Government services are moving to mobile phones. How?
From AMA to ARTE, from gov.pt to transportation:
Portugal is digitalizing better than the European average, but there are roadblocks along the way
How many times have you booked a medical appointment or requested an official document using your phone? Probably a few. The idea that public services should be available 24/7 in every Portuguese citizen’s pocket has stopped being science fiction – it’s now a basic expectation.
And the numbers show that Portugal is doing well in this race. The eGovernment Benchmark, the European Commission’s annual report evaluating digital public services, gave our country 81 out of 100 points – 10 points above the global average and 5 above the European Union average.
But the digital transformation of public services goes far beyond just “putting forms online,” argues Gustavo Magalhães, Director at collaborative innovation consultancy Beta-i, in an interview that took place just weeks after the government restructured the Agência para a Modernização Administrativa (AMA) into the new Agência para a Reforma Tecnológica do Estado (ARTE).
“Digitizing bureaucracy is not a bad thing – it’s a first step – but transforming the relationship between the state and citizens is much more about vision than a concrete goal,” explains Gustavo Magalhães. According to the consultant, who has been working on European public administration modernization projects, we are entering a new phase: GovTech, which, as he says, “has nothing to do with just putting forms online anymore.”
What is GovTech?
GovTech is the application of innovative technologies to modernize public administration and service delivery to citizens.
An “almost quantum” leap
Gustavo draws a parallel between the evolution of the internet and the transformation of public services. “We started with eGov (electronic government), which was essentially putting paper trails online. Then we moved to Digital Gov, where there was two-way interaction with citizens. Now we’re entering the GovTech phase, which represents an almost quantum leap.”
This leap is being driven by three factors: greater capacity to transmit and process data, broader internet access across the population, alignment with societal trends in using digital technologies. The goal is to have “a smoother, more efficient relationship between citizens and governments.”
Roadblocks to digitalization? “This is not a Portugal-specific problem, and it would be unfair to think we are worse than others.”When asked about the shortcomings of Portugal’s digital modernization, Gustavo rejects national pessimism: “What we often forget is that this isn’t a uniquely Portuguese issue. It would be unfair to assume we’re worse than others. There are many countries behind us in several areas, including digitalization.”
What about challenges? The truth is that any country trying to digitalize its public services faces three main obstacles: resistance to change, and the possible isolation among public entities, which limits the ability to absorb new tech solutions.
The third and possibly the most important obstacle is data. “In the age of artificial intelligence, data has become even more critical – it’s the main catalyst for innovation.” The problem isn’t just external data sharing: “Even within institutions, there are difficulties in establishing smooth, fast processes for internal data sharing. We haven’t done anything wrong, but we could, and should, do a lot more when it comes to data.” At the end of the day, the Director sees these as systemic challenges: “This kind of difficulty is rarely solved with a simple intervention because it’s almost always a systemic problem.”
Is Ukraine a model to follow?
To illustrate a different approach to digital transformation, Gustavo Magalhães highlights Ukraine. “It’s an unavoidable case,” he says, referring to the Diia app, which consolidates multiple government services. “They’ve succeeded in bringing the idea of the state into the smartphone, offering official documents in digital format and significantly reducing the need for physical interaction with the state.”
Gustavo believes this is worth highlighting and complimenting. “In the midst of the dramatic situation Ukraine has been living with, they’ve had the capability to transform the way they look into this subject.”
What about Portugal?
Portugal, too, has made progress, and still has more to do. Gustavo highlights the Autenticação.gov app, a government portal that centralizes authentication services for citizens and companies and allows digital document signing. “That architecture was very well designed and ended up being well implemented.”
Other examples include Gov.pt, the portal for accessing digital public services, where citizens can check information and manage documents like their ID or driver’s license. In the health area, SNS24 app enables users to book medical appointments, renew prescriptions, and check test results on their phone.
One promising project currently expanding and consolidating is 1bilhete.pt, led by the Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT) which allows a single transport card or app to be used nationwide. For example, someone with a transit pass in Porto can use it in Lisbon, Braga, or Faro without needing a new card. According to Expresso, the project already includes Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas, several intermunicipal communities, and operators like CP.
“We have a lot of work to do in these next five years — both as a country and as Europe.”
Looking to the future, Gustavo Magalhães invokes Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the impact of a technology in the short term and underestimate it in the long term.” Five years may not be enough for obvious transformation, but he sees reasons to be optimistic: the AMA’s restructure into ARTE, the rise of startups focused on public services, and greater engagement from public institutions.
“We have a lot of work to do in the next five years as a country and as a continent,” he concludes, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration between government, municipalities, companies, and academia to build services that generate positive societal impact.
This article was originally published in The Next Big Idea on Sep 19, 2025