A he Solutions Delivery unit of agap2IT teamed up with INE to be the technological partner for the 2018 Census Tests and to prepare for the next Census in 2021. The consultant's intervention made it possible to add operational and control gains to the information collection process, as well as efficiency in the use of resources.
Lisbon, September 24, 2018 - agap2IT's Solutions Delivery unit was selected by the National Statistics Institute (INE) to be the technological partner for the 2018 Census Tests. With a view to introducing improvements for the 2021 Census, the INE decided to introduce new elements of digital transformation capable of bringing gains in the operationalization and control of this information collection process. In collaboration with agap2IT, it developed and tested improvements in the 2018 Census Tests, which took place between April and May 2018.
The implementation involved identifying with the Methodology and Information Systems Department and the 2021 Census Office the definition of functionalities to be included in the online questionnaire for citizens to answer, backoffice management and control of the operation, as well as the development of a mobile application for use by census takers to control and support the operation in the field, integrated with ESRI's ArcGIS geographic solution.
The project involved a team of 10 consultants in the areas of Project Management, Functional Analysis, Architecture, Web and Mobile Development, Testing, Quality and Training, and was developed in Microsoft technologies (C#, ASP.NET, MVC and Xamarin Native) based on service cloud Microsoft Azure, also a partner in this project.
For Ricardo Amado, Director of Solutions Delivery at agap2IT, “intervention in the Digital Transformation field remains a fundamental part of agap2IT's DNA and we constantly associate goals of integrating strategic synergies with the development of complex and innovative projects. The partnership established with INE makes it possible to face a process of great dimension and complexity, as well as of enormous importance in the national context, from the point of view of more agile and effective processes and the improvement of the information obtained.”
According to António Alcobia Portugal, Director of the Information Infrastructure Service of INE's Methodology and Information Systems Department, “for INE, agap2IT's participation in the Censos 2021 project was extremely effective and produced decisive results for the project. It was possible to integrate the functionalities necessary for the project's success into the planned timetable and budget. Of particular note is the mobile app that allows census takers to use their smartphones to manage and collect information. It is with great satisfaction that we see the results of the partners' contribution to INE's projects".
The intervention developed brought the novelty of creating a mobile application to be used by the census taker, making it possible to create and change the positioning of buildings on the map displayed, identify validation targets for the questionnaire and assign citizens new PIN cards to access the online questionnaire. The application can work disconnected from the data network or wifi and the fact that all Microsoft Azure components (web.api, web e-Censuses, web backoffice, database) are housed in a App as a Service or Database as a Service, guarantees automatic scalability as you use it.
The 2018 Census Test involved a total of 7 parishes, including the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, with a total of around 20,000 dwellings, 35,000 residents and 10,000 buildings.
The population census takes place every 10 years and is a major operation in terms of information management and of fundamental importance for the country's governance.
About agap2IT:
Founded in September 2005, agap2IT is a European organization in the field of Information Systems, Science and Technology and a benchmark in the world of Banking, Insurance, Telecommunications, Industry, Pharmaceuticals and Energy, among others. Committed to innovation, agap2IT is focused on creating real value for its Clients and Consultants.
It currently has offices in 11 countries - Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Sweden and Italy - and projects spread across 4 continents.
The ability to intervene globally combined with the high level of experience and know-how The team's technical, functional and business skills guarantee an excellent response to the most demanding and complex challenges.