throwing the ball up for discussion and smashing it in with proposals and solutions. It's not that easy and not that effective. We started thinking about how we could involve more people in the discussion and not just sing hallelujah but also tackle the hard stuff, like regulatory issues and how we do business, all the non-technological stuff that needs to change. We wanted to engage more decision-makers than those who sit on the IT issue. Because digitalization is not an IT issue."

But there were a couple of preconditions:

"It would be lean and efficient and deliver results quickly. It would engage as many people as possible across the board, including from other sectors."

Therefore, DU does not have an office and is not involved in research. It should also work at arm's length from IT&Telecom companies:

"The think tank is governed by a steering committee, consisting of members of IT&Telecom companies, with Lars Ilshammar, IT debater and deputy national librarian at the Royal Library, as external chairman."

The PR agency Deliberately is working on the development and operation of the think tank, writes Dagens Opinion, which also explains the rules of procedure. The work is done by putting together knowledgeable people who are willing to discuss a topic in working groups, known as councils, and discussing and problematizing it. When the consultation is finished after four meetings, it is dissolved and replaced by the next one. The conclusions and problems are used for discussion, debate, advocacy and the IT&Telecom companies' own membership work.

Dagens Opinion writes:
"Simply put, the councils should problematize their areas (problems give better PR effect). The problems should then be highlighted in the debate. Then the members of the IT & Telecom companies will develop solutions to the problems."

Four consultations have been held today:

  • The New Jobs, which presented its findings via a pamphlet on the future of the labor market and a debate
  • Education and Transition, which sent a finalized investigation directive to the government and received a response in debate form
  • Productivity and Care, which compiled the Ten Don'ts, ten things health and social care should not do to facilitate digitalization.
  • Privacy in a connected world (ongoing)

The question is how IT&Telecom companies create engagement. Ellinor:

"It's about getting a wide range of people involved in the consultation who are not from the IT industry. They become ambassadors for the issues. The idea is that they will raise the issues, and then the member companies will work through the conclusions of the consultation and develop policy proposals."