This year’s best European eGovernment solutions have been awarded today by the European Commission in the framework of the 5^th Ministerial eGovernment Conference in Malmö, Sweden. The winning initiatives, selected by a jury formed by independent experts, come from Austria/Germany (cross-border application), Denmark, Italy and Portugal. Also awarded today was the Public Prize: The choice has fallen on to a Turkish case. These winners have been selected from among a total of 259 submitted cases and 52 finalists.  

PICTURE GALLERY

The winners are:

Category 1. eGovernment supporting the Single Market: EU-OPA, the European Order for Payment Application (Austria and Germany)

Jury’s appreciation:
EU-OPA is jointly developed by Austria and Germany for the electronic processing of the European order for payment procedure. Taking into account the high relevance for other European Union Member States, this case is an excellent example of a strategic bilateral beginning of a new process, with its motivation embedded in European legislation. The danger of introducing a new administrative burden is eliminated by this cross-border application: it makes life easier for citizens, businesses and administrations. The solution is scalable, uses open standards and can easily be delivered in any European language.
Contact: Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice
www.bmj.gv.at/service/content.phd?nav=73

Category 2a. eGovernment empowering citizens: Genvej (Denmark)

Jury’s appreciation:
Genvej is a convincing citizen centric project. It highlights the relevance of electronic IDs and its use for second generation innovation, which harnesses the complexity of structures for eServices. It enables reuse of public sector information from various sources and gives the citizen access and actual use of this information. It combines integration and simplification from the users’ point of view.  Genvej provides innovative eServices and empowers citizens by being transparent about their information. It has high individual and household usage by drawing in users through online services and information that people want. It combines ICT tools (sms, internet, etc.) with traditional service channels. Genvej is a relevant case with a big potential for being shared with other municipalities, cities and countries. The project which also underscores the need for future exploration of privacy challenges. 
Contact: Gentofte Municipality
www.gentofte.dk/genvej

Category 2b. eGovernment empowering businesses: MEPA, the Public Administration eMarketplace (Italy)

Jury’s appreciation:
MEPA is a highly innovative initiative. Its impact is high for governmental institutions but importantly also for SMEs offering products and services relevant for public sector organisations. The entire process is electronically supported and MEPA features an eCatalogue and allows two buying procedures including direct orders and requests for quotations. An additional feature of this project is the successful use of digital signatures. The project has also ensured user take-up through dissemination and communication activities, including ‘training desks’ answering specific and fundamental queries related to the use of the MEPA provided tools.
Contact: Consep SpA
www.acquistinretepa.it

Category 3. eGovernment enabling administrative efficiency and effectiveness: Licensing of Hunters via the “Multibanco” ATM Network (Portugal)

Jury’s appreciation:
AFN/MB licence hunters via the “Multibanco” automatic teller machine (ATM) network and is an excellent example of user-centric service transformation. It allows a user group that do not normally use online services to utilise an existing and well-known distribution channel - the banking sector's ATM machines - to pay and obtain their hunting licenses. At the same time AFN/MB convincingly shows substantial and realized benefits for the public administration, as providing these licences gives significant resource savings that have been reprioritised for other purposes. The uptake in the first year has been an impressive 80% among a target group of initial sceptical users. The ATM machines constitute a central hub for services in a country with limited broadband penetration, and thus shows that ICT based services can increased efficiency through the use of existing and easy to use channels.
Contact: National Forest Authority
www.afn.min-agriccultura.pt/portal/caca/cacador/licencas-de-caca

Public prize: SMS Information System from Turkey

Description:
Based on more than 1500 voters via the epractice.eu portal from 2 October to 11 November, the winner of this year’s Public Prize is the SMS Information System from Turkey. This project was submitted in category 2a for eGovernment services empowering citizens. SMS Information System offers a subscription service for lawyers and citizens to ensure that instant information is provided so all parties can take the necessary steps in time to prevent infringement and privation of their legal rights while reducing costs for all.
Contact:  Information Technologies Department, Ministry of Justice
www.adalet.gov.tr/english/sms