The Development of the Electronic System for Government Meeting

Radu Puchiu IT&Design Department Prime Minister’s Chancellery ROMANIA

The Concept The concept of the project is based on a continuous electronic production process for Government decisions from the initial proposal to the adoption procedures in Parliament and the publication in Official Monitor. It has two stages: –The electronic system of the Government Meetings – SISG - created and implemented in 2004 –The development of the SISG – e-LEX –Including in the system the Ministries and the other institutions involved in the procedures (the Official Monitor, Chambers of Parliament) The system will be usable for the exchange of documents in between public institutions or public institutions and the business environment, creating thus the premises for developing a unique system for information exchange at the national level

The Project The electronic system of the Government’s Meetings (SISG) together with e-LEX was designed as a wider mechanism of computerization and control of the flux of documents in between the Government, Ministries and other institutions involved in the process of elaborating Government decisions, draft laws or any other documents within the competences of the Government Meeting.

The electronic system of the Government’s Meetings (SISG)

Electronic management of documents subject to Government’s approval Electronic management of the working agenda and of the legal acts Visualizing documents during the Government Meeting Efficient management of documents and control of versions Eliminating paper waste and of the time needed for preparations in the process of adopting legal acts Objectives

The Solution SISG represents a system of electronic management of documents to be discussed in a Government Meeting. The documents which will be used during the meeting (as draft laws, reports, information etc.) are introduced in the system by scanning. The system allows consequently for a specific process of documents’ modification to take place: checking, registering, receiving approval from the Legal Department, reading and receiving notice from the Prime Ministers Counselors, etc.. SISG allows the creation (by the DPGM – Department of Preparing the Government’s Meetings), the (by SGG – the General Secretariat of the Government) and the approval (by the Prime Minister) of the working agenda.

The Solution The Prime Minister and the Ministers can consult and make notes on the documents from the folders using TABLET PC terminals. These notes are personal and can be subsequently read only by their possessors (given the Smart Card electronic signature). The beneficiaries access to the system is made from terminals connected in the private network of SISG (at Government’s Headquarters). The DPGM can afterward archive all the documents included in the prior Government Meetings (or proposed to be introduced) and can see their status (approved, rejected, approved with comments etc…)

Infrastructure

The Results SISG system assures: –Eliminating paper usage for the copies of documents used in the Government Meetings. –Secure access to the documents (access to documents can be made only by smart card). Thus the electronic documents (as the ones with the Ministers comments) cannot be copied or lost. –Increasing the efficiency of DPGM activity – all the needed documents can be scanned and introduced by only one person as opposed to a numerous crew needed, for their paper multiplication.

The development of the electronic system for the Government’s Meetings – e-LEX

e-LEX - The Development of SISG The development areas: –Modifying the existent application and adding functionalities in order for it to be used successfully by the users. First, the creation of a mechanism through which documents can be worked on but also adding advanced collaboration elements (Instant Messaging, Discussion Groups etc.) –Including in the system the Ministries and the other institutions involved in the procedures (the Official Monitor, Chambers of Parliament) in order for the paper based documents, electronic documents and electronic signatures attached to be followed permanently as well as for the computerization of the flux steps for this processes as defined by law. –Extending the flux of documents from within the DPGM in order to encompass a larger number of employees, increasing thus the degree of computerization of the internal process of preparing the Government Meetings.

1. Modifying the existent application This involves: Implementing a secure communication solution for the system’s users as well as creating some secure zones of collaboration on specific problems and areas of interest. The users will connect to the system through secure mechanisms (VPN/SSL, auto-testing of the integrity, time-stamping etc.) Open some secure instant channels of communication in between the participants at the Government Meetings (Prime Minister, Ministers) and their counselors in another location, who access the system through a secure channel. Creating an electronic library type function/discussion forum where the decision person and her/his collaborators can introduce or find relevant documents during the Government Meeting or in its preparing. Electronic working groups can be created with members from different institutions but which work on common projects or areas of interest.

2. Including in the system the Ministries This involves: Connecting, through open standards, the institutions involved in the exchange of documents with the government, in order to computerize as much as possible the flux of information. Controlling in detail the process of exchange of documents in between the institutions, creating thus the premises for reducing the reaction time at the level of the Government. Creating the possibility for documents in electronic format with the electronic signature attached to enter the working agenda of the Government Meeting directly in electronic format

2. Including in the system the Ministries

3. Extending the flux of documents This involves: Extending the number of people needed for the computerized processing of preparing the Government Meeting. Including an extended number of roles (analysts, the Legal Department, secretariats, registries etc.) in the computerized processing in order for the routing of documents and the specific procedures of these areas in order to benefit from the electronic processing of the SISG. Extending the flexibility of the management application of documents by introducing a configurable mechanism of documents fluxes, allowing therefore the automatic or manual configuration/reconfiguration of the fluxes, passes of fluxes and of roles within SISG.

govSPHERE

The system will be usable for the exchange of documents in between public institutions or public institutions and the business environment, creating thus the premises for developing a unique system for information exchange at the national level (GovTalk). An open approach is desired, in order for the involved institutions to have access to interfaces based on standards accessible from any medium/platform of development and approachable for various providers of IT solutions.

Thank you very much! Questions are welcomed