The eVaka information system, created through collaboration among the cities of Espoo, Tampere, Oulu, and Turku, has been honored with the Open World Hero 2024 award. Judges praised eVaka for its successful co-creation, openness, and inter-municipality cooperation.
The award ceremony took place on October 8, 2024, during the annual Mindtrek Technology Conference in Tampere. Harri Luttinen, Digital Development Manager of the City of Espoo, and Elli Rasimus, Director of Early Childhood Education and Care in Tampere, were present to accept the award. The Finnish Centre for Open Information Systems (COSS) grants this award.
eVaka’s Implementation
eVaka was launched in Tampere’s early childhood education and care sector on April 1, 2022, and later expanded to pre-primary education in 2023. The Growth and Learning Sector of Espoo originally developed and introduced the first version of eVaka.
The award-winning eVaka is an open-source customer information and resource planning system for early childhood education and care. It has been adopted by 12 municipalities, serving a total population of about 1.2 million residents. Every week, tens of thousands of municipal employees and guardians use the system.
Improved Customer Service
From a customer service standpoint, eVaka has streamlined the process for managing service guidance and customer fees. Katri Mantere, Customer Service Manager for early childhood education and care in Tampere, noted, “The customer’s information comes directly from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. eVaka provides quick and up-to-date access to information and allows for fast application updates.”
In Tampere, user feedback is collected annually from employees and guardians involved in early childhood education and care, with a goal to implement as many development suggestions as possible.
Heli Ketola, the ICT product owner from Tampere, stated, “We have incorporated the input and expertise of early childhood education and care specialists in defining and developing new features. This collaboration has led to an incredibly user-friendly system, addressing the needs and wishes of the municipalities.”
Wider Adoption
This year, all fringe municipalities of Tampere, including Lempäälä, Vesilahti, Pirkkala, Ylöjärvi, Nokia, Hämeenkyrö, Kangasala, and Orivesi, also adopted eVaka.
Ongoing Development Efforts
The judges described eVaka as a unique open-source project within the municipal information system sector. They highlighted it as an excellent example of successful co-creation between municipalities, merging inter-municipality cooperation with openness and transparency.
As municipalities manage the system’s development, they can easily address their own needs and those of their customers.
Elli Rasimus remarked, “eVaka consolidates many processes into a single system, making them easier to manage and more efficient. It also generates up-to-date information that enhances guidance and planning in early childhood education and care. For instance, ECEC units can monitor real-time utilization and occupancy rates, which aids in planning human resource use.”
The Open World Hero award, presented by COSS, aims to promote openness in information systems. It recognizes individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to this goal in Finland.
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