Exercises: Online administrative procedures

Name three administrative procedures that can be carried out online with a public administration today and explain one advantage of each compared to completing it in person at an office.

Explain what a digital certificate is used for, and how it is similar to and different from showing an ID card at a service counter.

The figure shows the steps to complete a procedure on a public administration's e-services portal.

Between the person and the portal, the element that verifies identity is missing. Name a valid system that could fill this gap and explain what the administration allows you to do once it knows for certain who you are.

Explain what the "citizen folder" provided by the administration is, and what the advantages are of having your data, ongoing procedures, and official documents all gathered in a single application.

Explain what an electronic registry entry for a procedure is, what information the receipt contains (date, time, registration number), and why this receipt has official legal status.

Name two procedures that you cannot yet carry out by yourself as a minor (and are done by your parents or guardians) and two that you will be able to do soon, and explain why the administration distinguishes by age.

Explain the advantages of booking an appointment online compared to queueing at the office, and what you should do if you end up being unable to attend, keeping in mind people waiting for a slot.

Explain what electronic notifications from the administration are, why a deadline can start running even if you do not open the notification, and what good habits you should develop (mobile alerts, checking the portal) so as not to miss any.

Your family must submit a document to the local council before the 20th. On the 19th at 11 pm you submit it from home via the e-services portal. Explain what advantages in terms of opening hours and registration the electronic method offers, and what receipt you should always keep after completing an online procedure.

An elderly neighbour receives an email claiming to be from Social Security asking her to "confirm her bank details" by clicking a link. Relate this case to what an administration will never request via email, and explain how to verify a genuine procedure without using the links in the message.

Explain what an electronic signature is, what legal status it has compared to a handwritten signature on paper, and give an example of a document that a family could sign in this way.

Your grandfather needs to renew a document and does not use the internet. Compare the available options (in-person with an appointment, digital assistance offices, help from a relative) and explain what you must never do when helping him—using your own account or your own signature for his procedure—and why.

An official deadline ends "on the 30th at 23:59". Analyse the risks of leaving the procedure to the last minute (e-services portal overload, expired certificate, connection failure) and what reasonable safety margin you would apply to important deadlines.

Explain what the European Health Insurance Card is, how to apply for it online, and what it means for digital public services across European Union countries to recognise each other.

Your family submits a scanned document that is blurry and has an uncompleted field, and the administration returns it requesting a correction. Explain what a request for amendment is, what happens if it is not responded to on time, and what prior check avoids most rejections.

When filing an income tax return online, the administration provides a draft tax return with many details already filled in. Explain where these data come from, what time/effort this service saves, and why it must still always be reviewed before confirming.

A city council decides to eliminate in-person service and process school grants exclusively through its online portal using a digital certificate or Cl@ve. Two months later, municipal statistics reveal that 45 % of families with lower incomes have not submitted their application due to a lack of technical means or errors on the platform.

1. a) Interpret this result by identifying the three types of digital divide (access, skills, and usage) present in this scenario.
2. b) Refute, with technical and equity arguments, the councillor's statement: "The system ensures equal opportunities because the online portal is open 24 hours a day."
3. c) Design a proposal for a hybrid administrative service that modernises processes without excluding vulnerable groups.

Two users ask you for technological advice to carry out procedures with public administration:

• Lucía (70 years old) only needs to consult her pension draft once a year from a tablet.

• An agency of four people daily processes dozens of employment registrations, contracts, and appeals from several desktop computers.

1. a) Technically evaluate the suitability of Cl@ve Móvil/PIN versus a software Digital Certificate for each profile, analyzing: installation process, portability between devices, and signature security level.
2. b) Justify which is the optimal solution for each case, explaining what drawbacks Lucía would face with a digital certificate and what operational limitations the agency would experience if it depended on Cl@ve PIN.

Design the step-by-step workflow for a student to request their academic transcript online: what they need before starting, what logical screens they will go through, and at which point in the process their identity is verified.

To apply for municipal financial aid for school supplies, a town hall requires families to attach three PDF documents: the certificate of registration on the municipal census (issued by the town hall itself), the tax return certificate (from the state Tax Agency), and the enrollment certificate (from the regional Department of Education).

1. a) Justify why this procedure contradicts the principles of "digital single window" and "interoperability" between public administrations.
2. b) Design the telematic flow that the municipal platform should follow: describe what background data exchanges must take place between the three administrations so that the family completes the application in a single step, indicating what prior authorization the applicant must grant.

For businesses and the self-employed, interacting with the administration electronically is mandatory; for individual citizens, having the choice of in-person assistance is a right. Analyse whether this distinction is coherent, what principles justify it, and what would happen if in-person assistance disappeared.

Your older brother is out of town and asks you via message: "Send me your digital certificate's .p12 file and your password; I need to sign an urgent appeal in your name so I can submit it from my computer."

1. a) Refute his proposal, justifying, based on the operation of the private key and the legal concept of "non-repudiation", what risks and legal responsibilities you would assume if he commits an infringement in your name.
2. b) Explain what legal and technological route (such as electronic power of attorney through the official electronic portal) allows him to process documents on your behalf validly using his own digital identity, without you having to hand over your credentials.

A regional administration implements a "proactive government" model: through the massive cross-referencing of databases from the Tax Agency, Social Security, and the Land Registry, an algorithm automatically detects individuals who meet the vulnerability criteria and deposits financial aid directly into their bank accounts, without requiring an application.

1. a) Justify a social and operational advantage of this model compared to the traditional application-based system.
2. b) Predict two serious risks or issues (technical, data protection, or algorithmic errors due to outdated data) that could harm citizens.
3. c) Design a technical safeguard that allows the system's proactivity to be harnessed while respecting privacy and the interested party's right to confirmation.

Design a system for your school to digitise consent forms for field trips using online signatures from families: technical requirements, how the signer's identity is verified, accessibility for families with limited digital resources, and a paper-based Plan B.