Data

Data volume: Digitalisation has made easier for public employees to access to data and archives as they are now online.

Data quality: Easier analysis of the wealth of information from users could be performed by officials.

Data issues: Lack of integration with other digital platforms does not allow information to be readily shared or applications to be pre-filled or applicants to be pre-identified.

Value from data: No real data analysis has been carried out so far on the Family Card data.

Interaction

Collaboration: Agreements for digital support from larger municipalities foster interaction and provide relief to smaller ones.

New idea generation: Digitalisation brought regional authorities to seek a continuous consultation with larger and more digitally savvy municipalities to inform the digital transformation process and the new platform with quality improvements for public employees and users.

Challenge to power dynamics: Solutions are imposed from above and there is little, if no interaction with street level bureaucrats, let alone citizens.

Resistance to interaction: A silo mentality typical of public sector organisations does not favour collaboration among agencies or coordination between regional and national authorities.

Resistance to interaction: Some providers have been involved in decision-making about the service, but most are passive deliverers of the service.

Tailoring

Customisation: The back office of the Family Card platform has been designed together with some municipalities to better serve the needs of their employees.

Missing the mark: Helpdesks but no feedback forms are present in the Family Card platform.

Standardisation: The imposition of centralised platforms without taking into consideration local experiences has lowered employee morale.

Simplification

Reduced costs: Digitalisation has made the process overall more efficient for public officials with no more queues to handle, no need to manually record data, and much of the investigation completed online.

Reduced times: Digitalisation has resulted in a significant drop in processing times for most applicants.

Higher burdens: Mistakes by users imply checks and additional compliance efforts.

Higher burdens: Complex applications need to be verified and often dealt with manually.

Higher burden: Given the limited acceptance because of little perceived usefulness and no ease of use, municipal officers prefer to call people to sort out issues on the phone, rather than handle them through the online platform.

Disconnected requirements: Officials and applicants’ distrust for the online process increases burdens.

Disconnected requirements: A lack of training has made dealing with digitalisation more complex and less accepted.

Disconnected requirements: Strict standards have been enacted to select service providers resulting in lengthy processes.