Redesign of the service for grants for NGOs and the e-applications platform
Overview
City funding for civil society organisations in Skopje depended on paper applications and on departments that did not share information. From September 2020 SmartUp, through SkopjeLab, mapped the service with city staff, designed the user experience for several types of user, built a simple version of an online platform, trained administrators and tested it with 20 users. A web register of Skopje NGOs followed in 2021.
The City of Skopje awards grants to civil society organisations through public calls run by different departments. Applicants delivered documents in person, and a discovery workshop showed that the City's internal process was uncoordinated, with little information flowing between departments. SmartUp analysed and mapped the process with the departments and its users, and built a simple version of the platform within the available budget, leaving the fully mapped process as a basis for a more complete technical solution. The platform became the City's e-applications portal, carrying the City's online calls with a separate form for each call. A separate web register gave the sector a directory and a communication channel.
The challenge
Paper applications limited access
Applicants had to submit documents in person at City premises, which cost time and kept some organisations out.
An uncoordinated internal process
Internal steps were not aligned, and information did not flow between the departments.
Fitting the new service to existing systems
The solution had to work with the City's IT system and handle applicants' documents carefully, which needed working sessions with the City's IT provider.
Activities and methods
SmartUp ran the redesign as a design thinking process with the people who use and operate the service, then supported its first rounds of use.
- Research, insight & strategy. A discovery workshop with City staff exposed the coordination gap, and the team started from the needs of internal and external users before designing.
- Co-creation & innovation processes. Three workshops to identify problems in the procedure, map the service flow and stakeholders, and design new processes and the user experience for several types of platform user.
- Digital platforms & tools. A simple version of the platform, with a separate online form for each public call, built within the available budget. It became the City's e-applications portal.
- Capacity building & learning. Five trainings for City administration on the new process, and four sessions with the subsidy approval commission and departments to transfer knowledge and set up e-application evaluation.
- Pilots, implementation & scaling. Three working sessions with the City's IT provider to synchronise and automate how applications are received, and testing with 20 users.
- Digital platforms & tools. The NGO register (2021): analysis of existing NGO databases, research on NGO needs, development and a user manual, giving a database of more than 4,000 active NGOs in Skopje and a newsletter list of about 2,000 addresses. The register was promoted from June to August 2021 by newsletter, social media and direct contact.
Impact and learning
Tested with users. The redesign was tested with 20 users.
Training and handover. 5 trainings, 4 sessions with the commission and departments, and 3 working sessions with the IT provider (2020-2021).
A register for the sector. More than 4,000 active NGOs in the database and about 2,000 newsletter addresses. Organisations could present their activities and receive notices about cooperation with the City. The register is online at nevladini.innovationlab.mk.
Benefits reported for the e-applications platform. For applicants: easier access, less time to submit. For the administration: faster review, better monitoring and more transparency. These are qualitative; no NGO-specific counts were found.
Precedent: culture grants. Before this redesign, the Department of Culture moved its call online: applications grew from 138 (offline, 2018) to 490 (2019) and 711 (2020), more than five-fold. This is the culture call, not an NGO result.
Learning. Applicants submit personal documents, so careful handling of them has to be part of the service design from the start.
Outputs
City e-applications portal
View websiteRegister of NGOs in the Skopje region
View websiteRedesign of the grant application service (2020 announcement, Macedonian)
View linkTechnical support centre for e-applications
View linkWeb register for NGOs in the Skopje region (project page, Macedonian)
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