Last November, a workshop was held to review and improve the Digital Maturity Index (IMD), with the participation of representatives of town councils and councils. As a result of the workshop, new relevant indicators have been identified and will be gradually incorporated into the IMD. In the 2023 edition, the index already has two new indicators, which evaluate automated administrative actions and account performance.
The main objective of the workshop was to address the need to adapt the IMD to the changes in the technological landscape and the expectations of the public. For this, several specific objectives were established, including the review of current indicators and the identification and prioritization of new relevant indicators.
At the same time, it was sought to encourage the active participation of the representatives of the town councils and the deputations for ensure a broad and balanced perspective in the IMD improvement process. This approach ensures a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the field of digital transformation of local entities.
The results of the workshop were encouraging and meaningful. Participants reviewed each dimension of the IMD and prioritized new key indicators that reflect the digital maturity of local governments. In addition, it isindicators that evaluate the impact, such as citizen satisfaction and improved efficiency. Impact evaluation goes deeper than simply measuring results; it provides us with an understanding of what is really changing and how this change affects citizens, the administrations themselves and society in general.
After analyzing all the contributions, one has been finalized from the AOC list of indicators that we consider viable to gradually incorporate into the IMD in future editions. These are indicators for which a public data source exists, data is available for all entities and it is feasible to automate the obtaining of this data:
Automated Administrative Actions
When we talk about automated administrative actions, we mean the automation of the administrative procedure. This one automation has a significant impact on efficiency, as it leads to savings in time and resources, as well as a decrease in errors. In addition, it has an impact on the satisfaction of workers since it frees them from manual tasks and they can devote themselves to more qualified jobs with greater added value.
In case of using the automated administrative actions, it is necessary to regulate a series of issues (such as, which will be the competent body responsible for the purpose of appeal or the cases of use of electronic stamps or CSV) and publish on the entity's electronic headquarters an updated list of the automated administrative actions linked to the services, procedures and procedures.
In the current edition of the IMD, we have incorporated an indicator that assesses whether the entity has published a rule that regulates automated administrative actions. As a source of information we use the Finder of Official Information and Documentation (CIDO) of the Provincial Council of Barcelona and the data provided by the entities during the amendment period.
Performance of accounts
Local entities have the obligation to give accounts of its operations to the Statutory Auditors annually, before October 15 of the year following the end of the financial year. The Audit Office can carry out a double check on municipal accounts: a management check, with the aim of suggesting better practices for more efficient management, and a legality check, with the aim of detecting and reporting illegal practices legal
Sending accounts is one exercise of public transparency of the balance sheets of local entities and of the management carried out in the economic, financial, patrimonial and budgetary aspects. However, in the last report published by the Audit Office, it was evidenced that 27% of Catalan municipalities failed to meet the deadlines for the presentation of their accounts and, of those that did, 84,45% of the cases showed deficiencies which the Sindicatura required to amend.
The new indicator Performance of accounts evaluates whether local entities comply with the obligation to send their accounts within the established period. The data is obtained from the web page of the Audit Office itself.
The IMD score is used to award the Acknowledgments Open Administration. You can consult all the indicators, including the indicators Automated Administrative Actions and Performance of accounts in the data report for the calculation of the 2023 Digital Maturity Index.
