The beginning of March brought positive changes in Aluksne Municipality – the State and Local Government Unified Customer Service Centres (SLGUCSC) started working in 12 parishes, thus providing the opportunity to receive state and local government services in 13 out of 15 parishes of Aluksne. The new SLGUCSCs are located in libraries and thus enable people to apply for services closer to where they live. This is also the case in Jaunlaicene parish, where Iveta Udrase works as both a librarian and a customer service advisor.
"By opening customer service centres in existing libraries is an opportunity for small libraries to continue their work, and for librarians to upgrade their skills. Every new thing you learn broadens your knowledge,” says Iveta Udrase, the Service Specialist and Library Manager at the Jaunlaicene SLGUCSC, in a phone conversation.
Iveta has been a librarian for 18 years, but from the last year she started to train the staff of the SLGUCSC and a digital agent to fully support inhabitants in accessing state and local government services.
“A librarian is a specialist of broad profile. In the past, I have also helped inhabitants, for example, to print or copy documents, to find what they need on the internet, to use online banking. People have come to us for help before, now we are trained, we have authorisation and are able to help fully and widely,” continues Iveta.
No need to go to the town
Iveta points out that parish inhabitants have not yet realised that it is no longer necessary to go to the town to complete formalities and receive the necessary state or local government services. Everything can be arranged right here at the “nearest” library.
Iveta Udrase: “There are people who resist change, but in time they will realise that they are beneficiaries of this solution. You will not have to spend time travelling to the cities, you can get the services you need right here in the library, and pick up a book or browse the local handicrafts exhibition.”
The SLGUCSC is the largest face-to-face customer service network in the country managed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. The network serves as an important point of contact and a springboard for inhabitants to address different situations and clarify issues. You can apply for all e-services available on the public administration portal – https://latvija.gov.lv/Home/ – on your own or by the help of an employee of the Centre, as well as receive other consultations related to state and local government services.
Maija Anspoka, the “godmother” of the SLGUCSC, the Deputy Director to the Head of the Department for the Development of Public Administration Services of the Ministry, points out: “The network of SLGUCSCs is becoming a shared service from which everyone involved is benefiting – inhabitants, local governments, institutions and society in general by providing the possibility for inhabitants to get the necessary services from the state close to home. The Ministry has established excellent cooperation with local governments in the establishment of the single service centres, while our partner institutions such as the State Social Insurance Agency, the State Revenue Service, etc. trust the skills of the employees of the SLGUCSC in both receiving service applications and providing information on the services of the institution. Everyone gets help when he or she walks in the SLGUCSC, whether they are good or bad at a computer, and I encourage everyone to open the doors of their nearest SLGUCSC and check it out for yourself!”
Society’s digital skills are improving
Being both the librarian and service specialist at the SLGUCSC, Iveta has noticed that digital skills of inhabitants are developing.
“Inhabitants are coming to us and ask us to tell them why they need an eID card and what its benefits are, and we also have people who have an eID card but need help accessing services. I believe that digital skills of inhabitants are improving as the parish is developed. The more developed the parish, the more developed its inhabitants. There are those who just call us and ask me to tell them “which buttons to press” to access their chosen state or local government service digitally,” says Iveta.
She has also noticed that people who have recently acquired an e-identity are starting to realise how convenient and easy it is to do everything. “I say to them “You even do not know how comfortable and easy it will be”. Same with e-address. So far, the feedback has been very good, you do not have to search for “paperwork”, everything is at one place.”
Seniors, on the other hand, like to come in person and talk. “I can help with anything - reading text messages, sending them. I tell you how to transfer payments to the bank, how to pay your bills. Write an application. When you come for the fourth or fifth time, you can already see that the skills you have acquired are developing,” explains Iveta.
Although the library also has electronic books, as Iveta has observed, they are not as frequently chosen by the inhabitants of the parish as paperback novels or detective novels. “Habits change slowly, but people’s digital skills are developing and they are becoming more knowledgeable, also thanks to the SLGUCSC,” Iveta concludes.
Within the framework of Recovery and Resilience Facility investment 2.1.2.1.i. of the project “Support to Service Delivery Reform”, the MoEPRD plans to establish 372 more SLGUCSCs by reaching 538 SLGUCSCs in the territory of the country by 2026. The project will extend the functionality of the service management information system by ensuring remote and one-to-one consultations with institutional specialists.
