The Canary Islands Executive is advancing the creation of the Administrative Data Strategy, a model designed to manage and cross-reference data among various departments. The primary goal is to expedite administrative procedures and reduce the amount of information citizens must provide for each transaction. Approximately 8,620,129.12 euros (including VAT) will be allocated to this initiative, which has been in development for about a year.
Guadalupe González Taño, Director General of Digital Transformation of Public Services, defines the strategy as a "horizontal" project affecting all administrative procedures. Standardizing data collection across departments aims to optimize and accelerate processes, minimize errors, and enable the Administration to leverage existing information. "Establishing homogeneous data allows for standardizing procedures, streamlining them, and cross-referencing them," González Taño explained.
This strategy will also facilitate the move towards proactive services, where the Administration can identify individuals eligible for benefits and offer them without requiring an initial application. "If I have specific data about a person, I can reach out to them and offer more personalized assistance," the Director General noted.
The model is already being implemented in areas such as dependency and scholarships. In dependency services, the system can geolocate files and detect if multiple family members at the same address have submitted related applications, enabling a joint assessment. For scholarships, students who applied the previous year may find parts of their new application pre-filled with data the Administration already holds, similar to how income tax declarations function.
In addition to simplifying processing, the system helps reduce errors, as the data used comes from previous applications that have already been validated. The strategy will be progressively extended to other procedures through ongoing data standardization, coordinated by a departmental committee.
The next phase involves equipping the Government with the necessary technological infrastructure and human resources. The contract for the infrastructure is currently out for tender and is expected to be awarded in September. Concurrently, a technical support office for the departments will be established, also through a tender process, staffed with technicians to assist departments in implementing the strategy. The cost for this office is estimated at around six million euros over four years.
The total amount for the contracting service exceeds 8 million euros (including VAT), allocated to the technical office, technological infrastructure (approximately one million), and licenses for tools, including those related to artificial intelligence. The ultimate goal is to build an Administration that more efficiently utilizes its existing information, advancing in automation and personalized services.
