{"id":6959,"title":"Using algorithms to optimize the allocation of daycare slots","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalisierung-und-gemeinwohl.de\/en\/2021\/10\/11\/using-algorithms-to-optimize-the-allocation-of-daycare-slots\/","date":"11. October 2021","date_unix":1633935815,"date_modified_unix":1649923412,"date_iso":"2021-10-11T07:03:35+00:00","content":"

For many parents in Germany, securing a slot in a daycare facility for their child can be a difficult challenge. Some municipalities in Germany are using software to allocate slots more efficiently and equitably. Our food-for-thought paper outlines the potentials and success factors associated with this kind of common good-oriented use of algorithms.<\/p>\n

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At the end, there were 31 daycare facilities listed in the little green booklet of Emilia\u2019s parents. It was how they tried to keep track of all the different procedures asked of them \u2013 some facilities expected them to check back every four weeks, with others every two months. Some requested that parents do so via email, others by phone. Little inspired optimism: Open door events at the facilities were overshadowed by the long lines of anxious parents being told that starting to look for a slot 18 months before their child was ready for daycare was far too late. Emilia\u2019s parents\u2019 experience is far from unique.<\/em><\/p>\n

Algorithms can solve allocation problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than half of all parents with children under the age of six see problems with the allocation of daycare slots. This is one of the\u00a0findings of a representative survey<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0conducted by the Institut f\u00fcr Demoskopie Allensbach on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in November 2020. The situation is also dire for many daycare facility managers as registration management requires considerable time investment on their part. The reason for these problems is obvious: Germany does not have enough daycare slots.\u00a0Anywhere between 300,000 to 380,000<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0additional daycare slots for children under the age of three need to be created by 2025. While training additional staff and building new facilities often takes several years, an algorithm-based allocation system could help improve some aspects of the problem in the short term.<\/p>\n

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In recent years, the district of Steinfurt in North Rhine-Westphalia has used the software KitaMatch to allocate daycare slots. Other cities and municipalities also use the open-source software<\/strong><\/a>, which was developed by a\u00a0research group at the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Mannheim in 2017. The software helps to match the preferences of parents for certain facilities with generally decided selection criteria. In a first step, a consistent catalogue is created, depicting which selection criteria are relevant for securing a slot. Afterwards, parents\u2019 wishes are queried. The software then uses this information to help daycare facilities better determine which facility should offer which parents a slot. Daycare facility managers can always adjust things \u201cfor special reasons\u201d if necessary. On so-called matching days, all available childcare slots are allocated within a few hours, and parents are then informed of the results. Drawing on discussions held with experts in the field, the\u00a0food-for-thought paper \u201cPer Algorithmus zum Kitaplatz?”<\/strong><\/a> (only in German) presents the findings of our analysis and highlights the potentials and success factors of applying such algorithmic systems-<\/p>\n

More efficient, saves time and is fairer <\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three potentials associated with applying the KitaMatch software:<\/p>\n

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  1. Applying algorithms enables a\u00a0more efficient distribution<\/strong>\u00a0of scarce childcare slots: For starters, parents\u2019 incentives to make \u201cstrategic\u201d decisions is lowered because they choose the childcare center they actually prefer. Secondly, we see a more stable distribution when parents no longer have reasons to reject an offered slot because they know that the software has offered them the best slot possible.<\/li>\n
  2. The use of the software allows those involved to save time<\/strong> because\u00a0they no longer have to invest hours over hours in searching for the \u201cright\u201d match. As lengthy follow-up rounds are no longer necessary, parents enjoy greater planning security and daycare facilities benefit from the significant reduction in administrative work.<\/li>\n
  3. In addition, an algorithm-supported allocation system can increase fairness\/ justice<\/strong>. For this, a consistent catalogue of criteria is required that creates transparency in the decision-making process for the slot distribution. If the same criteria apply to all participating daycare facilities, the decisions can be reviewed more easily. This helps to keep personal preferences out of the decision-making process and prevents individual children from being disadvantaged or affected by discriminatory decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    \u201cHowever, applying an algorithmic system is not a silver bullet solution. A complex social problem such as the fair allocation of daycare slots cannot be solved through the use of technology alone,\u201d says Julia Gundlach, co-lead of the Ethics of Algorithms project. Among other things, it is important to research how the use of algorithms influence social segregation in daycare centers<\/strong><\/a>. What is clear – even without research – is that even the best algorithm cannot create new childcare slots. Therefore, it is important to invest in new childcare slots while at the same time improving the system of allocation itself.<\/p>\n

    Ensure participatory processes in shaping the use and application of technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In cases where the use of algorithms can facilitate improvements, it\u2019s important to focus on the concrete implementation. \u201cAfter all, every context into which a technical system is integrated already has existing structures and social relationships,\u201d says Julia Gundlach, \u201cand they play a key role in determining whether the use of technology actually leads to positive change.\u201d Drawing on the experience from the application of the KitaMatch software in pilot cities and communities as well as through the\u00a0\u201cAlgo.Rules \u2013 Nine Rules for the Design of Algorithmic Systems\u201d<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0framework, we can point to relevant success factors which include:<\/p>\n