A few months ago we have lived through an electoral process that has culminated with the entry of new actors to the local political scene. Regardless of the political analysis of the results obtained, from an objective point of view we have experienced how citizens demand greater transparency, closeness and involvement in the management processes of their immediate environment. And this demand is not only for the Local Administration, as it is closer to the citizen, but at all levels of the Public Administration structure.
For more than a decade now, administrations have been trying to promote the concept of e-Government, based on an approach of bringing administrative processes closer to the citizen. In most cases this has been solved by enabling new channels for the management of existing files. The new challenges are to convert the traditional administration into an authentic Digital Administration to meet all the needs of the neighbors.
Nowadays, citizens have multiple ways of communication with their Local Administration, but neither they nor the Administration itself have an integrated vision of them, of their real needs, of the services they use, etc. This approach makes the citizen one more actor in the process, but not the backbone of it.
So, what are citizens asking for, and what can administrations do? Conceptually, something as easy as an integrated vision of the citizen that allows for an more transparent management, proactive and with higher quality of service. A simple, real example. A family that has a third child, which represents its transition to a large family. Should the family go to the procedure for its recognition, or can the Administration itself be proactive in the management? It is clear that the second option not only improves the quality of the service, but also the perception of it.
From e-Government to Digital Administration
In recent years, several initiatives have emerged that revolve around this objective, but we are still far from achieving it. Here are some examples.
In 2007 the law of electronic access of citizens to public services was developed, trying to go beyond the automation of administrative processes. The main objectives for the citizen are: accessibility to public services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, simplification of procedures with the Administration, speed and agility in obtaining the required service, elimination of physical travel to the Administration, and the application of basic principles of a social nature (non-exclusion, easy access to new technologies, etc.). For the Administration, these are: improvement of service, improvement of internal efficiency, integration of service delivery channels, promotion of the widespread use of new technologies, generation of economies of scale, and promotion of the transformation of the Administration.
Within this framework of action, projects have been developed such as the electronic registry, electronic notification, electronic invoicing, electronic signature, public procurement platforms, etc., which have brought the Administration closer to the citizen, but which to a greater or lesser extent have been undertaken as watertight initiatives, not integrated with each other at either the technical or operational level.
Interoperability platforms
The Administration has adopted interoperability platforms for the exchange of existing information, avoiding the usual presentation of the same documents, such as photocopies of the DNI, to carry out different procedures. These platforms (SARA, PICA, EACAT, etc.) make it possible to make available to the Administration information dispersed in different public entities. However, even taking into account the progress that this has represented, the volume of information available is still limited, due to legal issues such as the transfer of personal data regulated by the LOPD, technical issues (not all registries are computerized, standardized, etc.), and operational issues, such as the reluctance of some entities for fear of losing their independence or autonomy.
Open Data
In recent years, initiatives have been emerging to provide public information in digital, standardized and open formats so that everyone can make use of them (RISP - Reuse of Public Sector Information). In short, universalizing access to public data. In this way, citizens can not only be informed, but also create new services based on this information. This policy has been promoted since its inception by the European Parliament, and supported by the G8 leaders for government improvement and socio-economic development.
But it is social, economic, geographic, statistical, etc. information that must comply with the different legal restrictions (such as the LOPD), and although it provides citizens with information about their social and cultural environment, etc., it does not help them to improve their immediate needs with the Administration.
Towards a complete Digital Administration
To guarantee the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration, it is not enough to open public data (Open Data); it also requires the opening of processes and the use of social networks and citizen participation platforms. In short, not only to offer public information through new channels, but also to establish new ways of collaborating with citizens (Open Government concept). There are initiatives at the regional and local level in this direction, among the pioneering ones the initiative of the Basque Government, but they are still scarce.
The Administration must equip itself with tools that enable it to establish these collaboration environments with citizens. On the one hand, citizens must know what the Administration knows about them, what services it provides or can provide, carry out the usual procedures both on their own behalf and on behalf of the persons and entities they can represent, and, above all, have a channel for participation.
On the other hand, the Administration must have the capacity to proactively offer citizens the services they require, to better plan their future needs, to create and provide new services to its citizens, and to establish a channel for participation and active listening to citizens' demands. But we should not stop at a public vision. The Administration must also seek greater integration of the public and private sectors, which will enable it to improve its capacity to manage citizens' needs.
For all this, Administrations must not only equip themselves, as they have been doing so far, with tools that allow them to solve specific needs: collaboration portals, file management, interoperability platform, Big Data and Analytics, etc., with a greater or lesser degree of integration between them, but seek more global solutions that really allow them to have a global vision in real time of their citizens. This is the only way to achieve a true transformation that will bury the old bases of the traditional Administration to become Digital Administrations.
Digital Consultant Specialist Smart City, Citizen & Government