Simplifying citizens’ lives: Five minutes with Birna Íris Jónsdóttir, chief executive of Digital Iceland
In this sister series to our ‘Five minutes with’ interviews, we share insights from the civil and public service leaders who will speak at our Innovation 2025 conference. Taking place in London on 25 and 26 March, attendees will hear about how their peers are developing new approaches to policymaking and service delivery.
In this interview, Birna Íris Jónsdóttir, chief executive of Digital Iceland – who will speak in the session One public service: joining up government at all levels tomorrow – tells GGF about her mission to make all government services accessible in one place, the art of delegation, and being the first woman to win an Icelandic open water swimming competition.
Click here to find out more and register for Innovation 2025
What drew you to a career in the civil service?
Digital Iceland’s mission to simplify people’s lives through digital public services was the driving force behind my decision to seize the opportunity when it arose in late 2023. With 23 years of experience in the IT and digital industry, I felt that this role was an excellent way to leverage my expertise and contribute to this meaningful mission.
What have you achieved in your career that you’re most proud of?
During the 16 months that I have served as CEO of Digital Iceland, I am most proud of the success of my team members and our focus, project prioritisation, structure, and drive. I am also proud of our progress in integrating health data into our centralised portal, all our applications, and the implementation of agency websites, as well as our advancements in security and operational elements.
What barriers or challenges have you overcome in your career?
In my opinion the barriers we have to overcome are not the technical ones, there is always a way to solve challenges technically. The barriers are first and foremost regarding people, processes and politics. I have for example overcome barriers regarding decisions on health data and cooperation between different agencies.
What more do you want to achieve before you retire?
Making all public services accessible in the same place.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your working life?
Delegate projects and responsibilities. Having fewer projects in progress and a narrower focus will result in higher productivity.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the civil service?
Be forward thinking and enthusiastic but also resilient since things might not go as fast as you want.
What do you like most about working in the civil service?
The opportunity to simplify citizens’ lives by making the service digitally accessible is the drive for me to go to work early every morning. And also working with such a qualified and driven team.
And what do you dislike about it?
I don’t really dislike anything yet but sometimes things could go a bit faster.
If you could introduce one civil service reform, what would it be?
More simplicity, and having services and data accessible in one place.
How might the civil service be different in 25 years’ time?
In 25 years we will have embraced and matured AI and citizens might have an AI assistant that solves tasks like booking a doctor’s appointment, turning in the tax report (which will be fully automated) and sending reminders for all government services.
Which country’s civil service are you most inspired by and why?
Most of us are struggling with similar challenges in civil service, but to name some countries: Denmark and Estonia for their overall success; Ireland for its success in data sharing; and the UK for its approach to Gov.uk.
Are there any projects or innovations in Iceland that might be valuable to your peers overseas?
At Digital Iceland we decided to focus on the front-end solution and not solve all technical department legacy. This gave us the opportunity to move relatively fast and deliver real solutions.
Another one is the selection of the technical stack and open source development. This has been a game changer and even though it does not unlock the technical lock-in for all agencies, it starts unwinding it.
And finally, our approach to our framework agreement, having 20 or more development teams from the market working on our journey. This gives the government the opportunity to be a driving force for development and innovation in technical development.
What attributes do you most value in people?
Honesty, integrity and trust.
Which three famous people, alive or dead, would you most like to invite to a dinner party?
David Bowie.
If you weren’t a civil servant, what would you be?
My dream is to be the owner of the Icelandic Chocolate House, a café that specialises in chocolate. But realistically I would probably be either consulting or working in IT.
Do you have any unusual hobbies?
Two very different ones: triathlon and knitting.
Is there something about you that people find surprising?
I was the first female in Iceland to win a swim competition of 2,500 meters open water in Urriðavatn, a lake in the east of Iceland. I have also been a vegetarian for 32 years, long before it became fashionable.
What is your favourite thing to do at the weekends?
Running, training, hiking and resting.
What is your most treasured possession?
Financially, my real estate, but I prefer to look at possessions as life fulfilling elements and those are my relationships with my children, my partner and my family, my wellness and happy living, and the great professional opportunities that I have had the privilege to work on.
What is your favourite book?
There are a lot of books that I am very found of. To name a few:
Professional and leadership:
- The first 90 days by Michael D. Watkins
- World Class IT by Peter A. High
- The Phoenix Project bye Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford
- Winning Minds by Simon Lancaster
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Fiction: The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley, and I also love a good criminal story.
What is your dream holiday destination?
I have travelled quite intensively over the years and visited countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and India among others. But currently my dream holiday destination would be Japan, preferably a tea and yoga retreat with a good hiking and running experience.
What was your first car?
A Fiat Regata.
What was the first piece of music you bought?
Hunky Dory by David Bowie.
Click here to find out more and register for Innovation 2025
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