- Open administration
The number of people using digital services has quadrupled since the pandemic
20% of the population always or almost always needs help to carry out procedures with the Administration, according to the report “The Digital Divide and Digital Administration in Spain 2023Elaborat per la Ferrer i Guardia Foundation, which presents the first state data linking an analysis of digital gaps in relation to skills and digital administration. Thus, the digital divide is one of the main obstacles to the success of digital administration services, as it prevents many people from accessing them and increases inequalities.
The report has been prepared based on a survey, collectively created by a committee of experts, where data from all dimensions has been collected.: access, use and exploitation of digital administration, serving different digital inclusion profiles of the Spanish population. It also delves into the advantages and disadvantages of digital processing or the specific needs of people with digital vulnerability.
Digital inclusion, a key piece
As a highlight, the report highlights that the level of digital inclusion is decisive in the access and use of digital administration: the greater the digital inclusion, the greater the access and use and the lower the inclusion, the lower the use and access. This factor directly affects the perception that citizens have of the advantages of the digitalization of the administration where 25% of people with a low digital inclusion profile do not perceive advantages in the digitalization of the Administration.
In this sense, from theAOC We promote various service improvement actions aimed at guaranteeing compliance with the accessibility rights and, therefore, the inclusion of any groupIn this way we facilitate the relationship between citizens and Catalan administrations and improve their user experience, generating trust and in a secure way.
THEaccompaniment is revealed as a strategic element for the development of a digital transformation process of the Administration from a perspective of socio-digital inequalities. Currently, greater autonomy is required on the part of the population and if this is not accompanied by support, the population's distrust of the digital transformation process and the functioning of administrative procedures increases. That is why, from the AOC, we give support to users of our services who have queries or incidents with the use of the AOC's digital services, as well as the assisted processing service, with step-by-step support for cases in which digital inclusion problems are detected.
Regarding the in-person, more than 85% of those surveyed consider it essential to maintain and strengthen face-to-face care: digital tools should be a complement or alternative to face-to-face care but not to replace it.
Two of the most frequent concerns among the population are those related to technical difficulties I la complexity of the proceduresIt is essential to develop strategies that allow a friendlier, simpler and more accessible user experience for the citizens.
Clear communication and plain language, designed and conceived from the citizens' point of view, has been established as the main axis for the construction of the AOC's services and portals aimed at citizens, within the framework of a new design system for all those AOC services offered to citizens and companies, with the aim of making our tools simpler, clearer and more understandable.
The availability and use of forms of digital identification they also constitute a factor of inequality: 21% of the population does not have any digital identification, a figure that rises to 40% in the case of people with incomes below €1100 per month. This represents a barrier to the use of digital administration, since a significant percentage of procedures cannot be carried out, at least not without the mediation of a third party.
In this sense, from the AOC we make available to citizens themobile idCAT, a free identification system that can be obtained easily and quickly, and that allows you to identify yourself and sign electronic documents for the online completion of procedures with public administrations (without having to remember any password or PIN, which does not require any type of software, and is secure).
That the Administration be proactive, that is, that it anticipates the needs of the population and provides them with the services they can benefit from, is seen in a polarized way: 43,4% of the
population indicates that they agree compared to 36,3% who disagree. This could be the result of two factors: on the one hand, the ignorance of this possibility and its advantages and on the other hand to the mistrust by the citizens of this functionality.
The AOC works actively to offer solutions and products that make life easier for citizens, focusing on proactivity in the offer of services, with projects such as the social assistance recommender.
The 2023 report published by the Ferrer i Guàrdia Foundation continues the First Survey on Digital Divide in Spain published in 2022.
The role of the AOC in digital inclusion
The inclusion and respect of citizens' rights in their relationship with digital public services are fundamental to guarantee a fair, accessible and efficient public administration that can meet the needs of all citizens in an equitable and respectful manner and that, in at the same time, it generates trust.
To achieve this objective, the AOC promotes several actions to improve services aimed at guaranteeing inclusion from any group, working in all these areas:
- accessibility
- procedures on mobile
- clear communication
- cybersecurity
- availability
- continuous improvement
- support and processing attended to