On the 16th of December, 2015 another Citizen Office equipped with the Municipal Management and Information System (MMIS) opens in Tumanyan, Lori Marz, Armenia. The Citizen Office shall improve access of citizens to public services through centralizing municipal service delivery in one office space, according to the „one-stop-shop “principle. The e-governance system MMIS helps to increase the efficiency of municipal service delivery and to improve accountability and transparency. This shall lead to higher participation of citizens in decision making processes.

The Citizen Office equipped with MMIS in Tumanyan shall simplify administrative procedures and enable the citizens to have better access to relevant information and services as well as intensify interaction between citizens and public administration. The Tumanyan one-stop-shop is going to serve 7 communities within the enlarged municipality.

With the support of the German International Cooperation 10 Citizen Offices have already been established in 6 Marzes (Cantons) of Armenia and MMIS was installed in 130 municipalities. With additional funding by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) another 10 such offices will be opened  (Shinuhayr and Tumanyan are two of them) and 100 more municipalities will be equipped with MMIS.

The programme supports the physical establishment of Citizen Offices including the refurbishment of appropriate office space in the municipal building, and provides required IT equipment and installation of the software – MMIS, which connects all the communities.

MMIS is a unified data management and information system especially developed for local self-government bodies. As a web-based system MMIS contains not only various management tools but also offers different online participation mechanisms. 

Citizen Offices equipped with MMIS are only one part of a comprehensive Local Governance Programme co-funded by SDC, USAID, the German BMZ and implemented by a consortium of development partners and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations. Other components include the introduction of modern municipal planning and budgeting techniques, investments into selected public infrastructure projects, or yet the empowerment of women in local democracy. The programme supports the piloting of community enlargement in Armenia.

Swiss Cooperation Office Yerevan