Dossier d'information Geneva, digital city

As a public body, the City has introduced a wide-ranging transformation plan to facilitate the evolution of the tools, accompany the change in procedures and simplify them in order to transform its corporate culture. It must evolve if it is to continue playing a key role in terms of social ties and public services. The possibility of enjoying easy access to online public services should become the rule, while nevertheless ensuring that the digital divide does not grow any wider.

This transformation is enshrined in the blueprint for the administration’s digital transformation, which acts as a compass for the different departments of the City of Geneva and the Information Systems and Communication Division for the 2020-2025 legislature period.

Examples of projects linked to the transformation of the administration

A more efficient administration geared towards users 

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A series of programmes and measures implemented by the City of Geneva aims to improve the efficiency of the internal operations of its administration, the quality of the services provided for the population and the efficacy of its policy and programme management.

Mobile apps

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With the development of websites incorporating responsive design and mobile apps, the City of Geneva makes its information and services accessible via smartphone.

Collaborative work methods

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New collaborative work methods open to the public are being tested by the City of Geneva in order to create digital tools adapted to the needs of each and every citizen.

Back-to-school allowance

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Since 2018, the back-to-school allowance has been distributed in the form of an electronic purchase card valid in a network of 20 partner outlets. To make it easy to monitor spending, the City of Geneva has provided families with an easy-to-use  web form enabling them to consult the balance of the card online.

Virtual parliament

The City of Geneva is providing the Executive Council with a video-conference interface for its plenary meetings, in the event that it is not possible to hold an in-person plenary session. Having successfully completed experiments with this backup solution, Geneva is the first city in Europe to have an entirely virtual parliament.

Digital fines

The City of Geneva employs about 200 municipal police officers. Since June 2021, the municipal police force has benefited from a smartphone app
which replaces pens and fine booklets for issuing administrative fines. The software records all useful information in digital format, including the automated entry of registration plates.

And much more besides

Numerous projects are currently being studied, developed or implemented with a view to changing the practices of the municipal administration:

• Online procedures: a number of online services are available to the public; numerous administrative procedures can be carried out by computer or mobile phone from the comfort of your own home, from requesting civil status documents through enrolling children for nursery and requesting the removal of bulky objects to ticketing services.
• Improved monitoring of homeless people by means of geo-tracking: in order to make night-time rounds in winter more efficient when providing aid to homeless people and guiding them towards emergency shelters, a mapping system makes it possible to locate the individuals reported by partners or citizens. This not only helps find the person in question more quickly but also means that this information can be shared with the day and night-time social structures which provide local accompaniment; 
• Urbaconfort – better understanding the urban micro-climate: the aim of this smart metering project is to study the urban micro-climate in summer, and more particularly from the standpoint of senior citizens. Taken using the “climatemeter” developed by HEPIA, these measurements indicate the real-time physiological perception of city-dwellers walking in the street or standing on a square;
• Online requests for subsidies: the procedures for requesting a subsidy can be carried out online. The first stage will focus on cultural grants but the offer will gradually be extended to all spheres with the aim of ensuring greater efficiency with regard to the thousands of applicants every year.
• Visitor counting in real time: a partially automated counting system for visitors to cultural institutions and sports centres provides real-time information and regular statistics concerning the number of people visiting cultural and sports facilities.
• Participatory budget: the City of Geneva wants to launch its first participatory budget by encouraging its residents to submit neighbourhood projects which will then be put to a popular vote. Fostering a greater sense of citizenship, it will allow the local population to decide how a proportion of the budget is used.