Linköping Municipality aims to become more open, accessible and service-oriented. Among other things, the e-services LKDATA produce help to make it easier to live and work in Linkoping.
Henrik Rådmark of CIO Sweden has written about Linköping in his recent series called IT Around the Country. He opens his articleand interview with IT Manager Krister Siggesjö noting that a technology-based community like Linköping would expect to see IT organizations taking a leading role in advancing new technologies.
Linköping’s IT organization LKDATA is undergoing reorganization. Its ambition is to be even more open, accessible and service-oriented, to citizens and to employees.
“Linköping’s vision is to optimize e-services improve life and work throughout the municipality, says IT Manager, Krister.
What is IT's role in facilitating municipal change?
It is closely associated with changes from a management-oriented to process-oriented organization. This means we can work more efficiently and with a greater focus on citizen needs.
We are building on the IT support we provide today while seeking to improve the facilitation of a cohesive flow of information. We are also developing new services that support Linköping’s goal of becoming an a more open organization with readily available information.
What specific projects are underway?
In addition to what I mentioned above, we are introducing a whole new health-care system. Information about patients should be available across platforms regardless of who performs the health care. Today, information does not import and export efficiently. Care and related activities will also have a broader IT support for documentation and tailored to user needs. We will also introduce more e-services for citizens across all areas of the municipality.
Krister Siggesjö talks about another project inspired from social media and which can be used with internal communication. A new intranet will "facilitate information sharing and cooperation" within the municipality, says Krister. So, it is not an intranet in the traditional sense, but one that is interactive and incorporates elements of social media.
Is there an element of faddishness in using social media in the new system?
No, not at all. There's a lot to suggest that social media is a way to sustain the kind of drive that exists in humans to seek and share information and knowledge. We believe it benefits project as well as individual work. With this technology, we will facilitate the sharing of information between different project groups while providing better access to relevant information within the municipality.
It sounds as if you have a lot going on. How have you been managing costs during the crisis?
Methodically and successfully, I would say. Without taking on large independent tasks, we have assessed the big picture and have managed to cut costs in many places.
Krister describes his organization as being ever more proactive in bringing practical applications of IT support to the needs of an innovative and committed municipality. Using standard products whenever possible and contracting developers when necessary, LKDATA spends just under two-thirds of their annual 100MSEK budget on the purchase of products and services. Compared to major IT suppliers, LKDATA claims to be at that top in terms of cost. Others seem to be taking notice of Krister’s ability to lead an effective service. Recently he was paid a visit by the national government’s IT organization to learn more about Linköping’s IT operations.
When asked what will be next on the agenda, Krister replied:
We are working primarily with the new common systems for health care services and also IT in education. In December 2009, we launched a new visualization application on the site that allows viewers to see ongoing city development in 3D . All of this is a part of efforts to make the municipality more open and improve communication with its residents.
Translated in large part from: “Linköping invests in Social Media and E-services": CIO: IT Landet Runt 6 January 2010 (translation-Spaeth)
