Rotterdam Municipal Authority

Digital collaboration on a single file is a topic that is more relevant now than ever. But how do you achieve this in an organisation in which so many documents are created and used every day? How do you maintain an overview and keep control? The Rotterdam Municipal Authority went looking for answers to these very questions.

Four focus points to achieve the objectives

Digital collaboration is rapidly becoming the norm, which is why the municipality of Rotterdam began looking for a solution to support digital file collaboration. Its main focus points were traceability, completeness, security and compliance with legislation and regulations. It wanted to implement a group-wide document management system that could guarantee these four key areas by means of authorisations, audit trails, archive management, user-friendly interfaces and process automation, for example.

A further important pillar in digital collaboration is the automation of processes involving administrative decision-making files. A generic integration load also provides a link to other task applications and services, such as digital signing and document generation.

From collaboration and archiving to UX

The main priority was for the solution to provide users with optimum support in order to encourage digital file collaboration and ensure that the municipality is in control of the information. With a user-centred approach, we involved the user in all phases of the process. By conducting user experience (UX) research and using a design system, we created a consistent, accessible and user-friendly solution for the target group.

Of course, we also thought about the management side. By employing an ‘archiving by design’ approach from the outset, compliance with legislation and regulations concerning the storage and destruction of information is ensured from the moment a new file is created. For example, consideration is given in advance to how files are to be properly archived at the end of the term, which is extremely convenient. As a result, control over the information has increased enormously in a sustainable and future-oriented solution.

The municipality of Rotterdam is also fit for the future from a technology point of view. With Alfresco’s modern cloud-native platform, the municipality has acquired a solution that can be built on in the coming years. By applying a microservice architecture, we have implemented a scalable and future-proof solution. What’s more, Alfresco is open source and uses open standards.

Digitised and Rotterdam-based collaboration for happy employees

The new platform ensures that employees can easily obtain the information they need to do their jobs well. Digitising and automating processes had made them faster and provided greater insight. Thanks to the fact that legislation and regulations regarding the retention and destruction of data have been taken into account from the start, control over the information hasincreased enormously. The municipality of Rotterdam is now able to ensure the four key focus points: completeness, traceability, security and compliance with legislation and regulations. And perhaps most importantly – the users are happy and positive about this new solution!

Partnership

From the start, the key to success has been the cooperation between the municipality of Rotterdam and Incentro. Within this blossoming partnership, both parties have made every effort to make an impact together. With a new way of agile working for the municipality of Rotterdam, we developed the solution in an iterative process. As specialists in the Alfresco platform, our Incentronauts have done their utmost to challenge the municipality and build a great solution. Involvement of end users and focus on the user experience are key to this process so that we can continuously incorporate the feedback from the organisation in the next iteration.