Why and how to set up a one stop shop in a city hall?

In France, since the reform of the legal publicity rules, many municipal authorities have chosen to set up a local government signage solution using interactive terminals to comply with the dematerialization requirement.

One of the main advantage of this choice? The possibility of relying on the technical investments of the solution and pooling operating costs to offer a one stop shop to citizens.

What is a one stop shop?

A one stop shop is an increasingly popular service for municipalities to optimize their relationship with citizens and facilitate administrative processes.

Whether it is to make an appointment or directly access an online procedure, an interactive kiosk is usually installed in the city hall. It makes it possible to welcome, inform and guide citizens, speed up the processing of procedures and also make digital services accessible to all.

What formalities does the one shop stop allow?

Civil status documents

The one stop shop allows you to inform and make an appointment for administrative processes such as:

• Renewal of the national identity card or passport.
• The declaration of birth of a child.
• The census.
• Civil marriage.
• The legalization of a signature.

It is also possible to access online procedures such as registration on the electoral lists for newcomers.

The one stop shop also allows city halls to centralize document requests, for example:

• Full copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate.
• Request for a duplicate of a family booklet.
• Life certificate.
• Certified copy of a document

Planning authorisations

The one-stop shop centralises information on buildings:

• Obtaining a form: preliminary declaration of works, application for building permits...
• Request for an appointment with the town planning department
• Submission of additional documents or documents relating to a project under investigation.

The road procedures

• Obtain information on how to obtain an order to undertake work or move.
• Consult the beach register for complaints.
• Report a problem on public space: pothole, signage, lighting...

As we have seen, the one stop shop makes it possible to facilitate communication between the town hall and citizens on many subjects. However, this list is not exhaustive, it must be adapted according to requests, needs and countries. Many other approaches can also be integrated: children public school enrolment, extracurricular school management enrolment , application for municipality job offers...

How to set up a one stop shop in 7 steps?

1. Assessing the needs of citizens

Analyse citizens' needs in order to choose the services to be offered through the one stop shop. To do this, you can address everything to identify the administrative procedures most frequently carried out by the municipality inhabitants.

2. Involve relevant departments

Identify the town hall services that will be affected by the one stop shop. Involve staff in these departments to determine how to automate procedures and process requests.

3. Adapt forms and procedures

Adapt existing administrative forms and online services for interactive use. Take care of the details to ensure a good user experience and facilitate the entry of information.

4. Creating Content 

Detail the proposed administrative procedures on the one stop shop step by step. Provide on-line help with explanations at each stage. Indicate the required documents and processing times.

5. Train staff

It is essential that city hall staff be trained in the use of the interactive display solution. Their role is to be in a position to accompany the citizens in case of need, to resolve any technical problems and to provide effective assistance during the administrative procedures.

6. Communicate

Communicate widely about the implementation of the one stop shop to residents. Use the various communication channels, such as the town hall website, social networks, billboards...

7. Continus improvment

Ensure regular monitoring and ongoing evaluation of the operation of the one stop shop. Seek feedback from users and make adjustments to improve service efficiency.