DossierPublished on 31 March 2025

Digital Public Services Switzerland

Going digital together – since 2022, the Confederation and the cantons have been jointly driving forward the digital transformation. Digital Public Services Switzerland DPSS, which is part of the FDF, is responsible for the strategy and coordination.

Brief summary

To accelerate progress in the digitalisation of public services, the Federal Council and the cantonal governments established the coordinating organisation Digital Public Services Switzerland (DPSS) on 1 January 2022. The DPSS is responsible for the strategic management and coordination of federal, cantonal and communal digitalisation activities.

Current status

The public-law framework agreement on Digital Public Services Switzerland entered into force on 1 January 2022. It regulates the cooperation between the Confederation and the cantons on the digital transformation of their public services.

BBl 2021 3030 – Public-law framework agreement on Digital Public Services Switzerland (in German)

Peppino Giarritta, the Digital Public Services Switzerland Officer for the Confederation and cantons, manages the DPSS in line with policy requirements. In particular, he heads the Operational Management Committee, the Assembly of Delegates and the DPSS Office, which is administratively part of the GS-FDF.

The DPSS performs its tasks within a four-year strategy cycle. For operational activities, a rolling implementation plan is used, in which projects and performance milestones are defined. The implementation plan is updated annually.

Strategic basis

Since 2008, the Confederation, cantons and communes have been working together to establish digital public services in Switzerland. For this purpose, they defined a joint eGovernment strategy, implementation of which was coordinated by the tripartite organisation eGovernment Switzerland until the end of 2021. The Digital Public Services Switzerland strategy for 2024-2027 came into force on 1 January 2024. The joint strategy of the Confederation, cantons, cities and communes is aimed at all public services. It is coordinated by Digital Public Services Switzerland. The strategy is being implemented jointly by the Confederation, cantons, cities and communes within the existing organisations and applicable areas of responsibility.

To clarify: the Federal Council's Digital Federal Administration strategy defines the goals of the digital transformation in the Federal Administration. The Digital Public Services Switzerland strategy sets priorities for the digital transformation in Switzerland and serves as a guide for all public and private stakeholders in the country. All three strategies are coordinated and complement each other.

History of the DPSS

In an international comparison, the digitalisation of services and processes in Swiss public administrations progressed rather slowly. In addition, new challenges emerged, such as the once-only principle in data management and the widespread automation of administrative procedures. The Federal Council and the Conference of Cantonal Governments (CCG) therefore saw a need for better coordination of activities across the three levels of government in a new organisation. At the beginning of April 2020, they issued the mandate for the phased creation of this new organisation.

Timeline

Further development

The DPSS will be established in phases. In the first phase, running from 2022, a political platform is planned as a standard development. A new legal framework is required in order to develop the DPSS further as a political platform with binding standards (second phase). In the third phase, an authority will be set up, with a broad mandate and associated powers. At the end of each phase, the Federal Council and the Plenary Assembly of the CCG will assess what has been achieved, and decide on the next phase.