Innovation Program Improves Relationship With Flemish Government
20 Mar 2008
To foster innovation and stimulate the exchange of information with the Flemish Government, EDS-Telindus, in close cooperation with the CIO office of the Flemish Government, have developed the INDIGO program (Innovation Dialogue with Government) in Belgium.
“Innovation is crucial to the Flemish Government in support of their objective ‘to keep the current level of prosperity and well-being in the Flanders region,’” said Frank Huynen, EDS-Telindus director of strategy and innovation in Belgium.
So, Huynen joined forces with Johan Bruynseels, chief technology officer of EDS-Telindus’ government sector in Belgium, to develop INDIGO, a program to introduce innovative ideas and technologies to the Flemish Government and its agencies. The EDS-Telindus consortium provides information technology services to all policy domains of the Flemish government.
“Flanders has the ambition to become and remain one of Europe’s top regions, and it needs to be visionary, international and ambitious to reach that goal,” Luc Chauvin, CIO of the Flemish Government said.
The program is an example of bringing innovative solutions to clients as part of the EDS 2008 Operational Excellence business principle and being an ally for the client’s success.
EDS Belgium works with the Flemish Government in the largest outsourcing contract in the Belgian market. For this contract, EDS Belgium teamed up with Telindus, a local partner. In the consortium, each company has clearly defined roles, with EDS focusing on system and business applications management, application development and maintenance, service desk and infrastructure. Telindus maintains networks, intervention services and security.
Program Promotes Innovation
The INDIGO program is structured around four sets of activities: information technology (IT) innovation workshops, policy innovation workshops, “INDIGO on the Road” presentations and innovation events.
“When we developed this idea, the intention was to show our client that EDS-Telindus is an innovative consortium and that they could trust us to spot and implement technology that improves our services,” Huyen said.
Working with Luc Chauvin, the Flemish Government's chief information officer, the INDIGO team is providing innovation for the Flemish Government in three primary areas: enhancing operational efficiency; improving quality; and spotting information technology trends.
“To focus on these three areas, we developed a series of workshops where we invite Flemish Government workers to exchange ideas and information,” Huynen explained.
The INDIGO innovation agenda has five major tracks:
- Workplace of the Future (end-user equipment and the mobile workplace)
- Knowledge Management (collaboration services and business intelligence)
- Digitizing Workstreams (digital archives and workflow)
- 21st Century Applications (Service-Oriented Architecture and Web services)
- Citizen-Centric Model (improving the relationship between the Flemish Government and its citizens).
During the INDIGO workshops, EDS-Telindus maps the IT market capabilities, best-class examples and reference architecture against the opportunity or issue the various government departments are dealing with.
New Ideas Move Beyond Technology
“Technology is not always the main topic,” Johan Bruynseels pointed out. “The program is all about raising ideas, clearly defining the business needs of the government department and jointly developing a blueprint of a possible solution that provides business value, such as intelligent archiving, Service-Oriented Architecture, business intelligence solutions, etc.”
EDS-Telindus also hosts policy innovation workshops focusing on advising the client on improving operations and customer service.
“The access to global knowledge and experience and to proven solutions that have been introduced successfully at other industry and government clients is of crucial importance here,” Huynen added. “By inviting the EDS and Telindus experts and other thought leaders, we jointly draft procedures and policies that map to industry standards, best practices and global trends.”
EDS-Telindus and its technology partners also invite the IT civil servants of the Flemish Government to special INDIGO events twice a year for demonstrating new IT services. Guest speakers discuss technology and innovation topics, and break-out sessions show various technology solutions and case studies.
Since its inception, the INDIGO team has organized more than 50 workshops, five major client events and seven site visits, connecting with more than 700 Flemish Government employees.
INDIGO Benefits Client, EDS-Telindus
The program is paying off for the client.
“EDS-Telindus has worked very closely with my department and has created an investment plan for the period 2007-2009 that has added value for the service provision, the internal organization of the Flemish Government and my department,” said Dirk Vanderpoorten, Secretary-General of the Department Labour and Social Economy.
The program helps EDS-Telindus, also.
The program has resulted in better defined ICT programs that support the main business themes. “Because of our close contact with the Flemish Government, the INDIGO team understands the client and thus we can adjust our strategy and vision to meet their challenges and improve our service,” Huynen and Bruynseels concluded.