Better service for citizens (ES0128)

4.3.1. Citizen service interconnection system

Brief description

In the current configuration of the Public Administration, there is significant dispersion in the channels for serving citizens, largely due to the sectoral framework of competences. Historically, this fragmentation has meant that citizens have had to go directly to the specialised channels depending on the procedure or process they wish to carry out. The aim of this system is to reverse this approach, preventing people from having to adapt to the internal structure of the Administration. Instead, it proposes establishing a comprehensive service model, in which any office can act as a single point of access, connecting citizens with the staff or specialised service they need, thanks to the creation of a HUB or interconnection node between offices and service systems. This system will offer a service that will shield citizens from administrative complexity and ensure that, regardless of the office they visit, they receive appropriate and personalised service until the requested procedure is completed. The service will be provided through the channel of choice of the person requesting assistance from the administration. To complete this omnichannel service model, the potential of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and virtual assistants, will be harnessed with the aim of improving the efficiency and responsiveness of the Administration, without transferring the technological complexity to citizens, always ensuring a simple, accessible and inclusive user experience.

Objectives

• To facilitate citizens' access to the public administration through the channel of their choice, regardless of the level of competence or geographical location of the office, thus guaranteeing equitable service without territorial barriers.
• To improve administrative efficiency and citizen satisfaction, avoiding unnecessary travel and reducing the need for multiple in-person visits to complete the same procedure.
• Promote a more open and accessible administration, allowing citizens to contact public officials specialised in the relevant area directly, through mechanisms for interconnection between offices and competent units.
• Progressively incorporate total quality strategies into citizen service units, promoting an organisational culture based on continuous improvement, user orientation and systematic performance evaluation. This approach will be gradually extended to all administrative units, contributing to more effective, transparent and results-oriented management."

4.3.2. Pilot project for a comprehensive citizen service at the Ministry of Finance

Brief description

Nature
• The aim is to establish a network of inter-administrative links structured around a central hub and managed by a joint governance body, which channels the services of any customer service office so that they can be provided by another (without requiring resources, processes or standards for incorporation into the model) accessed via an app of georeferenced offices that must be physically identified as adhering to the model.
• The aim is to take advantage of the fact that serving citizens is a function performed by all public administrations and, therefore, an area of general interconnection; so that, when all their offices are taken into account, they offer a network with high capillarity and service capacity. It also aims to take advantage of all existing technology and regulations, which are capable of providing a good service. • The aim is to move beyond the model of creating comprehensive assistance offices that deal with everything (one-stop shops), given that the best service is provided by specialised and competent offices (which have all the knowledge, management skills and access to all the resources related to the matter at hand); in other words, the aim is to have ""all the windows"" available at the same time.
• In short, the aim is to extend the provision of common functions (registration, notification, etc.) that are increasingly standardised to specialised functions, through the opportunities offered by communication technologies and artificial intelligence.

Principles
• Scope: any public office, all its functions (common and specialised), scalable incorporation at any time. • Institutional: ̵ Autonomy of each entity (each with the means it establishes). ̵ Shared governance. ̵ Voluntary, gradual and co-responsible incorporation (reciprocity).
• Organisational: priority given to creating a HUB and establishing links in response to the increase in physical resources.
• Operational: in each channelling office, three levels of successive assistance and gradual, voluntary provision of channelled services (information, appointments, videoconferencing).

Objectives

• To enable citizens to find a solution on their first contact at any office adhering to the model.
• Extend the service to all citizens regardless of their geographical location, age, abilities or circumstances.
• Enable a solution that allows for the gradual and progressive adherence of any administration with respect to its jurisdictional, organisational and functional autonomy.
• Balance supply and demand to move towards a network of increasing efficiency (communicating vessels). • Implement short-term solutions with low investment levels."

4.3.3. New 360º model of social security services for citizens and businesses

Brief description

Transform the current Social Security service model to focus on citizens and businesses and offer them a 360º view of their experience, regardless of the communication channel used (in person, by telephone or digitally).

Objectives

From an organisational point of view, the aim is to make more efficient use of the knowledge and experience of Social Security workers, using it at the most appropriate time and place to provide the best possible service. From the point of view of citizens and businesses, the objective is to improve the quality and speed of the service they receive, minimising the number of interactions needed to meet their needs and offering them relevant services and information through different channels, whether in person, by telephone or digitally (digital services, video assistance, WhatsApp, etc.)."

4.3.4. New in-person service model geared towards citizens

Brief description

This Protocol represents this Common Service's approach to a new model of interaction with citizens, based on improving the most basic point of contact with citizens: face-to-face service. This service is provided by the staff of this Common Service and is based on two predefined levels: The first level, open to all our users, provides personalised assistance and training in the knowledge and use of the new procedures that have been developed as part of the modernisation of our interaction with citizens, in order to guarantee the existence of future alternatives. This is accompanied by the management of digital identifiers and the handling of the specific needs of certain individuals according to their vulnerability, socio-personal situation and digital skills. A second level, with a more specific focus and intended for direct interaction with professionals in specific management areas, a specialisation that allows for the provision of more comprehensive, intrinsic and useful procedures and information tailored to their needs, with the two levels of service complementing each other.

Objectives

The main objective of this protocol is to provide citizens with quality service, guaranteeing and facilitating access to services, personalising them as much as possible and responding to the needs and specific characteristics of certain groups. All this is achieved by providing uniform service throughout the country, based on identical criteria. This assistance will be training-oriented, bringing digital processing closer to those who visit our offices in person, always assisted in this regard by the organisation's staff. In all cases, we will endeavour to provide facilities for citizens to access their preferred channel, promoting self-management and training for those who receive assistance at our offices."

4.3.5. Programmes to improve accessibility in face-to-face service

Brief description

To facilitate citizens' access to public services provided in the territory.

Objectives
• To improve and standardise customer service in Information, Assistance and Registration Offices and in Immigration Offices throughout the territory.
• Facilitate and prioritise in-person service for groups identified as vulnerable.
• Facilitate citizens' access to the services of Government Delegations and Sub-delegations and Island Directorates, promoting the concentration of in-person attention in a single centre for all services provided.
• Facilitate citizens' access to AGE services throughout the territory by implementing partnerships with other AGE agencies to advance the creation of comprehensive service centres where citizens can receive information and carry out procedures for different AGE agencies, beyond those of the Government Delegations and their integrated services."

4.3.6. Justice offices in the municipality to eliminate gaps

Brief description

The Municipal Justice Offices offer the population a range of services without having to travel to the municipal capital of the judicial district to which they belong or even to the provincial capital, in order to carry out legal proceedings or simply to access or request documentation relating to the proceedings in which they are involved. Likewise, the resources currently available in these municipalities are put to good use. This reinforces the accessibility of services throughout the territory, especially in areas at risk of depopulation, and provides a means of intermediation for people who have difficulty accessing digitalisation, especially the elderly. In addition, it promotes equality among all populations by offering them the same services and facilitates access for the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly. Furthermore, there are plans to gradually expand services, such as access to certificates, information on the status of procedures in other administrations, and the option of using the offices as collaborative workspaces for Administration staff, taking advantage of the Public Justice Service's infrastructure. It is a tool that promotes territorial and social cohesion, as well as efficiency in collaboration between different administrations.

Objectives

The main objectives of these offices are efficiency, proximity and territorial cohesion. The aim is to provide services to citizens not only in relation to legal proceedings in which they are involved, but also in other areas of the Administration. To this end, they will be provided with the necessary computer systems in accordance with current regulations.

4.3.7. Simplification and omnichannel service for citizens in cadastral activities

Brief description

As part of the Citizen Service Plan, new services will be launched to provide citizens with better cadastral services through various channels made available to them.

Objectives

Bring the Cadastre closer to the general public
Provide a wide range of omnichannel services so that citizens can access them in person, by telephone and online:
• In person: at the Land Registry offices and Land Registry Information Points
• By telephone: via the Land Registry Hotline
• Online: via the Land Registry's website, video conferencing (also available at Land Registry Information Points), the new Catastro APP mobile app, Catia or virtual assistant (chatbot)"

4.3.8. Comprehensive telephone management by the National Social Security Institute

Brief description

The project consists of laying the foundations for carrying out any procedure or process, without the need to travel and with the assistance of qualified personnel, through comprehensive telephone management using available technology to perform reliable identification with systems such as video identification, secure single-use codes, biometrics and other identification systems that allow this.

Objectives

To provide citizens with a quick, simple and easy-to-use alternative for carrying out any administrative procedure, query or formality they may need, without having to travel and without having to forego the assistance and advice of qualified expert staff."

4.3.9. Provision of telephone support and integrated services chatbox (first level)

Brief description

It is considered necessary to implement a first-level information system with the creation of two information channels: firstly, the opening of an operator call system and, secondly, a chatbox on the MTMD website.

Objectives

• To provide citizens with a single telephone channel and chatbox for obtaining consistent information on the services provided by the Government Delegations and Sub-delegations and Island Directorates.
• Reduce the workload of management units by reducing the number of enquiries from citizens to these units."

4.3.10. Proactive communication project with citizens

Brief description

It is proposed to initiate a new line of proactive communication with citizens, through the gradual incorporation of communications to citizens via different channels (postal mail, SMS, e-mail, etc.) through which the INSS will send them information of interest.

Objectives

The main objective is to anticipate citizens' information needs by providing them with information ex officio. Depending on the type of information, this pursues a threefold objective:
• Provide relevant information regarding the benefits that each citizen receives or that may be useful for decision-making in the area of Social Security benefits.
• Provide information for administrative procedures, preventing citizens from having to search for or request such information.
• Provide information on possible benefits to which citizens may be entitled or on possible improvements to the benefits they already receive"

4.3.11. Social security benefits management portal

Brief description

A comprehensive reorganisation of the range of electronic services is proposed, based on a unified portal that replaces menu navigation with a guided question/answer system that allows users to locate the electronic service best suited to their profile and the means of identification and signature available to them, including biometric identification.

Objectives

To provide all citizens with an effective electronic alternative for carrying out any procedure or transaction relating to Social Security benefits, making it unnecessary to visit the offices whenever possible."

4.3.12. Administrative simplification for procedures in the field of subsidies

Brief description

By applying uniform standards and criteria defined on the basis of reports prepared by the Secretary of State as part of the legal analysis of the regulatory bases for subsidies within the scope of the General State Administration (AGE), the aim is to improve the subsidy system, focusing on the effective reduction of administrative burdens both in the procedures for granting subsidies and in the subsequent management of aid. These burdens — which often include the repeated submission of documentation, affidavits, supporting reports, audits or accounting data already available to the Administration — generate inefficiencies that must be corrected through intelligent regulatory simplification. This line of work is in line with the recommendations made by the European Commission on administrative simplification, as well as with the conclusions of the Draghi (2024) and Letta (2024) reports, which highlight the need for lighter, more predictable and efficient regulatory frameworks, especially in areas that mobilise public investment and European funds. The action is structured around two aspects:
• On the one hand, ongoing technical review and improvement of draft legislation (Royal Decrees and Regulatory Framework Orders) that are submitted for review, to ensure their legal and functional consistency.
• On the other hand, educational and technical support work, focused on the development of a practical guide for civil servants, which facilitates the correct drafting of regulatory bases and their smooth processing, thus helping to avoid unnecessary administrative burdens at source.

Objectives

To simplify the regulatory framework governing the subsidised activities of the General State Administration by implementing support tools and improving existing instruments, with the aim of reducing unnecessary administrative burdens on applicants and entities without compromising legal certainty or the public policy objectives associated with the promotion of such activities. This simplification strategy is based on three key pillars: Regulatory improvement assisted by artificial intelligence, incorporating AI systems capable of automatically analysing regulatory content (such as regulatory base orders and calls for applications) to identify redundancies, unnecessary documentary requirements, obsolete regulatory references or technical inconsistencies, proposing improvements in line with the principles of proportionality, clarity and simplification. Optimi s a t i o n of procedures based on existing management systems, such as the Functional Information System, using process mining techniques and digital modelling, which enable the mapping of actual workflows, the detection of bottlenecks and the elimination of unnecessary tasks or steps, in accordance with the principles of the Lean methodology aimed at reducing waste and increasing public value. Deployment of practical support tools, such as automated guides, simplified regulatory templates, digital assistants for management staff, and self-checking mechanisms for applicants, to facilitate processing and reduce errors or subsequent requirements. This action is part of Spain's efforts to align its subsidy system with the European Commission's recommendations on simplification, as well as with the conclusions of the Draghi and Letta reports (2024), which advocate for more agile and efficient regulatory frameworks to boost investment, innovation and social cohesion."

4.3.13. Improvements to the humanitarian assistance programme and the international protection reception system

Brief description

Through the concerted action model, entities wishing to collaborate in the management of the international and temporary protection reception system and in the humanitarian assistance programme may be authorised to provide services and actions at each stage of the reception system. In this way, they become part of the state reception network. It is also a multi-year management tool, unlike the previous management and subsidy-based financing model, which has shorter implementation periods.

Objectives

To regulate a management system that guarantees its stability over time and better forecasting of needs and resources. Provide the system with the necessary flexibility so that authorised entities can adapt their services in line with fluctuations in migration flows."

4.3.14. Smart simplification: the enabling role of technology and publicprivate collaboration in reducing administrative burdens

Brief description

• WHAT: An administrative burden is any activity of an administrative nature that a company or citizen must carry out in order to comply with regulatory obligations.
• HOW: By eliminating unnecessary obligations. To do this, input from civil society and businesses is needed. These contributions can be obtained through meetings, round tables, focus groups, events, etc. that facilitate direct dialogue between public administrations and citizens and businesses.
• Notes or reports will be drawn up compiling the topics discussed and lines of action to be followed, after ascertaining the specific demands of organised society.
• Through a process of meetings with civil society and the business community, as well as internal meetings and the systematic analysis of procedures using technological tools to track data from the Administrative Information System (SIA) and other valuable public data sets, various annual projects will be undertaken to re-engineer and model procedures subject to simplification.

Objectives

• Contribute to dialogue between the administration, businesses and citizens, ensuring access to public services for those who may have special needs or who may benefit from certain adaptations.
• Unlock economic potential and stimulate competitiveness.
• Make the administration more empathetic, accessible and approachable. • Put public service users at the centre of the action.
• Create clusters of procedures and processes that impact different groups in society, and then simplify the formalities associated with those procedures and processes.
• Harness the potential of technology to simplify work, achieving a more systematic and efficient way of working."