Spanish Senate

Towards the e-S E N A TE

Parli@ments on the Net XI: Realising the Digital Parliament London, 2-3 May 2013

A Review of the Projects that Bring UsCloser to The Digital Parliament

Chronological Evolution

The beginning of Parliament’s digital management.Parliamentary information in digital displays.

Electronical interoperability with the Government.

New push for digital Parliament. The beginning of the X Legislature.New management applications to remove the paper.Mobile devices for parliamentary activity.

The digital parliament: Transparency and Citizen participation by means of the website.

More steps to eliminate the paper.

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Future Plans

Launch of the Intranet• Collaborative space for sharing and

publishing contents.

• Decreases the movement of paper documents from one office to another.

• Access to digital media.

• News and advertisements are published only in electronic format.

• Reduces internal email traffic.

• Digital forms for each subject: social or economic matters, computer, furniture or other needs, foreign languages classes and so on.

• Digital Stationery. Unique site storage of all digital forms used in the Senate.

2009 The beginning of Parliament’s digital

• Different sized screens:50´´ in the main entrances to the building42´´ in the rest.

• The system is also composed by Spinetix HMP100 players.

• They are connected to the computer network of the Senate and to the screens.

• There are also 2 application servers installed in the DPC, where the app is set up.

Digital Signage

Parliamentary information in digital displays2009

Digital Signage

• The screen at the entrance of each room shows the parlamentary and institutional information related to the events that will take place there during the day.

• The screens installed at the corridors and main entrances to the building show the Senate’s weekly diary.

Screen at the entrance of Manuel Broseta room

Screen installed in one of the main corridors2009

Electronic process of parliamentary issues

2010February

• MP writes and signs electronically the question using the signing certificate provided by the Senate.

• The application sends the question to the Government using Web Services technology.

Interoperability between the Senate and the Government

Electronic Registry

• It was created to facilitate the electronic processing of parliamentary issues and electronic access of citizens to public services.

Submission of the Questions to the Government

• The Government's response is received in the Intranet, personalized for each Senator and, published on the website automatically.

• New subjects have been added to the system: amendments to parliamentary bills, ask for reports from the Government. Others will be added in the near future.

The Government The Senate

Electronic process of parliamentary issues

2010FebruaryInteroperability between the Senate and the Government

Electronic process of parliamentary issues: the numbers

2010February

Figures and technical data

• The exchange of information is done with web services technology operated in a java platform in the Senate and in a Microsoft platform in the Government.

• In the current legislature (15 months) 15,600 questions, 174 report requests and nearly 8,300 amendments grouped into 334 lots have been sent to the Government.

• The Senate received more than 2,500 documents attached, of an average size of 530KB.

• The system was developed in 2009 and it is in service since February 2010.

Interoperability between the Senate and the Government

Electronic Publication of the Official Bulletin and the Journal of Sittings and Committees

• This system was developed by the Senate’s staff and became operational on January 1st 2011.

• The Official Bulletin and the Journal of Sittings and Committees drafts are published on the intranet, and since the new website’s launch they are also posted there.

• The word documents are sent to the digital printing system, using the same application and get back to the Senate as a PDF file ready to be published.

• The Bulletin is electronically signed by a cetificated authority and then it is published on the website.

• The Journal is not digitally signed so it is published on the website directly.

2011JanuaryNew management applications that eliminate the paper

Official Publications Production System

1

.doc files

3

4

.pdf, .xml files

Parliamentary texts management system (…)

Other backoffice systems(human resources, acountability…)

2.

5.

Signature process (6)

Electronic publication of the Official Bulletinand the Journal of Sittings and Committees

Text to bepublished DATABASE

Responsible person at the Official Bulletin

Responsible person at the Journal

Senate’s websiteDigital printing service

Electronic Publication of the Official Bulletinand the Journal of Sittings and Committees

• Advantages of PDF documents:

• PDF/A files, used for long term conservation (ISO 19005-1:2005)

• XML files with the whole content of each publication

• Signed PDF files with time stamping only used in The Official Bulletin

2011JanuaryNew management applications that eliminate the paper

Ecological Economic Higher speed access to information

The beginning of the X Legislatureaccelerates the process of digitalization

• We made a web application to collect senators’ data before coming to the Senate.

• The senators received a Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 tablet to be connected and operative everywhere.

• The tablet is used more and more since we are including new services usefull for MP’s.

• We prepared an application to register in the Senate parliamentary issues using the tablet. This gives more mobility for working to MP’s.

New push for digital Parliament2011November

Internet System to Collect Senators’ Data

• A web application has been created to allow senators to fill their personal, parliamentary and economic data from home or wherever he or she is.

• Data is electronically signed by a Senator and stored in a temporary database. Then the information is distributed to each department concerned for its internal management.

2011NovemberNew management applications to eliminate the paper

• Finally, the information is displayed on the website.

Internet System to Collect Senators’ Data

• Updating data is also made with the same method in a simple way.

• The MP access to the application through the Senate Intranet.

• The data is displayed almost immediately on the Senate website, providing citizens access to improve transparency.

• The data includes the register of interests, activities, assets and incomes.

2011NovemberNew management applications to eliminate the paper

Internet System to Collect Senators’ Data

Senator

WebsiteInformation DepartamentParliamentary Group

The plenary sitting electronically managed

• The information is displayed on the website, in the digital signage and on the intranet.

• The system can incorporate any paper document that is filled in or after the plenary sitting. The document is scanned and then it is electronically registred and stored in the system to be displayed as soon as posible on the website.

2011NovemberNew management applications to eliminate the paper

• Full management of the plenary sitting to report in real time what is happening in it.

Application for android tablets to check, sign and send parliamentary Issues

• It is an adaptation of the application used in the PC since February 2010.

• This adaptation only has the functionality to check and sign the parliamentary issues that MP wants to register and send to the Government.

• Other advantage is that can be done anywhere: at home, on the train, at the airport .. Keep in mind that the senators have to travel from their home to the Senate every week so they spend a lot of time in transit.

• The application is made for operating system platform Android and devices Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

2011NovemberNew management applications to eliminate the paper

Technical Details of the System

2011NovemberNew management applications to eliminate the paper

• Web services to communicate with the internal system.

• Server java application with HTML 5.

• Client Android application with a component to sign.

• Shielded storage of the private key for assymmetryc cryptography in the tablet.

Current website

• Inaugurated on November 2012.

• Oriented to bring the Senate to citizens, with new channels of participation and improving the transparency services.

• Accessible to disabled people.

• Available in all the official languages of Spain and English.

• Use modern technology.

2012NovemberElectronic communication between the Senate and the citizens

The Citizens and the Senate in touch through the website

2012NovemberElectronic communication between the Senate and the citizens

• In many pages are incorporated icons to share information in social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or e-mail

The Citizens and the Senate in touch through the website

• There has been internal infrastructure to respond to the writings of citizens as quickly and with much information as possible.

• All applications for accreditation to attend plenary sittings, committees and other parliamentary or institutional events are received and managed electronically from the website (the citizens) to the administrative people into the Senate.

2012November Electronic communication between the Senate and the citizens

• Forms have been created to allow the citizens to write to the Speaker, to MP’s, to Committees and to Parliamentary Groups.

• Suggestions and complaints are received and they are distributed electronically to the appropriate Senate’s department who manages them.

Website

Specifications

• The new website is made usingOracle Universal Content Management SystemOracle Secure Enterprise Search

• The pages are made in J2EE architecture with PL/SQL (SQL extension for Oracle) functions and formated by CSS. It allows to separate the presentation layer from the access to data layer

• The data is stored in Oracle databases and BRS documentary databases system

2012NovemberElectronic communication between the Senate and the citizens

Mobile applications for Android tablets

• Subscription to the Spanish press

Since January 2013 the subscription to Spanish press has been replaced by a digital subscription to them.

2013JanuaryMore steps to eliminate the paper

Future Projects• APPs for MPs and citizens in

mobile devices (Android and IOS)• Mobile device management and

storage in the "cloud“

• Improving of functionalities of Intranet and website

• Improve and expand the recording management and distribution of electronic documents

2013

• Add the Full text in archive documents (images) to be used by search engines

2014, 2015, …

• Changes in the video system to broadcast in H.264 format, share videos in social networks, etc.

Infrastructure projects:• New X86 virtual central servers;

new audio and voting system into the plenary sitting hall

• Improving of security: new web application firewall, perimeter firewall, etc.

Thank you for your attention

Silvia Octavio Espíndolasilvia.octavio@senado.es

Spanish Senate’s website

http://www.senado.es