e-government 100% digital

Press coverage:
- radio interview (Dutch*)
- television interview (Dutch*)

* English subtitles included
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Mechelen, ranked 10th in the largest cities of Belgium, will be the first city that can digitally send documents and certificates to its citizens with complete legal compliance. A hybrid signature guarantees authenticity of the digital document, even after it is printed. The Belgian company Inventive Designers created the security and authentication software. CIPAL will be responsible for the implementation. Unique is the capability to secure any digital document even after it is printed. This was not possible until now.

More people start using online services, 1 out of 5 people purchased something online last year, 30% of the belgian population uses tax-on-web. The existing e-portals enable citizens to request or download documents, but it is still required to obtain a manually signed paper version. The new and improved e-portal gained a lot of usability from the digital signature.

Kristl Strubbe, city-councelor ICT: “This break-through technology allows every citizen to request official documents online. For civil-affairs alone we are talking about 100.000 pages a year. Until now citizens could request these documents online, but still had to go to the city hall to retrieve the manually signed and stamped papers (or have them mailed). This hybrid signature allows them to legaly print the document at home without losing the official value.”

IntelliStamp

The city joined forces with Inventive Designers in developing this hybrid signature. Inventive Designers is specialized in innovative open document design and publishing software. The Belgian company developed IntelliStamp, a hybrid signature to verify authenticity of digitally signed and printed documents.

IntelliStamp is a secure and robust solution which is legally accepted to guarantee the integrity and trustworthiness of verified documents. Through a government e-portal it is possible to use an e-ID or other certificate to sign a document and add a hybrid signature. Using the e-ID can contribute greatly to innovative and efficient communication between government and citizen.

Klaas Bals, CTO Inventive Designers: “When deploying IntelliStamp in government, ngo’s or private industry, the legal value of the solution is key. To confirm this legal value we worked with DLA Piper, a law firm specialized in internet and other media.“

Cipal

Our cooperation with CIPAL was obvious. CIPAL is well known at regional and local/municipal government and has an exceptional expertise in the processes of the public sector.

Frank Prinsen, Marketing Manager Cipal: “Mechelen takes a big step in digitizing their service to citizens. The software offers an important reduction of manual labor, by automating e-portals.
Another great benefit is the ease-of-use for citizens using the software to securely sign their digital documents.”

Next to e-portals, IntelliStamp can also be deployed as a solution for e-archiving. Not only government, but also the private sector has shown a keen interest. Examples include insurance providers offering policies and contracts online, or utility companies sending out digital invoices.