On 6 December 2021, the sixth online site visit for TODO staff and ESRs was held.

Prof. Robert Krimmer, Tartu University, explained that Estonia is one of the most digital countries in Europe with digital education from kindergarten onwards. Data must be openly exchangeable for a ‘Digital Transformation House’ with a Digital Mindset as basis, a Digital Infrastructure and Digital Services, capped by the Digital Future.
Sigrit Siht, GCIO Office, explained that e-services in Estonia are so successful because of the involvement of the private sector and trust of the citizens. Citizens have the right to receive an overview of what is done with their data: a data tracker service. X-Road is a data exchange layer enabling a secure internet-based exchange between information systems. Part of X-Road is a Consent Service enabling citizens to share their personal data from public registries with the private sector.
Tomislav Vracić, Microsoft, confirmed that AI-driven transformation of the Government is happening because of the collaboration with the private sector. Working with large companies provides economies of scale and there have been opportunities for collaboration in a Digital Testbed Framework to move forward. Microsoft has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Estonian government to be able to talk to experts.

Prof. Robert Krimmer of University of Tartu explaining the road taken by Estonia to mover from a Laggard to a Trendsetter position in the Open Data Assessment frameworks in Europe

Sigrit Siht, Director of Data Policy of GCIO Office, Government of Estonia explaining the role of open data, AI and digitalisation in Estonia from the government’s perspective

Tomislav Vracić, National Technology Officer with Microsoft explaining the collaborations between the private sector and the government in Estonia