United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The city of Rome is a peculiar city since it is difficult to harmonize ancient structures with up to date ways of providing services to both disabled and not disabled people.
Narrow roads and a large number of cars hold up the traffic.
Sidewalks are architectural barriers for people in wheelchairs and it’s almost impossible to move without any help in the street. For these reasons it’s difficult for disabled and elderly people to reach Inps agencies to solve their administrative problems.
Inps had never been able to avoid disadvantaged people to go to the agency, for example to sign the pension dossier (before the Mobile Counter initiative).
The Inps Mobile Counter solves the above problems improving the relations with customers and eliminating architectural barriers, because in specific cases the resolution of the request takes place visiting the disadvantaged customer at home.
As regards the authentication of the signature this occurs for the 7/8% of requests that reach the Mobile Counter.
For the remaining 92%, for which it’s not necessary the signature authentication, the Mobile Counter solves problems by telephone and by other communicational and IT tools. This allows a significant reduction of expenses of the management of the Public Service and of the reply time for the problem solving. In addition, there is the issue of the ageing population, a main problem for planning and managing service delivering in the future which is a data that I.N.P.S has to consider in its next interventions to meet users requirements.
Elderly people aged over 80 with attendance allowance are entitled to the Mobile Counter benefits. A PIN code is provided to them and to disabled people too by a letter. After receiving the PIN code they can contact the Mobile Counter and submit their request.
The privacy of the pensioner data is guaranteed.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Inps disabled and not disabled staff is used for the Mobile Counter Project to solve problems for disabled users avoiding them the discomfort to go to the Inps agency. The key benefits resulting from the Initiative are mainly two: - for external users - for internal disabled staff The main benefit for the external user is the solution of the problem without moving from home and avoiding transport and traffic problems and architectural barriers. The Mobile counter reaches also users hospitalized for a long stay as they could never go to the Inps agency. Another important benefit is the timeliness of the problem solving obtained thanks to Inps IT supports and to experts of merit that work for the Project. Minor benefits regard the direct relation between the user and the Social Security thanks to the Mobile Counter Staff that visits them at home. The result is the greatest confidence of the user in Public Service, in this case in Inps. Other benefits regard: - saving in time for the family of the disabled user - economic factors (saving in money for: the disabled user, his family, Inps, Municipality of Rome that has not to refund money for the taxi transfer of the disabled user) - social factors (reduction of queues at the front office for the not disabled users that go to the agency and more time dedicated to them by the front office staff). - environmental factors (CO2 reduction for the avoided transfers) The benefits for the internal users are: - involving Inps disabled staff in the project activities for their experience and sensitivity - social factors (better fitting in of the disabled staff) - psychological factors (feeling of utility) A continuous monitoring and a accurate trial-and-error of the initiative are the tools to measure the benefits resulting from the initiative. The project has been tested for 9 month in a restricted area of Rome. A sample of 3800 people was involved in the experimental phase and it was composed by: 192 blind people, 139 partially sighted people and 3500 elderly people aged over eighty entitled to attendance allowance. The trial was useful to test the project and to choose the right organization and equipment. The project was implemented since January 2009. A continuous monitoring has been implemented weekly, monthly, and quarterly and it regards: · number of dispatched information letters containing a PIN code · number of received calls/requests · number of solved cases · number of effected visits at home

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The requirement to directly face problems arising from the condition of disability has risen from who live in first person the disability discomforts, and perceived from who, as a psychologist, faces these problems for professional reasons. A work team has been constituted in INPS - Organization Department- (denominated " Inps Mobile Counter ") composed by disabled and not disabled staff which with the aid of IT and the telephone provides a specialized service to disabled users to solve the various problems with INPS without making them move from home. So, problems like registration of care workers, change domicile, authorization for cashing pension by third party, accruals not received, etc. may now be resolved making just a phone call to the Inps Mobile Counter. This, for every phone application got, opens a file and takes in load the matter up to the application has completely resolved. The phone calls to the Mobile Counter can be also only informative (for instance information on the pension or on paid contributions) in that case the Mobile Counter, without the necessity to open a file for the application, provides the information in real time using the computer aids of which the Institute is endowed. The Mobile Counter, with the cooperation of INPS suburban agencies, which have collaborated with posters and informative sheets to the diffusion of the knowledge of the service, to operate for the best has involved some social associations, such as: the Blinds Italian Union (UICII) that is one of the greatest Italian no profit associations that protects and faces problems related to the blindness. The UICII has offered to the Inps Mobile Counter some volunteers (personal highly qualified on Social Security matters as ex retired INPS staff ) who periodically and without any remuneration have collaborated (since the very beginning of its institution) and they currently keep still on collaborating for the best realization of the service. Such profitable collaboration has allowed INPS to offer a new and valid service to disabled users, without subsequently burdening on the institutional economic resources. This collaboration allowed UICII volunteers, ex Inps staff, to be able to keep on putting to the service of the society their professionalism and experience feeling themselves useful and active for other people. The 2nd Municipality of the city of Rome, particularly caring of disability problems, has made its own web institutional site to provide informative material on the activity of the Inps Mobile Counter at citizens disposal; “Friend Line ", a telephone line of the Italian Ministry of the Public Administration and Innovation to which citizens turn for the application of information on the resolution of the various problems with the Public Administration. Family Houses for disabled people (family house "The Rupicole"), for the resolution of Inps problems of its proper assisted people.

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 main objectives and strategies of the initiative are: Providing INPS services at home to make life easier for those who have difficulty to visit INPS agencies. The use of IT and the telephone has been the strategy used to solve problems not related to the signature of the user. The visit at home has been the other strategy used for problems related to the identification and the signature of the user. Involving INPS disabled staff in the initiative. Their experience helps to solve problems more quickly and completely. Involving disabled staff offers them an opportunity to improve their professional careers and it allows to hire new disabled staff to work at the place of the disabled staff who is working now at the mobile counter. Offering best, lean and fast services for all disabled and elderly users, as INPS offers social benefits as attendance allowance, disability pensions etc. Awakening public opinion to disabled and elderly people problems solved by Inps, because these are the categories more stricken by the crises. The rapid and concrete solution of the disability problem has been the strategy used, avoiding the obstacle of bureaucracy and improving the image of Inps. Thanks to the above mentioned strategy and to the confidence in disabled staff it has been implemented “the word of mouth” that is the best publicity campaign of the service. Involving other Italian public administrations in the initiative in order to solve easily problems of disabled and elderly people. This objective/strategy improves the image of the Italian Public Administration and is the key development to solve quickly all the bureaucracy problems also related to the delay of the replies from other Public Institutes to Inps. For example the payment of the pension of insured people that worked in different Institutes and were insured in different Insurance Institutes (for instance the Department of Exchequer etc). Divulging the attention and the sensitivity of Inps towards disabled people and their condition of discomfort.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The activity of the Mobile Counter started on January 2009. An experimental phase, to test the project in use now, began on March 21 2008, for about nine months. The project has been tested in a restricted Roman area, in the historical centre of the city, and a sample of 3800 persons among blind and partially sighted people and aged over 80 attendance allowance beneficiaries. The territory of the historical centre in Rome has been chosen for its specific characteristics that are essentially: The presence of very narrow roads with many architectural barriers (for disabled people it’s impossible to move); The high number of elderly resident people, many of which are disabled aged over 80 attendance allowance beneficiaries. The Inps Mobile Counter started the experimentation with two telephone lines that were at users disposal two days a week and an IT equipment connected with the informative central database of the Institute. An informative letter of the initiative has been sent to every user with contact references of the Inps Mobile Counter; the informative letter, with the support of the Italian Blinds Union, has been sent to blind people in Braille and to the partially sighted with bigger print. In addition to the two telephone lines an email address was at users disposal sportello.mobile@inps.it. The 12% of the selected sample have benefited the service till today. Over the 92% of the applications received have been solved with success exclusively using the IT available equipment. As regards the remaining 7/8% the visit at home has been necessary for the authentication of the signature. The Inps Mobile Counter in addition to the IT database used Inps staff of every agency of the Roman area to solve complex problems. To guarantee the safety and the privacy a personal safety code (PIN) has been sent to every user by mail together with the informative letter. Since January 2009, every user that calls the Mobile Counter to receive the service has to indicate his own PIN code with the various correlated data. Since January 2009 approximately 6500 PIN codes have been sent and approximately 500 complex practices have been closed with the 7/8% of home visits. Besides approximately 800 information have been given in real time to users that have applied for it. After the experimental phase the activity of the Mobile Counter involved all the blind and partially sighted people and the elderly aged over 80 people of the Roman area. When the dispatch of the safety codes to the above mentioned categories will finish other categories of disabled people will be involved (paraplegic, people with psychiatric problems etc.) up to include all of them.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The main met obstacle has been that of the guardianship of the data safety of the people with disability. To be certain therefore of the identity of those people that consult the Mobile Counter, after the experimentation, a safety personal code (PIN) has been introduced which was personally sent to houses of every disabled. People interested in service delivering, when they call the Mobile Counter should point out his own safety code. On the other hand the personnel that works at the Mobile Counter, at the beginning of the phone call, through the reported code have the access to the computer card and they set some questions to the user that is to the other head of the thread of the telephone to verify to the best of his identity. If there are some doubts on the identity of whom is calling not the application is refused. Other obstacle, even if not frequent, has been that of the distrust of disabled persons to allow extraneous people to step in their home; such problem has been eliminated by giving a previous telephone appointment with the precise indication of names and characteristics of the identity of Inps officers that will visit at home, to the necessity endowed with a label of recognition with the photo and the personal data. The potential distrust has also been overcome furnishing, besides the given telephone numbers "06-43995628/29/30", also the unique number of the contact center Inps 803164 which informs (even if generically) users on the activities turned to disabled people. Considered the nature of the initiative, remarkable obstacles have also been those related to the psychological distrust met in the first contacts with some Organizations both private and public, on the disability theme. Such obstacle is overcoming however, day after day and with small but continuous footsteps, through an activity that, even with few resources (but determined and especially organized), is bringing to the gradual and progressive involvement of Organizations more sensitive to disability themes. A further met obstacle has been that related to the use of disabled personnel for the objectives of the project; such personnel has in fact remarkable movement and sight difficulties. Experience is showing instead that with specific supports effective collaboration can be lent, likewise to the not disabled personnel, rather with a consequential added value arisen from the strong internal motivation and from the great sensitivity toward such problems.

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
Technical and financial resources The technical resources of the Institute consist in 4 PC, connected to the central database (one of them is equipped with a vocal synthesizer necessary for blind people), 4 printers, 4 telephone lines (two of which used by clients for their applications to the Mobile Counter), 1 fax and some technical supports for the inward and outward letter-book. As regards visit at home public transportation is normally used; to reach places within long distance is used the taxi. A specific budget has not been given for the activity of the Mobile Counter, as are used resources (paper, letters, stationery) already present in Inps. The main expense met by INPS is the shipping charge of the letters containing the safety codes, (30 of euro cents per letter) as the IT is still not much used by the recipients of the initiative. It’s important to underline that, according to the Italian law, the shipping of letters containing material in Braille for blind people is free; for this reason expenses met by Inps have concerned only the shipping charge for elderly people aged over 80 entitled to attendance allowance. To that it must be added that INPS met the expense for overtime pay (approximately 30 per month) performed by the personnel that works to solve complex practices of the Mobile Counter. It’s fundamental also take into consideration that the Mobile Counter delivers to users the service at home without additional costs, but it also reduces proportionally the job of Inps agencies. The resources provided by the Italian Blind and Partially Sighted Union (three employees and other supports as the printing in Braille) are totally free. Human resources The human resources currently used in the project are four (among disabled and not disabled people) included the coordination of a psychologist, but only 2 of them work full time. Three volunteers of the Italian Blind and Partially Sighted Union, ex Inps staff (an ex manager expert of management, an IT expert, an expert of complex pension) collaborate free once or twice a week. The Mobile Counter workers collaborate with an expert of disability subject in the afternoon (overtime work) and with employees of every Inps agency of the Roman area for complex or specific matters of the agency interested. Such people work during the normal working time, therefore without additional costs.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The initiative is easily sustainable and transferable to other organizations relatively taking into consideration the simplicity of the organization (already tested and validated in a complex city as Rome), its facility of implementation and the very contained costs. The high social value of the project, for the particular category of users to which is turned to and for the type of the personnel (disabled people that work in the project), it is already by itself an essential element of transferability to other national and international organizations. By the economic point of view the initiative has exclusively been sustained by internal resources; the collaboration of external voluntary personnel, that is well integrated with the internal staff, has been free; the project perfectly integrates with all other activities planned by Inps. The INPS Mobile Counter initiative for disabled people of Rome had many recognitions from public institutes and category associations, but above all from users themselves. Users often sent letters of thanks for the job that has been done and keeps on doing; similar appreciations, also towards INPS that has undertaken the initiative, are constantly expressed on the occasion of home visits. The initiative, thanks to satisfactory results, also aroused the interest of other INPS agencies which implemented similar initiatives, as for instance those of the regions Campania and Lombardia and of other Italian regions which are beginning now. All these activities are included in a wider National Project which has recently began, denominated "INPS oltre" which using a specific network of Inps employees in all Regional Directions of the Institute, whose objective is to give further and coordinated impulse to the initiatives aimed to meet demands and needs coming from the world of elderly and disabled people, hospitals and rest homes, prisons and the world of social discomforts. The Mobile Counter currently is starting operational contacts with other Public Administration Institutes (Regions, Ministries, Welfare Organizations) to be able to divulge the prototype to other Public Organizations and to perfect an integrated model which could provide a complete service to this particular category of users (disabled and elderly people). The Inps Mobile Counter Project have been selected among the top projects chosen by the Italian Ministry of Public Administration and Innovation in the contest named “Awarding the results” and its results related to quantity and quality are monitored still today. The project received also the recognition of the 'Best Practice Certificate' on the occasion of the handover of the EPSA - European Public Sector Awards 2009, that took place on November 2009 in Maastricht.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
A good organization and a continuous monitoring of every elements of the project made the initiative a success. That allows to continue to improve a non stop working process and to implement the best strategies to maintain a high standard of results with the same resources. The resources as the IT system, human resources/disabled staff and the opportunities as the voluntary service, synergies with organizations of non-profit categories and Public Institutes have been organized for the best to obtain optimum results with the same tools. INPS has one of the most powerful IT system in the world. Its network connection with 28.000 PC completely on line integrated with the Central System has enabled to solve problems for disabled and elderly people avoiding them the discomfort to go to the Inps agency. The introduction of the PIN code sent to disabled people by mail permitted to operate in full safety and privacy. Involving disabled staff in the project was the value added for a good work from a human and a relational point of view (empathy, sensitivity, the capacity to listen) and for the direct knowledge of the disabled problems. The introduction of the voluntary service (qualified pensioned staff) created an optimum synergy of the capacity, the will and the feeling of utility and economic savings too. The collaboration with other Public Institutes and with organizations of non-profit categories (Italian Blind Union, family-houses etc) is booming and it allows the solution of problems that are at everyone heart for human and institutional reasons since the suffering and the frailty of the disabled users. All the organizational elements permitted to obtain a service of optimum quality with a big reduction of costs and high benefits. The mobile counter has closed 500 complex dossiers in one year and with few resources. These dossiers have been solved in 7/10 days, 700 problems of medium/low complexity in real time and 7200 disabled users received the PIN code for all eventualities with Inps. The benefits have been: Economic factors (saving in money for the users and Inps, smoothing and streamlining Inps services) Social factors (more free time for the not disabled users that go to the Inps agency) Environmental factors (approximately 1200 avoided transfers in one year) Factors related to the image of Inps towards users (awakening the public opinion to disability problems) and other Italian and European Institutes of Public Administration. Human and psychological factors (high motivation at work for disabled staff


Institution Name:		ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DELLA PREVIDENZA SOCIALE
Institution Type:		Public Agency
Contact Person:		Mena Paola Ciarmela
Title:		Team Leader
Telephone/ Fax:		+39.06.59055417
Institution's / Project's Website:
E-mail:		mena.ciarmela@inps.it
Address:		Via Ciro il Grande, 21
Postal Code:		00144
City:		ROME
State/Province:		ROME
Country:		Italy

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information