e-administration
in the Lodz Region
Prepared by: Agnieszka Pięgot
On the basis of the studies and materials collected in
the Department of Promotion, Development, Education and Foreign Cooperation of the Poddębice District Authority Office
“Przyjazna Administracja – Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego”
(“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices”)
The ”Przyjazna Administracja - Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego” (Friendly Ad-ministration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices) has prepared the Poddębice region for a long-term process of building an information society by allowing access to using the services of the modern information and communication technology. The project ensures fast, common and safe access to the Internet, prevents the marginalization of rural areas and small towns, contributes to the increase in the competitiveness and investment attraction of the county and ensures better access to education on its area.
On account of compensating the disproportions in the scope of the access and use of the Inter-net and a faster and more efficient management of the self-government institutions on the district area and ensuring the development of the electronic services for people and commercial entities the hardware infrastructure was modernized as well as the network infrastructure of the offices and an electronic document flow and an electronic signature were introduced.
Seven Public Internet Access Points are the fundamental element of the project and they ope-rate at every office in the district which perform the information and educational function and, additionally, they are a substantial factor in eliminating the differences in the scope of the access to the e-services in a spatial layout. The realization of the project began in July 2004 and in No-vember 2006, the project was considered to have been fully implemented and completed.
The project “Przyjazna Administracja - Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickie-go” (“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices”) covered the implementation of an integrated system used for managing the document flow in all the self-government units, i.e.: the Commune Office in Dalików, the Commune Office in Pęcznie-wo, the Town Hall in Poddębice, the Commune Office in Wartkowice, the Town and Commune Office in Uniejów, the Commune Office in Zadzim and the County Council in Poddębice. Mo-reover, the units subordinate to self-governments joined the project: Liceum Ogólnokształcą-ce (The High School) in PoddębiOgólnokształcą-ce, Zespół Szkół Ponadgimnazjalnych (The Upper-Seconda-ry School Complex) in Poddębice, Szkoła Muzyczna I Stopnia (The First Degree Music School) in Uniejów, Poradnia Psychologiczno-Pedagogiczna (The Psychological and Pedagogical Con-sulting Clinic) in Poddębice, Powiatowa Biblioteka Publiczna (The District Public Library) in Poddębice, Miejsko – Gminne Ośrodki Pomocy Społecznej (The Municipal and Commune Social Welfare Centers), Powiatowe Centrum Pomocy Rodzinie (The District Family Welfare Center) in Poddębice, Dom Pomocy Społecznej (The Social Welfare House) in Gostków, Powiatowy Środowi-skowy Dom Samopomocy (The District Environmental Self-Help Center) in Pęczniew, Powiatowy Urząd Pracy (The District Department of Work) in Poddębice and Powiatowy Inspektorat Nadzoru Budowlanego (The District Building Supervision Inspectorate), Państwowa Inspekcja Sanitarno – Epidemiologiczna (The State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspection) in Poddębice, Powiatowy Inspektorat Weterynarii (The District Veterinary Inspectorate) in Poddębice, Komenda Powiatowa Państwowej Straży Pożarnej (The District Fire Department Headquarters) in Poddębice where an electronic signature was implemented, the computer hardware was completed and the broadband Internet access was provided.
The project which was subsidized from the funds of the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Integrated Regional Development Operational Programme, priority 1.5 The information society infrastructure included such elements as:
- the purchase of a license of the software used for servicing the electronic document flow, archi-ving these documents, exchanging them and managing the digital contents in the organizational sections and units of the offices,
- the delivery of the servers and workstations system software license, the support software and databases,
- the modernization and development of the computer hardware with servers and workstations, - the modernization and development of the internal computer network of the offices,
- the employee trainings in order to implement the system, - the implementation of an electronic signature,
- handling the businesses served through the Internet, - launching the Public Internet Access Points.
When the abovementioned elements are combined, it will be possible to:
- manage the offices, secretariats and the departments of offices in the scope of the electronic document flow,
- manage the office archive,
- exchange the information between the organizational units, the citizens and the EU business entities as well as other offices,
- handle an electronic signature,
- increase the safety of the data storage and transfer,
- create a system used for handling the public procurements to the full extent,
- create the Internet Access Points providing the residents with the access to the Internet.
There was no information system running in the Poddębice District Authority Office or in the remaining offices in the towns and communes of the Poddębice district which enabled the society and business entities to handle their businesses through the Internet, providing an electronic document flow and the exchange of documents within the office and between the offices. There was no access to the electronic public information, the possibility to handle an electronic signature and secure storing and transmitting of data.
Due to the above-specified reasons, there has appeared a need for implementing an integrated information system which would meet the abovementioned requirements and would contribute to facilitating the work of the offices. Moreover, thanks to that system, it was possible to achieve the European quality standards in infrastructure. The second complementary element of the project was launching the Public Internet Access Points which are located in each of the 7 offices partici-pating in the project.
The Public Internet Access Points perform the service, information and educational function and have become the substantial factor in eliminating the differences in the scope of the access to the e-services in a spatial layout which has a clear impact on increasing the development opportuni-ties of the regions, in particular the rural areas and small towns. They are aimed at providing each of the Poddębice District resident with an opportunity to participate in a global information society, in particular in the rural areas and small towns such as Poddębice and Uniejów. Launching the Points has contributed to stimulating the increase in activity in the remaining areas of the social and economic life as well as to creating social ties and strengthening the local democracy.
Due to the project implementation, the scope of the services rendered via the broadband In-ternet access has enlarged.
Thanks to the project the residents may:
- download and prepare documents as well as file them with an office via the Internet, - receive any decisions, permits and responses via the Internet,
- control the course of the business being handled in an office, - use the Internet free of charge in the Access Points,
The project was realized with nearly 80% participation of external funds. The total pro-ject costs amounted to PLN 991,186.12 with PLN 724,009.88 obtained from the Europe-an Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Priority I of the Integrated Regional Development Operational Programme (ZPORR) , Measure 1.5. “The information so-ciety infrastructure” and PLN 20, 349.60 obtained from the Państwowy Fundusz Rehabilita-cji Osób Niepełnosprawnych (The State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons). The (lo-cal self-government units’) own funds constituted little more than 20% and amounted to PLN 242,709.14.
The project “Przyjazna Administracja – Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego”
(“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices”) was divided into five stages.
The first stage covered the works connected with connecting the Offices to the network and during this stage the Internet was installed in all the self-government units as well as the electric network was completed.
The second stage was connected with equipping the offices with the computer hardwa-re and office appliances. Within the framework of this part of the task, the following items were purchased: 72 computer sets, 10 servers, 7 all-in-one appliances, 95 UPSs, 33 printers, 9 scanners and 58 memory chips and 18 network cards.
The third stage of the project was connected with the purchase and implementation of an integrated computer system used for managing the document flow. The system consists of:
a document flow system, public information bulletin, the Council Office, the System of the public procurements handling and an archive.
The purchase of 52 electronic signatures constituted the fourth stage.
The fifth and the last stage was connected with the project implementation and launching the Public Internet Access Points.
The implementation of the project “Przyjazna Administracja – Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego” (“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices”) ensures a fast and smooth flow of information between the units and an easy and clear flow of information between an office and an enquirer.
The offices were prepared within the framework of this project where the documents filed with an office are put into the internal flow. Then, commune heads, mayors and district governors of the given unit forward the letters to be processed by the particular departments/offices. Putting a letter into a system with the specified PIN makes is possible for an enquirer to control the course of their business realization.
Any changes as well as the manner of the business realization are noted in the system. Those who have an electronic signature may send various applications via the Internet, motions and all documents without any necessity to come to an office and they receive a response in the same manner. Moreover, owing to the project, it is also possible to work with such fields as: tendering procedures or online auctions.
To implement and realize the “Przyjazna Administracja” (“Friendly Administration”) pro-ject the selection criteria had been adopted which complied with the “technological neutrali-ty” rule specified in the draft document of the European Commission “Guidelines on Criteria and Modalities of Structural Funds of Electronic Communications.” No specific technologies were biased in favor as well as no restrictions were imposed which concerned the possibili-ties of a technological selection. The hardware and other technical parameters were adjusted to the specific project elements which included:
– the delivery of a license of the software used for servicing the electronic document flow, archi-ving these documents, exchanging them and managing the digital contents in the organizational sections and units of the offices,
– the delivery of a license of the system software of the servers and workstations, the support software and databases,
– the modernization and development of the computer hardware resources with servers and workstations,
– the modernization and development of the internal computer network of the offices, – the training services for employees in order to implement the system,
– the implementation of an electronic signature,
– the implementation of the system of serving the Council Office, – handling the businesses served through the Internet,
– launching the Public Internet Access Points.
When the abovementioned elements were combined, it was possible to:
– manage the offices, secretariats and the departments of offices in the scope of the electronic document flow,
– manage the office archive,
– exchange the information between the organizational units, the citizens and the EU business entities as well as other offices,
– handle an electronic signature,
– increase the safety of the stored and transferred data,
– create a system used for handling the public procurements to the full extent,
– create the Internet Access Points (Telecenters) providing the residents with the access to the Internet.
Within the framework of the project promotion and the outreach campaign which were run on the commune area, a series of resident trainings was run during which the possibilities of the implemented system were presented and the folder entitled “Przyjazna Administracja – Informa-tyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego” (“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Pod-dębice District Offices”) was prepared as well as an information leaflet containing the operating instructions. The information on the project was presented in the local TV station as well as the local radio stations.
The Poddębice District Authority Office had implemented, along with the Commune Offi-ces a project enabling them to manage the internal document flow system to the full extent in their units, to provide and facilitate the clarity of the statutory task performance. There were of course some problems too which were mainly connected with breaking the barriers associated with the views both of the authorities and the office employees. Both the employees and the office enquirers had some remarks connected with the implementation of the program into the internal document flow. A common model had been created which was satisfactory for all the beneficia-ries. Due to the program implementation, is was possible to reduce the operating costs of the units and to facilitate and enhance the information flow and additionally to prepare these units for serving the residents to the full extent via the Internet.
The project ”Przyjazna Administracja – Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego”
(“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices) had prepared all the self-governments from the area of the Poddębice District for serving the residents to the full extent via the Internet, adjusted the office structures and meets all the requirements specified in the act on the computerization of operations of the entities realizing the public tasks, what is more the project makes it possible to reduce the costs of the units. The project implementation had made it possible to provide all the offices with the broadband Internet access and prepare the free-of-charge Public Internet Access Points. The project “Przyjazna Administracja – Infor-matyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego” (“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices) is easy to be transferred and realized both in single self-government units and under an agreement between the self-governments. It provides the uniformity of infor-mation systems, internal document flow software as well as makes it possible to create and enter into a new quality of the public administration. The information flow system and the solutions and experience of the Poddębice District may be successfully transferred and applied in other fields of the social and economic life.
The project “Przyjazna Administracja – Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego”
(“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices”) was and still is an innovative project particularly in the scope of the solutions and the range of operation as well as on the organizational and social area. The targets and tasks had been precisely defined and their undertaking and realization made it possible to solve the problems of the district. Amongst the urgent tasks of the county, we may distinguish, among others:
- the optimization and diversification of the educational offer,
- reducing the unemployment rate and implementing the active forms of the social welfare, - building the feeling of joint responsibility and social solidarity in the local community, - enhancing the functioning of the administrative infrastructure,
- developing the cultural and information services,
- developing the quality of education and higher education in accordance with the needs of the market economy,
- supporting the development of entrepreneurship,
- creating a system of active searching of investors and their smooth management, - developing the infrastructure and the telecommunications systems,
- developing the district computerization.
The realization of the above-specified tasks will have an impact on limiting the negative pheno-mena occurring in the social and economic sphere of the county.
By the moment the project was implemented there had been no information system running in the Poddębice County Council or in the remaining offices in the towns and districts of the Pod-dębice county which enabled the society and business entities to handle their businesses through the Internet, provided an electronic document flow and the exchange of documents in the office and between the offices. There was no access to the electronic public information, the possibility to handle an electronic signature and secure storing and transmitting of data.
Due to the above-specified reasons, there has appeared a need for implementing an integrated
information system which would meet the abovementioned requirements and would contribute to facilitating the work of the offices. Moreover, owing to that system, it was possible to achieve the European quality standards in the scope of infrastructure.
When the substantial performance is finished and the settlement has taken place further operation and maintenance of the investment should be the obligation of the agreement part-ners i.e. the Poddębice District, the Dalików Commune, the Pęczniew Commune, the Poddę-bice Commune, the Uniejów Commune, the Wartkowice Commune, the Zadzim Commu-ne. The partners maintain the acquired property on their own and with their own funds and are responsible for this property. The achieved results of the project are permanent and add a timeless value to the organization and facilitating of the work of all the entities participating in the project. The offices collaborating with each other are able to create a system of partners which works efficiently and is organizationally and substantially prepared to realize difficult undertakings connected with building an information society.
The Poddębice District received multiple awards in the prestige competitions which were awar-ded for the realization of the project “Przyjazna Administracja – Informatyzacja Urzędów Powiatu Poddębickiego” (“Friendly Administration – Computerization of the Poddębice District Offices”).
Amongst the most important awards we may distinguish the I place in the competition “Przyjazny Urząd Administracji Samorządowej 2006” (“A Friendly Office of the Self-Government Administra-tion 2006”) in the Powiat (County) category. The competiAdministra-tion was organized by the Minister of Interior and Administration in cooperation with the Związek Miast Polskich (The Union of Cities of Poland), the Union of Rural Communes of the Republic of Poland and the Association of Polish Districts. The purpose of the competition was to award the best local self-governments which implement the effective and friendly service of the public administration customers as well as to promote the good practices and support of the process connected with the consciously studying self-government units.
As for the “new@poland 2007” competition which was organized by the Polish Confederation of Private Employers, the Warsaw University of Technology Business School and the Warsaw School of Economics, the Poddębice District received an award in the E-government category.
Poddębice District Authority 99-200 Poddębice Łęczycka 16 www.poddebicki.pl BIP (Public Information Bulletin): www.e-powiat.poddebicki.pl email: powiat@poddebicki.pl