Last update: 04/2005
top
What is Reportnet
Objectives
How does it work
Achievements
Who benefits
The role of IDA
Technical information
Documentation
What is Reportnet?
Reportnet is a project that combines the development of common IT tools with an information infrastructure to collect and disseminate environmental data for the shared European Environment Information System (EEIS). The EEIS is a strategic approach developed by the Commission that includes all organisations, work processes, agreements, applications, data, indicators, and assessments relative to international environmental reporting within Europe. EEIS users are widely distributed but committed to establishing a common network solution for data flows and dissemination.
Reportnet will develop agreed business processes to reduce the reporting burden and allow for better use and reuse of the information. Reportnet will also enhance the currently available information infrastructure which includes applications for reporting obligations, metadata, directory services, data repositories and process monitoring.
Top of page
Objectives
Reportnet aims to provide a system that enables the transparent flow of harmonised environmental data derived from the national administrations in order to increase the efficiency of the reporting exercise and improve the effectiveness of the environmental policies.
Top of page
How does it work?
A huge amount of environmental data is reported annually by countries in Europe to the European community and international organisations. It is now widely accepted that a revision of this reporting is required to increase efficiency under the following principles:
-
Countries should be required to report information only once against well defined needs based on policy objectives;
-
Information should be held in a well-designed repository enabling easy access and the development of a corporate memory;
-
International should be able to access the reported information whenever they want;
-
Countries share information to enhance policy learning;
-
Information is transparent and accessible, thus enhancing participation and improving quality through increased use and exposure.
The Reportnet project consists of two parts -organisational and IT infrastructure and tools- running in parallel. The organisational or conceptual part reviews the current reporting requirements, identifies business processes and shared indicator needs of environmental information providers and gives input to the IT infrastructure and tools subproject. The organisational part includes:
-
Overall streamlining reporting;
-
Detailed case studies providing recommendations in the areas of air, water and biodiversity;
-
Advice on common indicator sets in a wider EEIS;
-
Best practises on how to aggregate regional and national monitoring data at the European level;
-
A study on how to move from current reporting to an advanced information system, in particular in the area of water.
In the IT related part, the Reportnet project will develop open source tools and enhance those built previously to meet the needs of the expanding EIONET system.
The available tools provide the following functionalities:
-
Reporting obligation database (including all obligations relevant to EU member states);
-
Data dictionary gathering detailed requirements (data elements) for all reporting provided towards the EEA; -
Central data repository storing all data reported to EEA and increasingly to the European commission;
-
Network directory, metadata repository, indicator management links.
Since 2003, these functionalities are being integrated and enhanced in the following areas:
-
Generic data exchange modules (to provide easy upload of data, format conversions and a first level of quality assurance);
-
User notifications (to improve and further automate data reporting);
-
Web dashboards (to allow configurable user interfaces);
-
Data conversion (to convert between XML and SQL based structures to feed the country deliverables into European data services, primarily the EEA data service);
-
Data merging (to automate the merging of national deliveries into European datasets;
-
Business process reengineering.
Data interchange formats include XML and the application provides for a common approach to metadata. Communication protocols supported by Reportnet are HTTP, SMTP, LDAP, SOAP, XML/RPC.
Top of page
Achievements
The generic data exchange module is already working and supports an increasing number of environmental data flows. Flows have become more integrated, tools are easier to use and this has triggered better acceptance of the entire system by the user community. First recommendations from the business reengineering work are used to steer the current software developments.
Top of page
Who benefits?
EEA member countries, European Commission, and any other parties interested in structured reporting and information on the environment.
Top of page
The role of IDA(BC)
Development of earlier EIONET tools, now used for reporting, has been financed with IDA support.
Reportnet is being built using and contributing to IDA(BC) Horizontal Measures such as CIRCA for sharing documents. CIRCA has concretely been used for the network directory and enhanced to provide the necessary role functionalities.
Top of page
Technical information
|
Project start date |
2003 |
|
Project completion date |
2006 |
|
Project status |
Development |
|
IDA budget |
2003 € 327,000
2004 € 1,173,000 |
|
Responsible service |
DG Environment |
|
Project coordinator |
Peter Wicks (DG Environment)
Stefan Jensen (EEA) |
|
Contact |
idabc@cec.eu.int |
|
Countries involved |
EEA member countries |
|
Public website |
http://www.eionet.eu.int/reportnet.html |
Top of page
Documentation: |
Print
Reportnet GIP- June 2003 (PDF)
