Digital and Population Data Services Agency in 2023: automated decision-making and new digital services

Director General Janne Viskari shares insight into the fourth year of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

What was the most significant reform in 2023?

Last year, a new regulation on automated decision-making entered into force, which we utilised in the Digital and Population Data Services Agency when possible. Under the new act, we automated some of the name change procedures, and an automatic decision will now be issued on name changes that do not require case-specific consideration by the authority. These include changing back to a former surname or changing to a common forename. The aim for this year is to expand automated decision-making to more and more services.

Last year, we also continued to digitalise our other services and case management. In this development work, we emphasised services that have the most users, such as guardianship services. As the population ages, the demand for guardianship services has increased significantly for a long time, and we expect it to continue to grow in the coming years. A key way of responding to the increased demand is to increase the electronic initiation and electronic processing of matters to the extent possible under existing legislation. At the end of last year, we published an e-service for guardianship, where you can manage some of the guardianship-related matters digitally, and we will expand it in the future.

How well did the Digital and Population Data Services Agency manage to serve its customers?

Our services were once again extremely reliable. According to our indicators, our customers were also generally satisfied with the service they received.

The processing times of our private customers' services were reasonable in all services, although there are major seasonal variations in the demand for some of them. For example, moves and residence changes are more common after the summer and the turn of the year. In the future, our aim will be to balance the variation in processing times due to seasonal variations more effectively with the agency's internal arrangements. In other words, we will actively monitor the processing times and transfer personnel flexibly to manage matters that are most in demand at the time.

Last year, the majority of Ukrainians fleeing the war to Finland became eligible to apply for a municipality of residence in Finland. To this end, we implemented a new digital service and opened a new telephone service and a separate service point in Helsinki for the Ukrainians. We also recruited more service advisers who speak Ukrainian.

Through the four years of existence, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency has expanded its activities every year, both in terms of the number of employees and the budget. In terms of operating volumes, 2023 was a peak year, and we have started preparing for the adjustment of operations, which will continue for the next few years.

The full annual report of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency has been published on the dvv.fi website. Read the financial statements and the annual report (in Finnish).

Additional information:

Janne Viskari, Director General, Digital and Population Data Services Agency, [email protected]