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Interoperable solutions through the organised pooling of resources and experience |
The parallel session on collaborative platforms looked at different ways in which cooperation is possible between Member States and the EU to harmonise interoperability approaches and share resources.
The session discussed three general models for collaborative platforms. One is where departments of the Commission collaborate, as with the ePractice.eu web portal.
The second type of platform focuses on the creation of repositories for publicly available (Open Source) software. Interoperability also requires the establishment of common assessment methods (CAM) relating to information. There is a need for a platform to promote agreement on standards and methodologies and to share work at the European level, as with the CAMSS project.
The third type is more specialised platforms focused on specific areas such as semantic Interoperability.
SEMIC.EU
In January of this year, IDABC launched SEMIC.EU, to provide an online platform to develop expert communities which share information and experience on semantic interoperability among European public administrations.
SEMIC.EU is a continuation of the XML clearinghouse project and its objective is to promote the harmonisation of interoperability ‘assets’ that are the basis for cross-border eGovernment services.
In particular the project seeks to promote the reuse of syntactic (e.g. XML schemas) and semantic assets (e.g. ontologies) needed for semantic interoperability. Once online, SEMIC.EU will provide these interoperability assets to interested stakeholders in European public administrations via a public web repository.
The ultimate goal is seamless data exchange between countries with different administrative, technical and linguistic backgrounds. This requires analysis and solutions for the technical, semantic and organisational dimensions of interoperability.
The electronic aspects of policy initiatives such as the Services Directive and the eProcurement Directive require work, not only on technical issues but also at the content level, with a view to resolving problems of language and technical interface.
SEMIC.EU is designed to become the single point of reference for semantic interoperability in pan-European eGovernment ventures. It will be a collaborative tool and the platform through which there will be the exchange of assets relating to semantic interoperability. The platform will provide methodologies and tools to improve the quality of data, share concepts and data models to improve interoperability, and make available code lists and mapping for specific domains.
It will also provide access to interoperability assets which have been developed in previous governmental projects, with participants uploading their assets and documentation. A clearing process will be installed to safeguard certain rules and standards concerning the quality of published items, intellectual property rights policy, comprehensiveness of documentation etc. Phase one of the platform will be launched in June 2008.
Chair of the session, Martin Hagen, Senator of Finance, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, pointed to the important work such platforms do in the area of cross-border interoperability. He also highlighted the need for proper support and funding of common platforms at national and EU level.
'In the i2010 strategy, the goal for 2008 is to ensure the long-term financial and operational sustainability for sharing experience, infrastructures and services. In this respect there is still some way to go in respect to the refinancing of collaborative platforms', he concluded.
Article published in Synergy 10 - Special Edition
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