Single entry point for electronic services and services: how the Smart City platform works

Today, digital technologies have become the main engine of sustainable development of the economy, science and everyday life. They permeate all areas of human activity, changing the usual approaches to work, study and management. And this is no longer a fashionable trend, but a fundamental basis for the development of the state. Thanks to them, life and business processes, as well as the system of public administration, are radically transformed. And most importantly, there are new opportunities for economic growth and social well-being of citizens. A good example is the Smart City platform. How it works and, most importantly, what effect the state, business and citizens will get from its implementation - in our review.

In general, the concept of a “smart city” has existed for decades. And every advanced country considers it an honor to create a city that is most convenient for citizens to live in using the latest technologies and digital solutions. Singapore is often cited as a successful case. Today, the metropolis is controlled by millions of sensors, collecting information about all areas of urban life into a single brain. And every resident in your smartphone can get a lot of useful assistants – from planning your day to finding parking.

For the first time, cities with intelligent systems that significantly improve the quality of life were discussed in Belarus in 2017. Two years later, the Ministry of Communications and Informatization approved a model concept for their development. Belarusians are already familiar with some smart bonuses. But it's important to bring them to a common denominator - that's the essence of a smart city.

Ivan Lesko. “The functional purpose of the platform allows us to consider it as a single entry point for the provision of digital services and services for local governments, businesses and citizens, as well as as an integrator of third-party systems, resources, services and software complexes of republican, industry and regional purpose,” said Ivan Lesko, Head of the Department of Information and Analytical Support for Digital Development of the Digital Development Center. The pilot operation of the Smart City platform takes place in 17 cities – Minsk, regional centers, cities with a population of 80 thousand people or more, identified in Belarus as potential centers of economic growth. These are Baranovichi, Pinsk, Novopolotsk, Orsha, Polotsk, Mozyr, Lida, Borisov, Soligorsk, Molodechno, Bobruisk. In 2027, it is planned to fully implement it throughout the country.

The creation of such a platform is aimed at the formation of a modern digital ecosystem that contributes to the sustainable development of territories, increasing the investment attractiveness of regions and creating a comfortable environment for citizens to live.

- Firstly, the effectiveness of interdepartmental interaction and optimization of the processes of managing the socio-economic development of a city or region through the integration of state digital platforms, systems and resources is increased. Secondly, centralized access of the population to services, as well as services provided in electronic form is provided. Third, there is aggregation and provision of up-to-date information about events, news and current situation in the city and region to inform citizens. Fourth, favorable conditions are created for the development of small and medium-sized businesses by forming a single point of promotion and provision of services to the business community. And finally, there is a scaling and adaptation of existing republican, regional and industry digital solutions for their effective application at the level of cities and districts, says Ivan Lesko. The value of the platform is determined by the benefit to everyone. For authorities, it is a modern tool for supporting management decisions with data visualization, automation of everyday processes and the basis for creating situational centers. For citizens, there is a single window of access to all key services: from ordering services and receiving news about events to organizing tourist routes. For businesses, this is a new channel for sales, communication with customers and the opportunity to integrate their own digital services. Let’s take a look at how this all works with specific examples.

Currently, the process of collecting reporting and operational data in the executive committees is fragmented, manual reduction of the information received is carried out. The introduction of the Smart City platform will optimize this work and significantly reduce labor costs for its implementation.

- The new algorithm will include the preparation of the reporting form with the help of a designer, the direction of the task to fill it in to responsible specialists and the maintenance of a working calendar for the execution of the tasks received. In addition, there will be automated aggregation and processing of the provided data, analysis and visualization of the received information according to various criteria and samples, explains the specialist of the Center for Digital Development.

By the way, the Ministry of Sport and Tourism has already taken this path, which allowed to accumulate information on the activities of 456 specialized educational and sports institutions, clubs, schools of the Olympic reserve and other sports organizations throughout the country in the shortest possible time, as well as to form a single point of interaction of subordinate organizations on the portal of the Ministry of Sport.

Ivan Lesko draws attention: — The introduction of the Smart City platform will allow us to move to maintaining registers in electronic form with filing applications and information in an online format, subsequent consideration and processing of data received by the platform, as well as automatic inclusion of information in the register. Thus, the platform will provide the formation of digital registers with the ability to automatically submit information from them to interested state bodies and organizations, as well as provide tools for processing and analyzing data for the purpose of prompt management decision-making. The Minsk City Executive Committee has already created a Register of accredited organizations, individual entrepreneurs for the development of physical culture and sports. By the way, in August 2025, the Brest City Executive Committee successfully implemented a pilot project to create a single information center of the city. The platform allowed to aggregate data on 320 indicators from 177 organizations covering such key areas as housing and communal services, transport, education and health care. This information is already used by the management of the city executive committee to make operational decisions in these areas.

Now to receive various services, citizens need to use many disparate sites and applications, each of which involves a separate registration and creation of a personal account. The implementation of the Smart City platform will allow consolidating all key services in the fields of tourism, sports, culture, housing and communal services, trade and catering, ideology in a single digital space. Residents will have the opportunity to plan their day by booking, purchasing and ordering services, as well as organizing internal trips with the construction of composite routes. All information about urban space will be digitized and presented on a single cartographic basis, including recreational facilities, catering, sports, tourism, culture and others. The platform provides for the possibility of direct interaction with each of the presented objects, the expert explains. Importantly, citizens will have the opportunity to participate in the life and development of the region. Currently, paper media, websites of organizations, as well as foreign digital services and unadapted platforms are used to organize polls and voting among the population. This approach involves a number of risks, including the possibility of personal data leakage and incorrect processing of information, which casts doubt on the objectivity of the results obtained. The implementation of the platform will make it possible to switch to the use of secure domestic services for polling and voting, introducing initiatives, ensuring the transparency of procedures and the reliability of the final results.

There are obvious advantages for business. The Smart City platform primarily helps small and medium-sized businesses to develop and work more effectively with customers.

- There are a number of opportunities for this. This is the creation and maintenance of your own digital page, the collection and analysis of feedback from customers on the quality of services rendered, the implementation of calculations and acceptance of payment for orders through a payment aggregator, informing the target audience about promotions, discounts and special offers, as well as access to analytical tools for analyzing sales volumes and consumer demand, says Ivan Lesko. On the platform “Smart city” is already actively digitized sports sphere. At the initial stage, information about all sports subjects of Minsk was posted. This made it possible to ensure transparency and accessibility of information on sports and mass events, infrastructure, sports organizations and state bodies in the field of sports. The key tool was the search service for information about sports facilities, venues for master classes and trainings. Users have the opportunity to determine the nearest sports facility to the house for regular classes or choose a section for a child with the ability to view ratings and reviews.

Also on the platform is a calendar of sports events. For the convenience of navigation for lovers of an active lifestyle, a map of Minsk bike lanes with the possibility of planning routes was digitized. In the future, the platform will be able to provide an opportunity to order sports services online: registration in sports sections and for training, rental of sports equipment and sports facilities, which will fully translate the interaction of the citizen with the sports environment into a digital format.

The Smart City platform offers a comprehensive digital approach to tourism development, covering the entire life cycle of travel. At the initial stage, it becomes a single window for exploring the tourism potential of a country or region. The map, catalogs of attractions and ready routes allow you to assess the diversity of tourist offers. A single digital event poster becomes a navigator for festivals, concerts and holidays, allowing you to filter them by date and interests.

- Within the framework of filling the platform, it is planned to create thematic collections on types of tourism, which will allow the tourist to plan a trip based on personal preferences. For the convenience of booking and travel preparation, it acts as a single marketplace, providing the opportunity to book all the necessary services - from accommodation and excursions to related services. After the trip, users can leave a review, on the basis of which objective ratings of objects will be formed, the expert explains.

In 2027, on the basis of the Smart City digital platform, an integrated approach to the organization of passenger transportation will be implemented, which will cover the entire life cycle of trips - from planning routes by passengers to receiving feedback on the quality of the trip.

The service of long-distance and suburban seamless trips will become a single window for choosing the optimal route in the direction specified by the user. Interactive maps, timetables and filters by mode of transport will allow the passenger to evaluate all available alternatives for transportation. The key tool for making a decision on a trip will be the route planning service with the ability to compare transfer options and travel time. The functionality of the service provides for the presence of a personal account, where the user will receive up-to-date information about the schedule, delay or cancellation of the flight, about the carrier and the vehicle, continues Ivan Lesko.

For the convenience of booking and payment, the platform will perform the functions of a single aggregator, providing the opportunity to book a trip, purchase a ticket electronically and receive it without visiting ticket offices. And the development of mobile applications will provide seamless access to the service at any time. The first public release of the platform will take place in 2026. It is planned that this will be timed to hold a major regional event. Minsk Sports Portal will also be launched this year. The full-scale launch of the platform is scheduled for 2027 with the adoption of the relevant decree of the Head of State.

sichevich@sb.by