Presentation

Description

The Centre d'Informatique pour la Région Bruxelloise (CIRB) is the regional operator for the digital transition and technological innovations, serving the public administrations of the Brussels-Capital Region for the benefit of citizens. The CIRB plays a proactive role as manager and supplier of the ICT service catalogue and is involved in the pooling of resources. It also guarantees a technological and legal watch in order to anticipate the developments and needs of its clients.

Digital activity

More specifically, the CIRB provides computer hardware, digital services (antivirus, VPN solution, website hosting, mapping tools [UrbIS]), but also business solutions (IRISbox, Nova, ...), development or deployment of solutions, support in digital transition (architecture, NWOW, digital capabilities)

Good practice targeted

Inclusion

To go further

www.cirb.brussels

Good practice

Implementation of a strategic plan for digital inclusion and the appropriation of basic IT skills by citizens (Digital Appropriation Plan).
Emergence of a digital inclusion service and its integration into the CIRB's service catalogue. This service allows the implementation of a digital inclusion consultancy to ensure that the digital transformation of public services remains accessible to all citizens.

Costs

Difficult to quantify, depending on the project.

Starting date of the good practice

The premises of the service began in 2019 but it was not until 2022 that it became more effective and complete (through the implementation of inclusive recommendations or the testing of certain digitised public services by people who are far from digital).

Time to implement the good practice

This depends on the recommendations that are made. The implementation of these recommendations takes some time.

Tools/partners/suppliers of the good practice

Support citizens in digital world

What are the benefits of the project ?

Within the framework of the Smart City, we are developing IT tools and solutions that should make life easier for citizens. Digitised public services are public services that should remain accessible to all citizens, regardless of their IT skills. If the tools and solutions developed are more inclusive, they will be better and more widely used. Differences between citizens are therefore reduced and they are all treated equally. This ultimately reduces the digital divide.

What were the constraints faced by the company ?

"It depends on the degree of digitisation, which has an impact on the inclusive and alternative recommendations to be put in place. E.g.: developing a chatbot is more complicated than providing a paper version.
We also conducted an analysis of the public services digitised by the most digitally excluded citizens. This analysis allowed us to assess the accessibility of the services and to put in place inclusive recommendations. These recommendations will also be translated into an IT language (technical package), which will be made available to all IT developers (public and private)."

Which advice would give to another company ?

"When a company embarks on a digitisation process, the first step is to inform the users (citizens, customers, etc.). It is also necessary to be able to put in place user manuals and to inform these users on how to use the digitised service, whether internally or externally. Indeed, it is impossible to explain to end users how to use the service if they are unable to understand how it works themselves. It is therefore essential to have good internal communication and training.
The creation of user manuals is therefore necessary to better understand certain services. These manuals should contain screenshots, arrows, clear and ""easy"" language, and descriptions by ""step"". Anglicisms and long sentences should also be avoided .... "

What are the next steps?

The Digital Appropriation Plan (Plan d’Appropriation Numérique) is a multi-year plan (2021-2024). Various actions will still be implemented. Several of the plan's axes are as follows:

Raise awareness (convince people that IT is interesting and beneficial). Also to show them that digital technology is becoming more and more important in their daily lives;
Federate and synchronise the different levels of action (local, regional, federal and European).
Include in draft laws (ordinances) the need to guarantee the accessibility of digital services to all citizens.

https://smartcity.brussels/digital-inclusion-5-the-2021-2024-digital-appropriation-plan