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Complex Administrative Services in the e-Region Blagoevgrad
Municipal Administration, administrative center Blagoevgrad
Bulgaria

The Problem

Blagoevgrad region is the third largest city on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. 80% of it is situated in mountain and semi-mountain regions. The region includes 14 municipalities, 221 mayoralties and 280 inhabited places. In the regional administrative center are situated the municipal administration and most of the de-concentrated structures of the central authority (ministries, agencies, regional court and others). To apply for administrative services and to receive prepared documents is necessary to visit the administrative center.
Each of the 14 municipalities approves applications for administrative services in the administrative center of the municipality. In case it is necessary for a citizen or a firm from one municipality to apply for administrative service in other municipality he must travel to the performer municipality. In both cases they lose time, money and bear transport inconveniences.
In order to facilitate the access of citizens and firms to administrative services conceded on the territory of Blagoevgrad municipality, as well as from other municipality and state structures in the regional center, it should be possible to approve applications and give back the prepared document in the closest for the applicant municipality, no matter where in the region the service is being performed.
This can be implemented by the contemporary IT technologies, which afford protected transference of electronic documents even if is used the Universal electronic signature (UES), which is settled by a special Act in the Republic of Bulgaria.
In case it is necessary to perform co-ordination or to receive a document from other municipality in the region during the implementation process of the administrative service, the applicant can be eased if that operation is accomplished officially, without his interference. The document exchange in this case is also accomplished electronically.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
With the implementation of “Complex administrative services in e-region Blagoevgrad” project:

 In any of the 14 municipalities of the region can be applied specific administrative services, accomplished by other municipality, by municipal administration or any de-concentrated section of the central state structures.
 At this stage the project includes 17 of the most applied services in municipalities, 5 services accomplished by the Municipal administration – Blagoevgrad, 2 services of the Regional court _ Blagoevgrad, 9 services of TD of NIA, 3 services of the National construction control direction – Blagoevgrad, 7 services of the Regional guard and control of the public health inspectorate – Blagoevgrad, 2 services of the Regional environment and waters inspectorate – Blagoevgrad.
 If it is necessary, there is organizational and technical possibility to co-ordinate or to prepare additional document from other state structure in the municipality, included in the Project officially without any interference of the applicant.
 Within the process of the project implementation were equalized the names of administrative services selected for implementation by municipalities, necessary documents from the applicant, and time-periods for accomplishment. It was also arranged the way of payment of paid services;
 By the assistance of technical and program sources was established protected channel for data and electronic documents signed by UES, transmission between participants in the project. This channel can also be used for transmission of official information and documents between the sides on the project.
 For a first time in Bulgaria in the absence of “Standard for description and transportation of data between administrative structures” was accomplished the possibility for direct exchange of electronic documents between “Acstre” and “Arhimed” information systems of the Technical university – Sofia and “David Holding”. For that purpose for each of these systems was created communication port for direct exchange. This is extremely important because these two systems are being used by 70% - 75% of the state structures and municipalities in the country. From now on the direct exchange of electronic documents between state structures and municipalities using one of those two products can be implemented anywhere in the country not only in Blagoevgrad region.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Signing of the Partnership memoranda between all the project participants was completed on March 29, 2006.
The signing of the agreements by the sides on the project was completed on June 2006. The agreements regulated the titles of selected administrative services, specified their implementation and technical and program establishment procedures of the protected channel.
Conceding complex electronic services in Blagoevgrad municipality started on July 03, 2006.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The application for administrative services and the reception of the final document by the applicant was accomplished only in the institution (municipality or a structure of ministry, agency and others) where the service is being performed. Practically this means that for every service the applicant had to go to the regional center оr in the administrative center of the municipality, which was related with a waste of time, sources and transport inconveniences.
By the time the project began there was no identity between the names and the requirements for administrative services conceded by municipalities. That additionally impeded their application and confused the applicant when he was from other municipality.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Main priority of Blagoevgrad Regional Administration is providing easier access of citizens to administrative services provided by the administration itself and all state and local authority institutions within the region. Another project priority was to introduce modern information technologies, to develop document management information system as well as to implement prompt and safe document turn over to external recipients via Internet.
Project objectives were as follows:
1. To provide easier access to administrative services based on most frequently used request forms submitted at front offices of state institutions and municipalities within the region. Based on this citizens and companies will be provided with organizational and technical opportunities so that they could request at the nearest Municipality different types of administrative services accomplished by regional institutions and local authorities. Accompanying documents were attached to the request form. The delivery of the request form accompanied by the documents required to the end service provider and the receiving of the ready document at the front office is implemented via Internet. The customer was not obliged to submit all the documents needed for a definite service provision via web. Thank to this the kind of service provision described above is more accessible to people in different social state and companies. Moreover, the service provision procedure requires sequence of documents which is accomplished by the corresponding institutions themselves without involving citizens and companies in the process.
Based on this we implemented the following activities:
• Unification of names of services of the same type and documents required for their provision;
• Providing opportunity for direct electronic exchange of documents between the most frequently used for the time being by the Bulgarian municipalities and state institutions IT systems for document turn over registration and control Acster and Arhimed.
2. To further develop the opportunity for direct request and implementation of administrative services by municipalities and state institutions at regional level via Internet through regional service portal establishment as well as to increase the number of services included in it. In this way, the regional administration will contribute to e-administrative service provision pyramidal structure implementation at national level thus leading to e-governance national strategy implementation.

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The implementation strategy included the following steps:
 Signing of a Memorandum of cooperation between all project partners;
 Selection of administrative services subject to project implementation and unification of names of services and documents submitted by customers for their provision
 Regulation of the service provision procedure and the paying mechanism for paid services;
 Establishment of a safe channel for exchange of electronic documents between project partners from hardware and software point of view;
 Provision of opportunity for direct electronic exchange of documents between the most frequently used for the time being by the Bulgarian municipalities and state institutions IT systems for document turn over registration and control Acster and Arhimed.
 Signing of agreements between all project partners;
 Project promotion;
 Ensuring project sustainability

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Project results achieved:
1. Provision of complex administrative services based on which the documents required for a certain type of service are being issued by administrations involved in the project and have been officially sent to the service provider without the customer being involved in the process;
2. Provision of external administrative services subject to implementation at a different place from the place of request by administration involved in the project only based on documents submitted by the customer;
3. Unification and promotion of administrative services provided by the municipalities within the region
4. Decrease of postage costs incurred for document exchange between the institutions (region, municipalities, regional affiliates of state institutions);
5. Acceleration of document exchange and decrease of labor cost at entrance and exit document registration;
6. Launch of partnership between a great number of institutions at different subordination. Team building;
7. Increase of service quality through complex service provision:
• Easier access to services provided by different administrations through different access channels;
• Decrease of citizens’ contact with different administrations as a result of which opportunities for corruption are also diminished;
• Acceleration of service provision;
• Savеd citizens’ money and time

In the course of events a regional portal establishment is envisaged. The number of administrative services provided in electronic way will be increased as well as new institutions within the region involved in the project.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The provision of complex administrative services into practice as well as the document exchange via safe channel established will not require tremendous extra funds. At the same time the document exchange between institutions is accelerated and guaranteed as well as the service provision time diminished. From this point of view project sustainability is ensured.
The procedures developed for administrative service provision by municipalities, regional administration and state institutions at regional level are based on Bulgarian legislation. That’s why they are completely applicable to other regions in the country as well.
The safe channel support software used does not have specific requirements to the presence and the type of the document turn over management system used in a definite structure involved in the whole system. In this way potential project partners do not face preliminary restrictions.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
During project development and implementation as well as in the course of electronic complex administrative service provision into practice we faced the following difficulties:

 Motivation of state institutions and municipalities’ leadership for project implementation and subsequent application of opportunities created is of utmost importance;
 Motivation of all experts involved in project implementation is also crucial to project success;
 Procedures which state institutions at regional level should pass through in order to be involved in project implementation are very slow and sluggish. To a great extent this is due to the centralized governance thus being an obstacle to different leaderships to propose and take decisions;
 Some state institutions are not willing to be involved in integrated IT projects with other institutions;
 The number of experienced experts at some state institutions who are able to implement, support and develop IT solutions created is insufficient;
 Funds needed for project implementation and support as well as those required for raising customers’ awareness of new administrative service provision are insufficient;
 Customers’ motivation, awareness and readiness for change in view of the future service provision scheme is insufficient;
 Lack of coordination activities at national level for implementation of projects of this kind, promotion of project results and best practices

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Municipal Administration, administrative center Blagoevgrad
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Vladimir Dimitrov
Title:   Municipal Governor  
Telephone/ Fax:   0035973881401
Institution's / Project's Website:   0035973881403
E-mail:   info@bl.government.bg  
Address:   Georgi Izmirliev 9 sq.
Postal Code:   2700
City:   Blagoevgrad
State/Province:   Blagoevgrad
Country:   Bulgaria

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