University of the Aegean

International experiences on Interoperability

Yannis Charalabidis

Georgian Cyber Security and ICT Innovation Conference

November 28-29, Tbilisi, Georgia

The Greek Interoperability Centre (GIC)

A European Research Infrastructure, supported by the FP7 Programme, launched in 2008

The centre aims at:

• Promoting Interoperability in eGovernment and eBusiness in South-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean

• Demonstrating state of the art solutions for Interoperability in Digital Public Services

• Contributing to Interoperability Standardisation and Research

• Acting as a dissemination and engagement point for research centres, administrations and enterprises.

• The Centre is already in close collaboration with FOKUS (DE), NCC (UK) and other interoperability excellence centres

Motivation for Interoperability in eGovernment

Too many public organizations that need to cooperate during service provision (i.e. in Greece 20 ministries, 13 prefectures, 52 districts, 330 municipalities, 1800 public admin. organizations, 10000 Governmental “Points of Service” in total)

Not manageable knowledge around the services. Sometimes even the exact number of services cannot be estimated (in Greece: more than 2,000 governmental services)

Many large- and small-scale projects that have not been based on any interoperability standards (need for retrofit)

Most approaches to finding solutions to the interoperability challenges are targeting technical specifications of the proposed systems

We need approaches not stopping in paper-based specifications, but providing a real system supporting interoperability in the public sector

EU initiatives on interoperability

Source: European Commission (2010), European Interoperability Framework (EIF) for European public services Version 2

Interoperability Standardisarion Initiatives

How are public services to be provided

Source: European Commission (2010), European Interoperability Framework (EIF) for European public services Version 2

The Greek National Interoperability Framework

Service Portals Standards Government Systems

Architecture Electronic ID Standards

Interoperability Standards

(Legal, Organisational, Semantic, Technical)

Service Registry Training Material

A systems-supported NIF

Enterprise Architecture /

Organizational Interoperability

(Guidelines for Service Documentation,

Business Process Alignment & Re-engineering ,

Legal Issues)

“Standards & Specifications” Level

Web Portals &

Multi-channel

Access

Specifications

(Accessibility,

Ergonomics,

Structure, GCL)

Technical

Interoperability

Specifications

(Communication,

WS stack, storage

standards,

vertical standards)

Authentication

& Security

Specifications

(eID, Trust levels,

authentication

mechanisms,

encryption)

Computational Architecture /

Technical Interoperability

(System & Components Topology, Design guidelines)

Information Architecture / Semantic Interoperability

(Guidelines for XML, Standard Schemas, Codelists,

Development Tools)

Certification Framework

(For organisations, systems, data and people)

Training Activities (Skills Management,

Training Process, Training Material)

Co-ordination Strategy (Vision and Strategy for

Interoperability & e-Government, Goals & Metrics,

Maturity Matrix & Roadmap for PA)

Co-ordination Activities (Marketing & Comm. Plan, Co-ordination & Acceptance

Mechanisms)

“Coordination” Level

Maintenance Processes (Update, Change Management,

Versioning Processes)

Services &

Processes

Repository

“Systems” Level

Systems Reference

Repository

Web Services

Repository & UDDI

XML Schemas &

Core Components

Repository

Certification Tools

Access &

Collaboration Tools

The Contents of the Interoperability Registry

Interoperability Registry Architecture

Web Services

XML Schemas & Core Components

Services, Documents, Systems &

Organizations Metadata

BPMN Process Models

Process Modeling

Tools (incl. COTS

software)

Ontology Management,

Population & Reporting

Tools

XML Management

Tools (incl. COTS

software)

Services Registry

(Authorized Access)

Common Access Control and Application Engine

Interoperability Framework Web Site

(Free Access)

Registry UDDI Interface

(Limited Access: Systems)

Relational Database Management System

The Interoperability Registry in service composition and provision

How to develop an eGov Interoperability Infrastructure

Phase Α

Analysis of current

situation and of the

international

experience and

practices

Consultation with

contractors of

eGovernment/Interop

erability projects

Draft Version of the

Framework

Phase Β

Consultation with

enterprises and public

organisations

Interoperability registry

development (Metadata

templates and XML

schemas)

First Public Version of

the Framework

Training,dissemination

material

Phase C

XML Schemas,

Codelists development

Incorporation of the

framework in IT

projects and systems

Framework

maintenance from

public organisations

Semi-annual versions

Training of PA staff

The Interoperability Registry in Service Redesign

The Greek eGIF today

500 pages with standards for all levels

eGOV Ontology, XML Schemas for basic public documents

1 public web site

1 interoperability infrastructure (services registry), for administrations

Training Material (9 modules - 3 levels - 200 hrs)

One University Post-graduate course for Framework Experts

Certification Material (for administrations, industries, practitioners, training centres)

10,000 pages supporting documentation

Best eGovernment Paper

Nominee, 42nd HICSS Conference, 1/2009

Lessons Learnt

Nation-wide initiatives for one-stop service provision have to combine content syndicating portals, service registries and relevant standardisation in a coordinated effort.

Service digitization has to be coupled with transformation, in order to ensure service delivery to citizens but also long-term growth and sustainability.

Interoperability standardisation has to be supported by collaborative platforms, than just be in paper format, in order to assist diffusion within the public sector.

Training and dissemination has to get a significant amount of a large eGovernment project effort and budget, as diffusion within the public sector and citizens is of key importance.

Interoperability Infrastructures need to be supported by appropriate changes to the legal framework at national level in order to be applied in e-Government services.

The follow-the-service approach is a very valuable tool, greatly assisting focusing on actual and measurable goals.

More ?

ERMIS results have been effectively promoted towards standardization bodies, such as CEN/ISSS, SEMIC.EU, IDABC EIF 2.0 and ETSI

Applications now ongoing in Lithuania, Thailand, Western Balkans, designed by Greek Interoperability Centre

Interoperability Infrastructures in cross-country lighthouse projects (STORK, PEPPOL, SPOCS)

Best eGovernment Paper Nominee, 42nd HICSS Conference, 1/2009

Best BPM Application, OMG/BP Trends Competition 3/2009

The top-10 countries

in Western Asia

Georgia:

72nd in the world,

9th in the region

The top-10 countries

in the world

The European “model”

Conclusions and Next Steps

• Interoperability in digital public services cannot be achieved without process re-organization, legal system re-structuring and data re-work

• Interoperability Infrastructures can greatly assist in driving innovation in eGovernment, rather than just providing the “standards”

• At European level, the coordinated management of pan-european services is needed (Services Directive, SEMIC, CEN/ISSS). Interoperability Infrastructures will have to be deployed at cross-country level.

• In Greece, more emphasis laid now on tools like:

- XSDGenerator: automated XSDs development and management

- Tools for Management of eGIF Standards and Specifications

- Tools for Assessment of public sites and administrations

- Advanced eParticipation functionalities for governmental committees

• Interoperability solution sourcing and deployment needs specialised centres of excellence

• Go on – you can do it !