Citizens' Services

Significant themes in 2012

Citizens’ Services have been working on becoming an increasingly modern and attractive place of work and at the same time generate efficient citizens’ services that will benefit citizens.
Among the most significant themes for 2012 were:

  1. Efficiency improvement and competence development
  2. Digitisation
  3. Cooperation
     

A digital strategy

Work in Citizens’ Services supports a number of joint strategies for public service development. In particular the eGOVERNMENT strategy in which the aim is to turn all communication between citizens and the public authorities digital in 2015. In 2012, Citizens’ Services have also worked on a new version of the channel strategy for the City of Aarhus. The strategy is anticipated to be adopted in the autumn of 2013.

The three themes from 2012 are still of great interest at the moment. In 2013, a common concept is developed in Citizens’ Services and Libraries which entails administrative staff helping citizens solve their inquiries digitally. Working with ‘My Page’, where citizens can view information from a number of services and over time must be able to follow their own cases continually, is continued and works in harmony with the recently adopted agreement on structure for the City of Aarhus in which track and trace is a focus area. Track and trace in this case concerns citizens and businesses being able to follow case handling.

Debate on public service

Development of public citizens’ services demand an ongoing debate which constantly ensures that those who are able to service themselves digitally do so, and resources can thus be used where they are needed. Aarhus follows and contributes continuously to this debate. In 2012, for instance, a cross-municipal collaboration has been initiated which concerns an evening telephone hotline for digital self-service. Via this telephone hotline, citizens can receive self-service assistance outside of usual opening hours. A common public hotline is part of financial negotiations and the pilot project in Aarhus contributes with knowledge that is used in these discussions.

Development projects

In 2012, Citizens’ Services have worked on the following development projects:

  • We succeeded in bringing together the City’s functions regarding collection, implementing a new IT system and breaking the curve in arrears that has been constantly ascending since 2004. Besides the endeavours in collecting arrears, our purpose in the long term is not only to provide the city council with a collective and improved overview, but also citizens with an overview over their unsettled accounts with the city.
  • Collaboration with e.g. housing associations: the efforts to limit moves of pro forma in Gellerup, Toveshøj and Bispehaven has been a great success
  • Transverse collaboration on Hotline for Digital Self-service: pilot project initiated
  • Diversity project with the Institute for Human Rights
  • Reorganising the citizen service function; including the floorwalker and co-service concept
  • Obligatory digitization: part 1 is finished
  • Digital mail: efforts for further support were made and a campaign was carried out in 2012 entitled Free your Binders
  • Collaborations on digital inclusion:
    • DaneAge Association
    • The National Association of Senior Citizens Councils
    • The Prison Service
    • Primary and lower-secondary schools and continuation schools
    • General Information
    • Branch Libraries
  • Internal collaboration on e.g.:
    • Channel Strategy
    • Responsive webdesign
    • Marketing digital mail – Free your Binders
  • Joint service design for Citizens’ Services and Libraries
  • Dokk1: a united future