Digital public services in Brussels: solid progress & challenges ahead
For the fourth year running, the Brussels-Capital Region is assessing the quality of its digital public services through the European eGovernment Benchmark*.
Carried out by External linkCapgemini Invent on behalf of External linkParadigm and the External linkBISA (Perspective), this analysis covers 98 services relating to major life events for citizens and businesses. The study covers not only regional administrations, but also municipalities, universities and hospitals.
A high level of performance
The good news is that the majority of administrative procedures can now be carried out online, without needing to visit a counter in person.
Services for citizens scored 85 points, putting Brussels in 9th place in Europe, and those for businesses scored 95 points (also 9th place).
These scores confirm the Region's status as a strong player in digital administration in Europe.
Simplified procedures
Administrative forms continue to be simplified thanks to the automatic pre-filling using data from registers.
These pre-filled forms scored 74 points (16th place).
Today, around three out of four forms already incorporate this data, saving significant amounts of time for users. However, the lack of recent progress is starting to widen the gap to the Belgian average.
Transparency: an area for improvement
Transparency remains the Achilles heel of Brussels' digital services, with a score of 46 points (27th place).
Citizens still don't have enough visibility over how their requests are followed up and how public decisions are made.
Improving support
User support is improving, although there is still some work to be done, with a score of 79 points (23rd place).
Assistance channels are more accessible, but some features, such as online complaints procedures, are still underdeveloped.
A high-performing mobile experience
Brussels' public websites confirmed that they are well adapted to mobile use, with a score of 96 points (16th place).
Almost all web platforms are now accessible on smartphones and tablets, thanks to a systematic, responsive design.
A clear roadmap for the future
These results provide a practical tool for the administrations responsible for the 98 services analysed. Using the results, we can clearly identify any priorities and focus our efforts on the issues that have a direct impact on citizens and businesses.