NRP Portugal

Of the measures undertaken by the Government, almost 90% were executed in 2006, and, in 2007 this figurereached85%thankstoaProgrammethatincluded235simplificationmeasures.The SIMPLEX 2008 consolidated the strategy to modernise administration ‐ by associating administrative andlegislativesimplificationwithe‐Government–which,inthecontextofthereformofprovisionofpublicservices,wasoneofthecriticalfactorsofsuccessinresponsetothemodernisationandinnovationobjectivesinthepublicsector.Thisprogrammecomprises189measuresdirectedatcitizensandcompaniesandcontinuestoinvolveallthe ministries and services of the respective areas of competence, with a common and shared responsibility.Before being defined, an extensive public survey was carried out and a significantly superior response wasachievedcomparedtoitspredecessor.The‘lifeevent’conceptwasreinforcedincitizensandcompanies’relationshipwiththeState,includingtheonestopservice–capableofprovidingintegratedservicesolutions,ensuringthattheperson/companyrequestingtheservicecandosoorobtaintheinformationneededinasinglecontactorinteraction.FollowingarecentOECDevaluation,theopportunitytoestablishaspecificevaluationprocessofthesimplificationmethodincooperationwiththelocaladministrationwasacknowledged.Alsoacknowledgedwastheimportanceofestablishinginstitutionalcooperationaimingatthesimplificationandelectronicadministrationattwolevels–centrallyandlocally.TheLocalAuthoritySimplexProgrammewastheanswertothisrecommendationwhich,aswellasthemeasuresthataretheexclusiveresponsibilityoflocalauthorities,alsoincludesmeasuresthatrelyonthecollaborationbetweenthesetwolevelsofadministration,ormeasuresthatdependonthejointworkoftwoormorelocalauthorities.PortugalrespondedtothechallengelaunchedbytheEuropeanCouncilinMarch2007andundertooktocomplywiththeprogrammetoreduceadministrativecostsforcompaniesintheEuropeanUnionandtodevelopitsownnationalprogramme.Inthisway,apledgetoreduceadministrativeburdensforcompanieswasintegratedintheSIMPLEXprogramme,withtheobjectiveofa25%reductioninadministrativeburdensimposedbynationallegalandregulatoryrules,by2012,ineventsrelevanttothelifecycleofcompanies.Anumberofpilot‐projectswerelaunchedin2007withthemainaimoftestingtheapplicationoftheStandardCostModelmethodologytothenationalsituation,usingalimitednumber(6)ofSIMPLEXmeasuresasastartingpoint.The progress achieved in Portugal in the electronic government field has been acknowledged by internationalinstitutions.So,aswellasthehighclassificationobtainedintheGlobalE‐Governmentindex(BrownUniversity)andintheEuropeanRankingforOnlinePublicServices,nowin2008,theGlobalInformationTechnologyReport2007‐2008 (World Economic Forum) has already acknowledged Portugal as 2nd of 127 countries to placeInformation and Communication Technologies within the Government’s vision for the future modernisation ofpublicservices.AdministrativeSimplificationtargetingcitizensA new One‐Stop concept (Citizen Shop – 2nd generation shops) was launched – these shops enhance theavailabilityofpublicservicesfoundedonnewconcepts,suchastheone‐stopservice–inpersonorthroughtheInternet–basedonabackofficecooperationbetweenthedifferentpublicservicesinvolvedintheprocesses.Thefirst2ndgenerationshopwasopenedin2007.Withinthiscontextofnewconceptsinthedistributionofservicesatone‐stopshops,thefirst‘ILostmyWallet’servicewaslaunched.Throughthisservice,acitizencanhaveidentificationdocumentsre‐issuedwithinthePublicAdministrationservicesshouldtheybestolenandreporttheoccurrencetothecompetentauthority.Thisservicehopes to respond to over 20% of the enquiries made at the One‐Stop Agencies. Up till August, over 43,000documentswererenewedatthetwoagenciesavailable.The “Ready House” service launched in July 2007 aims at eliminating the formalities of property transfer andregistrationbydealingwithallaspectsinonesingleplaceandinonego.Thisinitiativeisbasedonanelectroniccommunicationplatformbetweentheinterveningservicesandbodies(registryoffices,TaxAdministration,localauthoritiesandfinancialinstitutions),ensuringnotonlyswiftnessandsecurityoftheserviceprovided,butalsoareduction in costs to users (by about 900 euros considering a sale and purchase contract with a bank loan,excludingtaxes,andfollowingthecontractprocedures).Thereare83“ReadyHouse”agenciesavailableand,byJune2008,over12,400‘ReadyHouse’procedureshadbeenaccomplished.16