5. Methodological Note
The methodological changes for DESI 2018 affect the dimensions of connectivity and digital public services.
In the connectivity dimension several changes have been introduced. Firstly, fast broadband penetration (indicator 1.c.2), which was previously measured as a percentage of total subscriptions, is now measured on the total number of households. Secondly, a new, more robust methodology is used for the indicator of the price index (1.e.1). The third change has to do with the incorporation of a new sub-dimension (1.d), related to ultrafast broadband. Like the rest of the broadband sub-dimensions, it consists of two indicators: ultrafast broadband coverage (1.d.1), which measures households with ultrafast broadband coverage, i.e. higher or equal to 100 Mbps, and ultrafast broadband penetration (1.d.2), which measures the share of ultra-fast broadband subscriptions over total households. This sub-dimension has a relative weight of 20% over the whole of the dimension (same as 1.c). Finally, the spectrum indicator in the DESI 2017 has been eliminated.
Regarding the dimension of digital public services, the calculation of indicator 5.a.1 has been modified with respect to last year: it is measured on the total number of people who needed to submit pre-filled forms to the public administration in the last 12 months instead of the total number of Internet users in the last 12 months. On the other hand, a new indicator has been added: digital public services for companies (5.a.4), which measures the share of public services needed to start a business or carry out regular business operations and that are available online for both domestic and foreign users. A new sub-dimension has also been included: eHealth (5.b), whose only indicator (5.b.1) measures the percentage of people who have used health services provided online without having to go to the hospital or the doctor. This sub-dimension has a relative weight of 20% compared to the sub-dimension of eGovernment, whose weight is 80%. Finally, the questionnaire used to prepare the open data indicator (5.a.5) is different from last year and is included in the EDP Landscaping Insight Report 2017.
Regarding the methodology followed for the calculation of indicators of pre-filled forms (5.a.2), completion of online services (5.a.3) and digital public services for companies (5.a.4) ) for the Basque Country, the so-called Life Events are used. A Life Event is a specific event of daily life for which the citizen has to interact with the public administration and / or make use of its services. Each Life Event is divided into different steps, in which a service or procedure related to the public administration is detailed.
Life Events are measured every two years. The calculation by biennium implies that, for the calculation of an indicator in a year, the Life Events analysed for that year and for the immediately preceding year are used.
The latest data on the indicators for Spain corresponds to the 2017 indicators (prepared in 2018). These indicators have been obtained from the Life Events of 2016 and 2017. In order to compare the results of the Basque Country with those available for all of Spain, the same methodology has been followed. Thus, the following Life Events of 2016 and 2017 have been analysed:
| 2017 |
|
|---|---|
| 2016 |
|
The indicator of pre-filled forms (5.a.2) is obtained from one of the “Key Enablers“ (KE) indicators of the eGovernment benchmark. In particular, to measure the extent to which personal data are pre-filled, the Authentic Sources Key Enabler indicator is used. In order to create it, the Mystery Shopper method is used, consisting of a person acting as an ordinary client who will perform the service and answer questions related to it. When it has not been possible to use this method, information provided by third parties has been used. The score of the indicator is obtained by calculating the average of the Life Events.
In services provided by the Provincial Councils, the three Provincial Councils have been analysed. In services provided by the City Councils, we selected the most relevant in terms of population of the three provinces: Bilbao, Vitoria, San Sebastián, Getxo, Barakaldo, Irún, Eibar and Llodio.
The indicator of completion of online services (5.a.3) is obtained from the Online Availability sub-indicator of the eGovernment Benchmark. This indicator consists of two sub-indicators: one for basic services and the other for extended services. The first has a weight of 80% in the indicator, while the second has a weight of 20%. They are calculated separately and, later, the synthetic indicator is obtained with the weighted average of each of them. The method to access the information is again that of the Mystery Shopper. The score of the indicator is obtained by calculating the average of the Life Events.
This year the digital public services indicator for companies (5.a.4) has been introduced for the first time. It is also obtained from the Online Availability sub-indicator of the eGovernment Benchmark. It must be calculated under two Top-Level Benchmarks (User Centricity and Cross Border Mobility); one is for the realization of services by nationals and the other by foreigners. This indicator consists of two sub-indicators: one for basic services and the other for extended services. The first has a weight of 80% in the indicator, while the second has a weight of 20%. They are calculated separately and, subsequently, the synthetic indicator is prepared with the weighted average of each of them.
Finally, the eHealth indicator (5.b.1) is also new and is obtained from the special Eurobarometer 460 (Attitudes towards the impact of digitisation and automation on daily life), calculated directly by the European Commission for all Member States . The data for the Basque Country has been estimated using the data on Spain (National Statistics Institute).