F2 CASE | COPENHAGEN CITY COUNCIL
cBrain worked with Copenhagen City Council to deliver a new digital application process for international citizens coming to Denmark
THE CHALLENGE
International House is the part of Copenhagen City Council that deals with registering people wanting to work or study in Denmark. Copenhagen also provides this service for 31 other local authorities in Denmark.
Until now, people wanting to register had to be at the International House in person. There, they had to manually fill out forms, and then wait for a case handler to see them. If they forgot any of their documents, they had to go home again, collect the document, then go back and start all over again. On average, users spend 90 minutes waiting to be seen each time they visit. Case handlers did not really have a good tracking system – typically they used outlook and email archives, making it difficult to share information.
CUSTOMER PROFILE
Customer Name
Copenhagen City Council
Sector
Local Government
Type of service
Digital self-service for citizen registration
Launch date
1st June 2017
Number of applications
Over 5,000 since launch
THE SOLUTION
International House wanted a ‘completely new digital approach’. They selected cBrain’s F2 platform to provide an end-to-end process. With F2, international citizens can now send in a digital application form and copies of documentation before they arrive in Denmark. If the application isn’t complete the first time, citizens get a digital response explaining what is missing and asking them to supply the missing documentation. Afterwards they are invited to book a time with the case handler before coming to the meeting.
The International House uses F2 self-service forms and case checklists to define the process steps and tasks needed. The checklist allows for variations, for example different processes for EU citizens and non-EU citizens. International House used lean principles in defining the checklists, removing tasks and steps that did not add value.
The self-service forms are created dynamically, asking for the right information depending on answers to previous questions (ie if the applicant is married or has children, then additional data needs to be captured). The forms work on the ‘need to know’ principle, with a focus only on capturing information that is directly needed for processing the case. User testing was done with relocation agencies who often submit applications on behalf of incomers. In these cases, communication goes through the agency rather than directly with the citizen.
In the first week of live operations, International House received more than 250 applications online. So far, the first phase of the project has focused on the citizen experience, in order to make it easier for migrants. The next phase will focus on making things easier for internal users. It will offer integrations to existing data registers as well as integrating work with Universities for student applications. The final phase will be to automate and join up data processing with state agencies such as the State Administration, the Tax Authority etc.
THE BENEFITS
Trine Marie Ingeberg, head of the International Service, International House
Citizens can complete applications online, and reduce the time they have to spend waiting to be seen by a case handler. The average wait time is now 15 minutes instead of 90 minutes. Internal users can get a side by side view of data and documents submitted so they can quickly validate the accuracy of the application.
International House management now have a dashboard for incoming cases and quality control so they can see real-time information on cases and status.
“But almost the best thing is that now everyone gets accurate, impartial case handling. The system doesn’t differentiate between applicants, so we get a different level of fairness than we’ve been used to” says Trine Marie Ingeberg, Head of the International Service.