Questions and Answers

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More than 40 Internet users joined the seminar thanks to webcasting. Peter T. Knight, coordinator of the e-Brasil Project and Poupatempo program, President of Telematica e Desenvolvimento Ltda., and partner of Telematics for Education and Development and Daniel Annenberg, ex-director of Poupatempo program and directing partner of Res Publica Consultoria answered the questions sent by virtual participants.

Participant: Zinaida Krasnova, administration of Ivanovo region
Question: In what spheres were involved (and are being involved) private investments during the creation and development of the centres?

In truth, the largest part of investments for implementing and management of the ICSCs are public. The most extreme case of outsourcing was in the Baurú Poupatempo, which was done using PPP (Public-Private Partnership) principles, but under the law of concessions, Law 8666. In this case, the public bidding was won by a consortium of private sector firms that carried out the work of remodeling the space to make it suitable, purchasing the equipment and furniture, hiring  personell, and operating the Poupatempo. The Government of the State of São Paulo agreed to pay an annual fee over five years, as well as the expenses of maintenance to pay for these investments and the operation of the Poupatempo. Other than cases of this kind, all investment is carried out by the government. In the case of the Poupatempos in São Paulo , we were able to create laws that permitted the help of private enterprises for marketing and advertising in the units. Those with interest were allowed to advertise their products in the Poupatempo units and paid rent for this (as the São Paulo Metro has also done). For example, the spaces for electronic services (installation of equipment, contracting of personnel, etc) in the Poupatempos of Santo Amaro and Garulhos, we  financed using this legislation for marketing and Intel, in one case, and AMD, in the other. The rents received paid for the expenses of these spaces in the Poupatempos mentioned.

Participant: Mikhail Burlakov, Krasnodar region.
Question: What kind of services is delivered by the centers?

A complete list of the services of Poupatempo can be found on the Poupatempo website, (www.poupatempo.sp.gov.br), but the main services are largely the issue (or renewal or second copies) of documents, such as the issue of identity and work cards, tax number cards, voting registrations, birth certificates, etc. and for other specific documentation such as vehicle registrations; police records; copies of water, electricity and gas bills;, consumer complaints , etc.). A large proportion of these documents to be issues require payments in a bank branch, which is also a participant in the ICSCs. In general, we here services and organs from the federal, state and municipal level, as well as private enterprises, but having a public character (electric power, privatized telephone companies are good examples of this). In some ICSCs we have organs of the judiciary, such as small claims courts. In these, judges hold audiences in the ICSC, and Regional Labor Courts  in some cases also offer services for following law cases, requesting certificates, judicial information, etc.

Participant: Vera Polyakova, Samara
Question: Are there any electronic services when the documents are sent by post?

A. We consider that all services that can be migrated to online versions should be so migrated, making the life of citizens easier. For those services for which it is not possible to complete on the Internet, the Government should give the citizen the option of completing them in the simplest manner possible (whether by mail, telephone or in person). For example, the payment of the tax on motor vehicles (IPVA) in the State of São Paulo can be paid via internet or telephone and the citizen receives, by mail, in his home, a receipt for the payment. If all services could be delivered in this manner, that would be ideal. However, as part of the services depend on issueing documents, it is not always possible to avoid the citizen having to go to some unit of the Poupatempo.

Participant: Oleg, Rostov-on-Don
Question: How services were selected? How was established communication with government?

 Our presentation delivered in the framework of the seminar provided an outline of the criteria used for choosing services. The Governments are the ones that plan, finance and implement almost all the ICSCs. The governments in general create (or reorganize) specific organs to monitor the implementation and management of these ICSCs.

Participant: Sergei Miller, President of GIS Association, RF
Question: Do you use spatial data for the center work? Do you have geo-informational system used for providing services related to land survey and other property matters?

As far as I know the Poupatempos do not use GIS systems, but perhaps some other ICSCs do. In some cities of São Paulo, a set of software modules called "Progam", which is based o n a set of detailed maps showing all structures in the town, embedded in GIS system, and can be used for property tax, school, health post, hospital, social assistance and other types of administration, and much more. Progam is an e-government tool. It was developed under a state of São Paulo grant to a foundation linked to the State University of São Paulo (UNESP). This advanced management tool has a number of modules covering each of these topics, all of which are linked to a unified databases (maps), registries of individuals, registries of properties, regestries of enterprises. For example in the Municipality of Lençóis Paulista, citizens are issued a single card used for interacting with all kinds of government services, and do not need to fill out new forms each time they register a child in school, apply to open a business, seek a medical appointment, request social assistance, etc. This program also permits identifying unpaid taxes and in collaboration with banks, financing the paying of taxes due so that the citizens in question may qualify for other services. Lençoís Paulista has a WiMax telecommunications system linking all government units, is developing a citizen portal, and plans to open this network to citizens. Through the portal it will be possible to develop various services in partnership with private sector firms such as banks (e.g. financing small enterprises) based on access to citizen and enterprise data in the municipality’s database. VoIP telephony services, Internet access and other services are being prepared under this model. The program is now maintained, improved and implemented by a private sector firm, Mitra, under an agreement with UNESP’s foundation. It is possible that this program could be made available for export and translation into Russian.