Public Sector Information in Latvia:
Processing, Availability and Use

Prof. Edvins Karnitis
Advisor to the Prime Minister of Latvia

Summary
Ensuring widely available access to well-developed information services should be considered a tool for democratic development. As a result, the processing of various kinds of data and the provision of information services are considered to be the main components of the Latvian national Informatics programme. A universal information service – the cornerstone of the programme – guarantees general access to information services without discrimination and at an affordable price.
 	The widespread, coordinated use of information of national significance already has been initiated in Latvia. As the improvement of all national information systems is vital for the development of the country, systems are being linked through a logically unified Megasystem, with common data fields, a unified user’s interface and shared access principles and authorisation procedures. The integration of Latvian information resources into trans-European information systems and networks has also begun. A number of national information systems are already participating in the activities of international systems, and the development of the Baltic Network will serve as a pilot stage for future projects.
The actual situation in Latvia’s general market of public sector information services is not perfect. While some information is widely available, the market as a whole is incomplete and fragmented at present. A survey conducted in preparing this report highlighted a number of basic normative and technological problems that must be addressed in order to increase the general availability of public sector information.

1	Information Processing as a Key Feature of Social Evolution 
Information processing activities are integrated with the tools for external information storage and transmission – symbols and languages, pictures, writing and printing. The development of humanity is tied to the development of social data processing, as social systems cannot exist without information processing. The basic characteristics of any new social system include an increasing amount of data gathering and a higher level of information processing. Changes in social systems have occurred when the general level of knowledge is high enough to lead to transition. The substantial growth in the availability of information, mutual contacts and levels of cooperation were primary factors in the changes that occurred in the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
Several decades ago, the development of computer and communications technologies created the conditions for another means of information processing – technical. The main advantage of utilising computers is the speed with which data may be processed and analysed. Precise or, at minimum, satisfactory results can be achieved if an exact or a partially specified logical model of the process is specified.
In previous years, the symbiosis of social and technical information processing, the prevalence of technical systems in social structures and the formation of complex socio-technical information processing systems (IPS) have been observed. These factors combine human intelligence, a complex approach to problems and a large capacity for processing data for defined routine activities (see Figure 1). The balance of functions among both components has been established: algorithms have been created for technical processing, data entry and the use of output data are conducted by people and data processing is performed by a technical system.

Figure 1: Socio-Technical Information Processing

The integration of social and technical information processing is developing rapidly because society, itself a highly complex information processing system, follows the same IPS regularities.  The quality of the processing and the amount of data processed increase in line with the development of technologies. Importantly, the prices on technological products decrease every year, resulting in an improving price/performance index for technical information processing. The size and scale of tasks and subjects that are covered by IPS are expanding continuously, particularly with regards to their economic and governance applications. From a local and regional scale, information systems are growing to become national and global.
Socio-technical information processing has a real influence on social processes. A traditional triad of data (facts and figures), information (the sensible content of data) and knowledge (collected and regulated information) acquires importance as it becomes a strategic national resource and a basis for the national economy. The significance of a country in the world becomes directly dependent on the organisation and utilisation of its information. The specialised knowledge of company employees and the firm’s intellectual property is becoming far more important in determining the value of an enterprise than traditional material resources. Today, it is no longer buildings and technologies that dictate the market value of informatics, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
An extensive diffusion of information in all spheres of political, economic and social life and the integration of human and technical information processing have increased the significance of information to a higher level and will lead to the transformation of humanity into a new and more highly organised type of society, the information society. The free availability of information is a necessary precondition and tool for the further democratic development of any country. It is the state’s obligation to ensure the distribution of information and easy and inexpensive access to well-developed information services to avoid creating information rich and information poor strata of society and to guarantee legal rights. 
The public sector is the most important (and very often the only) collector and producer of information. In Latvia, as in any other small country, the market for information services is limited and will always remain so. The preparation of information resources and their regular updating to ensure quality is expensive, and many of these activities may prove unprofitable for private companies. Obviously, the creation of information resources that are accurate and complete must be subsidised by the state. Therefore, in the future, creating and distributing information resources will remain mainly the prerogative of government, municipal and academic institutions.

2	Public Sector Information in Latvia
The definition of the term public sector information varies from country to country at present. A broad spectrum of information is covered in the collection, processing and provision of public sector information in Latvia (on both the national and municipal levels):
•	political information that defines the general status of the country: political programmes and agreements, parliamentary information, declarations and governmental action plans, general rights and duties of residents, etc.; 
•	governmental/municipal/administrative information for the governance of the country at all levels: legislation (laws, regulations, directions, decisions, etc.) including drafts, population figures, taxes and customs, state and personal security and defence documents, interior and court cases, etc;
•	economic/business/finance information, including: the national economy, statistics, privatisation, public procurements; finances (including the budget and investments); corporate, real estate, movable property, employment, etc.
•	scientific, technical, technological, economic and medical information necessary for the development of a knowledge-based society, for education and training, for fundamental and applied research, for the development and transfer of advanced technologies and for supervision of the national economy;
•	information on social issues (education, health care, social welfare and services, culture and language, emergency assistance, etc.) as well as various current and reference data (history and geography of the country, infrastructure, environmental and meteorological data, etc.).

The processing and use of data deemed to be of national significance is the most significant component of public sector information. This term essentially focuses on information that is necessary for state or regional administration, for the development of the national economy, for educational and social systems and for forming the general image of Latvia. The primary topics covered in this category are: 
•	real estate and movable property (land, water, forests, buildings, cultural heritage, vehicles, etc.);
•	legal entities (enterprises, educational institutions, health care and cultural organisations, public offices, etc.);
•	private individuals (the population as a whole and its various categories: civil servants, pensioners, drivers, taxpayers, the unemployed, etc.);
•	national processes (legislation, information services, statistics, finances, health care, etc.). 

A number of institutions financed mainly by state and municipal budgets collect and process the various types of public sector information:
•	administrative institutions: parliament, ministries, departments, local authorities, etc.;
•	non-administrative bodies: the national bank and other financial institutions, libraries, museums, health care and educational institutions, etc.; 
•	state-owned institutions, to whom the state has delegated various functions (e.g., a number of privatisation, road traffic supervision and health care functions have been delegated to various agencies, inspectorates, bureaus, etc.);
•	private companies that process data upon receiving orders from national or local governments (e.g., the Enterprise Register and Normative Acts Information System are operated by the private Lursoft and DATI companies).

A number of strict demands for public sector information have been established:
•	high requirements for information quality (completeness, correctness, reliability, security, etc.) due to the fact that a significant portion of this information changes frequently, making its timely presentation of primary importance;
•	information originates in many state and municipal institutions (including information on the same subjects);
•	information is used by many state and municipal institutions, and legal and private individuals;
•	the level of confidentiality and sensitivity of public sector information varies, from secure and strictly confidential (e.g., custom and taxpayer information), to sensitive (personal data) to publicly available (e.g., legal acts, bibliographic information, study programmes);
•	information is to be preserved in archives ensuring the continuity, credibility and responsibility of state and municipal institutions.

Public sector information is widely used and, therefore, must be available to a wide spectrum of end-users:
•	administration of all levels: the effectiveness and quality of governance is directly related to the availability of information of national significance;
•	businesses: local and international business relations and trans-border economic operations, electronic commerce, and information services including the development of new value-added information products and services is vital to business entities; 
•	residents: democratic rights, education and the improvement of the quality of life are all important topics covered by public sector information.

As information must be accessible to end-users in Latvia and abroad, it is presented in both Latvian and English.

3	Demand For and Supply of Public Sector Information
The demand for and supply of public sector information, its availability and quality, the significance of various information sources and information brokers and barriers to the development of electronic information services were analysed in the spring of 1997. Surveys of end-users of thirty different types of public sector information were utilised to gather data. The respondents represented government and state organisations (thirty-eight percent), academic institutions (thirty-four percent), state and private enterprises (twenty-six percent) and non-governmental and public organisations. 
The significance, availability, quality and price of information sources and information brokers was rated utilising a 6-point scale (5 = very significant, 0 = no significance). Attention was devoted to the demand for information. The resulting calculations show the relative demand for each respective service, allowing for a comparison across categories.
 	The information supply was appraised by a composite of availability, quality and the price of services. It should be noted that respondents apparently considered their opinions on information demand more carefully than their thoughts on information supply, and in the latter case it seems that respondents may have appraised the issue too evenly. The relative integrated index of supply and demand (gratified demand) is drawn as a relation of the supply of to the demand for information. 
In reality, the level of demand for various types of information reflects the current situation in Latvia. The most widely used information resources are general/reference and scientific/technical. Ninety to one hundred percent of consumers participating in the survey noted demand for some type of information in these groups. Scientific/technical information received a lower rating due to the reduction of research programmes in Latvia and the inadequate introduction of advanced technologies.
Although business, financial and national information is used less regularly, there is an increasing demand for these types of information. This suggests that Latvia is beginning to develop a normal, civilised business community instead of the rather “wild” variety that prevailed in earlier years. This also indicates that the state and municipal administration is beginning to base itself on a stable informative basis.
Different categories of end-users require different data. Managers and civil servants use a broad spectrum of information. Even scientific/technical resources are frequently used by managers (eighty-one percent of those surveyed) and civil servants (eighty-three percent). All researchers, physicians, engineers and students who responded to the survey considered scientific and technical information to be highly significant. More than ninety percent of managers and civil servants use business or financial information and information of national significance, while the intelligentsia (researchers, physicians, teachers and students) is less interested in these types of information (less than seventy percent).
The comparatively low interest of teachers and instructors is astonishing: ten percent of teachers surveyed said that they do not use new scientific information in the educational process, eighteen percent do not need general information, twenty-seven percent do not need business information and thirty-seven percent have no use for information of national significance.
With regards to specific types of information, information of a general nature (general economic and statistical, legislation, business rights, finances and taxes, education, etc.) was cited as the most useful. Patents and standards (the stagnation in production has not yet been overcome in Latvia), information on the labour market (despite the high level of unemployment) and personal data were perceived as the least useful. The comparative values of gratified demand for specific types of information are shown in Figure 2. The area of demand that is best met in Latvia at this time is data on patents, standards and personal data. There are obvious inadequacies in the supply of public sector information needed by all end-users – legislative, general economic, financial/tax and statistical data.

Figure 2: Relative Gratified Demand for Types of Information

4	Public Sector Information Brokerages
A survey on information providers showed that libraries remain the major information providers in Latvia (see Figure 3). Ninety-seven percent of respondents mentioned libraries as the information brokers whose services they use. Eighty-nine percent rated libraries as significant (4) or very significant (5) information providing institutions. Statistics on the use of Latvia’s major libraries over the last several years also show a clear increase in the need for library information services. In order to satisfy the huge demand, libraries must ensure access to electronic information sources and modernise in accordance with contemporary requirements. Other public information brokers were given lower ratings. The market niche for commercial information brokerages is small and is unlikely to grow significantly in Latvia because of its limited market. The market shares of various brokers in Latvia coincide with the market distribution found in the European survey.

Figure 3: Significance of Information Brokers

End-users are working without the assistance of special intermediaries or information professionals more frequently. Sixty-one percent of respondents ranked their own work at the same level as other available information resources. This was particularly true among small and medium-sized enterprises and research and educational institutions.
The Latvian approach envisions the establishment of a qualitative information supply through the integrated use of both printed and electronic technologies, and, therefore, the survey considered all types of information sources, including personal contacts (see Figure 4). The availability and quality of information from various sources was assessed evenly along the middle range, while the price of all information resources was considered too high.

Figure 4: Significance of Information Sources

The results of the survey show that, at present, end-users continue to rely on traditional and verified information sources, including  books, periodicals and personal contacts. Various electronic information sources, however, are playing an increasingly important role in the Latvian market, and the number of users of electronic services is increasing in line with the development of the technical infrastructure. Approximately seventy-percent of respondents said that they have used some type of electronic information service. Electronic technologies have developed most rapidly in the area of information browsing and research, although the printed media continues to dominate for full text documents.
The survey showed (see Figure 5) that various categories of consumer have differing levels of interest in electronic services. More than eighty percent of researchers, information professionals and pupils use such services, while less than fifty percent of cultural artisans, physicians and engineers have used electronic resources. Barriers to more extensive use of electronic services, rated on a 6-point scale (5 = very significant barrier) are illustrated in Figure 6. The primary barriers are those connected with financial impediments, and the next greatest obstacle is insufficient familiarity with advanced electronic services. The survey suggests that language difficulties are not particularly problematic in Latvia. 

Figure 5: Use of Electronic Services by Categories of Consumers

Figure 6: Barriers to Using Electronic Information Services

The European survey showed a different weight with respect to barriers against the broader introduction of electronic services, but the distribution was generally quite similar to the Latvian survey. Of course, in Europe there was a lesser stress on financial impediments.
The survey also asked respondents to rate the principal activities (5 = very important activity) that the Latvian government and information vendors should pursue to increase the utilisation of electronic services (see Figure 7). Access to information sources in libraries of all regions of the country and the general information literacy of the population were seen as primary concerns. These priorities partially coincide with the recommendations of the European Commission that highlight the protection of personal data and legislative inadequacies. The promotion of electronic services, the presentation of new services, the publishing of information materials and participation in workshops and exhibitions should be pursued more actively by information vendors.

Figure 7: Activities Needed to Increase Use of Electronic Services

5	Universal Information Service: a Methodological Basis for Ensuring General Access 
to Information

5.1	The Informatics Programme
Although socio-technical information systems are largely capable of self-organisation due to a certain level of artificial intelligence, their evolution must be controlled and coordinated on various levels (political, regulatory, economic, technological, etc.). In order to create the necessary control gear on a state level, Latvia has started to develop a national information policy.  The national Informatics programme, a complex goal-oriented programme that will be undertaken from 1999 to 2005, has been approved. The programme was elaborated by an expert panel in 1997 and 1998 and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on March 1999.
The fundamental goal of the programme is to integrate Latvia into the global development process and to facilitate the creation of an information society. A number of interrelated economic (regional development, new jobs, etc.), political (effective governance, the ongoing development of democracy, civic liberties, etc.) and social (i.e., increasing the quality of life and continuous education for all citizens) objectives will be facilitated by the programme. Therefore, Informatics is a development strategy for the country as a whole. For Latvia, the development scenario offered by the programme is particularly advantageous – the orientation of society and the national economy towards general information will increase Latvia’s development prospects and minimise the existing gap between a small country and larger powers.
The programme includes both macro strategy (the development policy of the country) and micro measures (specific applications and projects). In addition, Informatics includes a detailed analysis of the current status of information services and establishes specific objectives and priorities for multiple subprogrammes. 

5.2	Universal Information Service
The Informatics project and other related strategies are similar to the EU concept of information services but are more extensive and methodologically advanced. In accordance with EU principles, the programme defines set of services that are guaranteed by the authorities and with the following major characteristics:
•	equality: access to information services for every consumer (both institutions and private individuals) according to the rights that have been established by normative acts and without discrimination (institutional, social, regional, etc.);
•	universality: general access for all end-users at an affordable price that corresponds to the real purchasing capacity of consumers; 
•	continuity: a long-term uninterrupted service of a defined quality, which is reviewed systematically and frequently.

	Two tasks must be carried out in order to implement completely the concept of universal service in Latvia. Universal telecommunications service ensures technical access to telecommunications and data transmission networks. This implies a defined minimum set of services available to all residents of the country in accordance with their purchasing capacity: a standard telephone service, access to payphones, telephone service of a reduced quality for a lower price and access to data transmission networks. The last point is a clear, forward-looking vision for Latvia: develop data transmission services in addition to traditional voice telephone services to bring information and communication services together. It should be noted that only recently has the need to ensure general Internet access as a fundamental citizen’s right appeared in EU conceptual documents.
A universal information service also means ensured access to all types of public sector information. The electronic delivery of information is envisioned (on-line or broadcasting, magnetic, optical, etc.), and services can be provided on demand or can be interactive. A number of different information resources collectively form the universal information service:
•	library and reference services – access to catalogues, databases, directories and other information sources, the utilisation of browsers, search engines, document delivery systems, etc.;
•	a full set of business and financial information services;
•	general information services – data of state significance, branch and municipal information resources on residents, transportation, environmental protection, social, etc.;
•	information transmission services – email, file transfer, remote access, etc.;
•	public radio and television broadcasting services;
•	informative and entertainment services.

The listing above illustrates the fact that various types of public sector information are available in Latvia through the universal information service as one of the basic conceptual postulates of the Informatics project. It should be noted that even the Green Paper still does not envision including access to information sources as a universal service. Preliminary discussions on this issue began during the Information Society Forum plenary session in summer 1999, and access to the most essential types of public information (legal, administrative, cultural, environmental and traffic data) by 2001 is included in the Commission Initiative.
There are a number of preconditions for the full implementation of the universal information service. The set of services must be determined in detail, prices and a tariff policy should be transparent and based on real expenses, and end-user interfaces should be standardised. Fundamental principles must be harmonised with postulates of the EU: the full liberalisation of the market for telecommunications and information services as well as the free movement of services across borders. The role and responsibility of the administration with regards to the universal service has been defined. The public sector should be:
•	a leader in defining the national information policy, determining priorities and defining the components of the universal service;
•	an administrator in implementing the policy, coordinating activities (including international collaboration), ensuring the universal service and providing information services;
•	a regulator in terms of legislation, the elaboration and introduction of standards, and the control of quality of the universal service;
•	an investor by supporting public sector information projects, applications and services;
•	a motivator by creating a general environment that is favourable for foreign direct investment and the support of international financial institutions; 
•	a participant through creating and maintaining national, branch and municipal information systems.

A number of subprogrammes are aimed towards providing the basis of the universal service and its separate components, and to ensure the inter-operability of services at the international level (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Support of the Universal Service by Subprogrammes

Accelerating the implementation of communication subprogrammes is necessary in order to ensure broader general access to information for residents of all regions, one of the basic terms for establishing a true information society. The tasks of “normative” subprogrammes are to define the terms of play both for the information infrastructure and also for access to information. They should ensure the international compatibility of services and the preservation of the Latvian state and national identity. “Knowledge” subprogrammes are focused on developing computer and information literacy to allow the populace to utilise information resources effectively. “Applied” subprogrammes define the state strategy for the practical introduction of information and telecommunications applications as well as the implementation of informatics projects in various branches.
All subprogrammes are aimed at ensuring quality public sector information services as a substantial component of a universal information service. Although there are a number of common principles in providing public sector information to end-users, many important differences exist as well. General access to public sector information differs from the utilisation of information of national significance for state governance. Information is composed differently, and the level of confidentiality, demands for completeness, accuracy and updating information vary from user group to user group. Therefore, in conjunction with common methodological principles, different approaches are used for developing information processing systems and services.

6	The Megasystem: an Advanced Tool for the Administration of the Country

6.1 	National Information Systems
The term National Information System (NIS) is perfunctorily defined by the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers. The document only relates the term to the processing and storage of information mentioned in Latvian law or in the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers. Therefore, this paper considers this term as focusing on information of national significance. 
The status of information in various national information systems – i.e., databases, registers, information systems, etc., (see Appendix 1) – varies greatly. A number of systems contain comprehensive records. The use of systems that play a substantial role in vital interests of the country, such as the development of the national economy, the collection of taxes or reducing crime, is prevalent. The regular updating of data is the main problem facing these systems and their owners. The development of systems is continual, and primary data entry takes place in many systems at this time, even though other data already exists. Some important national information systems are still at the project or conceptual level. The current situation is the result of varying awareness of the national information system issue among decision makers as well as the financial state of many institutions. In some cases, a lack of cooperation has led to the duplication of data and inadequate information in databases. 
The legal basis for various national information systems varies greatly, although all legal acts establish relevant procedures and requirements as a priority. Very few national information systems are the subject of special laws in Latvia (e.g., the Population Register and the Enterprise Register). Most systems are mentioned in legal acts dealing with other subjects (e.g., laws on agriculture, statistics, and the protection of cultural heritage sites). Special Cabinet of Ministers’ regulations have been drafted but have not always been passed. Several substantial information systems are mentioned only in internal ministerial documents or in the regulations of specific institutions. Among these are the Environmental Data and Information System, the Labour Exchange System and the Database of Study Programmes. In many cases, electronic systems are not explicitly required, although system owners often prefer the most advanced technologies.
Currently, the Department of Informatics of the Ministry of Transport is drafting an umbrella law on national information systems. The following issues will be covered: data to be contained in national information systems, the institutions responsible for the data, the general principles under which information is to be collected, stored, processed, exchanged and used, and other general legal and financial items.
A number of problems hamper the use of existing information systems to their full potential at present. Systems are developed primarily on the basis of the requirements of specific ministries or institutions, and therefore the coordination and inter-operability of systems are weak. Existing information systems for local authorities are on a low technological level that does not correspond with contemporary demands, and they are not connected with the national systems. The quality (completeness, correctness and timeliness) and reliability of data are low due to indirect data entry, the duplication of data in many systems and irregular updating. A methodology for data verification has not been elaborated, and the documentation on systems is imperfect. As a result, the ratio of price/performance for information processing is inadequate.
In addition, problems related to the legal status of electronic documents and their archives as well as electronic signatures have not been solved in Latvia. Some owners consider it possible to give up traditional documents at least partially, and some time is needed for the others to follow. The Cabinet of Ministers has established an expert group to elaborate these normative acts during the year 2000.

6.2 	The Megasystem: Integration of National Information Systems 
Because the drastic improvement in the quality and full interoperability of all national information systems is vital for the development of the country, all new systems will form a logically unified Megasystem with common data fields, a unified user’s interface, and uniform access principles and authorisation procedures. All end-systems, irrespective of their ownership, will be interconnected through a high speed data communications network (see Figure 9). The unified Megasystem will be spread to all regional and rural administrative centres and to a number of cities, border checkpoints, ports, etc. Local authorities will be connected to the Megasystem in order to conduct direct data entry and to use information for local needs. Special terminals and access points (information kiosks) are envisioned for public access to information specified for general use.

Figure 9: The Megasystem

As a result, it will be possible to move basic data entry and utilisation procedures to places where the information has originated or is frequently used as well as to provide direct access to information for those who have proper authorisation (see Figure 10). This will help avoid the duplication of records and provide united and user-friendly access to a wide range of data. In addition, the Megasystem will include a “register of registers” for the collection and distribution of information about the system and the communication server. The conceptual and methodological features of the Megasystem and a corresponding action plan have been accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers. 

Figure 10: The Megasystem: Data Flows

In order to implement these plans and to achieve the aforementioned goals on both state and municipal levels, information systems for local authorities will be designed, implemented and connected to the Megasystem in the near future. These local systems will facilitate the following:
•	conducting direct data entry into all national information systems; 
•	using information collected in the Megasystem for local needs;
•	providing electronic document exchange throughout the country;
•	providing general access to public information and electronic communication between the population and state and local authorities.

The creation of the Megasystem is not only a technological decision – in fact it will solve a number of informative, legal, organisational, financial and qualification problems. Some primary issues that the Megasystem will address include: 
•	the analyse of existing data flows to formulate the functions of the Megasystem and to distribute them among information systems;
•	defining the contents of various information systems as well as the institutions that are responsible for the collection, processing and distribution of specific data;
•	formulating the tasks of information systems for local authorities and elaborating several compatible informative models for implementation at the local level;
•	defining a unified user interface, access principles and authorisation procedures;
•	ensuring data quality and security as well as inter-operability with EU information systems; 
•	elaborating a methodology for data verification;
•	determining the principles of electronic archives.

Latvia’s need to register its main subjects at the initial stage of the Megasystem dictated the following order of priorities: private persons (the population), legal persons (enterprises, establishments, organisations), real estate (land, buildings, owners) and movable property (transport vehicles, owners), and state finances (taxes). In compliance with these priorities, five primary national information systems were proposed for the first stage:
•	Population Register;
•	Enterprise Register;
•	Real Property Register;
•	State Vehicles Register;
•	State Revenue Service Information System.

The integration of these primary systems and the installation of the central body (the register of registers and the communication server) was conducted in 1998 and 1999. At the same time, the primary national information systems are not the only significant state  information resources. At present, over thirty branch information systems are operating in Latvia. These information systems will be connected to the central core of the Megasystem gradually as they are modified. During the second stage, connections to the Unified Information System for Local Governments, the Education Information System and several information systems that deal with real estate will be established.
The Government Data Communications Network for the needs of the government and local authorities is an essential component of the Megasystem. This network is, at the moment, part of an integrated voice/data network developed by the non-profit State Information Network Agency VITA. The Cabinet of Ministers approved a contemporary development concept for the network in 1999. The Government Data Communications Network must provide for the inter-operability of all interconnected systems. The various requirements of the network include:
•	reliability: there must be uninterrupted access, undistorted data transmission, a guarantee of several levels of confidentiality and information security;
•	high speed data transmission: some real time systems need guaranteed channel capacity (e.g., the Vessels Traffic Management Information System);
•	presence of a gateway to a public data transmission network (the Internet environment) with a reliable firewall system.

On-line access is becoming a basic means of data transmission, but on-line connections by means of separate communications channels must not be an end in themselves, and their usage should be well grounded both technically and economically. The connection of end-users depends on real traffic, e.g., common use access points or dial-up connections would have to be established where the traffic level is low. The connection of rural centres (villages) will have to be done on a selective basis, and in many cases local centres will have to participate via dial-up connections or by using diskettes to exchange and update information.

7	International Interconnection of Information Systems
There are various definitions of an information society, and various countries stress different aspects of the process, but all believe that this is a global process, and it is impossible to create an information society in only one or a few countries. The collection and exchange of information and the use of knowledge are increasingly becoming a world-wide process. The international interconnection of networks, the inter-operability of services and the harmonisation of legislation are all necessary for economic development, trade, education and individual benefit.
Multilingual and multicultural Europe has a particular interest in international cooperation and united activities as individual national markets for information services are mostly small and ineffective. Competition on a global scale also requires a common European strategy and coordinated development. Therefore, the European Commission sees collaboration among all European states – including the associated Central and East European countries – as an important component of information policy. These issues are especially important for Latvia as a small country with a transitional economy. Integration into common European processes is a component of the general pre-accession strategy of the country, and various types of international cooperation and partnership play a key role in the Informatics project.
The integration of national information resources into trans-European information systems and networks has begun. A number of national information systems are already participating in the activities of international systems. Several examples are mentioned below (see Figure 11).
The Central Statistical Bureau is a national institute providing basic socio-economic data in Eurostat’s network for the distribution of statistical data. National institutes from all EU member states and associated countries use common classification and coding systems, methodology and statistical observations for the compilation of comparable statistics. 
The Latvian Environmental Data Centre is the national focal point for the Environment Information Observation Network (EIONET), which is maintained by the European Environmental Agency, as well as for the United Nations Environmental Programme Information Exchange System (INFOTERRA). Marine and inland water quality and protection, air emissions and pollution, radioactive emergency monitoring and early warning mechanisms, radioactive and hazardous waste, terrestrial ecosystems (plant, forests, minerals, etc.) form the basic data in the centre’s system.
Various health and health-related statistics and epidemiological information (demographic data, mortality statistics, diseases and their dissemination by age and gender) is collected, analysed and distributed by the World Health Organisation’s Statistical Information System (WHOSIS) to ensure high level health care. The Latvian Centre of Health Statistics, Informatics and Medical Technology provides data on the current situation in Latvia.

Figure 11: Integration into International Information Systems and Networks

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) processes and distributes data about drugs and drug addiction at the national and pan-European level. The Network of National Focal Points (REITOX) covers participating countries in order to synchronise data collection. The focal point in Latvia is the Drug Abuse Prevention and Health Care Centre.
In 1997, the prime ministers of the Baltic States created the Baltic Governmental Data Communications Network in order to further develop the national information systems of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and to prepare their future connections with European information systems. In cooperation with the Norway Registers Development A/S, the three countries carried out a feasibility study on improving the process of exchanging information between the Baltic States. On July 1998, the Baltic Council of Ministers recommended that the relevant institutions of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania outline a pilot project for the Baltic Governmental Data Communications Network and appointed Latvia responsible for coordination efforts. In order to fulfil this resolution, a conceptual outline for the development of Latvia’s segment of the Baltic Network was elaborated.
The Baltic Governmental Data Communications Network is considered a set of common organisational, financial and technical procedures. Bilateral or trilateral agreements between related agencies should become a basic mechanism for data networking. The network includes:
•	legal, organisational and safety rules for interstate data exchange, as agreed by the Baltic governments (available information, user authorisation levels, service prices, coordinating institutions, etc.);
•	resource-points for international corporate information systems and the establishments maintaining them;
•	the necessary physical and logistical connection facilities at any level, internationally agreed data standards and structures, interfaces and protocols;
•	operators, who shall, in cooperation with other network operators in the Baltic States, organise and provide information services (e.g., State Information Network Agency VITA);
•	state regulating authorities serving as international contact-points (e.g., the Ministry of Transport’s Department of Informatics).

The concept of the Baltic Network envisions an expansion of the Megasystem and the Government Data Communications Network to an international scale. A number of activities have been undertaken in order to develop the Megasystem and the network with regards to their data transmission environment. The outline also envisages the development of the Baltic Network as a pilot project for the integration of national information systems into trans-European systems. The unification of national systems with European information systems is timely for Lithuania and Estonia, and it will facilitate the interconnection of Baltic systems as well. Access to trans-European information systems will be provided to Latvian end-users, and the content of information systems in Latvia will be available in other European countries, including Lithuania and Estonia. Priorities in the integration process are guided by several factors:
•	the needs of Latvia and the preparedness of end-users (administrative institutions) to make use of information;
•	the quality of data in national information systems and the readiness (technological, normative, etc.) of these systems to engage in international cooperation;
•	the willingness of the corresponding international system owners to make information available to Latvia’s end-users. 

The structure of the network will be developed so as to guarantee the overall integration of Latvia into international (European at first) processes. Therefore, all principles of the network structure and user access, the data structure and interfaces will be developed so as to allow for:
•	the integration of Latvian information systems into European corporate networks (EBR, EuCaris, Eurostat, etc.); the interests of Lithuania and Estonia regarding their participation in these systems will also be a priority;
•	access by the state governmental and administrative authorities of Latvia to European information systems;
•	the access of European and world-wide users (state and administrative authorities), including Lithuania and Estonia, to Latvian information resources.

During the joint expert group meetings, representatives of Lithuania and Estonia accepted the Latvian approach, and the first interconnection projects were implemented in 1998 and 1999 on the basis of these principles. The Enterprise Register was linked to the European Business Register (EBR) in order to support international financial relations and investment processes, as well as business cooperation and foreign trade. Normative problems have been resolved, and a special communications server was created as an interface with the EBR data format. A meeting of EBR members approved the integration of the Enterprise Register into the EBR, and an official agreement was signed in 1999.
The Vehicles Register had already been connected to the European Car Register (EuCaris) in 1996 by means of a direct line. The use of information technologies in the fight against automobile theft and against the import and transit of stolen vehicles had previously been inadequate. Therefore, the Vehicles Register was integrated with existing databases maintained by the Information Centre of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the State Police and the Interpol office in Latvia.
The centralised resources of the Megasystem should support both local and international information services. Data on international resources that is available to Latvian end-users will be included in the “register of registers.” The common central access point can be used for authorisation and for access to national information resources for foreign end-users as well. Establishing new collaboration efforts and expanding existing links are considered priorities, including:
•	a unified registration system for Latvia’s entry visas has become an important need in order to improve the security of the country’s external borders; Lithuanian and Estonian visas are valid in Latvia, and integration into the Schengen visa system is planned; 
•	the full harmonisation of the country’s statistical information system with Eurostat, as well as the creation of an access point for the international availability of national data;
•	participation in the Interchange of Data between Administrations (IDA) programme, which will promote links and data exchange between related institutions in various fields (customs and taxes, agriculture, public procurement, social security, health, culture, etc.);
•	associate and, in the future, full membership of the National Accreditation Office in the European Accreditation network (EA), which will provide for the recognition of Latvian certificates at the pan-European level, thus eliminating technical barriers to the export of Latvian products;
•	the creation of an integrated transport information system and participation in a transport telematics programme will help to develop various transport services; a multi-modal and international approach will promote the development of transit freight operations that are vital for Latvia’s national economy;
•	connection to the TEN-34 (TEN-155) trans-European research network will promote the integration of Latvian research into European programmes; this will have a favourable effect on the innovation process in the country and reduce the outflow of Latvia’s competitive and highly skilled labour force;
•	the development of an information system on study programmes, as well as active participation in the international Networks of National Academic Recognition Information Centres (ENIC/NARIC) is necessary for the international recognition of Latvian diplomas; 
•	the introduction of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (version ICD-10) will ensure full compatibility with the WHOSIS information system;
•	the further development of the Drug Information System, and the preparation of a complete connection with the EMCDDA and the REITOX European drug monitoring system. 

8	General Access to Public Sector Information

8.1	Bringing Administration Closer to Citizens and Businesses 
The EU has long sought to ensure the general availability of public sector information, and citizens’ access to information was included in the Maastricht Treaty as a basic human right. The harmonisation of the environment in the Associated States with that in the European Union is provided for on a political level. European Agreements that have been signed by all associated countries call for the creation of an appropriate regulatory framework to strengthen economic, political and social cooperation. Harmonisation procedures, particularly those related to legislation affecting information and telecommunication services, is a substantial component of pre-accession work before the integration of Latvia into the EU. 
According to the European Agreement, Latvia’s public services should meet EU standards. General electronic access to public sector information is a substantial issue for Latvia in order to increase the general level of democracy in the country and to reduce bureaucracy and possibilities for corruption in administrative bodies. Furthermore, this is also a prerequisite for increasing foreign direct investments in the national economy, for developing transit procedures and preparing for the free circulation of goods, services and people after accession to the EU.
Access to and exploitation of public sector information were among the themes discussed in a Bonn conference attended by ministers from the countries of the EU, EFTA and the CEEC in 1997. The conference noted:
•	the key role of the public sector in improving general access to information;
•	the growing information market as one of the most promising areas for employment in future years;
•	the necessity of coordinating common approaches in a number of areas (access rights and limitations, pricing and copyright policies, etc.) to provide access to public sector information for both citizens and businesses in all European states.

The Third EU/CEEC Information Society Forum recommended involving representatives of all CEE countries in the common European process and to work in a number of joint European bodies. An expert group on Public Services: Bringing Administration Closer to Citizens has been established in the framework of the European Information Society Forum to analyse and elaborate issues related to the collection, processing and use of public sector information. Several objectives were included in the Vienna declaration in order to ensure citizens’ rights:
•	governments should fulfil their democratic obligations, including the provision of public sector information to citizens;
•	an advanced information infrastructure must be developed to guarantee access to public sector information from public buildings as well as from households;
•	the continuous monitoring of related activities undertaken in the European states. 

The Green Paper on Public Sector Information in the Information Society outlines the major issues related to the provision of public sector information in detail. The basic principles are very similar to current USA policy: the active participation of the private sector in the collection and dissemination of data, user-friendly access procedures and minimum restrictions and no copyrights on public information. A similar approach related to the development of public information services and increasing their efficiency is a core postulate of The Concept for Increasing Quality of Information Services Provided by Public Bodies, accepted by Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers in December 1999. Every state and municipal institution should provide several types of publicly available information services: 
•	communication services that include full contact information to decrease the administrative burden for citizens and facilitate contact with public bodies, specifically: functions and structure of the body, positions and names of employees, postal and email addresses, and telephone and fax numbers; 
•	information services related to the activities of the body, including: related normative documents, internal rules, decision making procedures, current and historical information, statistics, databases;
•	transaction services for long-distance communication with the public body (teleadministration), including: downloadable forms and the possibility to submit forms electronically. 

National, branch and municipal information systems and sources should contain non-confidential components as a constituent of the Megasystem. In order to ensure generally user-friendly access, public access terminals must be created in libraries, schools and municipalities (information kiosks). For this purpose, the concept of the Government Data Communications Network envisages connecting all public bodies to the network, including libraries and research and educational institutions. A central one-stop access point to all national public sector information resources will also be installed and linked to the core of the Megasystem (the register of registers and the communications server).

8.2 	General Availability of Public Information Services
The basic means of access at present is the on-line dissemination of information through websites. At present, over sixty percent of the total Internet traffic in Latvia is geared towards various on-line directories, catalogues, full text and full image databases. Many of these resources contain information that is interesting for the international community as well. The Enterprise Register is publicly available on-line, and other major websites include: the Central Statistical Bureau (socio-economic indicators), the Riga Stock Exchange (stock information), the Bank of Latvia (the banking system and monetary policy) and the Latvian Privatisation Agency (on privatisation processes and opportunities).
In spite of a clear methodological approach and numerous accomplishments, the reality in Latvia’s market of public sector information services is not perfect. The market is presently incomplete and fragmented. Table 1 shows a number of websites maintained by various Latvia’s public sector bodies. Current information on the development of public sector information sources from 1999 and 2000 is available on the European Survey on Information Society ESIS-II site.

Table 1: Websites of Public Bodies (June 1999)

	Total Number of Bodies	Total Number of Websites	% of Websites / Total Number of Bodies	
National Ministries	12	9	75	
Regional and Local Authorities	532	30	5.6	
High Schools and Universities	33	16	48.5	
Primary and Secondary Schools	1110	41	3.7	
Libraries	999	13	1.3	
Hospitals and Clinics	156	4	2.6	

Source: Central Statistical Bureau and Academic Computer Network LATNET

Furthermore, the existence of a website does not mean that full information services are available. The services available on websites of several administrative bodies, agencies, inspectorates and municipalities are outlined in Appendixes 2, 3 and 4. Even this preliminary analysis demonstrates a number of basic problems that must be addressed to improve the general availability of public sector information.
Any public institution should be obliged to provide complete information on its webpage. A minimum set of restrictions on the dissemination of government information, the applicability of copyright principles on public sector information, liability for data quality and the legality of electronic documents and signatures must be determined. The creation of webpages, their regular updating and completeness as well as the presentation of data in several languages are basic preconditions. 
The development of a communication infrastructure is considered the baseline of the Megasystem project, as is the creation of public access points. In addition, all schools and libraries are being connected to the Internet as a part of unified Education Information and Library Information System projects, to be completed by 2002. 
Common pricing principles must be established for all end-users. Latvia should make a choice between free access to all public information services and affordable fees for public sector information.  Furthermore, the awareness of managers and their familiarity with public information services, on the one hand, and the general information and computer literacy of the population, on the other hand, will ensure efficient services. Demonstrations, pilot projects and education and training activities are very substantial components of the programme, as is improving access to the Internet to increase the availability of public sector information.
More than eighteen thousand, seven hundred hosts are connected to the Internet in Latvia at present. As of December 1999, the total number of Internet users had reached one hundred and five thousand (4.3 users per one hundred inhabitants in comparison with 30.5 main telephone lines and 11.1 mobile phone users), including approximately ten thousand domestic users. Nevertheless, the Internet penetration remains low in comparison with average Western European (9.5) figures, although the mean annual growth in Latvia is more dynamic (sixty-three percent per year) than in Western Europe (twenty-eight percent) and is fully comparable with that of the European leaders, Scandinavia.
Twenty-two Internet service providers offer a full set of Internet services, including web space for their customers. The total turnover of Internet businesses in 1998 is estimated as over 3.5 million ECU. The success of several foreign companies (e.g., Telia, Tele2 AB, Sonera) prove that the prospects for this segment of the Latvian market are positive. The government’s action plan envisions ensuring equal rules of the game for powerful and experienced international companies as well for small local beginners by means of normative acts.
On-line services are available not only in Riga but in regional centres as well, where the telecommunications infrastructure is suitable for acceptable Internet access through dial-up and leased-line connections. Data transmission networks have been created utilising Lattelekom’s (the exclusive provider of fixed public telecommunications services, including the leasing of lines) cable and wire network. Wireless Internet access is popular due to its high speed and relatively low cost. Various technologies provide speeds up to 34 Mbps at distances of up to seventy kilometres. Dial-up connections (14.4-56 kbps) are mainly concentrated in Riga. ISDN connections that provide higher (64-128 kbps) capacity have been provided by Lattelekom from the spring of 1998. Both Latvian GSM mobile phone operators provide “short message services” to Internet email gateways.
The expansion of Internet usage including access to public sector information depends on the availability of access, quality and prices. Economic and communication factors are the major limitation for more rapid Internet growth in Latvia today, while technological networking problems have been solved successfully. A full set of Internet services is available, primarily  through the national fibre-optic cable network. In many rural areas, GSM is presently the only available access to the Internet. Installation times and the availability of leased lines to some locations are frequent problems as well. The price for Internet access is too costly for individual users and even for small and medium businesses, which would like Internet access but do not necessarily depend on it at present.

9	Conclusions
Progress in telecommunications and networking has fulfilled the preconditions for the rapid development of electronic information services in Latvia. Highly skilled and experienced specialists work in all fields. Advanced technologies and applications are developing rapidly, and the collection and processing of primary and value-added information is underway. In addition, the responsibility for various segments of the national information infrastructure and the market for information services has been defined (see Appendix 5). 
It is necessary and possible to provide objective data for the state administration to ensure the general availability of a wide spectrum of information, to solve methodological, organisational, informative, normative, technological and other problems and to implement general information management in the country. This will enable Latvia to compensate for its shortage of raw materials and energy resources and to reduce the existing great differences between European Union Member States and Latvia.

References
1.	Agenda 2000 – European Commission Opinion on Latvia’s Application for Membership in the European Union. Brussels, 1997.
2.	The Baltic Governmental Data Communications Network: Conceptual and Methodological Baseline. URL: http://www2.acadlib.lv/grey/greylit.htm
3.	The Concept for Increasing Quality of Information Services Provided by Public Bodies. URL: http://www2.acadlib.lv/grey/greylit.htm
4.	eEurope. An Information Society for All. Communication on a Commission Initiative for the Special European Council of Lisbon 23 and 24 March 2000.
5.	Europe and the Global Information Society. Recommendations to the European Council. Corfu, 1994.
6.	European Agreement Establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one part, and the Republic of Latvia, on the other part. Brussels –Riga, 1995.
7.	European Survey of Information Society. URL: http://www.ispo.cec.be/eif/
8.	A European Way for the Information Society. Final draft version. Information Society Forum. Helsinki, 1999.
9.	Global Information Networks, Ministerial Conference. Bonn, 1997.
10.	Haefner, K. Evolution of Information Processing Systems. Springer-Verlag, 1992.
11.	Information Society. Resolution A4-0073/94 of the European Parliament, 1994.
12.	The Information Society and Development: the Role of the European Union. COM(97) 351. Luxembourg, 1997.
13.	Integrated State Significance Information System (Megasystem); Conceptual and Methodological Baseline (in Latvian). URL: http://www2.acadlib.lv/grey/greylit.htm
14.	Integrated State Significance Information System (Megasystem). URL: http://www.mega.lv
15.	Karnitis, E. “Dissemination of Public Sector Information in Latvia in the Context of European Policy.” Baltic IT Review, No. 4, 1999.
16.	Karnitis, E. Electronic Information Services in Libraries of Latvia: the Concept and its Implementation. Riga, 1997.
17.	Karnitis, E. “The Market for Information Services in Latvia.” Baltic IT Review, 1997 N 4.
18.	Karnitis, E. “National Information Systems in Latvia.” Baltic IT Review, 1997 N 1.
19.	Karnitis, E. Socio-Technical Information Processing -- Latvia’s Way towards the Information Society. Riga, 1998.
20.	Living and Working in the Information Society: People First. Green Paper. COM(96) 389. Brussels, 1996.
21.	The Markets for Electronic Information Services in the European Information Area; Supply, Demand, and Information Infrastructure. European Report of the Member States’ Study. Luxembourg, 1997.
22.	Moving Public Administrations Closer to the Citizens in the Digital Age, Vienna Declaration. Conference “Public Services: Bringing Administration Closer to Citizens.” Vienna, 1998.
23.	National Programme Informatics 1999-2005. URL: http://www2.acadlib.lv/grey/greylit.htm
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25.	On the Procedure of Conferring the Status of National Computerised Information Systems and Technical Realisation Requirements in Latvia. Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 70, 1996.
26.	Poullet Y. “Towards a Universal Public Information Service.” Workshop on Commercial and Citizen’s Access to Government Information, Luxembourg, 1995.
27.	Public Sector Information: A Key Resource for Europe. Green Paper on Public Sector Information in the Information Society. COM(98) 585. Brussels, 1998. 
28.	Third EU/CEEC Information Society Forum. Proceedings. European Parliament and European Commission, 1997.

Appendix 1: National Information Systems in Latvia

Information System	Institution	Main Data Subjects	
Legal Acts Information System	"Dati" Joint Stock Company	Laws, Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers and Ministries	
Real Estate Register	State Land Service	Land and other Immovable Property, Valuation, Digital Index Map 	
Landbooks	Ministry of Justice	Real Estate Ownership	
Forest Inventory Database	State Forest Service	Biological and Economic Characteristics, Ownership	
State Real Estate Database	State Real Estate Agency	Buildings, Rental Agreements 	
Integrated Data Processing System of Residential Buildings	Central Privatisation Commission of Residential Buildings	Residential Buildings under Privatisation, Technical Conditions, Ownership	
Cultural Heritage Information System	State Inspectorate for Heritage Protection	Movable and Immovable Objects, Textual and Visual Information	
State Vehicles' and Drivers' Register	Road Traffic Safety Directorate	Vehicles and Drivers	
Environmental Data and Information System	Latvian Environment Data Centre	Water Cadastre, Water and Air Pollution, Toxic Waste, Protective and Polluted Territories, Hydro-meteorological Information	
State Revenue Service Information System	State Revenue Service	Taxpayers (Legal and Private Entities) and Taxes; Customs Information	
Enterprise Register	LURSOFT SIA	Legal Entities	
Educational Information System	Department of Educational Strategy and Information	School Children and Teachers; Schools, Colleges, Methodological Tools	
Database of Cultural Institutions	Department of Cultural Policy	Theatres, Museums, Libraries, etc.	
State Register of Testing and Calibration Laboratories and Certification and Inspection Bodies	Latvian National Accreditation Office	Institutions, Activities, Technologies	
Information System of the Central Statistical Bureau	Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia	Official Statistics	
Industrial Property Register	Patent Office	Patents, Trademarks	
Quality Management Information System	Department of Quality Management and Structural Development	European Quality Standards, Certified Goods Recognised in Latvia, Certified Latvian Goods	
Central Agricultural Database	Ministry of Agriculture	Agricultural Statistics, Production, Produce Processing Industry 	
Information System of the State Labour Inspectorate	State Labour Inspectorate 	Professional Accidents, Hazardous Equipment, Inspection Controls	
Population Register	Department of Citizenship and Immigration	Residents, Foreigners with Residential Visas, Citizens Living Abroad	
Staff Registration Information System	State Civil Service Administration	Civil Institutions and Servants	
State Social Insurance Information System	State Social Insurance Fund	Pensions, Sick and Unemployment Benefits, Allowances to Mothers 	
Labour Exchange System	Latvian State Employment Service	Unemployment	
Restrictions of Entry Database	Department of Citizenship and Immigration	Persons with Restrictions to Entrance Visa	
Invalid Document Database	Department of Citizenship and Immigration	Invalid Personal Documents	
Healthcare Information System	Latvian Centre of Health Statistic, Informatics and Medical Technology 	Medical Statistics, Hospitals, Registers of Physicians, Patients and Diseases, Health Insurance	
Drug Information System	Drug Abuse Prevention and Healthcare Centre	Drugs and Drug Addiction	
Database of Study Programmes	Academic Information Centre	Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes	
Integrated Library Information Network "LATLIBNET"	Consortium of Libraries	Catalogues, Information Services in Libraries	
National Bibliography	National Library of Latvia	Books, Periodicals, Statistics of Publications, National ISBN, ISSN, ISMN Registers	

	
Appendix 2: Information Services: Administrative Bodies (October 1999)

		Content of Websites			
Public Institution	WWW Address	Stru-cture	Names	Address, tel., fax.	Email Address	Normative Acts, Directions	Current Info., Statistics, Databases	Downloadable
Forms 	Last Update	English version	
Chancery of the President	www.president.lv	++	++	+	++	+	+	-	1999	+	
Parliament (Saeima)	www.saeima.lv	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	1999	+	
Cabinet of Ministers	www.mk.gov.lv	++	++	++	++	+	+	-	10.1999	+	
Ministry of Agriculture	www.llu.lv/ZemMin/	++	++	++	-	-	+	-	1999	+	
Ministry of Culture	vip.latnet.lv/culture/	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	1999	+	
Ministry of Education and Science	www.iclub.lv/izm/	+	-	+	+	+	+	-	10.1999	+	
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development	www.varam.gov.lv	++	-	+	-	+	+	-	09.1999	+	
Ministry of Finance	www.fm.gov.lv	++	++	++	++	+	+	+	10.1999	+	
Ministry of Foreign Affairs	www.mfa.gov.lv	++	++	++	++	+	+	-	09.1999	+	
Ministry of the Interior	www.iem.gov.lv	+	+	+	-	+	+	-	1999	+	
Ministry of Justice	www.jm.gov.lv	-	-	-	-	+	-	-	1999	+	
Ministry of Transport	www.sam.gov.lv	+	-	+	+	-	-	-	1998	-	
European Integration Bureau	www.eib.lv	++	++	++	++	+	+	-	08.1999	+	
State Audit Office	www.lrvk.gov.lv	+	+	-	-	+	+	-	10.1999	-	
Central Statistical Bureau	www.csb.lv	+	++	++	+	-	+	-	10.1999	+	
Citizenship and Migration Issues Board	www.pid.bkc.lv	+	+	+	-	+	+	-	03.1999	+	
State Fire-fighting and Rescue Service	www.ugdd.lv	+	+	+	+	-	+	-	10.1999	+	

Appendix 3: Information Services: Non-Administrative Bodies (October 1999)

		Content of Websites			
Public Institution	WWW Address	Stru-cture	Names	Address, tel., fax.	Email Address	Normative Acts, Directions	Current Info., Statistics, Databases	Downloadable Forms	Last Update	English version	
Latvian Development Agency	www.lda.gov.lv	++	++	++	++	-	+	-	10.1999	+	
Latvian Privatisation Agency	www.lpa.bkc.lv	+	+	+	-	+	+	-	10.1999	+	
Bank of Latvia	www.bank.lv	+	+	+	-	+	+	-	1999	+	
State Treasury	www.vkase.gov.lv	+	++	++	-	+	+	-	1999	-	
State Real Estate Agency	www.vnia.lv	++	+	+	-	+	+	-	09.1999	+	
Central Privatisation Commission of Residential Buildings	www.cpk.lv	++	++	++	+	+	+	+	10.1999	-	
Road Traffic Safety Directorate	www.csdd.lv	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	09.1999	+	
Traffic Bureau	www.sb.gov.lv	-	-	-	-	-	+	-	08.1998	-	
Telecommunication State Inspection	www.vei.lv	++	++	++	++	+	+	+	1999	+	
State Information Network Agency	www.vita.gov.lv	-	-	+	+	+	+	+	10.1999	-	
Insurance Supervision Inspectorate	www.vaui.gov.lv	+	+	+	-	+	+	-	1999	+	
Latvian Road Administration	www.lad.lv	+	+	+	+	-	+	-	02.98	-	
Latvian Hydro-meteorological Agency	serveris.meteo.lv	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1998	+	
Enterprise Register	www.ur.gov.lv	+	+	++	+	+	+	-	1999	+	
State Agency of Medicines	www.vza.gov.lv	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	1999	+	
National Accreditation Office	www.latak.apollo.lv	-	-	+	+	-	+	-	1999	+	
Latvian Environmental Data Centre	www.vdc.lv	++	++	++	++	+	+	-	09.1999	+	
State Archives	www.datapro.lv/lva	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	09.1996	+	

Appendix 4: Information Services: Municipalities (October 1999)

		Content of Websites			
Municipality	WWW Address	Structure, Functions	Names	Address, tel., fax.	Email Address	Normative Acts, Directions	Current Info., Statistics, Databases	Downloadable Forms	Last Update	English version	
Aizkraukle	www.ltn.lv/~aizkr2vs/iestades.htm	+	++	++	-	-	-	-	1999	-	
Jelgava	www.jrp.lv	+	++	++	+	-	-	-	1999	-	
Jēkabpils	www.zednet.lv/~jdome/dome/html	+	++	++	+	-	-	-	1999	-	
Jūrmala	www.jpd.gov.lv	++	-	++	++	+	+	-	1999	+	
Rēzekne	www.rezekne.lv/	+	++	++	-	-	-	-	08.1999	+	
Rīga 	www.rcc.lv	+	++	++	-	-	-	-	1999	+	
Ventspils	www.ventspils.lv	+	-	++	-	-	-	-	10.1999	+	

Key:
-	service is not available
+	information is available on an institutional level only
++	information is available on departments and employees as well

Appendix 5: Contact Persons
Implementation of the Informatics project and the creation of the national information infrastructure: 
Dr. Andris Virtmanis, Director
Ministry of Transport, Department of Informatics
Gogola 3
LV-1743 Riga, Latvia
Tel: (371-7) 028-232; Fax: (371-7) 028-366 
Email: andrisv@sam.gov.lv

Development of the Megasystem:
Dr. Janis Bicevskis, Head
University of Latvia, Department of Computer Science
Raina Blvd. 19 
LV-1586 Riga, Latvia
Tel: (371-7) 228-880; Fax: (371-7) 222-620
Email: bics@lanet.lv

Development of the Government Data Communications Network:
Dr. Rihards Balodis, Director General
State Information Network Agency
Kr. Valdemara Str. 110
LV-1013 Riga, Latvia
Tel: (371-7) 029-525; Fax: (371-7) 379-837
Email: balodis@vita.gov.lv

Development of the Baltic Government Data Communications Network:
Mr. Janis Zeltins, Deputy Director
Ministry of Transport, Department of Informatics
Gogola 3
LV-1743 Riga, Latvia. 
Tel: (371-7) 028-263; Fax: (371-7) 028-366
Email: janisz@sam.gov.lv

Development of Public Information Services for Citizens
Mr. Armands Kalnins, Director
State Civil Service Administration
Raina blvd. 4
LV-1050 Riga, Latvia
Tel: (371-7) 228-824; Fax: (371-7) 212-502
Email: vcp@vcp.gov.lv