Context
In 2020, the Republic of Croatia was struck by two devastating earthquakes: the Zagreb earthquake on 22 March 2020 and the Banovina earthquakes on 28 and 29 December 2020. The events caused severe damage to private and public property (69 000 buildings) and affected tens of thousands of citizens across several counties.
Reconstruction efforts unfolded under demanding conditions, as they coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, placing additional pressure on public administration, work organisation, and administrative procedures. The reconstruction process is inherently complex, involving numerous stakeholders and substantial national and EU funding (initial damage was estimated at EUR 17 billion).
In the early stages, responsibilities for reconstruction were distributed across three public bodies, each relying on fragmented records, manual data entry, and disconnected databases. This institutional fragmentation significantly slowed down case handling, limited effective governance, and reduced transparency towards the public.
The need for an integrated digital solution was further reinforced by the adoption of the Act on Reconstruction of Earthquake-damaged Buildings, which consolidated three previously separate bodies into a Ministry responsible for managing post-earthquake reconstruction.
In response to these challenges, the Ministry developed the Reconstruction Monitoring Platform, a centralised digital solution supporting post-earthquake reconstruction management, data-driven governance, and transparency.
Objectives
Establishing a legally based platform for monitoring reconstruction process had multiple objectives:
- to improve administrative efficiency through the availability of structured and up-to-date data in one place;
- to enable data-driven management and evidence-based decision-making;
- to increase transparency and public trust in the reconstruction process;
- to ensure cost-effective management and a long-term sustainable solution beyond the immediate crisis and finally.
The aim of the platform was to establish a comprehensive overview of private and state buildings in the post-earthquake reconstruction process. As such, the platform is a centralised place for providing information on over 26 000 locations under reconstruction, over 45 000 applications for reconstruction and temporary housing, 16 000 financial authorisations, and over 7500 temporary housing residents. It covers over 18 000 stakeholders activities, the application status, and the progress of the reconstruction implementation.
This scale illustrates the complexity of the reconstruction process and the necessity of a centralised, data-driven management tool. The platform resulted in administrative relief, simplified administrative monitoring, ensured that the same procedures were not carried out in two places, with data-driven governance and ultimately reporting to the public via the information platform in real time.
Implementation
The implementation of the platform followed a crisis-driven innovation approach. Given the urgency of the situation and ongoing administrative reorganisation following the merger of institutions in 2023, the in-house implementation focused on rapid delivery of a functional solution while ensuring long-term sustainability with functionality expanding in line with operational and administrative needs. The platform was released in March 2023, enabling immediate use for daily administrative work, reporting, and coordination.
Implementation followed a phased approach:
- initial consolidation of core data on buildings, applications and reconstruction status,
- gradual integration of additional functionalities in response to emerging administrative and reporting needs,
- continuous refinement based on feedback from end users.
The implementation process was characterised by continuous adaptation to external and internal changes including organisational restructuring, and increased expectations for transparency and reporting. Despite these challenges, the project was delivered without additional financial resources, relying exclusively on internal expertise.
Today, the platform is fully embedded in the Ministry’s daily operations and serves as the central tool for monitoring reconstruction, coordinating work across organisational units and supporting evidence-based decision-making. The platform constituted a structural administrative reform, and its ongoing development reflects a shift from project-based implementation to a sustainable digital governance solution.