Questions/Answers
Question 1
Please briefly describe the initiative, what issue or challenge it aims to address and specify its objectives. (300 words maximum)
Document 24 is an e-government service that allows the general public to submit official documents to government offices for administrative purposes from home or workplace via the Internet, thereby reducing the use of paper and improving user convenience.
Official documents submitted by the public to government offices, including central government and local government offices, are reports on final accounts of government subsidy, change in instructors' vocational training, document for administrative determination and etc., which amount to 1,380 cases per year, mostly paper-based.
Citizens, corporations, and organizations need to visit public offices during work hours(9:00~18:00) or send mail or fax to submit paper documents.
In addition, public officials need to digitize the submitted documents in order to upload them on the internal system while storing the original documents for compliance management.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety of Korea has reviewed a number of measures to reduce the inconvenience of submitting official documents, the production of large volume of paper documents, and inefficient work process of public officials. As a result, the Ministry expanded the public service platform that enables the electronic exchange of official documents between public offices to the general public.
Document 24 allows the public to access the online service portal to submit official documents to related public offices.
This reduces the time and cost for the private and public to exchange official documents, enhances the convenience of citizens, reduces the production of paper documents, as well as, improves the efficiency of administrative work.
Question 2
Please explain how the initiative is linked to the selected category. (100 words maximum)
The objective of Document 24 is to enable digital transformation of public administration.
First of all, users can submit official documents electronically without having to visit government offices or sending mails.
Secondly, as the documents are submitted in digital files, it can contribute to managing the data value and digitizing public services.
Third, step by step implementation plan was established, so the service was carried out gradually by including more sectors as time progressed. It also reflected the opinions of an advisory board composed of people from the private and public sectors.
Question 3
a. Please specify which SDGs and target(s) the initiative supports and describe concretely how the initiative has contributed to their implementation. (200 words maximum)
This Service is related to 5 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
It contributes to Goal 9 "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure", Goal 10 "Reduced Inequality", and Goal 16 "Peace and Justice Strong Institutions".
By expanding the public service platform to the general public, the Ministry aimed to improve the efficiency of and innovate administrative work for the general public and public officials. Everybody can access the public service platform on a equal basis by being able to submit official documents conveniently without wasting time or money. Also, administrative transparency and reliability is achieved as documents are submitted electronically. As a result, access record can be managed and official document exchanged securely.
The aim of this service is to fundamentally resolve environmental problems by reducing the production and circulation of paper documents, therefore is related to Goal 13 "Climate Action" and Goal 15 "Life on Land".
b. Please describe what makes the initiative sustainable in social, economic and environmental terms. (100 words maximum)
The Ministry is focused on transforming the practice of submitting paper documents to continue to implement this project.
It is collecting people's opinion online through social media channels, and promoting the Service by playing promotional videos, introducing user manual, and etc,, so everybody can access the Service.
The Ministry plans to improve the user environment, so that mobile service, system infrastructure, security, functions can be established or improved in the future.
It also plans to establish laws related to the Service, so that the basis for usage within government agencies is established and the Service becomes sustainable.
Question 4
a. Please explain how the initiative has addressed a significant shortfall in governance, public administration or public service within the context of a given country or region. (200 words maximum)
It was inefficient for the general public to submit official documents to public offices. They had to visit the offices within work hour and post mail, which entailed transportation cost and mailing cost. Also public officials had to scan the paper documents in order to register them electronically, while storing the original copy separately.
This project was implemented to resolve these inconveniences.
The citizens can conveniently submit electronic documents via the online portal. Documents then are automatically registered to the internal system of the public office, so related departments are able to view the documents immediately.
As a result, time and cost related to the submission of official documents by the citizens can be reduced, and administrative efficiency of public officials improved as they don't have to handle unnecessary work.
b. Please describe how your initiative addresses gender inequality in the country context. (100 words maximum)
None to be mentioned.
c. Please describe who the target group(s) were, and explain how the initiative improved outcomes for these target groups. (200 words maximum)
The group of people that benefited was first citizens, companies, and private organizations. Especially, nurseries benefited as they use Document 24 in submitting reports, such as final accounts report of local government subsidies. By submitting reports conveniently through Document 24, teachers can focus on taking care of children.
Secondly, central and local government offices have benefited. They can do away with tedious administrative works by receiving documents electronically from organizations like nurseries. They no longer have to make appointments with teachers and digitize paper documents, thereby can focus more on their assigned work.
Question 5
a. Please describe how the initiative was implemented including key developments and steps, monitoring and evaluation activities, and the chronology. (300 words)
Document 24 was launched in 2016 with the aim to solve the inconvenience of the citizens in submitting documents.
There were concerns on the plan to expand the e-document platform used by public officials to the public. So the Service was first provided to six fields, including early childhood education, and car rental, where a lot of paper documents are produced. In the initial stage, citizens could only submit documents one-way.
In 2018, a more advanced plan for Document 24 was established and reported to the State Council Meeting. An advisory committee was formed, composed of actual users, public officials, professors, and experts in related fields to discuss three times on institutions, service improvement, and promotion.
In the same year, the Service was expanded to 12 fields, including restaurants and small businesses, considering daily workload and social conditions. In September, the Service was expanded to all sectors, and the general public can now receive official documents from government offices, thus two-way exchange of documents is possible and user convenience has been enhanced.
Document 24 now offers standard forms so that users can submit documents more easily, and is continuously improving its functions through online service satisfaction survey. The Ministry plans to allocate additional budget, so that mobile service is provided in 2020.
The number of official documents exchanged through Document 24 is increasing gradually. When launched in 2016, monthly average cases were 1,099, in 2017 10,367, in 2018 29,179, and as of October 2019 105,419. The total accumulated cases amount to 1,530,000 and the number of users 37,000.
The Service won the "2017 Best Administration and Policy Award," and in December 2018, was selected as an innovation project representing the Ministry of the Interior and Safety winning the "2018 Best Government Innovation Competition Award."
b. Please clearly explain the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. (100 words)
The biggest obstacle in implementing this project was the existing practice of face-to-face meeting and using paper documents.
The Ministry is continuously promoting and guiding public officials, as well as, the general public on the major functions and accomplishments of Document 24. The Ministry is actively supporting the implementation by providing direct training to public officials in various districts, and providing user manual to offices, so that in-house training and guidance can take place.
Also, various online and offline communication channel was established to reflect people's opinion on areas of improvement for further advancement of the Service.
Question 6
a. Please explain in what ways the initiative is innovative in the context of your country or region. (100 words maximum)
When official documents were submitted in paper form, people had to visit the government offices or send the documents via mail or fax. However, this project is innovative in that documents can now be submitted electronically.
As a result, time and cost of submitting official documents are reduced. On the side of public officials, work process is improved greatly, as they no longer have to spend time and money in unnecessary processes.
Therefore, it was selected as a representative process innovation of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
b. Please describe, if relevant, how the initiative drew inspiration from successful initiative in other regions, countries and localities. (100 words maximum)
None to be mentioned.
Question 7
a. Has the initiative been transferred and/or adapted to other contexts (e.g. other cities, countries or regions) to your organization’s knowledge? If yes, please explain where and how. (200 words maximum)
The Ministry has actively promoted Document 24 to public institutions, such as the central government and local government offices since 2016. The Ministry selected public nurseries and car rental companies as the early beneficiaries, and actively provided promotion and guidance.
As this Service entails people's shift to electronic submission, it was vital that related public officials guided the general public to use the Service. To this end, the Ministry has been actively supporting the Service by producing and distributing promotional video and user manuals.
Currently, many institutions are using this Service. Especially the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been consulting with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, so now official documents submitted from 2,500 private training organizations and local employment centers are done through Document 24. This is projected to reduce 2.5 billion won in cost due to the reduction in the use of paper documents. The two ministries plan to continue to actively support the Service by strengthening collaboration and the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to include the implementation of the Service to internal regulations.
b. If not yet transferred/adapted to other contexts, please describe the potential for transferability. (200 words maximum)
It is possible transferred/adapted to other contexts.
Question 8
a. What specific resources (i.e. financial, human or others) were used to implement the initiative? (100 words maximum)
The budget for this project is allocated from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The budget is used in various areas, such as producing various promotional contents, holding events, securing system infrastructure of the website, and improving functions.
To expand this project, an advisory committee composed of actual users, such as the citizens, public officials, outside professors, and experts from the field was established, and the committee's opinion was collected and reflected in the project.
b. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (100 words maximum)
For the continuous implementation of the project, the Ministry plans to allocate annual budget for the Service. It will be used in producing and distributing promotional contents, improving and advancing functions for more convenient service, and etc.
The Ministry is also planning to establish related law and institution for the promotion and expansion of Document 24. It is also pushing for the implementation of the Service to be included in internal regulations of public institutions, in order to reduce paper document and improve administrative efficiency.
Question 9
a. Was the initiative formally evaluated either internally or externally?
Yes
b. Please describe how it was evaluated and by whom? (100 words maximum)
Document 24 received the "2017 Best Administration and Policy Award" by the Korean Association for Public Administration and Korea Institute of Public Policy Evaluation.
It also received Grand Prize in Government Innovation by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. It was selected based on citizens' survey results and expert evaluation as the final candidate for the national competition.
As a result, Document 24 received an award for "Best Government Innovation Competition". It was selected through expert deliberation and online public deliberation with 24,000 participating. It was finally chosen by the public evaluation committee comprised of 100 people.
c. Please describe the indicators and tools used. (100 words maximum)
The assessment criteria for the "2017 Best Administration and Policy Award" was creativity, efficiency, responsiveness, appropriateness, accomplishment, and sustainability of administrative and policy measures.
The criteria for 2018 Ministry of the Interior and Safety Innovation Competition Award was creativity(20%), level of sophistication(20%), possibility of innovation(10%), completeness of presentation(30%).
In 2018 Best Government Innovation Competition Award, the assessment criteria was realizing social value(30%), participation and cooperation(30%), creativity(30%), and policy significance(10%).
d. What were the main findings of the evaluation (e.g. adequacy of resources mobilized for the initiative, quality of implementation and challenges faced, main outcomes, sustainability of the initiative, impacts) and how this information is being used to inform the initiative’s implementation. (200 words maximum)
This project received the "2017 Best Administration and Policy Award." The award was presented by the Korean Association for Public Administration and Korea Institute of Public Policy Evaluation in 2017 for Document 24's contribution in improving the convenience of people and local community development.
The Service received Grand Prize in "Government Innovation Competition" held by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Bronze Prize for "Best Government Innovation Competition Award" of the national government. Both competitions were evaluated by the general public on the projects' accomplishments and impacts. The citizens participated in the online deliberation or as an evaluation committee member in front of which the government offices presented their projects.
Such evaluation won the attention of many people since it was an outside acknowledgement of Document 24.
Question 10
Please describe how the initiative strives to work in an integrated manner within its institutional landscape – for example, how does the initiative work horizontally and/or vertically across different levels of government? (200 words maximum)
There needs to be an agreement between the private and public organizations for the continuous implementation of this project. To this end, work regulations, process and etc. of government offices needs to be established for necessary institutions for Document 24 to take root. A good case in point would be the collaboration between the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to reduce paper documents. The two ministries established internal regulations and provided incentives to public officials who induced private organizations to submit official documents via Document 24 to local employment centers for administrative process related to vocational training.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to propel this project by establishing or revising related laws and regulations.
Question 11
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts emphasis on collaboration, engagement, partnerships, and inclusion. Please describe which stakeholders were engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating the initiative and how this engagement took place. (200 words maximum)
Advisory committee composed of 30 citizens, public officials, professors and related personnel held three rounds of discussion on improving institutions, enhancing service, and promotion. The result led to the advancement of Document 24 and two-way communication with the citizens.
In 2019, citizens' service satisfaction survey was conducted, where 275 participated. Most responded that they were satisfied with the main functions of Document 24. Of the 35 comments on areas of improvement, 19 has been dealt with or is in the process of being improved.
The Ministry has produced and distributed contents, such as promotional video, and user manual to enhance the understanding of Document 24. It also uploaded contents online, so that people can easily download, learn and use the Service. The Ministry also held an online competition for Document 24 slogan in 2019, in which 1,084 people participated.
Document 24 won Bronze Prize in the "2018 Best Government Innovation Competition." It was first selected as the best innovative project of the Ministry and competed among 420 projects. After the first round of expert deliberation and second round of online and mobile public deliberation, where 23,734 people participated, it was selected as the final 16.
Question 12
Please describe the key lessons learned, and how your organization plans to improve the initiative. (200 words maximum)
There were limitations in eliminating existing practice of using paper documents at once.
In order to improve the long-held paper-based work process, ample understanding, social consensus and institutional measures on this project was necessary. To this end, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to produce and distribute various promotional contents, such as promotional video and user manuals.
In addition, the Ministry plans to promote public officials to submit official documents electronically, and establish institutional measures, such as stipulating and expanding the usage of Document 24 Service during work process in internal regulations.
In the future, the Ministry will improve the functions of the Service, such as introducing mobile service, in order to further enhance the convenience of people in submitting official documents.