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ELISA
Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Austria

The Problem

The Austrian Embassies and Consulates abroad had a paper based filing system. E-mails were printed out, while workflows hat to be entered into a database system by hand. Thus, due to the rotational personnel system in place, knowledge got easily lost and information was hard to find. Processes took long. There was insufficient automation. In short, the service provided to the stakeholders was below the desired and achievable level.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
After the implementation of ELISA, processes are now much faster. Knowledge and information can be found and stored more easily. There is a high level of automation. The stakeholders truly benefit from the new system which provides faster access, reduced processing time and enhanced transparency. Knowledge management has become much easier. Access to information is simple and rather unproblematic.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The solution was proposed and designed by the ICT Department of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). It was implemented together with partners from the private sector, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard. The stakeholders are the employees of the Ministry, other government departments in Austria, Austrian citizens and other nationals (= customers) living in Austria and abroad, foreign government departments.

(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 Austrian MFA first implemented an electronic filing system (called ELAK) in its headquarters in Vienna in 1996 and 1997. Meanwhile, the ELAK system has been extended to cover nearly the whole government sector in Austria. ELAK systems may nowadays also be found (partly) in Switzerland and Germany. Based on the ELAK system, the ELISA system was created and set up. In contrast to the “old” ELAK system, ELISA is much more user-friendly, offers a very comfortable and efficient search tool, and boasts a system with fast processes.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Based on the experience of the old ELAK system, the approach was to overcome the weaknesses of that system. Thus, it was clear to all that ELISA’s usability must match those found in well known systems like MS office or Google search to enable each and every user to make best use of the system within only a few hours of learning. In a public tender, in which the main functional needs were outlined and defined, both a partner company and a solution were found. The solution is based on the standard software MS Sharepoint Server. After a pilot-phase, a master was created. This master is now being rolled out to all 116 embassies and consulates. So far, 45 missions abroad have been equipped with the ELISA system.

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
After the start of the roll-out, some technical problems which had to be solved very fast appeared. Here, the partner Hewlett Packard was not used to the speedy implementation the ICT Department of the Austrian MFA had asked for. There were also problems because people had to change the way they were doing their work. To handle this sensible issue, the ICT Department decided not only to train the users but also to help them organize their processes using the new system in a better and more efficient way.

(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
The total costs for five years including maintenance und user hotline amount to Euro 1.6 million. The personnel resources from the ICT Department are 200 person-days for the first three years and 50 person-days for the last two years. The costs in the amount of Euro 1.6 million are financed out of the ICT budget of the Austrian MFA.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Like the ELAK system which by now has been implemented by nearly the whole Austrian government and also in some foreign countries, it is expected that this new system will sooner or later run in many different areas. Since the system is based on standard software, it is very likely that the system will run in a similar way pretty soon also in governments of other countries.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
With the ELISA system, the processes are much faster and much more transparent. ELISA is not only a well running information-management-system but also a knowledge-management system. Knowledge can be easily stored and archived and very fast be brought to all the users who need access to it. In addition, as for every knowledge-management system, it is important that users can rapidly and easily store their knowledge and that, at the same time, they see the advantage of doing this.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Sigurd Pacher
Title:   Head of Sub-Division  
Telephone/ Fax:  
Institution's / Project's Website:  
E-mail:   sigurd.pacher@bmeia.gv.at  
Address:   Minoritenplatz 8
Postal Code:   1014
City:   Vienna
State/Province:  
Country:   Austria

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