The Digital Maturity Index grows with indicators of data protection, good governance and representation

The AOC has incorporated new indicators into the Digital Maturity Index. These are six indicators that assess compliance with certain obligations imposed by the Digital Administration regulations or the implementation of good digital transformation practices. 

Why some new indicators 

The ÍMD is subject to a continuous improvement process. In a changing context like the current one, it is necessary to identify new indicators that are gaining relevance and to adapt or replace other indicators that have lost descriptive power. The indicators we are working on assess the following topics: 

• Register of representations and powers of attorney 
• Internal reporting channel 
• Data Protection Officer 
• Integration with the public folders hub 
• Right of access to public information 
• Citizen participation processes 

All six indicators meet the requirements to be part of the IMD: they are relevant in the field of digital administration; they can be applied to all municipalities equally, regardless of their size and resources; and we have rigorous data to measure it. 

To calculate the new indicators, we obtained the data from the services It represents, Ethical mailbox, My space, eTRAM i WE DECIDE of the AOC, the service Empower of the AGE and the Register of data protection delegates of the APDCAT. 

In the case of municipalities and county councils that do not use the above services, we are testing web scraping technology to automatically obtain data from their web pages. However, and since it is a trial process, Next Monday, January 30, we will publish a draft of the data and amendments can be made until February 28, 2023. 

Relevance of the new indicators 

Register of representations and powers of attorney 

The purpose of the Electronic Register of Powers of Attorney is to register the representations that citizens and companies grant to third parties to act on their behalf before the Public Administrations. Law 39/2015 and Royal Decree 203/2021 oblige local bodies to have an electronic Register of Powers of Attorney and regulates its operation. 

Complaints channel 

The internal reporting channel, also called the internal communication channel or ethics mailbox, aims to protect people who report conduct that seriously harms the public interest (infringements, cases of fraud and corruption, etc.). It's a obligation imposed by the entry into force of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on all local administrations, and a "sine qua non" condition in order to be able to receive subsidies related to the Next Generation Funds 

Data Protection Delegate 

Privacy and data protection are fundamentals of digital administration. They are part of the set of digital rights and are essential for citizens to trust digital services. 

The Data Protection Officer (DPD) is the guarantor of compliance with data protection regulations in an organization. all local bodies are obliged to appoint a DPD and communicate their appointment to the APDCAT, as established by the RGPD and LOPDGDD. 

Integration with the AOC citizen folder hub 

The Citizen Folder Hub (MyGov) is the technological element that allows integration with "My Space", a citizen folder with an inter-administrative vision. Today "My space" includes all the procedures carried out by citizens with the majority of services provided by the AOC and is integrated with "My citizen folder" of the AGE. 

We consider that the integration with MyGov is a good practice, as it provides citizens with an integrated and inter-administrative view of their actions. In addition, allows you to comply with the requirement to access Next Generation sources to be integrated with "My citizen folder" 

Right of access to public information 

Next to the obligations of active advertising, the right of access is one of the pillars of the transparency of public administrations. According to Law 19/2014, requests for access to public information must be submitted by any means, including electronic ones. Although citizens can exercise this right with a generic online instance, at the AOC we consider it a good practice to offer a specific form that facilitates and clarifies the completion of the procedure. 

Citizen participation processes 

Currently, the IMD evaluates whether they have carried out at least one citizen participation process using electronic means and whether they have used electronic voting. Thanks to the open data of the Decidim Catalunya service, we can now know the number of participatory processes carried out and the participants in each of the processes and we want to explore this information to improve the indicators in this area. 

Acknowledgments Open Administration

The IMD score is used to award the Open Administration Awards. Remember to review your data during the amendment period, from 31 January 2023 to 28 February 2023, including those relating to the new indicators.