The Department of Finance has been declared the overall winner in the recent Belfast Telegraph IT Awards for its work in coordinating input from stakeholders into the Covid-19 certification process.
Winners were named across 18 categories with the Department of Finance also picking up the award for ‘Public Sector Project of the Year’ at the ceremony, hosted by comedian Neil Delamere, which took place held at Belfast’s MAC Theatre on Friday 11th November.
The Department of Finance worked with a public/private partnership involving the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, SureCert, Civica, EY, Big Motive, Expleo and Business Services Organisation to enhance the NI Direct account (NIDA) registration to allow people to create an account online and have their details automatically verified to a recognised industry standard of Level of Assurance 2 (LOA2). This project not only meant that citizens could easily get their Covid certification but is has also opened the door to many more public sector services being more readily available digitally.
“This was a substantive multi-agency project which played a critical role in the Covid certification roll-out in NI and leaves a significant legacy for wider NI Government to leverage in other IT solutions.”
The judging panel, led by Noel Brady, Managing Director of Consult NB1
“This initiative is truly ground-breaking and has laid a firm foundation for many new services. The trusted relationship which this facilitates is paramount to providing secure personalised digital services for the public.”
Ignatius O’Doherty, Director of Digital Shared Services
“The success of the COVID certification rollout in Northern Ireland is in no small part related to this innovative project. By automating the verification of identities, we saw NI take the lead not only in the successful adoption of digital COVID Certification but also in the creation of digital identities for over 60% of the population putting us on par with the likes of Estonia a front runner on e-public services.”
Dr Eddie O’Neil, Director of the Covid Certification Service at the Northern Ireland Department of Health
This leaves a legacy for the wider NI Government to leverage these digital identities to link other IT solutions across public and health services, such as: applying for a taxi licence, renewing a driving licence, Access NI, e-Prescriptions, etc. It also avoids asking citizens to confirm their identity repeatedly, providing a “single point of truth” and a more positive and straightforward user experience.
The Belfast Telegraph IT Awards, in partnership with Telefónica Tech UK & Ireland, celebrates the cream of the IT industry in Northern Ireland, showcasing the achievements and demonstrating the significant growth and positive impact on the economy. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists.
