ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Government interface card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 30 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaThe state & public administration
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
The state & public administration

Government interface

How citizen interact with the state & fulfill duties

The app where you report your child sick, the queue at the service office, the form that became an e-service: the interfaces are where you and the public sector actually meet. How they work decides how democracy feels in everyday life. Sweden has one of the world's most digitalised public administrations, but the right to help applies whether you log in or knock on the door.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · e-services & contact centre · approx 25 %
  • Region · 1177 & the entrances to care · approx 10 %
  • State · registers & digital infrastructure · approx 50 %
  • EU · id & accessibility requirements · approx 15 %

The state owns the digital base layer: the population register, the e-identification and the services of the large agencies. The general election weighs heaviest.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe nearest window
The regionThe entrance to care
Central governmentThe base layer · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipality's contact centre, administrations and web editors.
The regions, among other things jointly through the health guide 1177.
The Tax Agency (Skatteverket) with the population register, Digg and the large service agencies.
What do they decide?
E-services for school, building permits and care, citizen offices and the handling of feedback.
1177 for advice, booking appointments and the medical record online, plus the region's own e-services.
The population register, e-identification, the agencies' e-services and service offices around the country.
Where are decisions made?
On the municipality's website and in the municipal hall.
On 1177.se and in the region's channels.
In the agencies' apps and e-services, and over the counter at the service offices.
Who pays?
The municipal tax.
The regional tax.
The central government budget.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Use the feedback channels, suggest better service via a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag).
Regional election The patient committee (patientnämnd) receives views on the accessibility of care.
General election The general election governs the digitalisation and the expansion of the service offices.
EUEU rules govern e-identification across borders, requirements on digital accessibility and data protection through the GDPR. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case You move: a case travels through the system
  1. State

    The population register is the hub

    You report your move to the Tax Agency (Skatteverket). The population register decides where you vote, where you pay tax and which municipality is responsible for your service.

  2. State

    The information spreads automatically

    Other agencies pick up your new address from the population register: the Social Insurance Agency, CSN, the Pensions Agency. You report once, the system does the rest.

  3. Municipality

    The municipality receives you

    The new municipality now sees you as a resident: a school place, refuse collection, home care if needed. And the right to vote in the next municipal election.

    Point of influence

    As a new resident you can make a difference from day one. The right to vote in the municipal election follows the population register.

  4. Region

    Your care follows along

    Via 1177 you register with a health centre in the new region, and the medical record follows digitally.

    Point of influence

    You choose the health centre yourself. Registering is one of the few everyday choices where you vote with your feet.

  5. State

    When the interface fails

    The Administrative Procedure Act gives you the right to help, understandable answers and decisions with reasons, whatever the channel. Anyone treated badly can turn to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO).

    Point of influence

    If you get stuck in the system or are treated badly you can file a JO complaint. It is free and requires no particular form.

  6. Your everyday life

    The voting card finds its way

    A few weeks later the post lands at the right address, including the voting card ahead of the next election. A single form updated your whole relationship with the public sector.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. When did you last meet the public sector, was it digital or human, and how did it feel?

  2. What happens to those who cannot or will not log in, and whose responsibility is it?

  3. How much should agencies share information about you among themselves in order to be smooth?

  4. Which public e-service ought to exist but is missing today?

  5. What is a reasonable distance to the nearest place where you can get help from a person?

Glossary

Folkbokföring
The Tax Agency's register of where everyone lives, the basis for the right to vote, tax and public service.
E-legitimation
Your digital ID document, the key to almost all public e-services.
Förvaltningslagen
The law that gives you the right to help, quick answers and decisions with reasons at agencies.
Serviceskyldighet
The agencies' duty to help you on your way, even when you have asked the wrong agency.
Servicekontor
Offices where several state agencies meet visitors over the counter in the same place.
JO-anmälan
A free way to have the Parliamentary Ombudsman examine how an agency has treated you.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.