Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have an enabling role in the establishment of digital ecosystems and the coordination of digital interactions. A robust and performing technical infrastructure is essential but insufficient to ensure a sustainable thriving of digital environments. Both technical and legal stability is necessary to cherish for the mutual benefit of service providers, their users and society at large. This stability is crucial to ensure the robustness and competitiveness of digital value chains and the thriving of the European digital ecosystem.

The implications for government organisations are twofold. On one side, the government operative branch - public service provision - must lead by example by setting up robust API infrastructures compliant with the legal framework. On the other side, the government may monitor law compliance and track that its enforcement delivers on the policy goals of the European Strategy.

Within this context, the project 'API for public sector innovation' (API4IPS) investigated API-related crucial aspects that government organisations need to consider when planning and implementing their digital agendas. The project was a collaboration between three directorates of the European Commission: JRC, DIGIT and CONNECT.

THIS REPORT summarises the main findings of the study and draws overarching conclusions on how API-related technical, organisational and legal configurations can support organisations in managing and coordinating their digital interactions.

The report is complemented by two additional documents where API4IPS analysis is explained at length:

1. REPORT I: API STRATEGY TECHNICAL ESSENTIALS  

The report analyses essential technical aspects to be considered by government organisations that aim at innovating their processes and leveraging all the potential of their API-driven technological infrastructures. These aspects include API management, discoverability, security and traceability concerns.

2. REPORT II: API STRATEGY LEGAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ESSENTIALS 

The report analyses legal and organisational aspects to be considered by government bodies i) to lawfully operate with their API infrastructure and ii) to better coordinate their API-driven digital relationships. These aspects include the analysis of the legal framework applicable to APIs, current organisational practices of digital coordination through APIs, and empirical analysis of the conditions included in 4000 API’s Terms of Service documents.