ABOUT THE SOCIAL CHARTER
This is an interactive digital platform that provides citizens with information on the social facilities and services available in the municipality of Cascais from the public, solidarity and private-profit networks that are in operation (and legally recognized).
This information tool also serves as an important diagnosis of social resources and supports political decision-making in terms of planning the network of social facilities and services in the municipality.
The information (which is the responsibility of each entity and is updated annually) is organized into 11 major areas of activity in which existing social responses are found:
- Community in general
- Children and young people
- Adults with disabilities
- People with addictive behaviors and their families
- People with mental illness
- People with HIV/AIDS and their families
- People in situations of dependency
- Elderly people
- Homeless people
- People who have been victims of violence
- Foreign residentes
The platform is aimed not only at citizens looking for a social response for their personal and family life, but also at managers and employees of organizations providing social services, professionals in the social economy sector, researchers, academics and consultants, as well as public administration managers and professionals, politicians and decision-makers looking for information to support their actions and/or decision-making. More information here.
CHALLENGE
In addition to the legal requirement for local councils to collect and share information about their social network, one of the main challenges was the decentralization and transfer of competencies from Social Security to the local authority, in terms of drawing up the municipal social charter, including mapping existing responses in terms of social facilities. This challenge was closely linked to the goal of increasing the visibility of the resources and services offered by social organizations to citizens – by making public information available on the Social Charter website, social organizations would be able to gain greater recognition and attract a greater number of clients.
There was also a need to provide reports, relevant statistical data and dashboards, not only for analysis of the evolution of social intervention and client profiles, but also for planning and decision-making by social organizations – permanent updating of the “Programming of the Network of Collective Facilities, Services and Social Responses in the Municipality of Cascais”.
Finally, it was essential to bring together all the information on the organizations, their facilities and social responses in the municipality – in a single tool – that could be easily filled in and continually updated by the organizations themselves. In short: what was needed was an online access tool capable of making public information available, easily and affordably, to any citizen.
QUIDGEST’S SOLUTION
Having won, on the merits of the proposal and demonstration presented, the request and challenge launched by Cascais City Council, Quidgest was the entity responsible for developing the municipality’s Social Charter management system. This tool centralizes information in a single portal, facilitates its permanent updating, uses the data provided to improve the management of social policies, promotes transparency and improves communication, cooperation and information sharing – a set of advantages that make this management system a practical and accessible resource for both entities and citizens.
Some of the system’s functionalities
- Register of entities
- Register of social responses provided
- Continuous updating of information
- Search for registered entities and social responses
- Statistics and analysis for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the services provided
Main advantages
- Centralization of information
- Easy to update data
- Transparency in the provision of social services
- Improved public management
- Improved communication between services
RESULTS
THE SOCIAL CHARTER PLATFORM CENTRALIZES INFORMATION, IMPROVES PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING
The Cascais Social Charter is currently in the phase of attracting entities, in which some organizations still need technical support in joining the platform, as well as fine-tuning internal procedures.
The tool will be very useful for residents and technicians to find the social responses they need or are looking for in the municipality of Cascais. Organizations will be able to access their data and change it in real time (or just consult it) and will have relevant information to adjust the scope of their intervention.
This digital solution will also allow for simpler and more up-to-date management of existing organizations, equipment and social responses, serving as a repository of information and data that is essential for continuous improvement of the work and services provided by the member organizations.
Testimonial
“At first, we felt that there were difficulties in communication and in getting our ‘social’ language aligned with the ‘computer’ language. Once we overcame this obstacle, the work has flowed at a good pace and has met our needs and expectations. The Quidgest team, especially Carlos Nogueira, has been tireless, very available and quick to find or propose solutions. As well as being completely fluent in IT, he understands our needs very well and has already mastered “our” language – which we feel is a great asset. They have also worked hard to make two Cascais City Council platforms compatible with their own platform and we know that there have been many problems, but their willingness and availability to find joint solutions has been constant. All in all, we’re very satisfied!”
Susana Graça, Head of the Planning and Evaluation Unit (UPLA), Planning and Social Network Division (DRES), Social Cohesion and Development Department (DDS)
