The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will continue its long-term work for a more streamlined Finland under the leadership of Janne Viskari

The Government has today appointed Janne Viskari, Director General of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, to continue in his position for the following five years.

– It is highly motivating to continue in the management of the agency, in a situation where Finland is the leading country in the EU's digital comparison. Our task is to keep Finland at the forefront of development also in the future, says Janne Viskari.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency promotes the digitalisation of society and provides services for various life events. The agency operates nationally and employs 1012 people. The agency started its operations at the beginning of 2020, as the Population Register Centre and local register offices merged.

– We promote the digitalisation of society as a whole, by offering services for developing digital security and digital support, among other things. We also develop and provide the Suomi.fi services, which various actors in society can make extensive use of in their own activities, Janne Viskari continues.

Next year the agency is aiming to publish a new Suomi.fi service. It will serve as a mobile application, through which a digital identity card can be used for on-the-spot as well as e-services. The service can also be expanded to use other permits and personal data in Finland and in Europe.

Digitalisation streamlines transactions with authorities

Digitalisation also offers methods for developing the activities of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The agency has already been able to develop services, processes, guidelines and operating methods to work at the national level. Next, the agency will focus on the modernisation of services, case management and service production. This aims to ensure that handling matters with the authorities is as smooth as possible, regardless of the place of residence or transaction in Finland.

– By means of digitalisation, we can develop the agency's own services into broader, more life event-oriented entities. The areas of application, that are important to us in terms of digitalisation, are the complex services related to public guardianship, the services provided to relatives related to the death of a loved one, as well as the services provided to immigrants. In all of these, service chains often cross organisational boundaries, and depending on the client's life event, the services of various actors are linked to the service needs. By utilising digitalisation and cooperating with various authorities and other actors, the service collection can be streamlined in the future, explains Janne Viskari.

Digital services are already widely used, but the obligation to print paper slows down the authorities

Both organisations and the citizens already manage a large part of their matters through digital channels. In Finland, digital services are used on a voluntary basis.

– In the future, it would be important to open a discussion, on whether Denmark's good experiences of using electronic services in general, could be something to learn from, in Finland. The authorities should have the opportunity to process and resolve matters purely electronically, in the case of persons who are verified to be able to use electronic services. At the moment, we have a paper requirement in Finland, which means that the authorities are obliged to send the solutions to customers by post, on paper, even if the customer has used the e-service, but has not separately given their consent to electronic communication with the authorities, Janne Viskari says.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency would like digital transactions to be the primary service method, if the customer is able to use digital services. At the same time, this would mean investing in the comprehensive supply of digital support.

Janne Viskari, Director General of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency

More information:
Janne Viskari
[email protected]
tel. +358 295 536 000