Areas of focus

Promoting standardisation

The activities of eCH aim to facilitate electronic cooperation between authorities, as well as between authorities and third parties. To this end, new areas for standardisation are identified and prioritised, and standards are developed, adopted and maintained. Standardisation forms a necessary basis for various eGovernment projects and affects almost all areas for action in the Digital Public Services Switzerland strategy for 2024–2027, either directly or indirectly. Under the implementation plan, the highest level of standardisation possible is encouraged. This should reduce the burden on the implementing authorities.

Contact: Dominic Müller

Organisation responsible for service: eCH Association (available in German and French)

Supporting innovative projects

Digital Public Services Switzerland provides funds every year to support innovative projects. Innovations are projects which use new technologies, for example, or promote regional cooperation. A panel decides which projects will be supported within the framework of innovations. These should send a signal and later be adopted or used by other projects or administrations.

Contact: Irem Türkes-Kaynarca

Organisation responsible for service: DPSS Office

Promoting awareness of the potential benefits of digital processes in public administration

An awareness of digitalisation or the changes in administration with regards to digitalisation is important so that eGovernment projects, which often entail changes in familiar procedures, are supported within the administration and by all stakeholders. An understanding of new technologies also helps to adapt new digital working methods. The aim is to support specific projects that promote individual skills in the use of digital technologies in Swiss public administrations, such as training and courses, or other ways to share knowledge about digitalisation and eGovernment with administration employees in a targeted manner.

Contact: Irem Türkes-Kaynarca

Organisation responsible for service: DPSS Office

Strengthening the trust of the general public and businesses in electronic public services

The Swiss population has a very high level of trust in the administration. In order to strengthen trust in digital administration, information about the administration's digitalisation projects should be provided transparently and in a target group-oriented manner through a variety of channels. To this end, Digital Public Services Switzerland provides open information tailored to the intended audience about ongoing digitalisation projects and makes background knowledge available.

Contact: Vanessa Eugster

Organisation responsible for service: DPSS Office

Offering advice and coordination in legal matters

A central coordination centre for eGovernment legal issues supports the proliferation of the most important framework conditions for implementing eGovernment in Switzerland and facilitates the transfer of specific knowledge between public authorities. Easy and swift access to legal expertise boosts the quality and sustainability of eGovernment implementation in Switzerland. The DPSS Office publishes articles on eGovernment legal issues in the law blog. 

Contact: Urs Paul Holenstein

Organisation responsible for service: eJustice.CH Association (available in German and French)

Promoting and consolidating an overall architecture across the administration

The Confederation, the cantons, cities and communes agree on an overall architecture across the administration. They are developing and consolidating the structures and commitments which are necessary for forward-looking collaboration. The DPSS provides a platform for interdisciplinary professional networking between public bodies. The aim is to implement digital government services as a networked overall system.

A core architecture team works on the content of architectural topics and develops joint architectural principles spanning the aims of the DPSS implementation plan. A DPSS Architecture Board with representatives from public services, research, business and the public ensures open architecture and standards, especially for application interfaces, meaning that existing digital government services from all public bodies can be integrated into a common basic infrastructure.

Contact: Jürg Wüst

Organisation responsible for service: Federal Chancellery (FCh)

Using and supporting working groups

Working groups address specific topics as part of Digital Public Services Switzerland's service mandate. When needed, they are used by operational management committees or by representatives of the Confederation or the cantons to provide content support to the political and operational management committees.

The following working groups are active:

• Telecommunications Working Group
• Voice Working Group
• Cyber- and Information Security Working Group
• Identity Management and e-ID Working Group
• National Data Management Coordination body
• Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Committee
• Cloud Governance and Workplace Working Group
• iSVC Working Group
• Architecture Working Group

Contact: Andreas Burren

Organisation responsible for service: DPSS Office

Statement of terms and conditions

Digital Public Services Switzerland supports interested public authorities in the areas of digitalisation and information and communications technology (ICT) by providing advice, coordination and recommendations, as well as by representing their interests to ICT providers, especially as regards common framework agreements and undertakings on terms and conditions for the interested public authorities. Thanks to agreements with ICT suppliers and ICT service providers, public administrations benefit from better purchasing conditions and minimise their procurement expenses in the area of ICT.

Contact: Greg Hernan

Organisation responsible for service: DPSS Office