How CARNET used Signator platform to execute 172 million EUR e-Schools program during the pandemic

What is CARNET?

CARNET – the Croatian Academic and Research Network – is a public institution operating within the Ministry of Science and Education in Croatia. It specializes in the field of information and communication technology and its application in education.

Background

CARNET is the beneficiary of the “e-Schools programme,” a comprehensive informatization of school operation processes and teaching processes aimed at the creation of digitally mature schools for the 21st century, conducted from 2015 to 2022.

The indicative value of the second phase of the programme amounts to 172 million EUR, financed from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, and the state budget.

CARNET anticipated immense volumes of administrative paperwork in the e-Schools program that required legally binding documentation to be signed by each participant, respectively: representatives of schools, their founders (cities, counties, ministries, and religious communities), and the Ministry of Science and Education.

At the start of the program (Phase 1), registration for schools was conducted using paperwork, relying on the postal service to deliver each document and then having to wait for a handwritten signature for approval, making the whole process cumbersome and time-consuming.

Then the pandemic struck, resulting in a total lockdown. Phase 1 was in jeopardy—people were now working from home and post offices were closed.

The process of document signing and distribution had to change quickly. It was time for Phase 2, which required a suite of applications and integrations for automating and connecting the entire agreement process.

Approach

So, once their needs were identified, and with the pandemic being a big concern, questions were raised:

Where to begin? How to start?

These were the questions asked by managers, IT, and legal departments during the process of selecting the right platform. All of the processes they analyzed included at least one legally binding document upon completion, which is why Qualified Electronic Signatures were chosen as the foundation for implementing digital transformation.

In the EU, an eIDAS-compliant Qualified Electronic Signature carries the same legal weight as a handwritten signature. For this reason, CARNET recognized the need for a centralized platform to manage their approval and signing processes. In order to sign legally binding documents in accordance with eIDAS, CARNET required two key components:

• Requirement 1: The digital identity of a signer
• Requirement 2: Centralized Signing Software

Requirement 1

Acquiring digital identity for all participants

To be able to use Qualified electronic signatures, all signatories needed to be identified. There were around 1500 signatories that needed identification to sign with legally binding electronic signatures.

CARNET acts as the Registration Authority (RA) and provides services for the registration of persons, i.e. it verifies the identities and identification data of an individual on the basis of which it issues, renews, revokes and suspends certificates.

The steps in the identification process were:

1. Identification of the signatories

Submission of the application form.

2. Activation of the user account

Verification of the email and mobile.

3. Submission of request

Initial pin, eID smart card and SC reader.

4. eID cared activation

eID activation with middleware.

Requirement 2

Centralized signing software

After the selection process, CARNET chose Signator platform as their platform for digital transformation using electronic signatures.

Signator’s signing platform covered all the scenarios needed for the successful execution of the CARNET e-School program.

Features

Signing

• creating a new signing workflow with PDF, XML, MS Office or Open Office
• adding a visual representation of signatures on a document
• crypto Device signing (USB or Smart card) or remote signature signing
• signing multiple documents in a single batch

Editing

• adding document attributes, attachments, comments, shares
• add signatories before or after current signer
• replace current signer

Verification

• verification of signatures on received documents
• visual alerts of faulty signatures with details

Advanced

• advanced filtering plus smart folders sharing access rights to a single user or a group
• multiple actions on multiple documents (change document attributes, change signer, add attachment, add comment, reject, terminate)

Miscellaneous

• easy integration with internal systems over defined API’s
• connecting to internal systems (LDAP, mail)
• corporate branding (logo and colors)

Signing process

Vizibit’s agile approach to its customers’ needs resulted in two additional functionalities that were developed for CARNET:

Campaigns that included:

• collecting data by submitting filled electronic forms (eForms)
• from the School principals, resulting in signed PDF documents
• mass sending of personalized and prefilled documents to School Principals for approval and signing

Strong authentication mechanisms for external signatories using Smart Cards

“One of the greatest advantages working alongside Vizibit is their quick response to our changing needs as the program evolved from phase to phase.”

Miro Capan – CARNET head of IT

Results

The initial assumption was that there would be around 1500 documents with three signatories per document. However, because the adoption of the Signator application was received very positively by all participants, the implementation spread to all other types of documents. That is why, in less than a year, the numbers were as follows:

Money saved

Based on the volume of documents signed, we can present an approximation of the money saved by using our automated approval and signing process.

There are 5 input parameters relevant for the calculation:

Average number of documents	10.012
Average number of sheets of paper	5 pages
Average number of copies of the document	2 copies
Average number of copies of the document	6 minutes
Documents sent by mail in percentage	80%

The resulting calculation using paper-based processes is as follows:

Cost	Paper based cost	Paper-based cost	Savings
Monthly	2.967,94	801,83	−2.166,10
1st year	35.615,22	9.621,98	−25.993,24
2nd year	71.230,44	19.243,96	−51.986,48
3rd year	106.845,66	28.865,93	−77.979,73
4th year	142.460,88	38.487,91	Signator-based cost

User feedback

Benefits

What are the benefits that CARNET experienced?

Convenient

• approve and sign from anywhere, anytime
• add signature image on a document
• create and share documents with your team quickly and easily

More secure

• cannot fake electronic signature
• validate signatures on incoming digitally signed documents
• documents never leave the YOUR digital environment

Economical

• reduces the processing costs of documents
• ease of gathering signatures and filled in forms

Time saving

• processes that usually lasted a week or two were reduced to 5 minutes.
• no need to come to the office for signing

More efficient

• no more reliance on the postal system or lostdocuments
• integrate your other systems into the ONE centralized agreement process

Legally compliant

• conforms with elDAS and ZertES
• supports Qualified, Advanced and Simple signatures

Lessons learned

• Smart card management issues – add a remote signature
  • simpler user identification
  • card administration (misplaced, forgotten PINs, lock SC)
• middleware problems on different platforms and technology environments
• the need for a mobile application

What’s next?

CARNET plans to introduce digital signatures in all other processes that include internal as well as external signatories.

Also, CARNET plans to enable schools to use the systems for their own digital transformation to fully embrace paperless offices.

Examples include:

• student enrollment and financial aid documents
• faculty and contact staff agreements
• permissions and emergency contact forms
• concussion testing waivers
• petitions, program approvals and more