With the help of information tools such as big systems and big data, Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau uses the government services platform to expand social services, study matters that concern people’s livelihood, build a solid foundation for people’s livelihood and promote the undertaking in an all-round way. It strives to expand the scope of services, find innovative service methods, extend quality services to communities, create service stations “on the doorstep,” continuously improve government services and provide more precise and convenient services for the people, especially those who are in urgent need of help.

Extended service stations and remote services

The extended service station of the remote virtual window for community affairs is another innovative measure aimed at reducing the burden on community-level organizations, increasing capacity and allowing residents to get government services “on the doorstep.” Under the leadership of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau included services needed by community residents in the Government Online-Offline Shanghai platform through process reengineering, data sharing and other methods.

On September 4, the first two extended service stations located at the Party Member & Non-Party Member Service Center of Yinhang Sub-district and No. 1 Neighborhood Committee on Guohe Road, Changhai Road sub-district, took the lead in launching remote virtual window services concerning community affairs, which can provide 175 types of government services remotely, including application, replacement and re-issuance of medical records, application for long-term care insurance and personal housing provident fund inquiries.

A resident can get a number with just one click on the terminal deployed by Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau at an extended service station and talk with a clerk at the Community Affairs Center via video connection. After learning about the resident’s needs, the clerk will perform remote operations such as card reading, code scanning and material collection with an all-in-one machine at the extended service station, and then handle the matter in the acceptance system. Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau will accelerate the establishment of another 10 extended service stations on the basis of the successful operation of the first two.

Caring for the elderly and improving efficiency

Residents’ needs are always met right away. Recently, Ms. Wang, a resident in Changbai Xincun sub-district, had a problem. Her mother was 82 years old and living alone, which made her worry. With the help of an elderly care consultant, she learned about relevant policies and procedures and completed the online application for the emergency call service for the elderly on the Government Online-Offline Shanghai platform. When an emergency occurs, the elderly can use the service to get help or get in touch with family members. The service can also provide emergency response guidance and rescue tracking. Material submission and indoor verification are no longer needed to get the service, which can be applied for at any time.

Nowadays, the elderly can check into a nursing home by moving their fingers. Mr. Gu, a resident in Yinhang sub-district, had been bedridden for a long time due to illness. Recently, it had been more difficult to take care of him. His family could no longer meet his needs due to physical reasons. With the help of an elderly care consultant, they learned about the locations, numbers and prices of several nursing homes nearby on the Government Online-Offline Shanghai platform, and then submitted an online application for Mr. Gu’s stay in a nursing home. After receiving the application, the administrator carried out verification promptly according to the protocol and asked a suitable nursing home to complete admission assessment and registration for Mr. Gu according to his family’s wishes. Now, family members can complete the check-in process without leaving home, which is very convenient.

Catering service warms both the stomach and the heart. Catering service for the elderly is a trivial but important matter that the elderly are concerned with. It is also a matter that concerns the livelihood of thousands of households. Currently, Yangpu District has 89 kitchens for the elderly and 29 friendly neighborhood diners, which have more than 6,000 customers per day on average. Elderly people can submit applications for catering service on the Government Online-Offline Shanghai platform, which contains information about their needs and dietary preferences so that catering companies can provide precise services. In addition, online reservations and offline delivery have been combined. Elderly people can receive nice and warm meals on time after selecting the delivery time, the location and the food they want. This is not only convenient for the elderly but also improves the efficiency of catering companies.

Making marriage registration more convenient

Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau continuously promotes the reform and innovation of civil affairs services and enhances the accessibility of marriage services by accepting online appointments for marriage registration. In the appointment system, residents can make an online appointment for marriage registration at home, with no need to travel between different departments, wait in line or fill in forms. The process has been sped up to save time.

To save people’s time in an all-round way, Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau innovatively launched the “electronic certification” service for marriage registration, accepting electronic ID cards, household registers and residence permits in marriage registration, so as to accelerate the start of a happy and beautiful new life.

People working, living and studying in Shanghai had to go to their registered residences for marriage registration. For this reason, Yangpu District Civil Affairs Bureau came up with a new plan, taking cross-provincial government services as an important opportunity to improve marriage registration services. A new version of the marriage registration system has been adopted and connected to Shanghai’s Government Online-Offline Shanghai platform to make marriage registration faster and provide better experience.

Over the past five years, Yangpu District has always adhered to the concept of “a people’s city for the people” and regarded the expectations of enterprises and the people as the goal and direction of the reform of Government Online-Offline Shanghai. The next issue will present the results of the Housing Security and Administration Bureau of Yangpu District and the changes in Yangpu District’s government services in more detail.