The best in European e-government: e-Applications service at Mepa

Two Maltese e-government services were finalists in the 2009 edition of the European e-Government Awards. The award ceremony was held on the occasion of the 5th Ministerial e-Government Conference held in Malmö, Sweden, between November 18 and 20.

The Maltese entries were the Inland Revenue Services Online and the e-Applications of the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority. Though the Maltese entries did not manage to win an award, they managed to attract keen interest in the exhibition of the finalist projects and both of them were rewarded with the prestigious Good Practice label. Both projects were implemented in partnership with the Malta Information Technology Agency.

Mepa is continuously in the news, and more often than not, because of controversial issues. However, a very important development was happening at the authority in the last couple of years, an important leap in the services offered which could have gone unnoticed by those who don't need to come in contact with the authority.

The e-Applications at Mepa brings together different platforms and technologies into one homogenous system which allows clients to view details, submit and pay for applications online and also send/receive correspondence in digital format. The system can also be used as a blueprint for local, regional and national environmental planning administrations.

The typical application "file" processed by the authority is now fully digitalised and is composed of physical documentation as well as electronic data relating to a particular case. This electronic file could be processed by different departments within Mepa at the same time, thus saving precious time in contrast to the paper-based files which had to be processed by each department separately.

The whole system brings together very different technologies and systems through one coherent user-friendly interface. These include online geographical information system technologies, e-commerce, workflow systems and database management systems.

"We did not launch the e-services just to be avant-garde," Antoine Zahra, assistant director for corporate services at Mepa, told i-Tech.

The launch of these electronic services was based on three pillars: transparency, efficiency and participation.

Efficiency is very important for Mepa, especially now that government has announced in the Budget for 2010 that it will stop the subvention to the authority, savings are more important. With the new e-services processes are more streamlined and different processes can occur at the same time.

Mr Zahra explains that the e-Applications system increases transparency and the information available to Mepa is also made available to the interested parties at all times. Alerts are sent via e-mail or SMS to announce changes in status.

Participation is also important and architects have the tools to generate their site plans online. Consultation is easier and more rapid with the public, voluntary organisations and consultees.

The system has been online for two years and the take-up has been increasing ever since. Mepa has not yet done an exercise to find exactly the savings in time and money but the aim has been to increase take-up of these electronic services. Eighty-five per cent of architects are utilising online services, and 99 per cent of consulting bodies are registered to the e-Applications system.

"We want to move on to have a pure digital process but this needs a culture change both internally and externally. There is still scope for growth. If more and more architects use the e-Applications service I am sure that within three to five years we will have a truly electronic processing system," concludes Mr Zahra.

A few weeks ago Mepa launched a new revamped website at www.mepa.org.mt.

This is another article in a series reporting on the 5th Ministerial e-Government Conference and e-government in Malta made possible with the support of MITA.