In a study by Vatter on the digital transformation of cantons in 2024, some cantons in particular stood out with regard to user-centricity: the cantons of Bern, Aargau and St. Gallen offer central platforms that bundle digital management services, making them easier to find. These portals are not just clearly structured, but are also designed with simple language and accessibility in mind – making access easier for all user groups. Support is at a high standard throughout Switzerland: assistance is widely available, e.g. with the online tax return. You can find the full study and download it further down in the blog post.
The National e-government Study 2025 shows that the Swiss population places great value on the easy accessibility and use of digital services for public authorities. As well as ensuring the availability of services, it is vital to improve their user-friendliness, interoperability and seamless design. The study highlights that the population increasingly appreciates the benefits brought by digital services for public authorities, such as time savings and flexibility, and is using these services more and more. Completing electronic tax returns or requesting debt collection/criminal records extracts remain among the most popular services.
The study by Vatter sheds light on digital possibilities for civil society involvement in political decision-making processes and digital participation. It is clear that there is still room for improvement. The availability of a user-friendly, digital solution for consultation procedures, e-voting systems or digital sources of information relating to votes and elections was analysed. At present, no canton offers a comprehensive, user-friendly and widely accessible digital consultation procedure solution. Some cantons have made more progress than others, such as the canton of Aargau with its “E-Anhörung” platform, enabling participation in public hearings. The platform is not yet widely used and does not allow joint participation in a consultation response, however. In addition, no canton scores full points when it comes to digital sources of information on votes or elections. E-voting is a legal possibility in all cantons except Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Jura. Yet votes and elections are only possible in four cantons for the time being (Basel-Stadt, Graubünden, St. Gallen and Thurgau).
The ePost App “Communities” is an example of a tool to promote participation (link: ). It offers a secure chat function with end-to-end encryption. Companies, authorities and private individuals can communicate via individual or group chats and share documents securely at the same time in the ePost App.
What challenges and opportunities define public administration in the digital age? The Vatter study on the status and drivers of digital transformation in cantonal administration presents the latest findings, along with sound analysis and current trends.