Baku, October 24, AZERTAC

The Jerusalem Post has published an article by the American journalist Nurit Greenger hailing ASAN Service Centers in Azerbaijan.

Headlined "Social Services 'Disney World' is ASAN, in Azerbaijan", the article says: "If you are reading this article, I am preparing to bet that you do not like bureaucracy, you do not like the people who render bureaucracy disservices to you, in government offices, the DMV, the post office, the courts, and the list goes on. You may also be clueless as to how to complete documents which they put in front of you.

Well, there is a solution and this solution I saw in Azerbaijan. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, came up with the ASAN - 'State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan' idea. It is the President's unique initiative and approach to solve bureaucracy nightmare that intimidates most people."

"When my hosts took me to ASAN's offices in Baku, one of ASAN's eleven offices in the entire country, I was first wondering what I am doing there among Azerbaijani citizen seeking daily service. But when my ASAN Chief Adviser host started explaining to me where I am and giving me the rundown of ASAN's operational model, I was simply stunned. Really amazed. They call ASAN the 'one stop shop,' make life easy shift, in Azerbaijan.

It is unfathomable culture shock for a post Communism society and probably for anyone who faces domestic daily bureaucracy," Ms Greenger says in her article.

What is ASAN all about?

"The main purpose of ASAN is to bridge between civil servants and civilians with efficiency, a smile on its workers' face, to make people comortable, and to eliminate bureaucracy to the minimum. To assist in achieving such atmosphere, ASAN has a call center for improvement and innovation."

"ASAN is part of the entire Azerbaijan's development vision, one other indicator of the country's trajectory toward total independence and progress, along the lines of preserving its national heritage and features while being able to compete in a global world.

ASAN's model is not the world's first, however, by comparison, it offers a much more conprehensive and advanced services with a smile, that is required of its working force.

ASAN purpose is to streamline bureaucracy. All serviese are at low cost subsidized by the government as public service.

The principles of ASAN are based on maintaining transparency and to help maintaining such image, there are no walls in ASAN's offices," the article says.

"Basically, "ASAN service" is a "one-stop-shop" entity, where 10-state bodies and a number of private companies render more than 230 services. Without wasting time and money and encountering unnecessary bureaucracy the citizens benefit from the services offered in this "one-stop shop". The uniqueness of ASAN Service is defined by the complete exclusion of conflict of interests during the process of rendering its services," the article adds.

ASAN's mobile services come to the periphery

"ASAN's specially equipped buses and train's coaches travel to the regions where "ASAN service" centers are needed but do not operate. These fully equipped buses and train's coaches render ASAN's services and so far over one million citizens' applications for service were received through mobile ASAN Services.

"Azerbaijan's ASAN Service proudly wears the badge of honor being 1st place winner of the United Nations Public Service Award in the category of "Improving the delivery of Public Services" for 2015. This is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence and professionalism in the public service sphere, rewarding creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.

ASAN uses all social media outlets to enhance its serivces and for prompt response. It also provides "ASAN Radio," a unique service, specializing in the field of public services, to raise public awarenes about ASAN Service Centers' activities and provide the citizens with the necessary information about the laws, regulations and practices."

ASAN's ABAD, for start-ups, entrepreneurship, marketing and merchandising

"ABAD supports the expansion of community and family-based initiatives in the areas of agriculture, agro-processing, handicraft and tourism.

ABAD (www.abad.gov.az) manages activities related to the development and the production of goods by family businesses in the various regions, helping to promote production and consumption of quality products, in line with the supplier's needs."

"ASAN is a platform for young interns and volunteer Azerbaijanis to learn to deal with the public, to learn to render service and how to deal with the public. Since it was opened, four and a half years ago, approximately 10,000 persons worked in the ASAN offices and received valuable training. The staff, made of many volunteers and interns receive training in stress and time management and ethical behavior. Some of the interns remain to work in ASAN, others are sent to work as interns in the governments' agencies while others break into the private sector's jobs with worthy basic training on the job."

"Working two days on and one day off, no service station remains unmanned. When a staffer goes on a break his or her station is manned by another staffer."

"ASAN service" has been a sensation in public services, and in public relations in general. So what happens when you walk into an ASAN office?

Modernizing life and cutting on the run around from office to office. With the approximately 250 serivces offered under the ASAN's service umbrella, alltogether, ASAN Service Centers provide services to about 20,000 applicants, daily. In the course of its first four and a half years, since opened and up date, approximately 16 million applicants received access to services through the ASAN's centers.

ASAN's future plan is to go totally electronic. And till then, ASAN's job is to make life easier for the Azerbaijanis. I get the impression that Azerbaijan is a castle of optimism and by visiting one of ASAN's branches, I can see to where this optimism is leading the country and to that I applaud with much respect," Nurit Greenger emphasizes.

"An exit poll held among citizens who applied for services in ASAN Service Centers showed that the public satisfaction rate is 99 per cent. That means that the vision was right, the platform created works, and Azerbaijanis, avoiding redundant bureaucracy, are enjoying easier, relaxed and more pleasant life," the article concludes.