Barcelona City Council has launched Barcelona Social, a new mobile and web application designed to make access to social services quicker and simpler for residents in Barcelona and across Catalonia.
The tool is intended to reduce administrative work and improve communication between users and municipal teams. City officials say it will help around 93,700 people who currently receive support, while also easing case management and requests.
For the 1,400 municipal social services professionals, the app is meant to save time on bureaucracy, improve appointment organisation and support more direct contact with service users. For residents, it includes automatic appointment reminders, visit confirmations and a way to submit documents securely.
The interface is available in Catalan, Spanish and English. The council says users who took part in the pilot programme reported less time spent on in-person and paper-based procedures, and found it easier to track the status of their applications.
To help people use the new system, 42 support points across the city will offer assistance with installation and navigation. The rollout is backed by leaflets, guides in several languages, tutorial videos and information on the social services website and municipal digital channels. An initial mass SMS campaign will also notify service users.
Barcelona Social is the first project under the City Council’s Digital Transformation Plan for Social Services and forms part of the wider Barcelona Fàcil plan. The app was developed by the Barcelona Innovation and Technology Municipal Institute using Salesforce Public Sector Solutions, and the council says the project cost €389,000. More Catalonia news
