_______________________________________________________________________________ Client
General Register Office (GRO)
On the Web
www.groireland.ie Project
Civil Registration Service Modernisation
Shorcut to
Business Challenge
How Accenture Helped
High
Performance Delivered
Executive Summary
The General Register Office (GRO) project is a joint
programme between the Department of Health and Children and the Department of
Social and Family Affairs (DSFA). The programme's objective is to modernise the
Civil Registration Service in Ireland. The programme is primarily a customer
service initiative that transforms the way services are delivered using modern
technology. However, the initiative also marks a major milestone in the
government's commitment to improve the way services are organised and delivered
to citizens, and a further step forward in the implementation of the
e-government agenda.
_______________________________________________________________________________ Business
Challenge
The General Register Office (GRO) is responsible
for the administration of Civil Registration in the Republic of Ireland. In the
past few years the amount of documentary evidence required for official and
other purposes has increased. Virtually every citizen will use the GRO service
at some time in order to establish entitlement to rights or benefits.
Efficient access to these records is important to government
departments and agencies as well as to the general public. With few changes to
the basic procedures and structures of GRO, established over 150 years ago,
there was a clear need for a modern, properly structured and efficient civil
registration service that would meet the needs of the various stakeholders.
How Accenture
Helped
Accenture partnered with the Department of Health
and Children and the Department of Social and Family Affairs on the overall
programme management, design of the new business processes and new organisation
structure and in the development of a new online civil registration system.
The new online system and associated processes enable a host
of new services, including: the electronic registration of life events (e.g.
births, deaths and marriages) and the production of electronic certificates
(dating from 1845 to present) from a single database. The new system also
allows for auto-processing of child benefit claims, and provides the capability
to seamlessly share data across government departments.
Since going live in July 2003, the project has completely
overhauled the Civil Registration Service in Ireland and pushed it to the
forefront among similar services worldwide.
High Performance
Delivered
The main improvements realised for citizens,
staff and Government with the implementation of the GRO include:
- Customer friendly convenient
service.
- Faster retrieval of data and certificate
production.
- Inter-government agency data
sharing.
- Streamlined customer-to-government
interaction.
- Availability of management
information.
- Staff job satisfaction.
As an example of improved customer service, processing
times for certificate production has dropped from an average of 20 minutes to
five minutes. Applications for certificates received via the post are now
issuing within two days of receipt. Prior to the electronic availability of the
data, the average time taken to process such an application was six weeks.
The system has won international recognition and acclaim,
collecting awards for its innovation, achievements, impact and success.
In December 2003, The Wall Street Journal
Europe awarded the project a Bronze in the Business Innovation Award
section of their European Innovation Awards. The awards honor individuals,
organisations and companies throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa that
develop new ideas, methods or technologies that improve quality of life or
enhance productivity.
In July, 2003, an e-government competition organised by the
European Union Commission in Como, Italy, selected the new civil registration
system as one of the top five entrants in its category. The submission was also
featured on "Hitech" Euro-news as an example of "Best Practice" in Europe.
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