Digital solutions for increasing the administrative capacity of the Romanian Senate

The project considered the main needs that the Senate is facing:
-The need to facilitate citizens' access to public information, large number of requests, long time for responses
-Time consuming processes, the need to streamline internal processes
-The need to improve transparency of national decision-making process
-Low digital skills of employees
The project is innovative by digitizing internal workflows (mostly used only paper format), employee training and external processes for citizens

Innovation Summary

Innovation Overview

The solutions proposed through the development of an integrated platform allow to reduce bureaucracy and simplify administrative procedures for CITIZENS, contributing to efficiency of the Senate's services and to increase satisfaction of the beneficiaries. Integration of the processes related to a service and the guarantee of information security were considered in order to reduce the administrative burden (front-office), while adapting and simplifying supporting functions and processes (back-office), thus allowing operationalization of the ways of solving problems through:
- Possibility of setting up electronic files and updating them by exchanging electronic information, automatic registration in the electronic registry, storage in the electronic file
- Digitization of internal flows through the integrated platform and ensuring collaborative working, eliminating risk of data loss, duplication and inconsistency
- Electronic information exchange mechanism between institution, beneficiaries, other institutions
- Integration of a real-time audio-to-text transcription software application for recording parliamentary debates in the Senate
- Quick retrieval of documents in the electronic archive and shorter response time to beneficiaries' requests
- Production of statistics and management reports directly from the integrated platform
- Training employees to use the new flows
Back-office measures have been aimed at developing the institution's support facilities. The resulting benefits for citizens were:
- Financial: the need to print the application and submit it to the physical registry in Bucharest is eliminated. Thus, the costs of citizens' travel to the registry office or those of sending by courier/post have been eliminated
- Time: the time needed for submission of the application, confirmation of receipt, transmission of additional clarifications is eliminated
- Accessibility: possibility to submit requests from anywhere and at any time, possibility to complete the request by submitting new documents electronically, receiving the electronic reply immediately after issuance by the authority

The implementation of the integrated IT platform within the Senate aimed to achieve the specific objectives of the project:

•⁠ Optimization and simplification of operational processes within the Senate in order to reduce by at least 20% the time needed to go through administrative procedures related to public services provided to citizens, by digitizing workflows within the institution
•⁠ To improve the skills and knowledge of the staff of the Romanian Senate to understand the process approach and to implement the simplification measures implemented by the project, as well as to use the IT systems developed by the project

Innovation Description

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

THE PROJECT IS INNOVATIVE by integrating IT solutions. Correlated with the institution’s particularities, the large number of beneficiaries and the institutional impact, proposed measures have:
•increased efficiency regarding citizens' requests for petitions and public information (e.g. legislative proposals, reports of specialized commissions)
•improved transparency in decision-making by informing about the examination of national and EU legislation and adoption of legislative acts
•eased citizens' access to public consultations for legislative initiatives
•streamlined the Parliament’s accreditation of journalists
•improved collaboration between the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies by correlating databases about the legislative process
•increased administrative capacity of services and security of electronic information making activity efficient from the perspective of costs and time
•reduced bureaucracy, increasing satisfaction of beneficiaries
•improved image of the institution

What is the current status of your innovation?

The project was finalized in December 2023, the platform implemented through the project offers seven online services. Through the #eSenate portal citizens can register online, and by filling in a form they will be able to submit petitions, register their requests for attending public meetings, opinions for initiatives in public consultation, requests for public information. The platform has a section dedicated to journalists interested in registering online for the Senate’s activities. Retro-digitalization: we have digitized over 600.000 pages from the Senate’s archives (1990-2001): laws, decisions, minutes of meetings and plenary sessions, parliamentary control documents (questions and answers).
Reconstruction of legislative databases and implementation of AI technology for automatic transcriptions. Approx. 300 people were trained in the use of the implemented IT solutions. We succeeded in developing not only a modern digital infrastructure but also a digital culture.

Innovation Development

Collaborations & Partnerships

The project was carried out only by the Senate, holding full capacity for implementation. Contracts were concluded with companies (High-Tech System & Software SRL) which managed several aspects, including creation of the integrated platform, training of 273 employees in the platform’s functionality, electronic archiving of the Senate’s documentation for citizens. The starting point of the project was one of the main needs of citizens: a permanent need to improve citizens' access to information.

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries are: employees of the Senate - digitization of workflows has led to reduced duration of administrative procedures and public services provided to citizens; citizens and the private sector (e.g. companies, NGOs) - who can access 7 of the Senate’s services electronically, such as sending requests for public information, make petitions, follow the legislative process; journalists - who can be accredited online to participate to parliamentary sessions.

Innovation Reflections

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

Correlated to the 2 specific objectives, there were the following results:
1. Reduced administrative burden for citizens: time spent on public services decreased by 20% through digitization of workflows
2. 1 Integrated IT system
3. 273 employees trained in digital skills for use of IT solutions
IMPACT: reduction of bureaucracy through back-office measures (adaptation of internal procedures, digitization of archives, linking databases of legislative process’) and front-office - improvement of citizens' access to public information and consultations, accreditation of journalists etc. The impact is aimed at improving efficiency and institutional image without costs. Future effects consist of further decreasing time spent on public services

Challenges and Failures

Challenges aimed:
-short implementation time:11 months, European funding, so we considered specific constraints, such as time (completion deadline: 31 December), procurement (the need to buy more equipment), staff without experience in European projects (being the first project of the Senate).
-contestation from a bidder of the platform services which generated numerous delays, additional work for solution
-reduced involvement of users in validation scenarios
-European funds bureaucracy: technical-financial reports for the funder
There were no failures, activities were implemented, in the next period we will continue to improve the created platform

Conditions for Success

A few circumstances for higher success:
- implementation duration of minimum 24 months
- higher percentage for IT equipment costs (licenses, other equipment)
- longer testing and validation period
- public consultation of citizens to identify needs: public debate, surveys, focus groups etc.
- public consultation of the business community
- capability of training all 800 employees
- existence of an EU funds office with experienced employees in running such projects or full funding from the state budget for the project

Replication

VALORISATION AND REPLICATING PROJECT RESULTS: The Senate will allocate financial resources for administrating and developing implemented solutions. New functionalities will be added to the platform (e.g. digitization of HR flows, etc.). Other structures can digitize their services in time, for a better inter-institutional collaboration, and all employees will improve their digitized skills by integrating these flows in their current activity. In the future, further European funding will be identified for increasing institutional capacity, new project submissions for the provision of high quality, modern and innovative public services.

Lessons Learned

Lessons learned:
It’s very important to have a management team, choosing competent people for each position. Communication, motivation and flexibility at work are key to success. We have learned how important a good prior analysis of all stakeholders is: employees, political figures, citizens, private environment. Projects are for people and they must serve a range of needs.
The digitization component is important, especially in the legislative process of the Parliament, but for this, political will and people's resistance to change, fears, other possible risks and monitoring the quality of execution must be taken into account.

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