The aim of digitizing state administration is to minimize the need for a physical visit to the authorities and the greatest possible simplification of interactions with them.
Several steps are needed to achieve this objective. These include in particular identifying the specific user to guarantee that the person who is due to communicate with the institution is indeed the one communicating with it. We have already addressed this issue in a previous article on eIdentityhere. I would just like to follow up on an important step taken by the Czech state, which is identified using a banking identity, which was put into operation this year. This step gives easy access to millions of clients of Czech banks, and in comparison with the current just tens of thousands of users of state electronic services, these users can create real pressure for progress in this area.
Of course, it is not just about access to eGovernment services but also the user environment. A simple option for logging in is certainly an important condition, but if the user then had to work in a complex and confusing environment, for example just because he could send in a pdf with a copy of a hand-filled paper form, such a system would have little chance of surviving. Let us now take a look at this user environment and at topics related to the digitizing of forms, and leave their online versions for later articles.
The user environment in this case is represented by the Citizen Portal. This Portal, launched in 2018, could be described as a signpost or hub for a user's initial steps in communicating with the authorities. On this portal, a registered citizen can see most of the accessible data on him/her from the connected registers (e.g. information on registered documents, data from the real estate cadastre, the number of points on the driver points system, etc.) and has the opportunity to go to the virtual "desks" of those individual authorities which already offer part of their agenda online. You can begin communication with the Czech Social Security Administration, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and the Labour Office directly from here. One interesting option is the connection with the Data Box of the particular city so that you can work with messages directly from the portal without the need for additional logins. The Ministry of the Interior provides the following overview of its functions and services:
- Driver points system statement.
- Creating a databox.
- Data message archiving.
- Tax return submission.
- Extract from the Criminal Records.
- Extract from the Trade Register.
- Arranging a Trade Licence.
- Information from the real estate cadastre.
- Access to eRecept.
- Information on incapacity for work.
- Overview of pensions insurance.
- Notification of document validity.
- Portals of municipalities and cities.
- New services and portals are constantly being added.
From my point of view, the Citizen Portal is a step in the right direction, where everything essential is clearly aggregated in one place. As an ordinary citizen, I especially appreciate the possibility of setting alerts for the impending expiration of your documents, the summary of points from the driver's points system, and access to the eRecept database, where I can easily check all receipts issued against my name. I think that simply because of these services, it is worth logging in to the Citizen Portal and exploring its possibilities.
