Digital transformation of public administration and society in Montenegro is an objective proclaimed by a series
of strategic documents – primarily, the Public Administration Reform Strategy and the Digital Transformation
Strategy, which were both adopted in late 2021.2 Particular focus is placed on further digitalisation of public administration
services, which should be measured by indicators related to the number of digitalised services on
a single portal (e.g. 20 so-called life-event services like eStudent, eBirth, eEnrolment, eNGO registration, eProfessional
exam, etc. by 2026 compared to 0, which is the current baseline); the number of interconnected electronic
registers managed by institutions (e.g. 50 by 2026 compared to the current baseline of 8 connected registers);
as well as connecting all local administrations to a single system for electronic data exchange (Government Service
Bus – GSB). The Report on the Implementation of the Public Administration Reform for 2022 showed that no
progress was made in terms of the number of digitalised services on a single portal. This translates to citizens
of Montenegro still not being able to fully receive services from the public administration electronically, without visiting a counter.
The number of pairs of electronic registers connected through GSB has increased from eight
to twelve, although no more information is offered in relation to which pairs of registers are connected and how
they affect provision of specific services.
However, digitalisation does not “end” with public administration reform; rather, it is an all-pervasive issue upon
which progress in numerous other sectoral reforms depends. With the aim of contributing to a better understanding
of the challenges and progress in the area of digitalisation in all sectors, this paper provides an overview
of the key challenges in further digitalisation and provides recommendations for improving the strategic
approach to digital transformation of public administration.