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From getting acquainted to going live

Joining Gem takes four steps.

You receive Gem complete straight away: all content, functionality and technology that the municipalities have developed over the past years. Plus a buddy municipality to help you on your way. And you are never on your own.

The route at a glance

On average 4–6 weeks

  1. Step 1 Introduction
  2. Step 2 Join in
  3. Step 3 Setting up
  4. Step 4 Live
  5. And then Get a cake!

Get to know Gem

Watch, listen and ask anything you want.

A colleague from a participating municipality shows how Gem works in practice. You hear the experiences first-hand and discover what joining means for your municipality.

What happens at an introduction?

You have already started by visiting this website. We are happy to tell and show you much more about our experiences and expertise with the virtual assistant. Free of charge and without obligation: we are municipal colleagues for municipal colleagues.

After that we arrange a presentation. A colleague from an already participating municipality gives it to you and your relevant colleagues, so that everyone thinking it over can ask whatever they want to know.

Arrange an introduction

Join the collaboration

You do not have to reinvent the wheel.

Several municipalities have gone before you and are happy to share their approach and memos for your internal decision-making. After that your municipality officially joins the collaboration.

What exactly is signed?

The authorised signatory of your municipality signs an addendum for participation in the collaboration with the Gem municipalities. That addendum is also signed by VNG, in its role as supporter of the collaboration. With that, your municipality officially joins the Gem community.

You receive Gem complete straight away: all content, functionality and technology that the municipalities have developed over the past years is immediately available to your municipality.

Set up Gem

Together we get Gem ready for your municipality.

You get a buddy municipality and start work on the technology, the local information, accounts, documentation and your working process. After that you test Gem in your own environment.

What happens during onboarding?
  • We share relevant documentation, such as the DPIA and the processing agreement. You have the latter signed by the authorised signatory and by the hosting party.
  • Colleagues who will work with Gem create accounts for the systems and platforms used to manage the assistant and for the collaboration.
  • The widget code is added to your municipal website. You partly determine the look and feel yourself.
  • We set up the 'back end' of the assistant for your municipality. After that you add the local information yourself.
  • You start a short test period with the widget and, if applicable, the link to the live-chat platform your municipality uses.
  • During implementation in your local working process, the community supports you through a buddy municipality.
  • You can choose to hire an implementation manager to guide this process. Contacts for this run via other municipalities.

Go live

Gem is ready for your residents.

You choose the moment of going live yourself. After that you remain part of the community and continue to develop Gem together with the other municipalities.

Municipalities go live within 4 to 6 weeks on average

Get a cake!

Is Gem live in your municipality? That is reason to celebrate together.

You arrange the connection. We arrange the cake.

Start with step 1 Keep up to date with Gem