Espoo Magazine 3/2021

theme
Espoo wants to
be a forerunner
also in digital
operations.
Several different
projects and
experiments have
been launched to
develop them.
Text Tiina Parikka
Key to
sustainable
services
One of the biggest challenges of a growing city is to ensure
the continued availability of services. Digitalisation is one way
to do this – and everyone’s help is needed in developing it.
What can I give the city?
When developing digital
services for the city, the role
of users, that is, the residents
is emphasised. It is
not just a question of which and what kind of
services they want, but how the services can
be produced together.
“Digitalisation is not just a way to make
operations more efficient, but also a way to
solve global problems. It enables a completely
new kind of service logic which is used to create
the service together,” says Director of
Service Development Päivi Sutinen.
Digitalisation has been promoted through
numerous projects in Espoo.
Everything in one portal. OmaEspoo is
a platform under development which will
incorporate all the city’s services, such as
booking doctor’s appointments, applications
for a day-care centre, enrolment for events
and contacting customer service. In practice,
the portal will open doors to different services.
“The Iso Omena and Kalajärvi Service
Centres, where services are provided centrally
all in one place, have had a lot of positive
feedback. We want to apply the same idea to
digital services,” says Project Manager Veera
Vihula.
The current year in the OmaEspoo project
is reserved for planning. Already at this
stage, users, i.e. Espoo residents, have been
consulted through surveys. The next step will
be workshops during which the needs of different
groups will be explored in more detail.
OmaEspoo is expected to be put into service
in 2024.
“Not all the services will be transferred to
OmaEspoo all at once. Instead, the system
will expand in stages. Once we can test various
simulations of the platform, users will be able
to test the models and share their experiences
and wishes,” Vihula promises.
More personalised services. In the future,
OmaEspoo will also utilise MyData, which is
information the user has stored about themselves
in the service. If, based on the information
provided, the platform can identify, for
example, a person’s habits or hobbies, it will
be able to recommend the right events and
services.
8 A magazine for Espoo residents