Digital and transparent income schemes
How the City of Rotterdam worked with Ciphix and Avola Decision to make the application process for assistance more transparent, efficient and user-friendly.
Need for transparency and trust
The City of Rotterdam wanted to future-proof its social services: fair, efficient and accessible. However, the application process for income schemes, such as general assistance, was complex and time-consuming. Professionals performed many manual steps, leading to long processing times and unclear decision-making.
Moreover, after the allowance affair, social pressure grew on governments to act transparently, explainably and verifiably. The City of Rotterdam therefore wanted not only to work more efficiently, but also to increase citizens’ confidence in decision-making.
“We needed a huge decision tree to determine whether someone is entitled to benefits. Avola gave us the opportunity to make that transparent and easily understandable, even for people who are not technically or legally literate.” – Amber Tempelman, manager Social Digital, municipality of Rotterdam
- Transparent and explainable
Decision rules fully traceable even to those who are not legally or technically literate. - Efficient and consistent
Faster processing of applications and uniform application of rules. - Human and professional
Support while maintaining human direction through the four-eye principle.
A digital decision model with human direction
Working with Ciphix, the municipality chose to digitally transform its application process, using Avola Decision as the foundation.
Using Avola’s rule engine, based on the DMN (Decision Model Notation) standard, a digital decision model was developed for income professionals. This model captures complex decision rules in a transparent, traceable and understandable way.The decision model is integrated with the municipal portal Thomas through an API link, allowing automatic data exchange and faster and more consistent processing of applications.
Professionals retain the final say
The system supports, but does not replace, human judgment. Professionals receive clear, legally sound advice, but always retain the final decision. If necessary, the four-eye principle is applied. This choice fits seamlessly with the municipality’s vision: technology as support, not replacement.
“Most of the time in the project went not to engineering, but to coordination with all the disciplines involved. That was valuable; those very discussions made the model stronger. “
– Alexander, Product Owner Avola, Ciphix
The impact: faster, more transparent and reliable
The introduction of digital decision-making for General Assistance is bearing fruit. In practice, both income professionals and citizens experience a more efficient, transparent and consistent process. The results are visible in several areas:
Efficiency
By automating decision rules, professionals save a lot of time. They can focus on the cases that require customization.
Transparency and explainability
Each opinion is fully traceable to the underlying laws and regulations. This increases the confidence of both citizens and professionals.
Consistency
The decision model ensures uniform application of rules, reducing the possibility of error and arbitrariness.
Future-proofing and scalability
Thanks to the use of the DMN standard, the model is easily adaptable and transferable to other municipalities. Rotterdam thus positions itself as a frontrunner in digital services within the social domain.
What is the Business Rule Engine Avola Decision?
A future-proof example for other municipalities
With Avola Decision and the cooperation with Ciphix, the Municipality of Rotterdam has taken an important step towards transparent, efficient and reliable execution of income schemes. The approach shows how digital innovation and human scale can go hand in hand within social services. By using technology in a well thought-out and explainable way, Rotterdam bridges the gap between rules, people and system. This makes this approach an inspiring example for other municipalities striving for modern, accessible and fair services.
- Quick and transparent customization
Customize business rules flexibly without IT, thanks to an intuitive interface without code. - Insight and control
Version control and full traceability provide a grip on changes. - Central logic, smart reuse
Manage all rules in one place and easily reuse them in different processes.
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