The interviewees underlined that “it’s a duty to be responsible for one’s own actions also because the
documents on which you have worked include your own name”. The possibility “to be identified from
the file” was also positively felt because:
. . . the users know who is their problem-solver and appreciate it if you have done good work. This
situation gives us a lot of responsibility, but also satisfaction. In practice, this innovation has knocked
civil servants off their pedestal, and has brought them down to the level of the individual user. Even
if those who use the right of access or ask to talk with the administrator of the procedure are few in
number, these laws invite us to change our attitude to them (Operator, metropolitan branch).
In this way, the interviewees stressed that transparency, legal certainty and simplification – which are
based on the right of access – have been improved and, therefore, the daily work has changed, confirming
the third proposition. In particular, thanks to the implementation of IS, the interviewees were “able
not only to respond quickly to a request for access, but also to satisfy accurately routine requests for
information”. It is interesting to notice that the interviewees said that:
. . . in the past the most difficult task in the front office was the search for administrative files. The
documents that concern the user could be anywhere: on a colleague’s desk, in the protocol office,
etc . . . and it was very difficult to reconstruct the situation. Now, thanks to the law and to IS we are
able to satisfy with efficiency the user’s requirement. (Operator, central regional branch).
Identifying the advantages of IS, the director of metropolitan branch underlines that:
. . . the organization is working to make the ‘transactions’ between citizens and public administrators
easier in order to increase efficiency and speed . . .
In particular, the interviewees narrated how in the last few years, INAIL has invested in the improvement
of IS. The civil servants recognized the benefits of IS, declaring that:
. . . the technology enables communication between citizens and public administration at any time
(night and day) without requiring the presence of public servants or the opening of the office
(Operator, northern regional branch).
On the same note, another operator commented on improved accessibility as follows:
. . . the users can now log into the system, ‘enter’ the proceduresand make a request about a particular
service. This new possibility makes the process simpler, faster and speeds up the timescale for service
delivery (Operator, southern regional branch).
Another fundamental issue was related to the increased participation of citizens in public activity:
. . . the online services allow the users to take part in the process and to be aware of our work. This
participation in the organizational process is one of the more positive aspects of the service’s on-line
implementation: the client starts to understand the mechanism and the process we go through. In
this way, our interactions with customers become easier. The users can check everything and, when
they ‘enter’ into on-line procedures, they can control the ‘stage of the service delivery’ (Operator,
central regional branch).
The mechanisms of organization were accountable to the external actors and accessible to the citizens
who participate in the administrative activity in a transparent way.