This is the third year the consultancy has analysed digital readiness in the 20 largest cities in Croatia and their progress compared to the preceding years.
Rijeka is the absolute leader this year according to the composite index for digital readiness, which is based on the quality of e-services, service information and a single payment system, access to city data, citizens’ participation in decision-making and communication channels between city administration and citizens.
Based on the quality of e-services, Rijeka, Pula and Dubrovnik faired the best.
Rijeka was also the best for service information and unified payment system, followed by Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Šibenik.
Rijeka, Zagreb, Pula and Karlovac had the largest scope of open data offered through open-data portals or geographic information systems (GIS) regarding physical planning.
Rijeka and Zagreb recorded the biggest increase in accessibility of city data, followed by Split, Pula, Šibenik, Bjelovar and Dubrovnik.
The index of citizens’ participation, including access to city budget information, transparency and the like showed major improvements compared to last year.
The best results in this regard were achieved by Dubrovnik and Rijeka, followed by Split and Slavonski Brod.
The analysis also shows that communication with citizens was the most efficient in Rijeka, Zagreb and Varaždin.
Progress is visible but it is important to absorb EU funds
The composite index shows that cities are working on developing new solutions and that progress is visible compared to last year. Twelve out of the 20 cities analysed have improved their digital readiness by more than 10% while the greatest progress has been made by Split, Dubrovnik and Rijeka.
A member of the management board at Apsolon, Mirjana Samardžić Novoselec, underscored that city administrations are adapting to new ways of doing business, enabling public services to be accessed from home, and that they are introducing systematic online communication with citizens.
Although this is developing slowly, during the COVID-19 crisis significant progress was recorded and 2020 showed a growing trend in developing digital channels and other forms of communication between city administration and citizens, she said.
