LIFE IS HARD, a leading company in digital solutions for businesses, in collaboration with Cloud Soft, Nordlogic Software, and EfectRO, signed a new contract this week with Cluj County Council to develop the Single Desk – Ghiseul Unic application as part of the SMART TERRITORY project for Cluj County. This contract, valued at over 4 million lei, will span three years and solidify LIFE IS HARD’s role as a key technology partner in the digital transformation of Romania’s public administration.
The new contract was signed to further the digitalization efforts of Cluj County Council, a process initiated in 2020, when the LIFE IS HARD consortium, Cloud Soft, Nordlogic Software, and EfectRO, won the solution competition for institutional digitalization under the European SMART TERRITORY project. Through this initiative, Cluj aims to become Romania’s first SMART county.
The Single Desk platform provides an essential framework for transitioning public services into a “one-stop shop” model for citizens. This project aims to digitalize Cluj County Council and its subsidiary organizations. LIFE IS HARD will develop more than 30 additional solutions for the Single Desk. These new features will further streamline citizen interaction with the administration by digitalizing processes such as:
– Smart Registry for efficient, transparent, and secure document management and administrative workflows
– Digital Human Resources Management, automatically updated with each personnel decision
– Online Appointment Scheduling Module
– Tools for enhancing officials’ efficiency on processed documents, reducing response times for citizen requests
– Tools for multiple signatures, approvals, real-time reporting, and analyses
“Through this project, Cluj County Council and its partners demonstrate a commitment to transforming public administration into a modern, efficient, citizen-centered service. LIFE IS HARD is excited to be part of this digital transformation journey, and we plan to engage in other digitalization projects for the Northwest development region. This aligns with our mission to become a key technology partner for local authorities in Romania,” said Cătălin Chiș, CEO of LIFE IS HARD.
Currently, the Single Desk platform serves as an integrated solution for digitally managing the citizen-government relationship and the entire document submission process required for building permits. The platform has already led to a significant increase in online submissions for urban planning certificates, from 36% in 2023 to 50% in 2024.
“As promised, we continue to digitalize more areas and add new functionalities to the Single Desk application at a rapid pace. Cluj County Council is pleased to continue its collaboration with LIFE IS HARD as a key technology partner, helping us streamline administrative procedures and reduce bureaucratic burdens to support our citizens. I believe that private sector support is essential in providing fast, accessible, and high-quality public services in the digital era,” stated Alin Tișe, President of Cluj County Council.
Notable results from implementing the Single Desk platform at the county level include:
– In 2024, over 1,000 urban planning certificate requests were submitted exclusively online, a 50% increase from 2023.
– The average issuance time for online urban planning certificates has been reduced to 8 days, well under the legal term of 15 days. – In addition to urban planning certificates, the platform has digitalized over 40 other types of documents, including construction permits, approvals, and funding requests.
