Interoperability in the Belgian social sector Frank Robben General manager Crossroads Bank for Social Security Strategic advisor Federal Public Service for ICT Sint-Pieterssteenweg 375 B-1040 Brussels Website: Crossroads Bank for Social Security

2 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Actors in the Belgian social sector n about 2,000 public and private institutions at several levels (federal, regional, local) dealing with -collection of social security contributions -delivery of social security benefits child benefits unemployment benefits benefits in case of incapacity for work re-imbursement of health care costs holiday pay old age pensions guaranteed minimum income -delivery of supplementary benefits based on the social security status of a person

3 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Services offered n extranet between 2,000 Belgian public and private social sector actors with a secure connection to the internet, the federal MAN, regional extranets and the Belgian interbanking network n unique identification key -for every citizen, electronically readable from an electronic social security card and an electronic identity card -for every company n electronic services for mutual information exchange among all actors in the social sector n electronic services for companies and socially insured persons -either based on the electronic exchange of structured messages -or via an integrated portal site n an integrated portal site containing -information about the entire social security system -harmonized instructions and information model relating to all electronic transactions -a personal page for each company n an integrated multi-modal contact centre supported by a customer relations management tool

4 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security CBSS as a service integrator n definition of the vision on E-government in the social sector n definition of common principles related to -information modelling -unique collection and re-use of information -management of information -electronic exchange of information -protection of information n definition, implementation and management of an interoperability framework n secure messaging of several types of information: structured data, documents, images, metadata, … n co-ordination of business process re-engineering

5 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security CBSS as a service integrator n stimulation of service oriented applications -modular -can be integrated -re-usable -loosely coupled -technology neutral -based on open standards n business logic and orchestration support

6 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security CBSS as a service integrator n management of a reference directory -directory of available services/information which information/services are available at any institution depending on the capacity in which a person/company is registered at each institution -directory of authorized users and applications list of users and applications definition of authentication means and rules definition of authorization profiles –which kind of information/service can be accessed, in what situation and for what period of time depending on in which capacity the person/company is registered with the institution that accesses the information/service -directory of data subjects which persons/companies have personal files in which institutions for which periods of time, and in which capacity they are registered -subscription table which users/applications want to automatically receive what services in what situations for which persons/companies in which capacity

7 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Some figures n information exchange between all 2,000 actors in the social sector takes place through 181 types of electronic services defined after process optimization n nearly all direct or indirect (via citizens or companies) paper- based information exchange between actors in the social sector has been abolished n in million electronic messages were exchanged among actors in the social sector, which saved as many paper exchanges n 50 types of declaration forms for social security have been abolished n in the remaining declaration forms the number of headings has been reduced on average to a third of the previous number n 3 types of declarations have to be made electronically and about 20 types of declarations can be made electronically or on paper; all other types are available electronically and are being tested n in million electronic declarations were made

8 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Allowances granted by local public centres Citizen CBSS Crossroads Bank for Social Security (Federal) Local Public Centre for Social Welfare National Register (Federal) Federal Public Service Social Integration Social Security Institutions Decision of allowance Identifica- tion data of the person Declaration of allowance Processing of declaration of allowance Reference Directory Verification of declaration and calculation of amounts to refund Refund Sectoral Reference Directory Automatic granting of comple- mentary benefits and increased refund of health care costs

9 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Supplementary benefits disabled persons Citizen National Office for Industrial Accidents National Office for Family Allowances for Employees National Office for Occupational Diseases Cross- roads Bank for Social Security Federal public service Finance Federal taxation Granting of fiscal benefits on regional level Granting of fiscal benefits on federal level Distribu- tion based on reference directory and National Register Federal public service Social Security Companies for public transport Contact center for citizens Granting of free transport passes Informs of problem with social benefits Consult situation with regard to benefits Inform citizen of situation Transmission data disabled persons and/or (dependant) children Registra- tion in refe- rence directory Registers in place of residence National Register 589 municipalities 10 provinces Local taxation Population Register Pass informa- tion to Natio- nal Register 3 regional institutions Regional taxation Regional offices for disabled persons Granting of fiscal benefits on local level National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-employed Reference directory Registra- tion in refe- rence directory

10 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Information modelling n information is being modelled in such a way that the model fits in as closely as possible with the real world n information modelling takes as much account as possible of anticipated use of information n the information model can be flexibly extended or adapted when the real world or the use of the information changes

11 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Unique collection and re-use of information n information is only collected for well-defined purposes and is targeted to meet the requirements of these purposes n all information is collected once, from as near to the authentic source as possible n information is collected according to the information model and following uniform guidelines n with the possibility of quality control by the supplier before the transmission of the information n the collected information is validated once according to established task sharing criteria, by the institution that is most entitled to it or by the institution which has the greatest interest in correctly validating it n it is then shared and re-used by authorized users

12 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Management of information n a task sharing model is established indicating which institution stores which information as an authentic source, manages the information and maintains it at the disposal of the authorized users n information is stored according to the information model n information can be flexibly assembled according to ever changing legal concepts n every institution has to report probable errors of information to the institution that is designated to validate the information n every institution that has to validate information according to the agreed task sharing model, has to examine the reported probable errors, to correct them when necessary and to communicate the correct information to every known interested institution n information is only retained and managed as long as there exists a business need, a legislative or policy requirement, or, preferably anonimized or encoded, when it has historical or archival importance

13 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Electronic exchange of information n once collected and validated, information is stored, managed and exchanged electronically to avoid transcribing and re-entering it manually n electronic information exchange can be initiated by -the institution that disposes of information -the institution that needs information -the institution that manages the interoperability framework (CBSS as service integrator) n electronic information exchanges take place on the base of a functional and technical interoperabilty framework that evolves permanently but gradually according to open market standards, and is independent from the methods of information exchange n available information is used for -the automatic granting of benefits -prefilling when collecting information -information delivery to the interested parties

14 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Protection of information n security, integrity and confidentiality of government information is ensured by integrating ICT measures with structural, organizational, physical, personnel screening and other security measures according to agreed policies n personal information is only used for purposes compatible with the purposes of the collection of the information n personal information is only accessible to authorized institutions and users according to business needs, legislative or policy requirements n the access authorisation to personal information is granted by an independent institution, designated by Parliament, after having checked whether the access conditions are met n the access authorizations are public

15 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Protection of information n every actual electronic exchange of personal information is preventively checked on compliance with the existing access authorisations by an independent institution managing the interoperability framework n every actual electronic exchange of personal information is logged, to be able to trace possible abuse afterwards n every time information is used to take a decision, the information used is communicated to the person concerned together with the decision n every person has right to access and correct his/her own personal data

16 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Critical success factors n E-government as a structural reform process -process re-engineering within and across institutions -back-office integration for automatic granting of services -integrated and personalized front-office service delivery n support of and access to policymakers at the highest level n co-operation between all actors concerned based on distribution of tasks rather than centralization of tasks n quick wins combined with long term vision n focus on more efficient and effective service delivery rather than on the fight against fraud n respect for legal allocation of competences between actors n legal framework n creation of an institution that stimulates and co-ordinates

17 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Most important barriers n privacy and security n average public sector project is more complex than average private sector project, due to -interaction with a larger number of stakeholders (elected officials, public employees, members of interest groups, voters, tax payers, recipients of public services, other government bodies, other government levels, …) -execution in a less stable environment n complexity of BPR in a government environment n race for quick wins (cf surveymania) doesn’t stimulate development of well conceived systems based on re-engineering n public sector tends, perhaps for reason of prestige, to favour tailor-made, high-risk, state-of-the-art solutions even when alternative, off-the-shelf, cheap, tried and tested systems are available

18 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security Most important barriers n in the public sector, there is typically no financial margin of value to be added by innovation n intermediaries often perceive e-government as a threat n skills and knowledge n need for radical cultural change within government, e.g. -from hierarchy to participation and team work -meeting the needs of the customer, not the government -empowering rather than serving -rewarding entrepreneurship within government -ex post evaluation on output, not ex ante control of every input

19 14/09/2005 Crossroads Bank for Social Security More info n Crossroads Bank for Social Security n FEDICT n portal sites -social security portal: -federal portal: n personal website -

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