The digitisation of Ukraine: anatomy of a success story
The digitisation of Ukraine: anatomy of a success story

Author(s): Sławomir Matuszak
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Health and medicine and law, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: digitisation; Ukraine; Diia; pandemic;
Summary/Abstract: On 23 August, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, a law came into force recognizing electronic ID cards and passports as equivalent to their physical counterparts. Earlier, on 6 August, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law providing for all offices to operate on a paperless basis. One of the main election slogans in his winning campaign in 2019was ‘the smartphone state’, and this has also been a key idea towards modernising the country on the anniversary of its independence. The idea assumes that most administrative services will – in as convenient a manner as possible for the citizen – be transferred online, in order to cut back on the need for visits to offices and reduce the role of officials. While many of Zelensky’selection promises have not been implemented, the country has in fact made impressive progress over the last two years with regard to digitisation as broadly understood. Mykhailo Fedorov, the minister for digital transformation, can be considered the father of this success. He brought about the launch of the Diia website and application, which has already made it possible to deal with most important matters online; by the end of Zelensky’s term of office, all administrative services are to be available via the Internet. Automating these processes will reduce the risks of corruption and improve the provision of public services – something which is often very burdensome in Ukraine – and also increase the competitiveness of the economy and the effectiveness of bureaucracy.

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