“…The idea for the EIS – Services Catalogue – is very good, but unfortunately it is not possible to enter it with new and innovative products; not until the product becomes demanded in the public sector..”
“Have you noticed how young people communicate? They don’t call. They type – chat, SMS, social networks, email..”
At the national level, we are rapidly developing in the field of digitisation. Of course, one of the reasons is the rapid development of technology and the other is the market demand for operational and high-quality communication.
Several portals and e-services have been created and are still developing, which we use regularly as they offer huge help in solving various issues operatively – Latvija.lv, CSDD e-services, e-signature, e-class…
However, we would like to draw attention to the Electronic Procurement System, which is being used more often by state and local authorities for announcing their procurements. For us, as a service provider, it offered a significantly facilitated process in the preparation and submission of tenders, and we assume that the introduction of EIS in public institutions also helped to optimise the work of the procurement commissions. However, the EIS is a very complex structure and is not easy for newly registered users to use. The idea for the EIS – Services Catalogue – is very good, but unfortunately it is not possible to enter it with new and innovative products; not until the product becomes demanded in the public sector. It is like a vicious circle!
A tendency can be seen in state and local government towards centralisation. But it is important here not to lose sight of its purpose, because it only makes sense if the whole establishment is also managed centrally. Otherwise, competition will be artificially reduced and there will be no more talk of the development of new services.
New products, new ideas… This is our new generation, who are currently studying at schools, but soon will become full members of our society. They will become customers of the public administration and citizens who will be users of their services.
Have you noticed how young people communicate? They don't call. They type – chat, SMS, social networks, email.
In our opinion, state and local communication should become much easier, faster and more accessible to citizens and entrepreneurs. And only then will our desire arise to actively express our thoughts and opinions, when we will be sure of not being obliged to meet in person just to submit a pile of documents for one stamp or wait for a response from a public authority for weeks.
Why should we not create an operational population survey with a voting system on a particular issue before adopting a regulation or law? Probably, the results of such voting will lead to a completely different solution to the issue...
The more friendly and more open the public administration's communication with the population and entrepreneurs becomes, the easier and even faster the country's development will be. Our young people with innovative thinking will not look for better “lands”, but will stay here to make their dreams come true!
ANŽELIKA ČIĻIMOVA, Head of the State and Local Government Sector of CSC Telecom
“Digitalizēti un moderni valsts un pašvaldību komunikāciju procesi” BiSMART 30.04.2019.