How do governments create better online experiences for their citizens? That’s the challenge facing many political authorities and, as such, governments across the world are spending vast amounts of money on making information more accessible online, focussing on building better user experiences and delivering useful content.
But is putting information online enough? One government has gone a step further and has taken measures that will improve its citizens’ lives by improving user experiences on- and offline.
This case study shows how the Flemish Government turned to HP to help it streamline its operations and create a better experience for its citizens.
1. How one
government used
technology to help
its people
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2. Flemish Government: The Numbers
The Flemish Government wanted to stream-
line its operations and was determined that
no citizen should have to give their details
twice in order to get state benefits or ser-
vices. It turned to HP for a solution.
The Flemish Government had
The Challenge
agencies serving a
population of nearly
people
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3. “In this connected world, we needed to
completely reinvent how we interact with
citizens who not only demand instant
access to information, but expect our
agencies to capture and share key data
securely.”
Luc Chauvin, CIO, Flemish Government
How do governments create better online experiences for their citizens?
Countries across the world are spending huge amounts of money on making
information more accessible online, focussing on building better user experi-
ences and delivering useful content. One government has gone a step fur-
ther and has taken measures that will improve its citizens’ lives online and
offline.
Approximately 55% of Belgium’s population is Flemish and lives in Flanders,
part of the Belgian federal administration. The Flemish Government over-
sees over 70 different agencies, dealing with people entitled to benefits,
including education, culture and healthcare. Previously they relied on a
paper-based system, manually processing and distributing benefits. But this
system was flawed.
People and businesses had to repeatedly submit the same details to differ-
ent agencies, causing data redundancy and, occasionally, conflicting informa-
tion.
The Flemish Government wanted to create a better experience for its
people. It wanted to reinvent the way it used technology, shifting from a ‘pull’
model to a ‘push’ one, while also increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.
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4. The Solution
The Flemish Government turned to HP to help it streamline its operations. It
wanted to build an IT architecture that meant its citizens never had to give the
same information twice and that they could submit that information from
anywhere at any time, via any kind of communication channel. The Flemish
Government didn’t want to just digitise its existing paper-based processes - it
wanted to re-think the whole thing.
HP built the Flemish Government’s platform on its Service Orientated Architec-
ture (SOA). Together, the organisations designed and built a state-of-the-art,
inter-agency data exchange platform called the Maximum Data Sharing Be-
tween Administrations and Agencies (MAGDA), which enabled once-only data
collection.
Increase efficiencies Reduce costs
£
Deliver a better service
“The Flemish Government is demonstrating
how technology can be embedded to
better serve its constituents and deliver
Instant-On government services.”
Thomas E. Hogan, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Sales and
Marketing, HP
The Flemish Government’s Core Needs
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5. The Outcome
Since MAGDA’s introduction, the Flemish Government has been able to virtu-
ally eliminate data deduplication and human error. It has increased data secu-
rity by controlling information access and storing data separately. It has also
managed to reduce costs by eliminating many of the manual processes it once
relied on. Approximately 500,000 mailings for scholarship applications have
been phased out, saving postage costs and staff time.
The Benefits of MAGDA
MAGDA helped eliminate
paper forms
Up to
mailings were cut
out of the budget
Streamlined IT opera-
tions
Enhanced security
Data deduplication
virtually eliminated
Improved delivery
speed
Substantial cost sav-
ings
Simplifying Online Scholarship Applica-
tions A Better Experience
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6. “It’s so easy and sometimes I think why
didn’t we do this twenty years ago.”
Geert Mareels, e-government Manager, Flemish Government
Above all else, HP and the Flemish Government have created a better user
experience. The speed of delivery has improved, meaning people can access
government benefits and services more efficiently. For example, when apply-
ing for college grants before the introduction of MAGDA, students had to fill in
at least three different paper forms and locate information from a number of
different government offices. Now, all they have to do is log on with their e-ID
card.
Governments across the world now recognise the MAGDA framework as
e-government best practice and have visited Belgium to gain insight into its
forward thinking processes.
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