Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
Europe and North America
Spain
2003 Category 2 Winner
Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas
Local Council of Alcobendas, Spain
Description
Improving the relationship between citizens and the municipal government by
launching an online portal (ITACA) dedicated to the needs of local communities.
The Problem
The Municipal Government of Alcobendas in Spain wanted to improve the quality of
dialogue between the citizens and the municipal government.
The Solution
In 1995, the local council began work on a strategic plan for the modernization of the
municipality of Alcobendas, a part of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain,
with about 100,000 inhabitants and almost 1,200 public service employees. In 1997,
the initial stages of ITACA were drawn, and in 1999 the project was formally
launched. In 2003, the second stage of the ITACA was implemented as part of the
Municipal Action Plan (PAM).
The project’s aim is to facilitate and improve the relationship between citizens and
the municipality by simplifying the tools that citizens use to obtain information and
communicate with public institutions. The first stage of the project focused on three
basic services for citizens: the Alcobendas Card, an expanded website, and an integrated
24-hour telephone information service, called Servicio de Atencion Ciudadana
(SAC).
The Card, marketed as “the local council in your pocket”, has drawn the most attention.
It provides a free-of-charge form of personalized identification and allows for
interaction and the exchange of information with other cardholders. The card will
gradually eliminate the need for different local forms of ID by bringing all services
together, cutting waiting time for citizens down to an average of less than four minutes
when personal attention is required. Furthermore, the card provides universal
access to ICTs at the recently established self-service points. In 2004, more than
16,000 Alcobendas Cards were handed out, and 16 self-service and administration
points were established.
The expanded website has seen the number of visitors increased almost tenfold, from
about 27,000 in 2000 to approximately 267,000 in 2003. As a result, in the same
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