After eight years spent building the infrastructure, services and skills required to transform Monaco into a digital State, the Government is drawing a line under the era of “digital transition” and moving to a permanent model in which technology — including artificial intelligence — becomes part of the everyday machinery of government.
The shift has been formalised in a new Sovereign Ordinance published in the Journal de Monaco on Friday, creating the Délégation Interministérielle au Numérique (DIN) – or Interministerial Delegation for Digital Affairs in English – from 5th October.
It replaces the Délégation Interministérielle chargée de la Transition Numérique (Interministerial Delegation for Digital Transition, DITN) with the new Délégation Interministérielle au Numérique (Interministerial Delegation for Digital Affairs, DIN) — significantly removing the concept of “transition” from its name and reflecting the shift towards digital as a permanent function of the State.
The distinction reflects how much has changed since Monaco began its digital transformation in 2018.
“Digital is no longer a transition: it is now an essential function of the State and a lever for transforming professions,” Minister of State Christophe Mirmand said in a statement announcing the restructuring.
From Extended Monaco to a digital State
Monaco’s concerted push into the digital era began in February 2018 with the appointment of Frédéric Genta as Interministerial Delegate for Digital Transition. Prince Albert II then formally launched Extended Monaco in April 2019, an ambitious programme intended to apply digital technology across the Principality’s economy and public services.
At the time, the programme was built around three major ambitions: improving quality of life, creating a new cycle of economic prosperity and increasing the value of public services. The Government initially envisaged its full implementation over the following three years.
What followed was a much broader transformation.
Monaco rolled out 5G and fibre infrastructure, launched its sovereign Monaco Cloud, expanded online government services, introduced digital identity through MConnect, developed e-health and e-education services and pursued smart-city projects including a digital twin of the Principality.
The programme also extended beyond government. Extended Monaco Entreprises and the Fonds Bleu were established to help local businesses digitalise, while thousands of professionals received digital training. By 2022, the Government said almost 700 transformation projects had been co-financed through the Fonds Bleu.
The Administration itself was reorganised along the way. Dedicated digital and information-system departments were established in 2020 to develop online public services, dematerialise administrative procedures and deliver projects spanning health, education, smart-city services and the economy.
The transformation also proved unexpectedly important during Covid, when systems already developed under Extended Monaco allowed the Administration to move to remote working and schools to use digital education platforms.
Eight years after the transition began, the Government’s position is effectively that digital technology is no longer a project to be completed. It is infrastructure that now has to be operated, governed, secured and continually developed.
From building digital services to governing them
The new DIN will go considerably beyond delivering new apps and online services. Under Sovereign Ordinance No. 12.143, the delegation will design and propose the State’s digital policy and oversee its implementation.
It will identify the State’s digital requirements, anticipate changes in infrastructure and technology, establish rules governing the sharing and management of government data, monitor technological and regulatory developments and evaluate State digital projects from technical and budgetary perspectives.
For the first time, it will also prepare a consolidated digital budget for the State, bringing greater central oversight to spending across the departments it coordinates.
Security and data governance are embedded in the new structure. The DIN will oversee implementation of the State’s information-system security policy and ensure the proper management of personal data within digital projects.
AI signals the next phase
Artificial intelligence is one of the clearest indications of where Monaco intends to take the new model. The Government says the DIN will be responsible for launching a strategy for the development of AI within the Administration.
Rather than being treated as a standalone technology project, AI will therefore sit within the same structure responsible for data, infrastructure, digital services, security, regulation and spending.
That is a significant difference from the mission Monaco set itself in 2018 and 2019. Then, the challenge was getting the Principality into the digital era. Now it is deciding how increasingly powerful technologies should be integrated into the operation of the State.
Three operational departments will sit beneath the DIN: the Direction du Développement des Services Numériques (the Digital Services Development Directorate – DDSN), responsible for digital public services and elements of digital identity; the Direction des Infrastructures et des Systèmes d’Information (Infrastructure and Information Systems Directorate – DISI), responsible for State IT infrastructure, security, resilience and continuity; and the Direction des Services de Confiance Numérique (Digital Trust Services Directorate – DSCN), responsible for digital trust services and technical elements of digital identity.
Digital regulation is meanwhile being separated from those operational activities, with a dedicated regulatory service placed directly under the Minister of State.
Pascal Rouison will head the new structure as Interministerial Delegate for Digital Affairs, with Georges Gambarini leading Digital Services Development, Jean-Charles Harlé heading Infrastructure and Information Systems and Fabien Giraud responsible for Digital Trust Services.
Monaco Life is written by qualified journalists, writing original content. Sign up for our free newsletter, listen to our podcasts on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok
Photo credit: Benjamin Vergely