Best Practice cases form the core of

the Quality conferences for the Public

Administrations in the European Union.

Fourth quality conference is no exception,

we can still trust the idea that we can learn

from each other by sharing Best Practices.

Altogether 78 best practice cases were

selected by the member countries and

co-operative countries and European

Commission to be presented at the 4QC in

Tampere in September 2006.

Th is publication contains short descriptions

and contact information of these best

practice cases.

We believe that this book is useful for

its readers both during the 4QC and

afterwards. Th is book can be used as

a summary and information source of what

type of best practice cases are presented at

the 4QC and later on, it serves as a archive

of these cases including contact information

for each case.

www.4qconference.orginfo@4qconference.org

4TH QUALITY CONFERENCE FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS IN THE EU

BEST PRACTICE CASES

27.-29. September 2006 - Building Sustainable Quality Tampere, Finland

2

FOREWORD

The Ministers of Public Administration agreed in November 1998 that new methodsshould be developed for sharing knowledge between the EU Member States onquality improvements of public sector. This led to the decision of organising a public sector quality conference where best practice cases from all member statesare presented. Ever since the best practice cases have remained to be the core of the quality conferences.

The number of presented best practice cases in quality conferences has increasedsteadily. In the first quality conference for public administrations in the EU in Lisbon(2000) 39 best practice cases were presented, in Copenhagen (2002) 49 bestpractice cases were presented, in Rotterdam (2004) 65 best practice cases werepresented and in Tampere (2006) the number of best practice cases is 78.

All member countries and co-operative countries and European Commission havenominated their respective best practice cases by using their own independentselection processes and methods. The 4QC secretariat has, with the help of thenetwork of Innovative Public Services Group (IPSG), collected case descriptionsand contact information of each best practice case.

This book is based on the collected information and it contains one page summaryof each case. It has to be noted, that the summaries in this book are based on thelong case descriptions and that they are summarised and edited by the 4QC secretariat. The summaries in this book do not cover all information available of the case. Full case descriptions are available at the 4QC websitewww.4qconference.org. Further information of each case can also be reached bycontacting the contact person mentioned in every page after the case summary.

We hope that the experts participating in the 4QC find this book useful whenfamiliarizing themselves with the best practice cases. This book can be used as a summary and information source of what type of best practice cases are presentedat the 4QC and later on, it serves as an archive of these cases including contactinformation for each case.

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4

STATISTICS OF THE BEST PRACTICE CASES

The number of Best Practice cases presented at the workshops of the 4th Quality Conference for public administrations is 78.

These 78 cases come from 28 different countries and from the EuropeanCommission.

When asked of the level from which the cases arex 35 cases answered that they are from the state levelx 6 cases said that they represent federal levelx 14 cases are from regional levelx 20 cases informed that they are local level casesx 3 cases represent the European Commission

When the Best Practice cases of the 4QC sent in information regarding their cases,they were also asked to choose out of the following features which would be the ones that best describe their particular case. The idea behind this exercise was to give a very quick idea of what features are most typical to the cases. The fact thatthe cases chose only one or two features does not mean that they wouldnt have hadwork going on also in the other areas. They were just asked to choose the one that best would describe their case.

The Features of the Best Practice cases per centCommitted leadership in translating vision into action 5 % Strategic leadership for achieving the targets set 12 % Developing and using the capacities and full potential of the personnel 10 % Effective management of resources and partnerships 11 % Developing and managing processes 15 % The satisfaction of the customers and citizens 22 % The involvement and satisfaction of personnel 3 % Evidence-based performance improvements 3 % Innovation and implementing change 19 %

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6

CONTENTS

AUSTRIA..................................................................................................................11TQM at Wels-Land District Administration ...............................................................11Reorganisation Project of the Austrian Finance Administration...............................12Quality Management in the Austrian Labour Inspection ..........................................13BELGIUM .................................................................................................................14TQM with CAF and BSC, City of Ghent ...................................................................14Students Satisfaction Assessment, Haute Ecole provinciale de Charleroi - Universit du Travail ................................................................................................15Core process of the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain ......16BULGARIA ...............................................................................................................17System for self-assessment of the administrative service delivery quality management system................................................................................................17CYPRUS ..................................................................................................................18Quality Service Solution for Cyprus Electricity Authority..........................................18Citizens Advice Bureau of Strovolos Municipality ....................................................19The Quality System of the Dental Department of Cyprus........................................20CZECH REPUBLIC..................................................................................................21Electronic Service, Short Text Messages Scheme, Municipality of Chomutov .......21Benchmarking of Municipalitiess Performance, Training Centre for PublicAdministration...........................................................................................................22Czech Approach to Rewarding Quality in Public Administration .............................23DENMARK ...............................................................................................................24Health in your own language, The Health Administration of the City of Copenhagen..................................................................................................................................24A customer orientation approach that resulted in reduction of the student drop-outrate, SKT ..................................................................................................................25Unconditional approach to citizens, Center for short breaks - Vejle County............26ESTONIA..................................................................................................................27National Land Information System Development, Estonian Land Board.................27Towards remote e-voting, National Electoral Committee, .......................................28Development of Modern Management Concepts in Enterprise Estonia ..................29EUROPEAN COMMISSION ....................................................................................30Improving the quality of EU legislation.....................................................................30A strategy to strengthen administrative performance in the HR domain .................31Enabling efficiency and transparency through information technology governance32FINLAND..................................................................................................................33Turku and Pori Military Province Headquarters .......................................................33Helsinki City Library..................................................................................................34Kainuu Brigade.........................................................................................................35FRANCE...................................................................................................................36Home care and assistance for family, Association Provenale d'Aide la Famille.36Marianne Charter, Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry.........................37Change of address, Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry ......................38GERMANY ...............................................................................................................39A digital link between business and statistics, Federal Statistical Office.................39Changing business processes in the administration, The German Aerospace Centre..................................................................................................................................40Actively working for businesses, The District of Herford..........................................41GREECE ..................................................................................................................42Identifying organizational deficits and designing administrative improvements, Thecase of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens ...............................42Standardized operational procedures and measuring customer satisfaction, The Case of Athens Metro..............................................................................................43Improving local social service through the application of EFQM, Municipality of Nea Ionia Magnesias .......................................................................................................44

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HUNGARY...............................................................................................................45The application of the quality management system incorporating CAF, National Employement Office................................................................................................. 45System of on-line application management............................................................. 464 for Quality, Best Practises Cases at the Hungarian Police, Szabolcs-Szatmr-Bereg County Police Headquartes........................................................................... 47IRELAND.................................................................................................................. 48Improving care around dying in hospitals, Irish Health Service, (Dublin/NorthEast)48A sustainable approach to animal welfare, Irish Local Government (County Louth)................................................................................................................................. 49Quality management of prison food and training, Irish Prison Service,................... 50ITALY ....................................................................................................................... 51The social account of ASSB, Public agency for social services of the municipality of Bolzano .................................................................................................................... 51Jesolo Report - Social Reporting, Municipality of Jesolo......................................... 52Development of Quality Systems in the Municipality of Milan ................................. 53LATVIA..................................................................................................................... 54Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Agency........................................ 54Human resource management way to total quality, State Blood Donor Centre ... 55State Social Insurance Agency ................................................................................ 56LITHUANIA .............................................................................................................. 57One-Stop-Shop, Vilnius City Municipal Government Administration ....................... 57Implementation of the Integrated Model of the Health and Social Care, PanevezysCounty Governor's Administration ........................................................................... 58Adaptation of recreational objects in the forests for physically disabled needs,Directorate General of State Forests under the Ministry of Environment ................ 59LUXEMBOURG........................................................................................................ 60Implementing a common project management methodology for IT projects in the public sector, Service eLuxembourg........................................................................ 60Geide MSS/Geide, Ministry of Social Security......................................................... 61MALTA ..................................................................................................................... 62The On-Line Renewal of Vehicle Licenses, Ministry for Industry, Investment and Information Technology............................................................................................ 62NETHERLANDS ...................................................................................................... 63The Living Library..................................................................................................... 63Digital Handwriting Recognition ............................................................................... 64The Dutch Taxonomy Project .................................................................................. 65NORWAY ................................................................................................................. 66Altinn trade and industrys gateway to public services, Ministry of Trade and Industry .................................................................................................................... 66Good with people a quality project in the Regional Health and Social ServiceSector, The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities................... 67Implementation of CAF in the Regional Offices for Welfare and Protection of Children and Families, (Bufetat), Southern Norway ................................................ 68POLAND .................................................................................................................. 69Minimising errors in tax returns, Tax Office in Plonsk.............................................. 69System of informing police for deaf and dumb persons, Municipal PoliceHeadquarters in Legnica.......................................................................................... 70E-office for clients, Swietokrzyski voivodeship office in Kkielce .............................. 71PORTUGAL ............................................................................................................. 72Public Employment Marketplace, Directorate General for Public Administration.... 72Public e-Procurement Program, Knowledge Society Agency.................................. 73On the Spot Firm, UCMA - Office for Public Reform ............................................... 74ROMANIA ................................................................................................................ 75A modern tool for public administration in Romania, Ministry of Administration andInterior ...................................................................................................................... 75

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SLOVAK REPUBLIC................................................................................................76Process Mapping, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic..............................76 Experiences of the city of Martin at the ISO standards, model EFQM and CAF model, City Hall of Martin .........................................................................................77SLOVENIA ...............................................................................................................78One stop shop - e-VEM, Ministry of Public Administration ......................................78E-government and Pension Insurance, Pension Insurance Institute of Slovenia ....79SPAIN.......................................................................................................................80Vineyard register of La Rioja.- Use of new technologies .........................................80The Cadastral Virtual Office, General Directorate of Cadaster................................81Service Commitment to Citizens, Ajuntament d'Esplugues de Llobregat................82SWEDEN..................................................................................................................83Diversity as an asset, The County Administrative Board of Stockholm...................83City of Ume and the Swedish quality award for municipalities ..............................84FAROS-Cooperation between the National Labour Market and the Social InsuranceAdministration to help citizens return to work ..........................................................85UNITED KINGDOM..................................................................................................86Benefits Online, City of Edinburgh Council ..............................................................86Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service - Changing Working Patterns .........87The school at the centre of the community, Dyke House School ............................88

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10

AUSTRIA

TQM at Wels-Land District Administration

The District Administration Authority of Wels-Land is an authority of sovereignty andintervention administration. The contents of the official decisions are legally givenand are principally not negotiable with the customers; discretionary power is onlypartly granted to the authority.

At the beginning of the Total Quality Management (TQM) project an investigation ofthe present status was performed; its results, however, were not presented in terms of quantity. Only afterwards, that is to say after conclusion of individual subprojectsand after an evaluation of the results of individual process analyses, differentmeasurement variables were comparable.

At present and above all, the duration of actions within selected ranges (trades -,water -, forest and nature protection law) is measured on the basis of an electronicprocedure information system and compared region-wide with other districtadministration authorities ("EVI" - Elektronisches Verfahrensinformationssystem).

A further measuring instrument is "CATS-ESS" (Cross Application Time System - Employee Self Service), which likewise creates possibilities of comparison with other regional administration authorities. This serves above all for the simplification and rationalisation of procedures and the simplification of the accounting of travelexpenses; the data are entered directly by the employees. On the basis of theseresults the quarterly ratios are evaluated and, among other things, consulted for acomparison and a potential reduction of the cost per unit with a set of processes.

Furthermore, reports of the Independent Administrative Senate of the Land of Upper Austria are evaluated and taken into consideration as a measurement variable (decrease of redresses as a reference to a quality increase of decisions). Theevaluation of the individual results points out the strengths but also possibly existingpotentials of improvement, which are to be taken advantage of.

The most important lesson learnt A substantial experience in the implementation of the project was the immenseimportance to include both employees and executive managers in each phase asextensively as possible. It has also been proved that in many cases an evenstronger integration of the employees would have been beneficial, in order to ensurethe transparency, but above all the identification of everyone with the project.

Contact information:Dr. Josef GruberBezirkshauptmannschaft Wels-LandA - 4600 Wels, Herrengasse 8, Austria www.bh-wels-land.gv.atjosef.gruber@ooe.gv.at or bh-wl.post@ooe.gv.atPhone: +43 07242-618-300, 302

11

AUSTRIA

Reorganisation Project of the Austrian Finance Administration

The Ministry of Finance is one of the most traditional Ministries in Austria. As thehighest finance authority, the Ministry of Finance is the centre of financial andeconomic policy for Austria. It is divided into a central Ministry and five subordinateregional directorates which consist of 41 tax offices, 15 customs offices and 8 largetrader audit units. The total number of staff is around 12 000 people.

The reform of the tax administration was the biggest change process in the AustrianFinance Administration and involved nearly 9000 employees. The objective of thereform is not just structural reorganization but the reorganization of procedures,functions, and above all, a new "Corporate Culture".

A special project team was created to empower instruments of New PublicManagement within the Austrian Finance Administration. This team had two leaders,who were responsible to the Minister of Finance only. Together with two externalconsultants, the project team planned the whole change process including legalregulations, size and structure of the organisation, human resources, infrastructureand equipment. The core team included 10 persons, while the whole reform teamconsisted of 25 members. For the implementation process, a group of 15 peoplewere trained and qualified as "future change agents". These change agentsaccompanied the change process in each tax office. The project team finished its work after the implementation of the reform. The change agents still provide supportupon request.

The most important lesson learnt The opposition at the beginning of the project decreased as the reform continued. Tofacilitate this process, open and wide-spread communication was essential. This included a transparent process for appointing people to certain functions.

To demonstrate that the administration is more open, involvement of representativesfrom all levels in the internal reform process is recommended. A close connectionbetween the implementing and the management levels ensures the continuousassessment of the process which can enable a constant guiding of the process.Finally, it has to be pointed out that the change of culture in an administrationrequires long term planning and cannot be achieved within a short time-period.

Contact information:Dr. Manfred ElmeckerMinistry of Finance4010 Linz, Zollamtstrae 7, Austria www.bmf.gv.atManfred.Elmecker@bmf.gv.atPhone: +43 0 664/6211784

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AUSTRIA

Quality Management in the Austrian Labour Inspection

Strategic steering is not an easy task for the Labour Inspection. 300 colleaguesworking in field service enforce a high number of legal provisions which frequentlyallow several interpretations. The number of companies is so high in relation to theLabour Inspection staff that the careful definition of priorities is essential in order toraise effectiveness and efficiency. The strategic objective of the project is to continuously improve in the following four areas: customer orientation, efficiency,effectiveness and staff qualification. It was specifically important that the entire organisation embraces quality as a value, and that a comprehensive concept is laiddown in a manual that all staff members can apply in their fields of work.

The model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) that weused as the basis of our work builds on the fundamental principle that the quality of results depends on the quality of leadership, personnel, strategy and planning,resources and processes (the so-called enablers).

To guarantee success, the project management had to ensure that the process was controlled with particular care. The concrete substance-related solutions, however,had to be developed by the experts in the regional labour inspectorates in order to ensure that they were in line with practical needs and would be accepted: top-downprocess control and bottom-up development of solutions.

As a result of the quality-process three new fundamental management tools wereimplemented: the framework strategy, the performance indicators and the annualwork plan. The framework strategy applying to Labour Inspection as a wholedescribes the strategic position, the core services (i.e. external action fields) and core competences (i.e. internal action fields) and lays down strategic objectives. It serves for the orientation and definition of basic priorities within the entireorganisation.

A set of suitable performance indicators was developed. It also allows for thestrategic management of the labour inspectorates and a conclusive presentation ofthe output achieved by means of the resources spent. Starting in 2006 thematicpriority actions is laid down in an annual work plan in co-operation with the regionallabour inspectorates.

The most important lesson learntIt is important that the entire organisation embrace quality as a value and the concrete substance-related solutions are developed by the experts in the organisation in order to ensure that they are in line with practical needs and areaccepted.

Contact information:Patricia JennerFederal Ministry for Labour, Labour InspectionA-1040 Wien, Favoritenstrae 7, Austria www.arbeitsinspektion.gv.atpatricia.jenner@bmwa.gv.atPhone: +43 1 71100-6435

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BELGIUM

TQM with CAF and BSC, City of Ghent

The city of Ghent is one of the key employers in the region. The organisation wishesto provide citizens with a high-quality service, with satisfied employees, throughefficient procedures and processes with the means available. This objective can onlybe pursued owing to the daily customer-oriented, efficient and result-oriented effortsof all the employees. The provision of services is focused on various policies,clustered into 13 departments.

The City Council determines the basic principles and policy guidelines. Priority is given to determine the vision, mission, strategic and operational objectives within thedepartments. Total Quality Management is stimulated, co-ordinated and supportedby the Office for Quality Care. A significant role is assigned to the 14 quality co-ordinators within the City of Ghent, performing an individual task within their specificdepartment or service. The overall task of the quality co-ordinators is to support the heads of department as regards the application of Total Quality Management in their department. In consultation with their management team, the heads of departmentdetermine the implementation process of Total Quality Management within their respective departments and they also define the priorities.

The policy document for Total Quality Management 2003-2006 is essential for the results achieved. Consequently, a similar memorandum will be prepared for the next policy period 2007-2012. Other critical successful factors for the implementation ofTotal Quality Management were training with respect to quality care on every level of the organisation, annual drafting and follow up of quality action plans and constantlearning process, using the expertise of external consultants and networks.Afterwards, it will be possible to coach the internal quality projects on an independent way. The quality care issue will be embedded in the corporate planningprocess. Consequently, the entire organisation will pay attention to quality care.

The most important lesson learnt Respect for the other departments of your organisation. Do not act as a godfather,who enforces the execution of his decisions. Consider the rest of the organisationconsistently as your internal client.

Contact information:Patrick van Hamme City of Ghent Botermarkt 1, B 9000 Gent, Belgiumwww.gent.bepatrick.vanhamme@gent.bePhone: +32 0 9 266 73 03

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BELGIUM

Students Satisfaction Assessment, Haute Ecole provinciale de Charleroi -Universit du Travail

The Haute Ecole Provinciale de Charleroi Universit du Travail (Provincial Schoolfor Higher Education) offers proximity higher education and quality training coursesleading to certificates of Bachelors and Masters. It provides 29 training coursesorganised in 6 departments. The HEPCUT trained 2,645 students in 2004-2005 andits staff includes around 250 teachers, 6 Department Directors and one Director ofEducation.

In order to assess students satisfaction with the school and their studies, a long-term procedure was set up (three years by three years), using a SEQuALS type of method. The first objective was to raise the number of students, but the ultimate goalwas to create a real school culture based on a common will to reach quality teaching, via continuous improvement and openness. First, key areas were definedand after that the focus groups started working following SEQuALS steps. Then thesub-groups created questionnaires administered to the first-year students on their first day at our school but also questionnaires for potential students, those whovisited Open Doors Days, Education fairs, on the website, etc. Results from thestudents questionnaires led to a plan-do-check-adapt behaviour.

The focus group either creates a full questionnaire or a series of focus questions tobe added to another questionnaire already made by another group. Thanks to that system students are not overwhelmed by too many questionnaires. The assessmentalso enjoys the help of further teachers who are ready to help without really being involved in the quality approach. Those teachers namely pass on information andhelp handing out and collecting questionnaires.

Examples of results are: satisfaction level with mobility, with ODD, with reception, with enrolment, with our website, with placement preparation and follow up, withstudy work and its follow up, and so on. All those results were compared on a three-year basis. Simple comparison of results shows noticeable rising of satisfactionlevels for all expectations. Between the two investigations a series of suggestionshad been made that were taken into account.

The most important lesson learnt The quality approach was truly a unifying effect of the institution. For the first timesince its creation in 1995, its staff could feel that they had some control on decisionsand improvements and it gave them an impression of belonging.

Contact information:Christine DefoinHaute Ecole provinciale de Charleroi - Universit du TravailHEPCUT - Dpartement conomique, 2 Square Jules Hiernaux, B-6000 Charleroi,Belgiumwww.hepcut.bechristine.defoin@hainaut.bePhone: +32 476 81 99 92

15

BELGIUM

Core process of the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the FoodChain

The mission of the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) is topreserve the safety of the food chain and the quality of food to protect the health of humans, animals and plants. The Agency was founded early in 2000. The dioxincrisis of 1999 made the Belgian government decide to merge these distinct servicesinto one new Food Agency. The FASFC is not a Ministry but an autonomousgovernmental organisation headed by a chief executive officer reporting directly tothe Minister of Public Health.

The first step towards the accomplishment of the core process was taken in 2002.The new structure of the FASFC was laid down and the organisation scheme drawnup while defining the core activities. In 2003 the first control programme and the first control plan were drawn up. Given the poor ICT support, this was not an easy task.Very soon, the original Excell tool was replaced by a web application. However, thereal test came in 2004 when the first control plan had to be implemented. In the firstmonths of the year, the introduction of the system was a very labour-intensive andchaotic process, carried out under the strict supervision of the management. At the moment, the cycle is operational and everyone is aware of the additional value ofgood practices. Preparing controls has become much easier, each PCU head knowshis objectives and can organise work more effectively, management can react morepromptly and holds a stronger position in negotiations with stakeholders.

As for samplings some 98 % of the planned activities were carried out in 2005. As for controls, 92 % of the planned controls were carried out. This result may beexplained by the fact that in some PCUs, more controls were carried out than initiallyplanned subsequent to the renewal of authorisations in the distributions sector. Withrespect to samplings in 2005, the best results were obtained by the PCU of Hainaut,with a rate of more than 112 % of the number of planned samplings. For controls,the PCU of Lige, with a rate of nearly 172 %, obtained the best results. The fact that more controls were carried out than the number planned is due to the fact that extra controls were needed subsequent to the renewal of authorisations in the distribution sector.

The most important lesson learnt Realistic timing and planning are vital to such important changes. If you want toachieve excellence you have to be ambitious - aim high enough since its natural for the arrow to descend on its path. Management has to be able to motivate theircollaborators in the long-term. Introducing new working methods requires skilledtraining for all levels of the organisation, management, middle management and thepeople in the field.

Contact information:Tom VanoverscheldeBelgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC)Simon Bolivarlaan 30 - 21ste verdieping, Belgiumwww.favv.betom.vanoverschelde@favv.bePhone +32 2 208 48 22

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BULGARIA

System for self-assessment of the administrative service delivery quality management system

The self-assessment system of the administrative service delivery is an Internet-based system, accessible for the individual administrations, for assessing the qualityof the services, and for measuring the results from the administrative servicedelivery. Analysis of the process of administrative service delivery is made using theself-assessment system, and the respective conclusions and recommendations for improving the administrative services are formulated.

Following actions were taken during the process; Active and continuouscommunication between the administrations and the coordinator, training of the civil servants for operating the self-assessment system, determination of genericprinciples to public service delivery in the context of the one-stop-shop andcontinuous training of the civil servants, drafting of Client Charters. Creatingconfidence in the administrations that their reports provoke real measures. Widepublicity is given to the summarized data from the self-assessment system.

Complete information has been presented by a number of administrative structuresthrough the system. The administrative structures reporting through the self-assessment system had been improved considerably. One of the most importantindicators included in the system is the level of the development of the administrations. The Client Charters are a part of the measures, which predeterminethe policy of development of the administrative service delivery in the differentstructures.

The number of employees who do not use Internet has been reduced from 16%during to 9%. The improvement of the information-communication provision in the administrations has an effect on their capacity to provide electronic services. The new form for self-assessment includes questions related to the CommonAssessment Framework of the public administrations in the European Union andhas been developed on the basis of the model of the European Foundation for Quality Management.

The most important lesson learnt The establishment of direct and continuous communication between the users of the system is a major factor in achieving the main system goals. The system has to becontinuously developed and improved.

Contact information:Lilia IvanovaMinistry of State Administration and Administrative Reform 1, Dondukov Blvd., 1594 Sofia, Bulgariawww.mdaar.government.bgL.Ivanova@government.bgPhone:+359 2 940 2112

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CYPRUS

Quality Service Solution for Cyprus Electricity Authority

EAC is a semi-governmental electric utility organisation that employs approximately2000 people. Its headquarters are in Nicosia, Cyprus. EACs main activities concernthe generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy to the whole of Cyprus. The Electricity Authority of Cyprus launched and implemented an initiative to design and implement a continuous Improvement methodology for key Processes ofthe Organisation.

The process leading to the success was planned by the Quality Assurancedepartment, utilising the following main tools and methods: Introduction of ISO9001:2000 to specific Pilot Areas of the Organisation, identification and documentation ofall processes and key processes covering customer results, key performance resultsand people results, establish process owners, establish performance indicators to key processes, assign responsibilities of performance indicators to process ownersestablish measurement system based on statistical process control (SPC), reviewperformance at monthly intervals, following the RADAR cycle of continuousimprovement, review target setting at yearly intervals, design IT systems to supportrecording of information, introduction of various quality tools, such as flowcharts,process flows, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto analysis, etc. in order to focus andalign the continuous improvement teams.

To quantify the aims of the project, certain indicators have been established and arecontinuously measured. The measurement is done through the use of SPC (Statistical Process Control) and the results are continuously monitored by theProcess Owners. Continuous improvement teams are then established to plan and carry out the necessary improvement actions (following the RADAR cycle). Vitalstatistics and outcomes have been measured under the areas concerned and resultsbefore and following the implementation of the project compared.

The most important lesson learnt This project shows that a semi governmental Organisation with very limited experience in systems approach and target setting methodology can implementmanagement systems such as SO9001: 2000, and relative tools in order to helpimprove the organization.

Contact information:Andreas IoannidesElectricity Authority of CyprusPO Box:24506, Nicosia, 1399 Cypruswww.eac.com.cy/aioannid@eac.com.cyPhone: + 357 22201830

18

CYPRUS

Citizens Advice Bureau of Strovolos Municipality

The Municipality of Strovolos was founded in 1986 and is the second largestMunicipality in Cyprus with a population of about 70 000. The Municipal Serviceconsists of 76 employees and 142 workers. The Municipal Service is divided inseveral Departments according to their different activities. Aiming at the bestpossible service of the citizens and the facilitation of their contact with the Municipality we proceeded in 1998 to the establishment of the Citizens ServiceBureau.

Through a software, the complaints and demands of the public are registered in aspecial record and promoted electronically to the responsible Departments of theMunicipality for examination.

Into various pre-determined time frames, the Department responsible has anobligation of examining the complaint and to act responsibly. In the cases of rejecting a demand, a complete justified answer must be given to the complainer.The Department must also inform the Citizens Service Bureau for the final result of the complaint. At the end of each year, the Citizens Service Bureau prepares and submits to the General Management an annual report, which includes a numericaland statistical analysis of the complaints of the year, neglections and delays,ascertainments about the function of the institution as well as suggestions andproposals about ways of proccesing and resolving problems. The responsibility ofimplementing any decision-making is of the Citizens Service Bureau which preparesand submits a report to the Mayor who calls for a new meeting if this is considered to be necessary.

Strovolos municipality managed to reduce in total number the complaints that are submitted per year, to reduce the time necessary to examine the complaints and as a consequence the time to respond to the citizens and reduce the time required to transfer the complaints to the relevant Departments/people that will examine them.The citizens satisfaction regarding the information provided to them on theexamination of their complaints increased, their satisfaction regarding the timenecessary to solve their problems increased and their satisfaction regarding theprocessing/solution of their problems increased.

The most important lesson learnt It can be recalled that there was a strong determination on the part of the Mayor toseek the best way to serve the citizens of Strovolos without having them hunged up in his office or in any of the Municipalitys Managers offices begging for things that are within the citizens rights to receive. It is also worth noticing that the resistance tothe change is impersonal, but is always initiated by certain persons who have to be identified and disarmed without forcing them to an opposing side.

Contact information:Andreas LambrouStrovolos MunicipalityPO Box: 28403, Strovolos, 2094 Cypruswww.strovolos.org.cyalambrou@strovolos.org.cyPhone: + 357 22470303

19

CYPRUS

The Quality System of the Dental Department of Cyprus

Oral health care in Cyprus is provided by dentists and dental auxiliaries employed by the government (Dental Services of the Ministry of Health) and by private (non-governmental) dentists and dental auxiliaries financed by payments by patients or a source other than the government. Dental Department of the New Nicosia GeneralHospital belongs to the Dental Services of the Ministry of Health.

Since the establishment of the Dental Services there have not been any written documents stating that a specific operational policy or specific clinical or administrative protocols should be followed by the dental, paradental or supportingstaff of the Department. Due to the implementation of CAF the need for developingsuch policies and protocols arose.

The implementation of the process was planned by the Ministry of Health and steered by consultants. In charge of the case was the Director of the Dental Servicesof the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health supported the case. Two dentistsand a dental assistant (from the Dental Services) were assigned to coordinate the initiative. The personnel of the Dental Services were engaged in the initiative throughdepartmental meetings and individual written engagement. The personnel engagedwith the task used dentistry books and electronic databases-libraries to formulate theprotocols (evidence-based dentistry).

The Dental department is committed to developing and sustaining high qualitystandards of oral care based on the principles of quality management. It believes that in doing so the department will increase its operational efficiency and financialeffectiveness and promote the development of clear and concise processes, clinicalguidelines and patient information which will be measurable and guarantee the continuous promotion of a safe environment for patients and staff.

The most important lesson learnt The department believes all patients managed within the Dental Services will receiveprofessional dental care from experienced and highly motivated staff who will designthe care provided, where possible, to meet each individual patient need (researchand evidence based clinical care). The development of protocols will contribute tothe effort of the Ministry of Health of Cyprus to offer upgraded dental care to thepublic.

Contact information:Persefoni Lambrou ChristodoulouDental Services Ministry of HealthDental ServicesGeneral Hospital, 1450 Nicosia, Cypruswww.moh.gov.cy/moh/moh.nsf/dental_gr/dental_gr?OpenDocumentplambrou@ds.moh.gov.cyPhone: + 357 22301811

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Electronic Service, Short Text Messages Scheme, Municipality ofChomutov

There are approximately 51 500 inhabitants in the municipality of Chomutov and 86 300 inhabitants in the whole region. The charge and the goals of our municipaloffice are stated in Office Mission Statement. The four key processes are to provide services for residents and stakeholders, to provide human resources andeducational policies, to work in cooperation with strategic partners and guaranteetransparent policy-making and office culture.

In order to increase the productivity of the departments, available managerial tools,namely theory of constraints and management by objectives were utilized. ShortText Messages Scheme includes three basic electronic services, such asScheduling of appointments for residents using short text messages, FeedbackAdvisement Service and SMS-Infocenter.

The two main incentives behind the decision to introduce e-services in themunicipality were completion of a series of reforms in the public administrationsector and preparation of Chomutov Municipality for the entrance of the CzechRepublic into the European Union.

The launch was preceded by a massive advertising campaign. The directions for using the e-service were provided on the town web pages and repeatedly inChomutov Newspaper (delivered to each household free of charge). In addition,local newspapers reported on the planned introduction of the service and the officealso held a press conference. Furthermore, the event was covered by two regionaltelevisions and even the national TV helped promote Concept SMS.

Once the e-service was introduced queues became a thing of the past. The clientsstarted to use SMS and later email to make their appointments. If the clients werealready at the office, they could make their appointments through an informationservice counter located on the premises. The main task was to both provide the necessary information for clients and prevent long lines from forming at the offices.Since the staff were already experienced in using e-service, they could efficientlyinform the residents when to pick up their new documents.

The most important lesson learnt The public administration sector can greatly benefit from implementing somecommon business managerial tools and indeed the efforts stemmed from theawareness of the rivalry that exists even among public administrative bodies. Thebusiness sector is already embracing the new concept of Coopetition (cooperation + competition, meaning linking cooperation and competition together) and the administrative sector should not stay behind.

Contact information:Bedrich RathouskyMunicipality of ChomutovZborovska 4602, 430 28 Chomutov, Czech Republicwww.chomutov-mesto.czb.rathousky@chomutov-mesto.czPhone: +420 474 637 270

21

CZECH REPUBLIC

Benchmarking of Municipalitiess Performance, Training Centre for Public Administration

Training centre for Public Administration of the Czech Republic (FALA) is an NGOand it was established in 1991. Its mission is to provide training for local and regionalauthorities staff and elected representatives of local and regional government inorder to implement and reinforce sound, sustainable and democratic approachesand good methods of governance. FALA delivers training and related services from its headquarters in Prague and 11 regional branches all over the Czech Republic. Its training programmes are accredited by the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Education, Youth and Physical Training.

Beside its core business, FALA also carries out projects for and in cooperation withemployees of municipalities and regions. In order to bring the services closer tocitizens, in 2003, within the Czech public administration reform, district authoritieswere abolished; their tasks were taken over by 205 selected municipalities. In theProject of FALA 48 cities were involved. 30 areas of mostly delegated stateadministration tasks were measured and compared. 392 input data were defined as well as 647 relative indicators measuring the performance.

Benchmarking Initiative stems from the needs of the municipalities; already duringthe above mentioned project, the representatives of municipalities themselvesselected the areas of benchmarking as they found it useful to measure theperformance in "newly" delegated state administration powers. As the methodproved to give the managers of municipalities data, indicators, comparison that canbe used as background information in planning, evaluation and decision makingprocess, they decided to continue; the scope of areas for benchmarking has beenenlarged. But what is even more important and more useful is they can meet,compare their approaches, present their experiences and best practices and learnfrom each other.

The project has become sustainable. Number of members involved in benchmarkinghas increased. Benchmarking services are growing and benchmarking as a methodhas been enlarged to other branches of Czech public administration.

The most important lesson learnt Benchmarking is not only a very good tool to increase the performance effectivenessbut also to include its results as a source of information and a tool for planning,evaluation and decision-making.

Contact information:Jana VoldanovaFALA Training Centre for Public Administration of the Czech Republic, Vitkova 10/241,186 00 Praha 8, Czech Republicwww.vcvscr.czvoldanova@vcvcr.czPhone: +420 222 316 878

22

CZECH REPUBLIC

Czech Approach to Rewarding Quality in Public Administration

Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic is a central institution in charge ofmanagement, supervision and control of territorial public administration in the CzechRepublic. This project concerns appraisal of local authorities under the condition of demonstrable outcomes achieved during implementation of modern managerialtechniques within the authorities of territorial public administration. The awards of Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic for quality and innovation in territorial publicadministration are new type of awards which should reward effort of improving efficiency and quality of organisations of territorial public management and help to introduce sharing of good practice.

The main idea was to widen this award for public administration and supplement theaward for lower grades, which would motivate wide scale of public administrationoffices. Due to different ideas of all involved it was not possible to unite all type ofaward under an umbrella price of National Award. For these reasons ministerialsystem of quality awards for quality and innovation for territorial public administrationwas established.

Competition was organized for three types of awards of Ministry of Interior in theCzech Republic for quality and innovation in territorial public administration. First award is an award for an Organisation Improving Quality in Public Administration,whose purpose is to recognise effort for improvement of the quality achieved by the organisation. The award is bestowed for demonstrable improvement of work of organisation in the assessed year and the first though modest results. Second awardis an award of Organisation of Good Public Service. The purpose of this award is torecognise an effort of maintaining good quality of public services by the organisation,which entered the competition. The third type of award is Award for Innovation of Ministry of Interior in the Territorial Public Administration. Its purpose is to recognisenew non-traditional ideas and solutions, which would support activities of the municipal administration and would improve productivity. They can become theexamples of good practices and they are inspiration for other organisations.

The most important lesson learnt It is necessary to set simple and understandable rules for the competition and awardbestowment. It is important carefully to prepare external evaluators for their work. Itis important to make the award attractive, for instance through prise giving ceremonylinked with National Conferences and suitable publicity given to the winners.

Contact information:Tomas Zmeskal or Pavel KajmlMinistry of the Interior of the Czech RepublicNamesti Hrdinu 3, CZ-140 21 Prague 4, Czech Republicwww.mvcr.cz/pkajml@mvcr.czPhone: +420 974 816 276

23

DENMARK

Health in your own language, The Health Administration of the City of Copenhagen

This case is based in the Municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark. The implementingagency is The Public Health Office of Copenhagen Health Administration. In 2001the politicians in Copenhagen agreed upon a plan of action in order to improve the general health of ethnic minorities. It contained three strategic priorities:

1. Increasing the level of knowledge of the health status among different minoritygroups,2. Develop targeted services to ethnic minorities within the field of smoking, nutritionand physical exercise in collaboration with the target group and,3. Include the target group in developing a policy on ethnic minorities and publichealth.

The project comprised five phases all to be covered within the time frame of 14months. The planning process took 2 3 months. The second phase was therecruitment phase, which is crucial when using the peer education method becausesuccess depends very much on recruiting health educators who fulfil a range ofdemands, both professional and personal. The education of the candidatesconstituted the third phase. After finishing the education the emphasis of the fourthphase was engaging the health educators in health education among the targetgroup. The fifth phase has been evaluation. An external evaluation has being carriedout by an external evaluator with a background in Anthropology.

Maintenance of the health educators as part of the corps is generally a key challenge in peer education projects. On this point the project seems successfulafter one year. Apart from one candidate who dropped out before the educationbegan all 24 candidates finished the education. From 1st of January to 1st of April the health educators have been carrying out 47 seminars with an average of 12attendants. This is higher than expected. Over all the response from the settings,which the health educators have visited, has been very positive with a few exceptions.

The most important lesson learnt After the graduation of the educators the challenge has been to build up an effective incentive structure. It has been done through paying the health educators for theirjobs and for marketing the services.

Contact information:Astrid Blom The Public Health Office, The Health Administration of the City of CopenhagenSjllandsgade 40, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmarkwww.folkesundhed.dkastrid.blom@suf.kk.dkPhone: +45 35 30 45 27

24

DENMARK

A customer orientation approach that resulted in reduction of thestudent drop-out rate, SKT

The School for Dental Assistant, Hygienists and Clinical Technicians (SKT),Denmark has been working systematically with quality improvements since 1994.The EFQM Business Excellence Model was adapted in 1999. SKT is a small unit affiliated to Aarhus University with about 300 students present at any given point in time and staff of about 58 full time equivalents.

At SKT variety of output data is monitored. Over a short period of time the studentdrop-out rate at one of educations had suddenly increased to 40%. The management found this figure totally unacceptable.

Based on the task force analysis many initiatives were carried out in response to the demands revealed. Over the time present students have been increasingly involved in the identification and development of the changes.

Positive results derived from at multitude of changes in processes and attitudes.During two years time SKT was able to reduce student drop-out rate from 40% to17% and this has subsequently been stable over the period of time now. Thedropout rate is extremely low compared with similar educations in Denmark. Thisresult has been achieved at a time when the students results at the exams withexternal assessment have been unchanged and the students satisfactionmeasurements have increased in the surveys.

The most important lesson learnt The analysis done during this project revealed that reasons for student drop-out can be very different and diverse. As a consequence the task force concluded that solutions to prevent and solve drop-out should, therefore, be equally different and diverse. In many cases individual considerations and solutions have to be made.

Contact information:Bo DanielsenThe School for Dental Assistant, Hygienists and Clinical Technicians SKT, VennelystBoulevard 9, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark www.skt.au.dk bdaniel@skt.au.dkPhone: +45 8942 4203

25

DENMARK

Unconditional approach to citizens, Center for short breaks - Vejle County

Denmark has a relatively large public sector that strives a great deal to help citizensin need of short breaks. This is reflected by a large selection of offers financed by public funding with the aim of supporting citizens and families who, in one way or another, have difficulty taking care of themselves in the society that they are a part of. CFA (Centre for Holidays and Respite care) is Vejle County's way of offeringsupport services and short term respite care for all disabled children and adults wholive with their parents and have functional abilities that are permanently reducedeither physically or mentally.

Three essential factors have helped the projects become a success. One essentialfactor has been the desire to do it in a different and significantly better way than wasthe case at the original Centre. Furthermore, an essential factor has been a goodcontact with the parents and especially attention to their remarks and requests not in order to make them a part of the already existing daily routine but to make them asource of inspiration for change.

For each project it has been essential to ensure that it is communicated to andunderstood by the entire organisation in order for all the employees to follow theprocess from the original idea to its application. This has implied a need for a basicstaff training and therefore a systematic approach has been taken in that a commontraining has been provided in connection to each project.This concerns the tools touse as well as the foundation of the projects so that all employees understand thepractical way of completing them as well as their essential background

The use of the Centre and its occupancy level has risen remarkably up to thepresent day from approximately 50 % to 105 %. Another result is presented by the fact that the parent's demand for residential respite care at the other institutions for disabled children in the county has changed dramatically.

The most important lesson learnt Quality development at CFA is best described as a general development of the entire way of working at CFA. This development has taken place by, on the onehand, concentrating on keeping focus on the clients and the families and, on the other hand, a number of large development projects.

Contact information:Kirsten Bundgaard NielsenCenter for short breaks - Vejle CountyBygden 24; dk-7100 Vejle, Denmarkwww.vejleamt.dkkib@cfa.vejleamt.dkPhone: +45 75 83 34 44

26

ESTONIA

National Land Information System Development, Estonian Land Board

The Estonian Land Board (ELB) is responsible for the maintenance of the Land Cadastre, co-ordination and execution of land reform, co-ordination of the activitiesin the field of land consolidation, land assessment, geodesy, cartography andgeographical information. ELB is a public body implementing national land policy and providing the community with geospatial data.

ELB is responsible for developing the Estonian National Land Information System (LIS) that forms a foundation to the Estonian National Spatial Data Infrastructure. LISprovides powerful features to collect spatial data, ensure data quality, distribute data in the interests of all groups of the society.

The Land Boards specialists prepared specifications as accurate as possible andthe priorities and needs were repeatedly evaluated. Software analysis, design andimplementation works were purchased via public procurement procedure. The software development project was carried out as a unified process that was followedboth by the contractor and the supplier. The evaluation of results was performedmainly internally, first of all by the ELBs managerial staff but also on the Ministrylevel on the basis of corresponding reports and statistics. In order to improve qualitymanagement, the results were constantly evaluated also by project and themeManagers.

The best indicator to measure the results of development and implementation of CIS was the shortening of time needed for registering parcels in the cadastre by severaltimes. The growing awareness of users, wider use of the Internet as well as continuously added data and functionalities to the service were results that could beseen. The best indicator for evaluating the provision of free tools for spatial data management for public sector organisations is the number of public sector bodiesbeing in co-operation with ELB, and there is also a trend that co-operation isevolving becoming more and more deeper.

The most important lesson learnt Innovative, professional and capable persons are the key to success and they are most valuable assets and hardest to get.

Contact information:Kristian TeiterEstonian Land BoardMustamae tee 51, Tallinn, Estoniahttp://www.maaamet.eeKristian.Teiter@maaamet.eePhone: +372 6 650 652

27

ESTONIA

Towards remote e-voting, National Electoral Committee

National Electoral Committee is the highest electoral body in Estonia that conductselections, verifies election results, exercises supervision over other electoralcommittees and resolves complaints. Internet voting was used in Estonia during the October 2005 municipal elections and it followed all the principles characteristic of traditional voting but did not replace the traditional methods. ID cards were used forvoter authentication. Internet voting took place during advance polls from sixth tofourth day before Election Day.

For secure elections and other secure citizen-to-government transactions, citizensmust have some form of identification that preserves privacy. Estonia hasimplemented ID card as the primary document for identifying its citizens and alienresidents living within the country. The widespread use of national ID card was vitalfor starting the Internet voting project.

In Estonia government has centralised all main national registers. For many yearsthe centralised National Population Register has served as a database of eligiblevoters. At the beginning of the project National Electoral Committee involved asmany specialists in the field of IT and its security as possible to elaborate acommonly acceptable approach and thereby to raise public trust in Internet voting. Thanks to following the concept that public sector IT systems must function as awhole, the government economised financial resources.

The new additional voting method did not increase the turnout at once, but despitethe relatively low percentage of e-voters, the experiment is to be consideredsuccessful all systems and procedures worked and there were no securityproblems. Voters who decided to vote electronically preferred the new voting methodmostly because of its convenience. Internet voting was chosen over voting at polling station because of trust in e-voting and sufficient computer knowledge.

The most important lesson learnt Accessibility has improved and voting is made more convenient. Existence of a reliable and secure authentication system is vital and raises public trust in e-government solutions, together with transparency of the whole election process.Good cooperation between different parties, public or private, is crucial to launch asuccessful project, and a common approach has to be found.

Contact information:Epp MaatenNational Electoral Committee,Lossi plats, 1a, 15165 Tallinn, Estonia www.vvk.ee/engindex.htmlval@riigikogu.eePhone: +372 631 6548

28

ESTONIA

Development of Modern Management Concepts in Enterprise Estonia

Enterprise Estonia (EE) aims at promoting the competitiveness of the Estonianentrepreneurial environment and Estonian businesses, thereby increasingprosperity. EE offers the companies and research institutions, universities, andpublic and third sectors financing products, advisory services, cooperationopportunities, and training.

EEs key processes are based on the strategy and objectives set by using thebalanced scorecard method. Det Norske Veritas, an international certifying companyconfirmed that EEs quality system was in compliance with the requirements of theISO 9001: 2000 standard. EE has also decided to implement regular self-assessment, adopting the model of the Estonian Business Excellence Award, whichis based on EFQM model.

The principle behind all the management models introduced in EE - e.g. balancedscorecard, ISO 9001:2000, the model of Business Excellence - is that the results of activities are measured and followed by adjustments. The management system is monitored, developed, and improved with the help of management reviews, thesystem of non-compliances, internal and external quality audits and subsequentimprovement efforts, and improvements based on the findings of personnel surveys.

Results so far include: customer results; people results; development activities;diminished duplication; results of self-assessment and submission document - as amanagement tool, handbook for newcomers and old members. A task initiated by the EE management has actively promoted the management quality in Estoniancompanies by running the Business Excellence Award Competition andimplementing a quality programme for tourism companies. Companies can also benchmark themselves through the Entrepreneurship Award competition; the environment label is awarded through the Green Key programme.

The most important lesson learnt Involvement of people (trainings, teamwork etc) is the most important; commitmentof top-management and all leaders is crucial; planning of process: plan more timeand other resources for development activities; keep promises and demand it alsofrom the others, give regular feedback; keep things as simple as possible; use improvement cycle in everyday work, especially in management quality.

Contact information:Sigrid VestmannEnterprise EstoniaLiivalaia 13/15, Tallinn, Estonia,www.eas.eesigrid.vestmann@eas.eePhone: +372 6 279 764

29

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Improving the quality of EU legislation (Text from the Short case description)

Better regulation means meeting the challenge of introducing new policies andmechanisms to simplify and improve the regulatory environment in the EU and to optimise the effect of this on competitiveness, growth and sustainable developmentin contribution to achieving the Lisbon objectives. The case presentation from theEuropean Commission will review the policies and progress made and it will identifythe main frontlines for the short to medium future.

Contact information:Lars Mitek European Commission, Rue de La Loi 200, 1049 Brussels, Belgiumwww.europa.eu.intLars.Mitek-Pedersen@cec.eu.intPhone: +32 2 295.49.24

30

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

A strategy to strengthen administrative performance in the HR domain

DG ADMIN has defined a comprehensive evaluation programme ensuring externalexpert review of all key HRM policy areas within a fixed time-frame. The evaluationprogramme provides a continuous flux of evidence based assessments and recommendations, on how the various aspects of HRM can be improved. The programme provides a continuous impetus for improvements.

The Communication on simplification was initiated by Vice-President Mr. Siim Kallasand drafted by DG ADMIN. The objectives of the simplification agenda wereprimarily formulated internally in DG ADMIN, in line with with Vice-Presidents Mr.Siim Kallas' orientations. DGs were asked to provide input to the Communication,which was revised accordingly.

Staff will during April and May provide specific suggestions on how procedures can be improved and how services and activities in the HR domain can be simplified.The task-force established in May will subsequently coordinate the analysis of staff'sinput in addition to input provided by the annual staff opinion survey. A number ofoperational working groups for each key activity have been established composed of staff from the task-force.

The task-force on simplification has already received between 400-500 suggestionson how the HRM-procedures can be improved and simplified. The amount of input isan indication that staff approves and appreciates the simplification initiative.

The long-term effect of the simplification agenda should result in higher staffsatisfaction with services rendered by DG ADMIN and the administrative Offices, in addition to improved levels of workplace satisfaction, due to less time spend on less rewarding work.

The most important lesson learnt It is not at this point possible to evaluate lessons learned.

Contact information:Daniele Dotto European Commission, SC11 8/45, B1049, Brussels, Belgiumhttp://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/personnel_administration/index_en.htmDaniele.dotto@cec.eu.intPhone: +32 2 2962701

31

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Enabling efficiency and transparency through information technologygovernance

The Commission decision on the improvement of IT governance relies conceptuallyon three processes:

a) Strategy and portfolio management- In order to be in position to control the existing portfolio of systems and their evolution, system and project portfolio management processes have beenimplemented.

b) Common methods for the project management and development of informationsystems- In order to improve the quality and predictability of the development of informationsystems, as well as the mobility of IT staff among DGs and the exchange of bestpractices between them, the principle of the adoption by all services of a commonmethodology has been agreed.

c) Definition of an enterprise architecture- The enterprise architecture describes who does what, when, why, how, using what means. The need for gradually building this knowledge has been agreed. The Commission IT architecture framework has been developed and agreed in 2005.

The quality and quantity of information on systems and projects around the organisation has increased dramatically over 2005. Even this is still away fromperfection, in this position it is possible to make some analysis of the portfolio andproduce advice. In 2005 the overlap areas between DGs could already be identifiedand activity to remove this redundancy generated. In 2006 with the improvedinformation available it will be possible to further develop analysis and rationalisationcapability.

The most important lesson learnt A typical change management process has been experienced.

Contact information:Theodoros VassiliadisEuropean Commission DIGIT B2- B1049 Brussels, BELGIUMhttp://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htmtheodoros.vassiliadis@cec.eu.intPhone: +32 2 296 17 39

32

FINLAND

Turku and Pori Military Province Headquarters

The Commander of the Military Province of Turku and Pori directs the militaryactivities of the Province and preparations for disturbances and exceptionalcircumstances under the Commander of the Western Command. The Headquartersare the supervising staff of the Military Province's Commander and a localadministration authority subordinate to the Western Command Headquarters. TheManagement Team of Turku and Pori Military Province comprises the Commander,Chief of Staff and heads of divisions.

In the Headquarters management is based on a balanced operating modeldeveloped by the staff. A balanced set of indicators is used to monitor this. Theoperations are guided by jointly defined values and the operating principle annuallydetermined by the Commander. The success factors of the Headquarters defined by the Management Team are: a clear vision, skilled and competent staff who are willing to serve, innovativeness, versatility of the operating environment andreservists who are determined to defend the country. Goal-orientation, customer-orientation, consistency of activities, development of the staff and partnerships aswell as social responsibility have been reflected in the activities more clearly than ever.

Self-assessment is part of the management system, which is based on the EFQMcriteria. The implementation of this assessment is developed annually to better servethe development of activities. The use of external assessors has supported the systematic development efforts and enabled to highlight strengths and targets for improvement objectively. In Management Team assessments, the actual activitieswere compared with excellence.

The systematic, long-term joint efforts of the Commander and the ManagementTeam towards set goals. Openness in the management process and listening to the wishes of the personnel has been the most significant factors in the long process ofreaching the vision.

Winning the Quality Award contest of the Defence Forces was a clear objective,which was reached.

The most important lesson learnt Relentless efforts will be rewarded, and quality management tools can be used tomake the operating methods of the organisation more efficient and increase theirquality. The example of the Commander and the Managers and long-term effortstogether with an open management culture yield good results. The principles of in-depth management do work.

Contact information:Marko HaikkolaTurku and Pori Military Province HeadquartersP.O. Box 1, 20521 Turku, Finlandhttp://www.mil.fi/yhteystiedot/lmpa_en.dspmarko.haikkola@mil.fiPhone: +358 2 1812 2111

33

FINLAND

Helsinki City Library

Helsinki City Library is a public library consisting of 50 service units and covering theentire city. 85 per cent of almost 500 employees are in customer service. They havebeen comprehensively developing their activities for 15 years. A particular challengehas been to develop online services alongside the physical network of libraries. In Helsinki the library has been among the first to apply management by results, valuediscussions, the principles of EFQM and strategy work.

The librarys senior management and Management Group have set the targets andschedules for bonus system introduced 10 years ago. The organisation is constructed in a manner, which allows employees to participate in preparation andbrainstorming through various groups promoting development and improvement.Customer satisfaction is regularly measured with a customer survey once every twoyears.

The librarys development work has progressed step by step via management byresults towards strategic management. The Balanced Scorecard was adopted as astrategic management tool in 2001. After winning the City Mayors Quality Award thelibrary continued towards further development of their strategy.

The internal perspective involves continuous process improvement. The libraryscore processes collections management, circulation control and informationservice have a key role in the internal perspective. Employee involvement has been achieved through continuous training and access to participation.

The activities are evaluated at different levels. The Balanced Scorecard, annual keyresult areas and performance bonus system are indicators of progress madetowards the objectives. Employee-manager development discussions andmanagement reviews of units have become established practice. Quality self-assessments have taken place at unit level as well across the entire organisation.

Productivity has grown by 10 per cent. Efficiency is increased by developing self-service and automated systems as well as online services. Accessibility of library services is measured on the basis of opening hours. The libraries are actually usedby almost 80 per cent of the local population. Employee development and wellbeingare measured on a regular basis. The results improved year-on-year in every area.Particular improvement was seen in the functioning and management of theworkplace communities.

The most important lesson learnt Dynamic management, extensive employee participation and networking are themost important means of achieving excellent results.

Contact information:Marja-Liisa KomulainenCity of Helsinki,P.O. Box 4100, 00099 City of Helsinki, Finlandwww.lib.hel.fimarja-liisa.komulainen@hel.fiPhone: +358 50 4025 806

34

FINLAND

Kainuu Brigade

The Kainuu Brigade the Northern Readiness Unit trains conscripts andreservists, places them in ordered troops, and equips the troops with availablearmaments. The most important product, the troop thus produced and maintained, is the readiness brigade, the Kainuu Jaeger Brigade (Kainuun Jkriprikaati). The brigade includes the headquarters, five detachments, five service departments, and the Kainuu Military Band.

Commitment to constant improvement is one of the brigades key values. Effective and thorough self-assessment and the improvement process form one of the success factors. Every work unit has a trained quality supervisor. The assessment,carried out annually within each work unit, covers each assessment area and item in relation to the task of the work unit. This process utilizes assessment criteria basedon the Finnish Quality Award Model (Malcolm Baldridge) and EFQM.

The brigades first merit-pay rules were devised in 2000. The rules also took qualitymanagement and other improvements of operations into consideration. Each year, the rules have improved, and they have led to good feedback. Trained staff is responsible for the maintenance and development of quality management.

The effectiveness of process work is manifested as improvement in the internal co-operation processes. The results present the satisfaction of the most importantcustomers of the management, i.e. the subordinates, with the managementapproach of the supervisors. The management carried out by the supervisors hasimproved over 2001 ratings in every area considered. Weaknesses and strengths ofmanagerial activities are covered thoroughly in the self-assessment.

The result shows the strong commitment of the brigade staff to improving operationsthrough the self-assessment and improvement process. The goal of the brigade is that at least 70% of the staff takes part in the self-assessment events. The goal forsupervisors' participation is 100%, which has been reached almost every year. Themajority of the merit-pay units have systematically improved their processes andproducts.

The most important lesson learnt The management group must be trained. They must first integrate quality tools intotheir own work and then engage the middle management through their example.Middle management members, in turn, engage those under them. Training is usedfor enabling the staff to commit to the improvement of operations, and this alsocreates an atmosphere of improvement throughout the organization.

Contact information:Jari PsinniemiKainuu BrigadeKajaani, 87300, Finlandwww.mil.fi/kaiprjari.paasinniemi@mil.fiPhone: +358 8 181 6016

35

FRANCE

Home care and assistance for family, Association Provenale d'Aide la Famille

The Provenal Family Assistance Association is the first assistance and domiciliarycare association in France to be the holder of a quality certificate for its assistanceand homecare activities. The Provenal Family Assistance Association was createdin 1949. Since it was created its mission has been to assist people in difficulty. Itfulfils this mission with a team of 180 employees and 3 departments.

The social and medico-social sector, and particularly domiciliary care, suffers froman unflattering image in terms of performance and efficiency. Even today it is often seen as a complicated and slow administrative area, covered by a team ofvolunteers who have no suitable training. Although it is true that the absence of publicised competition in the associative sector does not necessarily call intoquestion all of its actors, the world of protection and social action, of health, ofwelfare and homecare attracts many volunteers, who are determined to improve thesystem already in place.

Introducing a quality process means that one of the main objectives of the associative project can be fulfilled more effectively: namely assistance for people indifficulties, preserving their equilibrium and that of their family while rigorouslyrespecting the persons freedom of choice. This project is also an opportunity forimproving and demonstrating the professionalism with which services are providedto each of clients.

The quality process is a participative process which requires the involvement of many actors. During its implementation, the elements of the process were brokendown into stages. Monitoring these stages has enabled to structure the process andto obtain significant results.

The most important lesson learnt The most important lesson is that even a local association with its own human andfinancial resources can successfully carry out a quality process, set up a qualitysystem and participate in the improvement and professionalisation of its sector ofactivity.

Contact information:Vanessa BekaliAssociation Provenale d'Aide la Famille APAF393, avenue du Prado 13008 Marseille, Francewww.apaf.asso.frvanessa.bekali@apaf.asso.frPhone: +33 4 91 32 02 30

36

FRANCE

Marianne Charter, Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry

The decision was reached in 2003 to set up a charter on reception for application in all State departments and agencies, known as the Marianne Charter. The MarianneCharter is a generic framework of commitments structured under 5 headings: easieraccess to our services, attentive, courteous reception, an understandable reply to your demands in a timely manner, an answer to your complaints, listening to you for progress. The aim is learning to be reliable, which may take modesty in the beginning, before becoming ambitious.

The Marianne Charter drew on successful past experience for inspiration, more tounite such efforts than to replace them. An adaptable generic framework was chosenas the means to reconcile the will to create a general movement with the possibilityfor each department or agency to make practical, realistic commitments. Theoperation is carried out under the supervision of a steering committee which includesministerial representatives and is run by State reform departments, production of methodological resources and periodic communication with departmental projectmanagers undeniably helped ensure the project's success, as signs of determinationat central level to provide support and make sure the actors are not left to face the problem alone.

Given the scope of the issue, the "Marianne" programme is a good illustration of the need to strike a balance between ambition and realism in objectives, between thepolicy-making phase and effective management of change and betweenstandardisation of references and adaptability to real-world situations. It alsodemonstrates the need for organisers and leaders to assume a position of consensus builders, listeners and teachers. Without claiming to reach solutions that are fully satisfactory to all concerned, they must engage in dialogue to give everyone the sense that their viewpoint has been taken into account in trade-off decisions.

The most important lesson learnt It is worth stressing that the Prefecture recently accepted to become a pilot departement in a certification procedure specifically for prefectures. Issuance and renewal of the AFAQ "Engagement de Service" certificate by the certifying body aresubject to precisely defined auditing criteria that set far higher standards than the Marianne Charter, which should be considered a first step.

Contact information:Marielle BreasMinistry of the Economy, Finance and Industry, Directorate General for State Modernisation 139 rue de Bercy (Teledoc 282) F- 75012 PARIS, France http://www.dusa.gouv.fr/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=44marielle.breas@dgme.finances.gouv.frPhone: +33 1 53 18 55 26

37

FRANCE

Change of address, Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry

The on-line change of address project consisted of making an on-line serviceavailable to the general public to enable them to advise the main public services of the fact that they had moved. It is part of the French governments electronicadministration programme, ADELE 2004-2007. The service developed as part of the project is accessible on the Internet and has links from the French governmentsportal, the sites of partner administrations and the search engines. The principles arethat the service is free, the process is entirely paper-free, the use of the service isfree and that the addresses given are checked.

The work was carried out between December 2002, the date of the first steeringcommittee meeting and May 2005, the date when the service officially opened. A study of the existing situation was made, writing the specification and awarding the development contract. After that in 2004 specifications and development of theapplication were planned and in 2005 it was tested with partners and production wasstarted. The service was inaugurated on 17 May 2005 by the Minister of the CivilService and State Reform and the Secretary of State on State reform at a pressconference. This launch was the subject of considerable media coverage with almost200 reports in the press.

Surprisingly the service has been visited very frequently since it started, greatlyexceeding the initial forecasts. An on-line survey was added to the change of address site to evaluate user satisfaction. Its results show a very positive responsewith high levels of satisfaction and great willingness to use the service.

In a small way the on-line change of address project illustrates the broad guidelinesof the governments electronic administration programme ADELE 2004-2007. By offering a service which is easy to use, easily accessible and centred on the needsof the general public, it aims to make life simpler for the users. By making it possiblefor the partner administrations to manage addresses more easily, it enables theefficiency of public services to be improved.

The most important lesson learnt The rapid and strong interest from the general public is evidence of its maturity inusing new technologies and its high expectations of internet services which aresimple to use and practical.

Contact information:Vivien Tran ThienMinistre de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie, Direction gnrale de la modernisation de l'Etat (DGME),139 rue de Bercy (Teledoc 282), F- 75012 PARIS, Francewww.changementadresse.gouv.fr/changementAdresse/jsp/index.jsp?acceptJs=1vivien.tran-thien@pm.gouv.frPhone : +33 1 42 75 52 49

38

GERMANY

A digital link between business and statistics, Federal Statistical Office

The Federal Statistical Office provides information on the economic development,the population, social issues and the environment in Germany. The strategic goal is to obtain highly up-to-date statistical results while keeping the burden on respondingenterprises to a minimum. To make statistical reporting easy and convenient for therespond