The solution provides digital services to citizens which will result in major savings for the citizen. NNIT, Kommuneinformation and Resultmaker present a digital service portal where all government forms can be filled in with a simple step-by-step procedure on local authority websites. All forms used by citizens have been digitalised into e-forms.
If individual local authorities desire so, they can offer their citizens the ability to use the free public digital signature to sign their e-forms. This would allow the citizens to digitally and securely transmit their information directly to the local authority - saving them from having to print the form out and post it. Individual citizens will also be able to follow their cases and have a better overview of the forms they have filled in.
The Digital Citizens' Service is based on the open standard set in the Ministry of Technology's OIO XML Standard (Offentlig Information Online), and can therefore easily be integrated into existing back-end systems. Slagelse County is currently running a pilot project, along with two other local authorities. The system is expected to be available across Denmark after the summer of 2005.
Building on Positive Experiences
The solution has been in development since autumn 2004. The three consortium partners each have strong experience with similar solutions and technologies and make a formidable team.
The new solution is a supplement to NetBorger.dk, Danmark.dk etc, which are information-focused, and where any availlable forms have been print-based .PDF forms. The built-in intelligence of the new solution continues the development in digital citizen service to the next level, and will contribute strongly to keeping Denmark at the forefront of developments in this field.
Major Advantages
Citizens will have easy access to their local authorities. The workload and level of paperwork will be reduced significantly by the system's ability to prefill any information already available to the local authority. All e-forms will be arranged in logical flows if the citizen has to fill in more than one form. All forms aimed at citizens are included, and the intuitive system will provide the user access to a system similar to Net banking terms of its ease-of-use. The data provided to the local authority will be of higher quality, since much of it will be prefilled directly from databases, and the intelligent workflow system will ensure that the citizen does not fill in incorrectly forms. Additionally, the local authorities will not longer need to re-enter data into their own systems. This increased digitalization will allow local authorities to make use of electronic case handling, which will, in turn allow cost-saving and effectivization.
The Future is Here
Claus Østergaard from NNIT: "The consortium has succeeded in combining unique knowledge, solid experience with advanced technology, self service solutions and local authority work processes and workflows, into a one extremely simple solution where the citzen's needs are in focus. For individual local authorities, this solution provides a short-cut to effective digitalization of daily case handling, as well as an effective and secure dialogue with citizens. We look forward to implementing the Digital Citizen Service on a national scale - and providing measurable savings for local authorities."