October, 2023 – Environment, agriculture, forestry, natural resources, and the effects of climate change on economics are the main areas of YMS software expertise. We increase the value of work in these industries with technology. We emphasize expertise, intuitiveness, and constant innovation.
Protection versus economic gain
“We are digitizing contract management for the State Nature Protection Agency of the Slovak Republic. These contracts protect biodiversity with general economic benefit and contain activities important for nature conservation. However, they restrict normal management or increase protective activity, which results in an economic loss that is compensated by the state. Project calls for those interested in these activities are announced by the Ministry of Environment, and the entire contract management, control of performed activities, and payment of compensation agenda is carried out by the staff of SNPA,” explains Radovan Hilbert, YMS business development director.
Overview and management
Electronic approval, evaluation, and management of contracts are covered by an integrated system, the so-called Management of financial compensations.
“The system covers all the process steps. It begins with selecting the locations and defining the necessary measures and activities in these areas. An example could be leaving dead wood that is key to the ecosystem, nurturing young forest stands, restoring stands, and protecting trees from forest animals. A project announcement follows, where those interested send project proposals, including cost calculations. Approved projects move into the contracting phase, with projects being signed for 5, 10, or 15 years. The recipient of state aid then reports the activities and costs according to the contract every year, representatives of SNPA carry out an inspection and approve the compensation,” continues YMS business analyst Peter Bobáľ, explaining the process that is subject to electronicization.
Electronic agenda of contracts
“The system, known by the abbreviation MaFin, is built on the YMS platform yAgenda for clear, simple, and user-friendly electronic services. In the first part of the project, we created modules for managing contracts and financial contributions/grants. Along with code books, registers, and templates related to registered entities, land, and activities. The next step will be the creation of a platform for electronic submission of projects,” continues Peter Bobáľ.
System for applicants
The internal part of the system aids SNPA employees with the collection and evaluation of projects, contract management, regular performance inspections, and payments. “The point of the system is transparency and immediate overview, fast communication, reduced administration, decreased risk of human error, and an overall simpler process of handling the proceedings from application to distribution of funds,” continues Radovan Hilbert.
The public part of the system will serve the recipients of state aid. Currently, projects are submitted on paper and in Excel, and since they are extensive, mistakes can occur. “Administrative complexity is demotivating for today’s applicants, which is why the SNPA anticipates increased interest in protection projects after electronization. The recipient of state aid will no longer have to fill out many attachments. The system will generate the files for them from the entered data, directly in the structure defined by SNPA,” adds Peter Bobáľ.
Order, registers, and maps
“The most important benefit of the system is the change in control. The employees of SNPA, as a provider of state aid, have so far manually checked many documents, such as invoices or employment contracts, but now all the data will be clearly organized in the system. Some checks will be performed automatically by the system, and the workers will be alerted to, for example, exceeding the expenses calculated in the contract,” says Peter Bobáľ, explaining the change in the day-to-day work activities of the Slovak Ministry of Education and Culture.
As a matter of course, all agenda systems from YMS have once-and-enough data storage, connections to state registers, and a map portal. The system will include registers of recipients, areas with restrictions on general management, contracts, performances, inspections, and payments. The user will be able to view all map-related data in the map portal connected to the online cadaster data.
The main goal is to build an information system for the management of state aid IS MaFin for the payment of increased costs for restrictions on normal lands management or for management requirements beyond the usual, resulting from the provisions of § 60 and § 61 par. 3 of Act No. 543/2002 Coll. on the protection of nature and the countryside and from the Scheme of state aid for the provision of services in the general economic interest in the field of biodiversity protection as amended by amendments no. 1 and 2 published in the Commercial Gazette (or its current wording at the given time).
SNPA is an agency with a nationwide scope that mainly provides professional projects in the area of nature and countryside protection, including cave management and the protection of wild species and plants by regulating their trade.