ELAK
The ELAK ( electronic file ) is a central concept of the e-government strategy of the Republic of Austria for a modern federal administration. Since 2004, this has enabled fully electronic file management , automated handling of business processes , archiving and seamless administrative cooperation between the authorities. The ELAK also forms the basis for citizen-oriented administration and enables one-stop government .
Austria was named several times in the framework of the benchmarking for e-government carried out by Capgemini within the EU states as being outstanding in the implementation of e-government.
Objectives and benefits of the ELAK
- Goal of the ELAK
- Replacement of the paper file as an original
- efficient cross-administrative collaboration
- Shortening of lead times in file processing
- Integration of the subordinate departments is possible
- Simplification of complex procedures
- Cross-administrative collaboration without media discontinuity
- Benefits for citizens
- Easier and faster official channels
- One-stop government using electronic processes
- Authorities can be dealt with online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Information and information exchange can take place more quickly
- Electronic transmission of documents and forms to citizens possible
- Reduction of work steps through automation (e.g. automatic version creation)
- Transparency, traceability and documentation
- Protection against unauthorized access
- Up-to-date communication and interaction with the authorities is made possible
Project progress
In 1994 Fallmann & Bauernfeind developed the Linkworks system for digital . Linkworks is the basis of the ELAK systems that were successfully used. In 1996, together with Fabasoft and Unisys , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs developed the ELAK, which was already in use across the board in May 1997 at the headquarters of the BMeiA (Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs). When the then Foreign Minister, Wolfgang Schüssel, became Federal Chancellor, he stated in the government declaration of 2000 that all other ministries must also use ELAK. On July 10, 2001, the Federal Chancellery was commissioned to carry out the ELAK project with the ministerial lecture. At the same time, the federal budget management was switched to SAP (HV-SAP project in the federal computer center under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance). Due to the strict separation of file management and business processes, the ELAK had to be implemented as a cross-system workflow. The system for file management was in the lead, budget-relevant processes had to be processed in the HV-SAP system. This concept is explained using procurement processes:
- Procurement of offers, releases and signatures are stored in the file management system in a traceable manner
- Procurement (purchase order, incoming goods, payment of the invoice) takes place in the SAP system
- The file is completed with additional information from the HV SAP system in the file management system
The ELAK project was implemented in 2 phases, as there was no comparable installation before. In 2001/2002, the connection of file management systems was implemented within the HV-SAP project, independent of the manufacturer, in order to support them with business processes that are budget-relevant. The systems from Fabasoft and SER were connected for the prototype. Fabasoft was ultimately preferred by the Federal Chancellery as there were already installations in the house. This ELAK system was in use until 2004. Based on the ELAK, the ELAK-im-Bund (EIB) project was tendered in 2002 and implemented in 2003.
The federal government opted for a one-product strategy and a central operator model for electronic file management. At the beginning of September 2001 the preparatory work including the tendering by the Bundesbeschaffungs-GmbH began. The contract was awarded to ARGE-ELAK, a bidding consortium made up of Bundesrechenzentrum GmbH, IBM and Fabasoft with the eGovernment solution Fabasoft eGov-Suite . The respective departments were responsible for the rollout of the ELAK and the associated technical, organizational and budgetary aspects. A project steering committee, consisting of representatives from the departments and the contractors, took on the overall coordination of the project. The project group required for this, led by the Austrian Federal Chancellery , was made up of experts from the federal ministries. Implementation began in November 2002 and was completed in 2004 with the final rollout.
Since January 2004 the ELAK has replaced the paper file in all Austrian federal ministries - with the exception of the federal ministry for national defense and sport
The Federal Ministry of Defense and Sport has been operating its own solution, the BMLV-ELAK, since 2000 and currently has around 14,000 users. The BMLV-ELAK is also used in the Austrian Presidential Chancellery as a self-sufficient solution.
Since the EiB project started in July 2001, around 9,500 workplaces in the federal administration have been equipped with the ELAK. The technical operation of the servers and applications takes place in the Federal Computing Center .
In addition, ELAK systems with different products are also implemented in other areas of public administration. The functional scope of these products and solutions is based on the specifications of the EiB specification.
ELAK at state and municipal level
The ELAK is also used in Austria at the state and municipal level. For example, the city of Vienna ( open source ), Lower Austria , Upper Austria , Salzburg , Styria , Tyrol , Vorarlberg , the provincial capitals Linz , Salzburg, Innsbruck and Graz work . The communities in Vorarlberg also rely on this eGovernment solution.
criticism
According to a report by the Court of Auditors in 2008, however , an increase in the efficiency of the filing system achieved through the electronic file could not be demonstrated because there were no indicators or a cost-benefit analysis. The Court of Auditors also criticized the implementation costs, which were exceeded by € 10 million. A complaint about suspected irregularities in the award of the contract has so far remained without consequences.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Benchmarking EU , ec.europa.eu
- ↑ The Federal Chancellery and the Federal Ministry of Finance implement "Electronic File" ( Memento from November 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) , in Monitor 3/98.
- ↑ a b The "ELAK im Bund" project , digitales.oesterreich.gv.at
- ↑ EiB specification, digitales.oesterreich.gv.at
- ↑ Case Study Province of Lower Austria ( Memento from July 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) , egov-suite.com
- ↑ Press release Vorarlberg municipalities start pilot project ( Memento from June 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), egov-suite.com
- ↑ Court of Auditors' report 2008 (pdf).
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↑ New fuss about the data center: Grasser indicated . DerStandard.at;
ELAK case: The advertisement , sauchte-haende.org (facsimile of the advertisement) of November 17, 2005