FLAGSHIP NATIONAL PROGRAM
Building the Sovereign Digital Foundation
for Nodern Government in the Faroe Islands
National digitalization program designed to unify public services, strengthen digital identity, support decentralized service delivery, and create a long-term foundation for citizen-facing digital platforms.
44+
Service providers connected
100+
Services delivered through the portal
46,000
Active citizens using the platform
100+
Sprints of continuous evolution
STRATEGIC DRIVERS
Why the Faroe Islands Moved First
Three forces converged to make the Faroe Islands one of the earliest movers in national digital government
Political independence
The Faroe Islands wanted to build their own digital infrastructure rather than simply adopting Danish systems. Sovereignty over digital services was a political priority, not just a technical one.
Economic efficiency
In a geography of remote islands, moving services online saves citizens significant time and reduces the economic cost of travel, waiting, and bureaucracy that comes with physical service delivery.
Talent retention and modernization
Digital government was part of making the country a more modern place to live and work, helping retain and attract highly skilled people who might otherwise leave for larger economies.
PROGRAM CONTEXT
From Scattered Initiatives to Connected Digital government
Before the program, the Faroe Islands already had many digital initiatives, but they were scattered and uncoordinated. It was like building a city without rules about roads, power lines, or infrastructure. Each institution was solving problems independently, with no shared foundation.
In 2015, the government approved a national digitalization strategy that created the structure and long-term direction needed to turn these separate initiatives into a connected digital government environment. The strategy defined shared standards for identity, data exchange, and service delivery that would apply across all institutions.
This was not a technology project. It was a decision to build the digital equivalent of national infrastructure: roads, addresses, and shared rules that make everything else possible.
The National Constraints Behind the Program
Transforming public services in a small, geographically distributed nation creates constraints that are different from those in larger countries
Distributed geography
18 islands across the North Atlantic, where citizens in remote communities previously had to travel long distances to access routine public services.
Limited specialized talent
A population of roughly 54,500 with a small pool of technical specialists, making external partnerships essential for delivery at scale.
Fragmented service landscape
Dozens of institutions and service providers operating independently, each with different digital maturity levels and no shared infrastructure.
Long-term sovereignty
A clear political requirement to own the digital infrastructure rather than depend on external systems, requiring knowledge transfer and local capability building.
SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE
The Architecture Behind the Program
Three foundational layers work together to create the program's infrastructure. The citizen portal does not centrally store most citizen data. It acts as a secure interface into decentralized source systems
Political independence
DIGITAL GOVERNMENT
The Faroe Islands wanted to build their own digital infrastructure rather than simply adopting Danish systems. Sovereignty over digital services was a political priority, not just a technical one.
Samleikin
DIGITAL IDENTITY
The trusted authentication layer. Samleikin gives every citizen a verified digital identity that works across all connected services, enabling secure login, digital signatures, and identity-verified transactions.
Citizen Portal
UNIFIED SERVICE ACCESS
The citizen-facing front door to digital government. Built on OutSystems, the portal provides a single access point to services from 44+ providers, pulling data from decentralized source systems in real time.
Architecture principle: The portal is a secure window into decentralized systems. Citizen data stays in the source systems where it belongs.
PROGRAM TIMELINE
A Decade of Building Digital Government
2015
National digitalization strategy approved by the Faroese government
2015-16
Heldin (X-Road) secure data exchange layer implemented
2016+
Digital identity (Samleikin) and citizen portal development begins
Feb 2019
Insol joins the program and leads an architecture rebuild
Oct 2020
Citizen Portal and digital identity launched together on schedule
Today
100+ sprints of continuous evolution, 44+ providers connected
2021+
Municipalities, private services, and digital wallet added
DELIVERY MODEL
How Delivery Was Structured
Insol was not just a supplier. The company served as the architectural anchor in a hybrid national delivery model that combined external expertise with local ownership.
The program combined Insol's senior technical team with local partner Formula and government product ownership. Every sprint, every decision, and every architecture choice was designed to transfer knowledge and build local capability.
WHY INSOL
Why Insol Was Chosen
The program needed a partner combining deep technical capability with the flexibility to work inside a complex, multi-stakeholder public environment
Concentrated senior expertise
Small team of highly experienced architects, not a large team with shallow knowledge.
Fixed-date launch during COVID
October 2020 go-live delivered on schedule despite fully remote working conditions.
Hybrid delivery with enablement
Co-build model that trained local teams rather than creating long-term dependency.
Deep OutSystems experience
Proven enterprise-scale delivery including complex multi-tenant and integration-heavy environments.
Architecture reset capability
Assessed what existed, identified structural problems, and rebuilt the foundation properly.
Multi-provider environment
Worked across multiple institutions, service providers, and technology layers simultaneously.
WHAT WAS BUILD
What Was Built
The program delivered a complete digital government stack, from core infrastructure to citizen-facing services
CORE PLATFORM
Citizen Portal (Vangin)
Unified service access across 44+ providers
Administrative back office
Internal tools for service management and operations
IDENTITY AND INTEROPERABILITY
Digital identity (Samleikin)
Authentication and digital signatures
Secure data exchange (Heldin)
X-Road layer connecting institutions
EXPANSION AND OPERATIONS
Provider service structure
Modular architecture for any provider to deliver services
Digital Wallet
Mobile credentials and documents, built in 2 months
RELATED WORK
Go Deeper into the Program
Explore the two key platforms that emerged from the national digitalization program
Program Impact
Adoption was voluntary. There was no mandate requiring citizens to use the portal. These numbers reflect genuine adoption driven by service quality and usability
44+
Service providers connected to the platform
100+
Public services delivered through the portal
46,000
Active citizens using the platform
2 months
To build and launch the Digital Wallet
REAL IMPACT
Stories From The Program
The real measure of a national digital program is what changes for citizens and institutions. These stories come directly from the program team
Accessibility in Practice
A blind citizen completed a self-service process using only a keyboard and screen reader. Afterwards, they called the support team just to say thank you. The service had been designed for accessibility from the start, not retrofitted later.
The Sailor Case
Previously, renewing maritime documents could require physical travel and multi-day delays. With the portal and digital wallet, a sailor can now apply online in about 30 minutes and receive the result much faster, saving roughly two days per person per transaction.
Small Municipalities Unlocked
Very small municipalities that could never have built their own digital services can now launch on the platform in roughly 16 to 20 hours of setup work. The shared infrastructure means even the smallest communities can participate in digital government.
INSIGHTS
What This Program Taught Us
After more than 100 sprints and five years of continuous delivery, these are the principles we carry forward into every public-sector engagement
Strategy comes first. Without a national digitalization strategy, individual projects stay disconnected.
Standardization is mandatory. Shared rules for data exchange, identity, and service delivery are the foundation of scalable digital government.
Digital government needs shared rules, not isolated projects. Building a city without planning roads and infrastructure does not work.
Expertise matters more than platform marketing. Concentrated senior delivery capability is more valuable than large teams with shallow experience.
Institutions need both technology and process maturity. The technology only works if the organizations using it are ready to change how they operate.
Large-scale public service delivery must balance consistency with local realities. National standards must coexist with the practical needs of small, remote municipalities.
