From vision to reality

Department of Service and Innovation Annual Report 2025

Department of Welfare

Throughout the year, the Department of Welfare maintained a strong focus on advancing digital services, expanding collaboration, and improving service processes. Numerous development projects significantly impacted working practices at service locations and the services delivered to residents, focusing on simplifying processes, improving access to information, and handling cases more efficiently.

Digital transformation and implementation of key systems

Implementing Dala.care was a major undertaking this year and is now nearing completion across all service locations. Alongside the rollout, significant changes to working practices took place as previously manual services became fully digitized. These systems now handle key functions previously managed by the home support and home care services case registry, simplifying and standardizing record-keeping and follow-up.

Dala.care is a comprehensive digital support system for home care services and housing resources that manages shift schedules, daily tasks, and service user care — increasing oversight while driving greater automation and efficiency.

Development work continued on Búi, which will serve as the core counseling system and replace the Department of Welfare's case registry. Particular focus has been placed on the Activity and Counseling service area, where core functionality has been improved and work is underway to carry out a new, more efficient technology solution that supports a modern, streamlined workflow.

The continued development of SkólaBúi this year created new opportunities for closer collaboration between the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Welfare. The project is a trailblazer in implementing the Child Prosperity Act, aiming to ensure integrated, seamless services for children and families.

Service collaboration and integration

The Veita 2.0 project marks a milestone in municipal cooperation, linking the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland's Veita platform with Reykjavík City's. This initiative involves jointly operating and developing systems that strengthen core services and expand shared solutions across municipalities.

During the year, Reykjavík City became a party to the Social Insurance Administration's service portal. To support this effort, Power Apps solutions were developed to more efficiently share subsistence data and rehabilitation plans.

Illustration of two people shaking hands.

Improved service processes and automation

The Online Center has made significant strides by introducing a Jira request system that consolidates inquiries from multiple inboxes into a unified workflow. This move has strengthened oversight and accelerated service turnaround times.

The Sæborg digital workforce was brought on to help process applications for special housing aid, easing the burden on digital services.

Power Apps solutions streamlined activity and counseling service processes by replacing manual workflows with automated ones.

The department focused on migrating data from the Department of Welfare's systems into Reykjavík City's data services database. This migration aims to simplify data processing, improve accessibility, and increase data reliability. Going forward, all statistical data publishing will run through Reykjavík City's data services, which will handle external data communication.

Other improvements and projects

  • The rollout of the Mathilda kitchen management system is in its final stages and will improve the day-to-day operation of cafeterias.
  • The department introduced a quality manual to standardize procedures and strengthen quality management across its operations.
  • Following the closure of Workplace, the information hubs for the Department of Welfare and child protection migrated to SharePoint.
  • Child protection participated in the Growth Lab service design sprint, employing user-centered design methods to analyze and improve reporting processes. Focused work on the project's findings will continue into 2026.

Continued digital transformation, deeper system integration, and close collaboration with partners defined the year. These projects delivered simpler workflows, better oversight, and greater access to services for both staff and city residents. These advances lay a solid foundation for continued progress toward more efficient, user-centered services.