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Microsoft Server Product Portfolio

Customer Solution Case Study

Paperless Council Meetings in Oporto Make

Procedures More Efficient and Save 11 Trees a Yea

“In the traditional, paper-based model, the whole

process of approving proposals was a lengthy affair.

Now, through Office SharePoint Server 2007, it can

be done more or less in real time.” Councillor Vladimiro Cardoso Feliz, Portfolio Holder for Education, Youth, and Innovation, Oporto

Municipal Council

Câmara Municipal do Porto (Oporto Municipal Council) —the second

largest local authority in Portugal —wanted to reduce its carbon

footprint, and improve communication and collaboration between

its elected councillors and council officers. The authority has set up

an executive portal using Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 

2007. As a result, council meetings no longer require paper 

documents, saving time and money  —not to mention about 11 trees

a year.

Business NeedsOporto Municipal Council provides local

authority services to around 240,000 people

in northern Portugal, and is responsible for

managing 15 parishes. The council meets

twice a month. Traditionally, this involved

creating around 175,000 pages of paper a

year for full council meetings alone—the

equivalent, according to council estimates,

of 350 reams of paper each consisting of 

500 sheets. That is, around 11 trees.

Councillor Vladimiro Cardoso Feliz, Portfolio

Holder for Education, Youth, and Innovation

for Oporto Municipal Council, says: “There

are some internal processes examined at

these meetings where the reports run to

thousands of pages, if we include

attachments. Just recently, one agenda item

alone ran to 1,500 pages for each of the 13

elected members at the meeting.” 

Not only was the process damaging to the

council’s carbon footprint, but the reliance

on paper at council meetings represented

“enormous expenditure, wasted time, and

inefficiencies,” according to Feliz. 

Customer: Câmara Municipal do Porto

Web Site: www.cm-porto.pt 

Number of Employees: 3,000

Country or Region: Portugal

Industry: Government—LocalPartner: CaveDigital, and Indra Sistemas

Customer Profile

Oporto Municipal Council provides local

authority services to around 240,000

people in northern Portugal, and is

responsible for managing 15 parishes.

Software and Services

  Microsoft Server Product Portfolio

−  Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

−  Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

2007

−  Microsoft SQL Server 2005

−  Windows Server 2003 Enterprise

Edition

  Technologies

−  Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0

−  Microsoft ASP.NET

−  Windows Workflow Foundation

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This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published June 2008

The council initially streamlined its procedures

by printing only the front pages of each

agenda item and making the supporting 

documents available to each councillor on a

USB memory stick. But this was a partial

solution, because it only included documents

produced in text format. As a result, the

council decided it needed a digital system

that integrated with the authority’s document

management system. The authority also

wanted an environment that was flexible and

scalable for its future needs for greater

transparency around decision making to the

public.

SolutionThe authority invested in an executive portal

solution developed by Microsoft Gold Certified

Partners CaveDigital and Indra Sistemas,

using Microsoft technologies. It takes the form

of a digital meetings solution, CaveDigital

Board Meeting 2007, Town Hall Edition, which

aims to digitise proceedings in the council

chamber. The solution is a Web-based,

integrated application linked to the council’sintranet.

The existing information flows are based on

Windows® Workflow Foundation, the Microsoft

technology for managing workflows that is

part of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0

connection software. The documents for the

councillors use the Open XML standard. In

addition, the solution uses Office SharePoint

Server 2007 for the portal, Microsoft

ASP.NET, which is the Microsoft integration

layer for the Internet, and Microsoft SQL

Server® 2005 database software. The council

also deployed the Windows Server® 2003

Enterprise Edition operating system and

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

communication and collaboration server.

With the new digital solution, everything 

operates in the council chamber without the

need for managing any physical documents.

The new system has the following features:

  Proposals for consideration by members

are created online.

  The approval process is initiated using 

documents in digital format.

  If approved, tenders are included on the

agenda.

  Councillors receive their notices of 

meeting by e-mail.

  At the meetings, councillors deal with

business matters using their portable

computers, which are connected by a

secure wireless network to the town hall

system.

  The logistics and management of the

democratic processes associated with the

meeting are also handled digitally,

including voting, arrival and departure of members, and amendments to proposals.

BenefitsAside from reducing its carbon footprint by

saving 11 trees a year, the new paperless

council administration has resulted in

greater productivity from all the employees

who provide support at council meetings.

The system is highly secure, especially given

the sensitivity of some agenda items.

Councillor Feliz says: “In the traditional,

paper-based model, the whole process of 

approving proposals was a lengthy affair.

Now, through Office SharePoint Server

2007, it can be done more or less in real

time.”

  Civil servants generate minutes of the

meetings automatically once the

proceedings end, with votes and

amendments recorded electronically—the

minutes are then immediately available

for approval as a correct record.

  Because it is a Web-based application, the

executive portal integrates easily with the

councillors’ computer environment, and

the authority intranet making it easier for

officers and members to work together.

  The system is highly flexible and scalable,

and officers will extend its use to

municipal assembly meetings involving a

larger number of stakeholders.

  The new executive portal is a vital step

towards another ambition for the

broadcasting of council meetings to the

public through the authority Web site,

leading to greater transparency, better

governance, and more accountability to

citizens and businesses.

  Oporto Municipal Council is setting an

example to other local authorities andgovernment agencies in Portugal of good

governance by optimising resources,

reducing costs, and making use of 

environmentally friendly technology.