Workshop 1.6 - Deutscher Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge

NGOs, representing user interests, have had a marked influence on the development of the Finnish social welfare system. Traditionally,
they have been the first to develop and try out new user-friendly service models and methods, which then have been adopted also by
the public services. They also have their say in planning and developing public social services, both on national and municipal level.
ICT for user participation in social services
Possibilities of ICT
From experience in various public services, especially in health care, we know that information technology and especially Internet can
be utilised in various ways to enhance the service user's self-determination and position as a customer. In social services, the client
would benefit from, e.g.:
• information on the workings of the social welfare system and on user rights;
• information on local social services, their access criteria and availability;
• low-threshold contact to service providers for information and feedback by e-mail;
• eTransactions (e.g. applying for services, making appointments);
• self service for assessing problems and service needs, anonymous net consultation;
• peer group support (discussions, information);
• multimedia information and communication – combining text in different languages with animation, voice and symbols – for
immigrants, who do not speak the local language, and for people with communication disabilities.
For NGOs the Internet opens new possibilities to advance the interests of social service user groups they represent. They can reach a
wider audience for their ideas and demands. They can also contact their members and clients effectively.
What we need – Prerequisites for use of ICT
To achieve a situation where ICT is used to enhance user participation in social services on a large scale, we need:
• political and legal framework - that enables and encourages the use of ICT in user participation;
• technical infrastructure (that gives access to ICT services);
• skills and motivation for both users and personnel of social services;
• resources;
• good practice models.
Where do we stand in Finland?
Political and legal framework
At the political level, Information Society is and has been for nearly a decade very much on the agenda. In her action program, the new
Prime Minister promises to speed up the transition to egovernment and the creation of electronic public services, in accordance with
the previously accepted Action Plan for Government Online 2002–2003.
Inclusion of all citizens has been one of the guiding principles of governmental activities for the advancement of the Information Society,
starting with 1st national IS strategy in 1994. An ICT strategy for social welfare and health care which was prepared in 1996 by the
ministry for social affairs and health, also stressing inclusion of all citizens, old and young. Several large-scale projects were launched
to put it into practice.
The Finnish legislation on electronic services, identification, privacy and data protection is very much up to date and internationally
advanced. The use of ICT has been taken into account also in recent laws on social welfare, e.g. in the Act on the Status and Rights of
Social Welfare Clients. So we have a fairly good framework enabling ICT for user participation in social services.
Infrastructure
Finland has been called a laboratory of the Information Society, testing out ICT applications and systems for larger scale use. In the
1990’s it had an exceptionally advanced legal and technical framework for the rapidly growing ICT sector. Since then, Finland has lost
some of its advantage, but it still figures among the top 5–6, sometimes even higher, when countries are ranked for maturity as
Information Societies.
Access to Internet is at 'good European level':
• practically all municipal social welfare offices have Internet connections;
• about 80 % of social workers have PCs connected to the net;
• also NGOs, active in social welfare typically have Internet connections;
• 53 % of Finns have access to Internet at home, many others at schools and work places;
• 2/3 of all use internet at least weekly;
• the figures are lower for elderly people and for low-income households.
There is a fairly well developed network of free public access points to the Internet, e.g. in libraries. A short-term target is to have one
access point for 1,000 inhabitants.
Electronic identification is not yet widely available for social service professionals, still less for service users. So it is difficult to
exchange any confidential information between service provider and user.
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