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From its early days, CORVE decided to support projects that further the e-government objective, namely to make life as easy as possible for enterprises and companies by not ‘bothering’ them, unless absolutely necessary. Prerequisites for achieving this goal are proper data management and a maximum reuse of data. CORVE has established a platform for data exchange between administrations (MAGDA). This MAGDA platform makes it technically possible to exchange information about people, enterprises, addresses and parcels through web services, among other things. In order to make sure that Flemish public organisations actually start to use this platform, a project support programme was set up (VIP). Projects that participated in this programme were called Flemish Integration Projects. This programme that was started in 2005 ensures that projects which are of strategic importance to the business (i.e. the demand side) receive financial support, provided they subscribe to the e-government philosophy and use the MAGDA platform.
Objective
The VIP programme is intended to support projects inside the Flemish regional government which contribute to a client-friendly and electronic, as well as simplified government, both in terms of content and financially.
The purpose of VIP projects is actually twofold:
- To realise applications which make life easier for companies and citizens. On the one hand, this is achieved by setting up fully electronic processes through which a whole administrative procedure can be completed. On the other hand, as many authentic data sources as possible are used. As a result citizens and companies do not have to submit data which the government already has at its disposal.
- To support one’s own organisation in the development of advanced e-government projects which collect data only once and make optimal reuse of information.
Results
In the 2005-2007 period, 75 projects applied for support.
In 2005, 5 projects were selected, which were supported for 1 million euros. In 2006, 1.2 million euros were made available to support 8 projects. In 2007, 0,8 milion euro’s were invested in 9 projects. The total budget of all the supported projects is approx. 7,5 milion
Description of the way you implement and manage your initiative
The VIP approach follows an annual cycle. First, a call for projects is launched. After an assessment, further negotiations take place with the selected candidate projects. After the projects have been put out to tender together, they are of course implemented and evaluated.
Call for projects
Each year in February, CORVE (Flemish e-Government Coordination Unit) launches a call for innovative and customer-oriented projects. The submitted projects are evaluated by a jury in terms of their social added value and their technical feasibility. CORVE has developed a business case model to facilitate project evaluation. Together with the call for projects, a project office is set up to provide support in the drafting of the business case. During the period of the call, a workshop is also organised which all interested parties can turn to in case they have any questions. During the workshop a number of VIP project implementations are also demonstrated.
The assessment
The jury is composed of specialists in the areas of e-government, administrative simplification and public service provision. They meet in April to assess the projects. Since 2007, the projects have been divided into two categories:
- Projects for analysis: these projects are mainly project ideas that are still to be thoroughly analysed in terms of feasibility. No functional requirements have been specified for these projects yet. These projects were financed in 2007 for a maximum amount of 65,000 Euros.
- Implementation projects: these projects have already been thoroughly analysed and are feasible with a high degree of certainty. The implementation projects were financed in 2007 for a maximum amount of 125,000 Euros.
The financial support is mainly useful to promote additional costs for the development of innovative ideas and components.
The assessment criteria are always announced on beforehand. However, each year they are adjusted following the in-depth evaluation of the VIP activities of the past year and on the basis of the evolution of the Flemish platform for data exchange. As this platform is developing, increased emphasis is put on the reuse of public information.
Submitted projects are assessed on the basis of the following general criteria:
- The project directly benefits (with visible results) citizens and businesses.
- Use is made of the MAGDA platform for optimal data exchange between administrations.
- Use is made of the generic GIS component ‘GeGIS’ when geographical data are used.
- The project contains a clear element of ‘administrative simplification’ (process simplification, simplification or elimination of forms,...).
- Other entities both within and outside the Flemish administration are cooperated with.
- The projects adopt a thorough approach to the back office.
Specific criteria for projects for analysis:
- The project provides information which can immediately be used for future implementation projects.
- The analysis is completed at the latest by 31 March 2008.
Specific criteria for implementation projects:
- A proper functional and/or technical analysis has already been made.
- The project will be ready for an invitation to tender or for implementation under own direction at the latest by 1 October 2007.
In principle, all selected projects (score of over 50%) are eligible for funding. Projects with a lower score may be eligible when a higher classified project is withdrawn and sufficient funds become available as a result.
Procurement
The projects are put out to tender in the period between June and October. The procedure to be followed is chosen by the tenderer. Although CORVE acts in an advisory capacity, it complies with the tenderer’s wishes and customs, whenever possible. In principle, there are three possibilities:
- Use is made of the overall ICT outsourcing system which the Flemish government uses.
- The project is implemented with in-house funds (possibly its own staff).
- The project is put out to tender through public procurement.
In case of public procurement, CORVE will always be on the jury and help guide the entire process.
Project assistance
Once the project has been put out to tender, it will be jointly started (CORVE + tenderer). The project tenderers will always be responsible for the general project management. Within CORVE one project manager will be appointed who will advise on and follow up the progress of the entire project. He or she will be assisted by technical experts within CORVE (especially with regard to data exchange). The average duration of the project assistance is about 2 years.
Technology solution
The technology solution is chosen in consultation with the project tenderers and CORVE. The project must above all meet a number of functional requirements. Therefore, no technically difficult requirements are involved. However, a number of requirements do have a technological impact:
- using web services to open up authentic data sources (these web services are XML/SOAP services);
- using geo services to exchange geographical information
Lessons learnt
- Financial support is (still) important, but is becoming relatively less important, as the generic e-government provision is extending. Especially the technical support is becoming more and more important as the provision is growing. Since the customer knows his business best, it is essential to mainly focus on your own strengths (implementation mechanisms, project management, technical expertise, etc) instead of directly steering the business.
- Attune your generic e-government service provision to the customer’s demand and sell it to your internal customers (internal marketing). It is essential to think about matters together with your customers. To this end, it is of vital importance to have some basic knowledge of your customer’s business in order to be able to attune your provision to his demand.
- Be sure to achieve a quality label and to adopt a qualitative approach. VIP projects are increasingly appreciated, because they are regarded as successful reference implementations. As horizontal e-government service you should also help promote individual projects.
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