Benchmarking

NEW: eGovernment Benchmark Survey 2009 Smarter, Faster, Better eGovernment
Broadband access in the EU: situation at 1 July 2009

Comparing the development of the information society in the Member States on the basis of certain indicators as well as best practice is an important part of assessing progress on the 2010 objectives. Such benchmarking is carried out on the basis of Eurostat surveys as well as studies. Every year the results are reviewed in the i2010 Annual Report.

i2010 benchmarking framework

NEW: The 2011 – 2015 benchmarking framework ( 293 kB) was endorsed by i2010 High Level Group on 9 November 2009 in Visby, Sweden. It proposes a conceptual framework for collection of statistics on the information society as well as a list of core indicators to be used for benchmarking in the future European Digital Agenda.

Starting in 2011, it will replace the current i2010 benchmarking framework , which was endorsed by the i2010 High Level Group in April 2006.

The current framework builds upon the indicators used to benchmark eEurope, the predecessor of i2010, but also focuses on more complex issues of impact and usage of technologies in the wider economy. The indicators are grouped under nine themes: 1: Developments in broadband, 2: Advanced services, 3: Security, 4: Impact in relation to the overall Lisbon objectives of growth and employment, 5: Investment in ICT research, 6: Adoption of ICT by businesses, 7: Impact of adoption of ICT by Business, 8: Inclusion, 9: Public services.

The data comes from a variety of sources (Eurostat, OECD, surveys, studies).
Every year the results are reviewed in the i2010 Annual Report (see the annexes in particular).
The studies section lists open calls for studies to benchmark i2010.

Data source - Eurostat

Eurostat is the main source of data for the benchmarking. See Eurostat's Information Society statistics for the latest data and explanatory notes on how they are collected (including questionnaires).

See also Statistics in Focus, Eurostat's analyses on selected topics, including ICT.

Results

e-Government Benchmarking Reports
The project measures annually the availability and sophistication of 20 basic public services for citizens and businesses which should be available online.
NEW: eGovernment Benchmark Survey 2009 Smarter, Faster, Better eGovernment ( 7,7 MB), 8th Benchmark Measurement, Press release

eGovernment Benchmark Survey 2007 The user challenge - Benchmarking the supply of online public services ( 4,4 MB), newsroom
2006 Report ( 3,49 MB), Press release
2005 Report ( 6,88 MB), Press Release, FAQ on e-Government benchmarking

Broadband access in the EU: situation at 1 July 2009
With more than 11 million new fixed lines laid in a year, the take up of broadband internet continues to grow in Europe. According to the report, 24% of the EU population had a broadband access line subscription in July 2009, up from 21.6% in July 2008. The report also shows that mobile broadband is gaining momentum in Europe. Broadband internet connections in Europe are increasingly faster. The document: Broadband access in the EU: situation at 1 July 2009 (831 kB), Press release
 

Digital Literacy Review - Public policies and stakeholder initiatives in support of Digital Literacy

The study provides a comparative analysis of different Digital Literacy initiatives within the EU25, Norway, and Iceland, and in selected countries such as India, Canada and the USA. The study has focused on initiatives and policies targeted to disadvantaged groups not being able to take full advantage of the information society for different reasons such as geographical location and the socio-economic background.

Topic Report 1 (1 MB) and Annexes (2 MB) present 464 different initiatives, which range from large-scale public programmes rolled out nationally and targeting the entire population to very small-scale third sector actions with very specific target groups.

Topic Report 2 (7,5 MB) investigates indicators and measurement tools employed in the EU25 and be-yond with a particular focus on the special module on digital literacy from the 2007 edition of the Eurostat Community Survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals. This analysis provides information on the current level of digital skills, on barriers to more intensive use and on the actual learning processes behind the acquisition of these skills.

Topic Report 3 (1 MB) and Annexes (2,6 MB) describe and analyses in more detail 30 selected good practice cases and contains a comprehensive presentation of main enablers of digital literacy.

Building on the evidence base from the other topic reports and literature analysed, Topic Report 4 (885 KB) situates digital literacy in a broader context as a central measure in forward-looking inclusion policies and concludes by drawing up a list of recommendations to improve digital literacy among disadvantaged groups.

See also: Digital Literacy Review (2008)

 

eHealth Benchmarking (Phase II)

The study aimed to collate and analyse existing eHealth monitoring and benchmarking sources (in EU27, Iceland, Norway, Canada and the United States), in order to identify good practices in data gathering and to develop an indicator framework for an EU-wide eHealth benchmarking approach. It found 94 sources of eHealth benchmarking data (with more than 4,300 eHealth-related indicators), identified 12 good practice cases and filled 31 country briefs that describe the situation in each of the surveyed countries. The study proposes an indicator framework that covers the most relevant actors, activities and applications in the area of eHealth.

Final report (1,66 MB), good practice cases (2,02 MB ) and country briefs (5,82 MB )
The eHealth Benchmarking Online Knowledge Base provides access to all the sources identified as part of the study.

 

The Impact of ICT on Employment

This study contains empirical findings which show that there is no evidence of a systematically positive or negative long-run effect of ICT on employment, either among sectors within a single country, or across countries in a single sector. Rather, as theory predicts, the effect of employment will depend on the particularities of the country or sector, including the supply of labour.

Report: The Impact of ICT on Employment (3,12 MB)

 

Broadband internet access cost
Report: Broadband internet access costs (1st half 2008) (1,39 MB)

 

Broadband coverage in Europe
The study collects data on broadband coverage, take-up and speeds, distinguishing between urban/suburban and rural areas and across access technologies, including 3G, for EU25 plus Norway and Iceland.

NEW: Broadband coverage in Europe: Survey 2009 final report ( 3,05 MB)

Broadband coverage in Europe: Survey 2008 final report ( 1,27 MB)
2007 Report ( 975 kB) and Methodological report ( 371 kB)
2006 Report ( 1,77 MB) and Methodological report ( 416 kB)
For more information on this policy area, see the Broadband Gap section.

 

Impact of Broadband on Growth and Productivity
This study collects evidence of the economic impact of broadband internet on labour productivity, employment level and growth.
Erratum ( 78 kB), Executive Summary ( 1,1 MB), Final report ( 4,1 MB)

 

Digital Literacy Review

European Commission's final report
Study results forthcoming.

 

Benchmarking public services on-line, Pilot study on eProcurement

This pilot provides the methodology to enable the measurement of the eGovernment Action Plan target of "100% of of public procurement above EU threshold to be available available electronically. It is expected that the methodology developed under this pilot will be part of the next survey on availability of basic public services on-line.

Final report ( 430 kB)
For more information on this policy area, see eGovernment.

 

Pilot on eHealth indicators: 'Benchmarking ICT use among General Practitioners in Europe'
This pan-European survey on electronic services supporting healthcare (eHealth) takes the pulse of eHealth in Europe: the study shows that eHealth applications have a growing role in the doctor's practices. However there remain significant country differences in their availability and use across Europe.
Final report April 2008 ( 944 KB), 29 country briefs ( 3,48 MB in Zip file), press release
For more information on this policy area, see eHealth.

 

Benchmarking in a policy perspective
The objective of the “Benchmarking in a Policy Perspective” project carried out an in-depth analysis of the results of the annual Information Society Surveys of households and enterprises and to relate them to a number of specific themes. So far the following reports have been produced:

• Final report ( 470 KB)

• e-security and trust ( 310 kB)

• Recommendations for two e-Commerce Questionnaire modules ( 467 kB, September 2007)

• Digital literacy and ICT skills ( 857 kB, April 2007)

• e-inclusion ( 3,5 MB, December 2006)

• Use of public services on line (  2,84 MB, including e-Government and eHealth, October 2006)

• Take up of advanced services ( 1,77 MB, September 2006)

• Use of broadband ( 2,15 MB, June 2006)

• Reorganisation of business processes ( 3,61 MB, March 2006)

Benchmarking Access and Use of ICT in European Schools, September 2006
Surfing the web as well as virtual communication and training methods are becoming more and more a daily experience in Europe’s school. The study shows that most European schools now have the high-speed "broadband" internet connections they need to access speedily high-quality content. However, there are still important variations from one Member State to another.
Final report, September 2006 ( 30,2 MB) 27 country briefs ( 4,34 MB in Zip file), Press release

 

eEurope

Benchmarking of the eEurope 2005 Action Plan, the initiative that preceded i2010, was based on a series of indicators defined in the eEurope Council Resolution. The majority of these indicators were measured in the Household and Enterprise surveys carried out by the National Statistical Agencies and co-ordinated by Eurostat. Information Society Statistics from the Community Household and Enterprise Surveys are available for each year since 2003 from the Eurostat web site.

The 2005 Information Society Benchmarking Report ( 155 kB) and Colour cover page ( 514 kB) are available.