City of Reykjavik

In 2019, the City of Reykjavík and Kolibri spearheaded the digitalization of public services in the capital. We launched an application for financial assistance on behalf of the municipality on the web, and modernized application processing.

The project met all expectations, transforming the applicant experience and streamlining the city staff's administration. It reduced the waiting time by approximately 90%, won the Icelandic Web Awards, and became the model for the first collaborative municipal project in Iceland in the field of digital service.

The Application

More care and less hassle

In many municipalities today, what's now considered standard wasn't the case before. For those applying for financial aid—a last resort in the welfare system—there's no longer a need to invest time and energy in figuring out the service details and its functioning. The anxiety associated with visiting the service center or discussing with the service representative is a thing of the past. Applicants can now effortlessly log in using digital credentials and respond to some simple questions. Following this, they receive a clear and concise update on whether they are eligible as well as their application's status and progress.

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Afgreiðslan

A convenient and humane approach

Alongside the application, the City of Reykjavík and Kolibri developed a back office solution for applications that has since been implemented and adapted by the Association of Icelandic Municipalities and Digital Iceland, and rolled out to over 10 other municipalities since then. The back office interface simplifies the handling and communication with the applicant, and reduces manual work.

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The Outcome

Targeting efficiency in the right places

The time saved by stopping printing, scanning, photocopying, and explaining the same things over and over again to people was real, but no city employee was laid off. The time that was saved simply went into providing better welfare services - supporting applicants to enable them to get off financial aid and stand on their own two feet sooner.

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Impact

Innovation that puts people first

Awards

Icelandic Web Awards 2019
Gold
Web Application of the Year (The Application)
Icelandic Web Awards 2019
Nomination
Web application of the Year (Veita - Back Office)

Testimonials

Icelandic Web Awards - Jury
Jury
SVEF

The Web Application of the Year is a significant innovation that is both accessible and human. The ambition behind the project is evident, and this is a web app that makes a crucial difference for its users. The flow is simple and user-friendly. A brilliantly executed solution!

Þröstur Sigurðsson
Manager
Manager

Kolibri has supported the City of Reykjavík in its digital transformation in various projects. We worked with a development team from Kolibri on the creation of electronic applications for financial assistance at our office for 8 months. The collaboration went incredibly well, all plans were upheld, and the contribution of the Kolibri team and their work culture had a fantastic impact on our workplace.

Metrics