Sheffield City Council is leading a project to develop an open-source based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution for the public sector.
The councils is part of an EU-funded initiative called the Citizens Advanced Relationship ManageMENt (CARMEN) project that is looking to develop an “innovative, knowledge-based multi-media service” based on the private sector approaches to the use of CRMs.
The Eur 2.5 million initiative over the next 18 months will help local council back offices integrate new multi-media channels such as text messaging, call centres and mobile web portals, with traditional methods of contact. The new solution will also offer citizens a personalised means of doing business with their local authority.
The project is now undertaking its market validation phase in three countries where each participating local authority will offer a number of eGovernment services through CARMEN and its performance will be evaluated. If successful the system may be rolled out across Europe.
Commenting on the programme, Ken Bellamy, Director of e-Government, Sheffield City Council said: “By allowing administrators to deal with the public in a more personalized and integrated manner, CARMEN will help to revolutionize the public sector in much the same way that CRM revolutionized the relationship between businesses and their clients”
CARMEN is part of the EU's eEurope 2005 Action Plan for the development of pan-European Government Services. The partners in this project are City of Saarbruecken and Deutsches Forschungszentrum Fuer Kuenstliche Intelligenz Gmbh from Germany, Comune di Prato, ANCITEL SpA and Laboratori Guglielmo Marconi SpA from Italy, and Black Country Consortium ltd from the UK.
Quelle: eGov monitor, 31.10.2005
