VOLIS (Local government council/government information system - Kohaliku omavalitsuse volikogu/valitsuse infosüsteem, in Estonian) follows the best eGovernment practices and contributes to a simpler and faster processing of services within the local governments. According to the Estonian Minister for Regional Affairs, Mr. Siim Kiisler, the introduction of VOLIS promotes participatory democracy and makes the decision-making process at local government level more open.
"The new information system for the councils, towns and rural municipalities allows citizens to watch real-time local government meetings. This constitutes a big step towards the development of local eServices," said the Minister. He added that "VOLIS creates a separate work environment for the members of local councils and governments and allows the public to see, via the Internet, what is happening during a session as well as to browse the materials concerning the agenda. Furthermore, people can watch the real-time recording of the minutes."
The development of the system software, which is available to be implemented to all local governments in Estonia, has been financed by the European Union Regional Development Fund and is coordinated by the Estonian Ministry of the Interior.
The VOLIS Project Manager, Mr. Henri Pook said: "All the local government units in Jõgeva County (i.e. three towns and ten rural municipalities) have expressed their readiness to implement VOLIS. There has also been interest from other local governments elsewhere in Estonia."
Registered users can access the VOLIS system via their ID-card or by using SIM card-based identification through their mobile phones (Mobile-ID). "If a local government joins the VOLIS system, the members of the local council and local government as well as various officials will become registered users. Hence, citizens will not have to login to watch a session or read the materials," added Mr. Pook.
The information system uses an open source code, which allows the ongoing development of VOLIS, with the licence owned by the government. Minister Kiisler thus pointed out that "Although local information systems vary among different countries, it may be possible in the future to use this software abroad too."
Further information:
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Quelle/Source: epractice, 20.07.2010
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