“Medborgarportalen” is an innovation challenge from Hammarö municipality in collaboration with Compare. The purpose is to investigate the possibility of procuring a development of a digital service that facilitates how the municipality can make information available to residents in an individualised and efficient way. As a first step, Hammarö is now issuing a so-called RFI, request for information.
The purpose is to initiate a dialogue with innovative companies and gather information about what technology, ideas, or existing solutions can meet the need.
Missing existing solution on the market
Mia Hernell Blomqvist, development manager at the social services department in Hammarö, says that the idea has developed gradually:
– “You could say that we anticipated the AI boom a little before it came. We have analysed the world around us, but have been disappointed every time because the existing solutions were not what we were looking for.
Hammarö’s website needs to cover the needs of all municipal activities, which can make the mass of information difficult to access. The goal is therefore to create a service that better meets the needs of the individual, for example based on personal information, and history from previously visited pages on the municipality’s website.
– Actually, this is nothing new, in principle all e-commerce sites have such customisations – but they are not used on municipal websites. We have to respect privacy – but I think most people would like to find what is most relevant to them. Whether it’s social services or building permits,” says Mia Hernell Blomqvist and continues:
– ‘It should be easy to do the right thing, and we think that if the service is sufficiently attractive, efficient and customised, the site will be something more people want to use. There is also a demographic context in which there are fewer of us in the public sector who have to help more and more people.
Process where several companies can participate in the development
A potential procurement in the next phase is planned to be carried out according to the so-called Demand Acceleration methodology. In short, this means procuring an innovation, not a ready-made solution. Several companies can then participate to develop the digital service in close co-operation with the municipality.
A key element of the methodology is that the services developed should also be scalable in the market. The business viability helps the services to live on and develop, which at the same time benefits the municipality that first procures the service.
– We have heard a lot from other municipalities about the need. In my dream world, there is a company that understands that this is a small gold mine. With some adaptation, such a solution can be extended to almost all municipalities, as the needs of the residents are very similar,” says Mia Hernell Blomqvist.
Carolin Maule is Compare’s process manager in the co-operation with Hammarö. She is looking forward to an exciting journey, where a potential solution can echo far beyond the borders of Värmland.
Driving development for the benefit of many municipalities
The Demand Acceleration methodology has been created within DigitalWell Arena, where the focus is on supporting innovation of digital health services. The application of the procurement methodology is now also starting to trickle out to areas outside the direct health sphere, in addition to Hammarö’s initiative, Helsingborg, for example, is looking for new methods to reduce its climate footprint.
– The methodology is general and helps to create business opportunities where the public sector and companies can drive innovation together. From our perspective, it is particularly pleasing that a municipality in Värmland wants to drive the development of a digital service that can benefit all municipalities,” says Carolin Maule, Transformation Manager at Compare.
