Introduction
The ELAP was created out of a carefully selected set of sources deemed necessary to help achieve the goals of ELAP, and more specifically the goals of the interoperability programs within public institutions in Europe. Architecture principles provide a highly abstract view of the interoperability requirements, which are implemented by its interoperability specifications. Besides the EIF principles – which are considered architecture principles in ELAP – other sources are also considered and included. The principles are qualified based on their applicability (i.e. the usefulness of providing guidance when realising SBBs) and on their legal or regulatory basis by aiding architects involved in IT programs to ensure full compliance with the European regulatory framework.
In the table of contents below there can be found the 42 different Architecture principles mapped by ELAP, along with their definition (composed of 'Statement', 'Rationale', and 'Implications'), principle source, source URL, scope, category and PURI.
Statement: Accessibility ensures that people with disabilities, the elderly and other disadvantaged groups can use public services at service levels comparable to those provided to other citizens.
Rationale:
The trend towards a digital society provides users with new ways of accessing information and services. The providers of information and services, such as public sector bodies, rely increasingly on the internet to produce, collect and provide a wide range of information and services online which are essential to the public.
Accessibility should be understood as principles and techniques to be observed when designing, constructing, maintaining, and updating websites and mobile applications in order to make them more accessible to users, in particular persons with disabilities.
Implications:
Member States shall ensure that public sector bodies take the necessary measures to make their websites and mobile applications more accessible by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
Principle Source: Inclusion and Accessibility Underlying Principle (7 ) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Digital public services enable accountability of public administrations
Rationale:
It is generally accepted that public administrations should be held accountable for what they do. However, accountability is a multi-faceted term encompassing transparency, liability, controllability, responsibility, and responsiveness. Digital public services can provide functionality that supports people and organisations in taking accountability.
Implications:
Public administrations provide digital public services that give access to information about their actions, the results of their actions and the decisions taken in these actions.
Principle Source: Public Administration Review (Yale School of Management)
Principle Source URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00434.x
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Where possible, public administrations should seek to streamline and simplify their administrative processes by improving them or eliminating any that do not provide public value.
Rationale:
Administrative simplification means, where possible, streamlining and simplifying administrative processes by improving them or eliminating anything that does not provide public value. Administrative simplification can help businesses and citizens to reduce the administrative burden of complying with EU legislation or national obligations.
Digitisation of public services should take place in accordance with the following concepts:
• digital-by-default, whenever appropriate, so that there is at least one digital channel available for accessing and using a given European public service;
• digital-first which means that priority is given to using public services via digital channels while applying the multi-channel delivery concept and the no-wrong-door policy, i.e. physical and digital channels co-exist.
Implications:
Simplify processes and use digital channels whenever appropriate for the delivery of European public services, to respond promptly and with high quality to users’ requests and reduce the administrative burden on public administrations, businesses and citizens.
Principle Source: Administrative Simplification Underlying Principle (10) of European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/administrative-simplification
Statement: The implementation of digital public services has a focus on integration, technology, governance or legal.
Rationale:
Experience shows that a focused approach is a critical success factor in the implementation of digital public services.
Implications:
An assessment of the context is made prior to the implementation in order to determine the best focus.
The priority of the implementation activities is determined by the chosen focus.
Use mechanisms provided by the European Commission to plan and align the strategy with real needs. An example is IDPSIO, the IDPSIO (Interoperable Digital Public Services Implementation Orientation) Assessment Tool aims to support digital public service owners in deciding the approach to follow in order to implement their digital public services.
Principle Source: COM(2017) 134 final ANNEX 2 COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS European Interoperability Framework - Implementation Strategy
Principle Source URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52017DC0134
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/best-fit-public-service-implementation-o…
Statement: A full life cycle cost of ownership (including retirement costs) should form part of the business case.
Rationale:
At a critical stage for sustainable development in terms of climate change, and excess use of resources (economic, natural resources, etc), there is a need for the public administrations to use and establish relevant policies that help the reduction of general waste.
Public administrations are the first link of the chain and need to be the example for society and businesses on taking care of the whole life cycle for technology products. Therefore, when planning and designing public services, this aspect needs to be included (from the design and implementation to the retirement)
Implications:
When implementing and retiring elements related to the provision of digital public services, public administrations shall include and create policies that ensure the lifecycle of infrastructures, applications services and equipment, is considered and extended to ensure the minimum waste in terms of sustainability.
An example regarding this last topic spotted is, for instance, the application of policies to ensure that no additional costs (economic, social and environmental) rise when renewing the computer fleet.
Principle Source: How the EU wants to achieve a circular economy by 2050 in News European Parliament
Principle Source URL: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20210128STO966…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
Statement: Every solution must support sustainability. The sourcing, operation and decommissioning of IT equipment should not indirectly or directly negatively affect economic, social and environmental aspects.
Rationale:
Climate change is one of society's challenges for the upcoming decades, and public administrations shall be aware of and consider it when planning or implementing digital public services. Therefore, administrations and bodies in charge of developing public services according to public policies, need to consider the proper agreements that allow the reusing of existing services components and infrastructure to reduce the Carbon-dioxide e-footprint impact.
Implications:
Public Administrations need to reuse mainly physical or cloud existing infrastructures instead of creating ad-hoc technology and resources for delivering public services. Not only infrastructure but also technological equipment.
Principle Source: The European Parliament’s carbon footprint Towards carbon neutrality
Principle Source URL: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/carbon-dioxide-e-footprint-impact-awaren…
Statement: Code of ethics compliance refers to the expression of important values and standards that are also to be found in the law, but not only aspects related to legally-binding issues.
Rationale:
A code of ethics is a written set of expectations that an organization has for its employees to conduct business in an honest manner. Ethics are values and principles that govern behaviour or conduct.
Apart from legislation, the European foundational text "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union" sets up the different terms and relevant aspects for the proper function of the European Union.
All public services provided by public administrations under European Union must be aligned and fully compliant with European Union values.
Implications:
All initiatives and services need to be aligned and compliant with European Union values.
Principle Source: European Ombudsman
Principle Source URL: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/speech/en/49379
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP
Statement: The assessment of the effective realisation of public services, based on public policies, by evaluating various technological solutions when striving to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of European public services.
Rationale:
Digital public services should be the result of public policies based on real constructed and relevant societal needs. Therefore, it is relevant to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services.
For this reason, public administration has the duty of evaluating and ensuring that the resources are dedicated to the implementation and delivery of digital public services that are aligned with public policies and their objectives.
In addition to the alignment of digital public services with public policies goal, there is the need to assess the efficiency of the service and the elements involved, to ensure that the investment done is proportionate to the societal needs and the relevance and value the service provides.
Implications:
Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of different interoperability solutions and technological options considering user needs, proportionality and balance between costs and benefits.
Principle Source: Assessment of Effectiveness and Efficiency Underlying Principle (12) of European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/convergence-assurance-public-policy-goal…
Statement: The design and implementation of sufficient mechanisms to attain full visibility on the effective realisation of public services, based on public policies, by putting in place processes and procedures that provide accountability to stakeholders.
Rationale:
Digital public services are based on public policies, their context and constraints. Bounded on that fact, organisations develop their strategies and roadmaps accordingly, which implies the provision of funds and efforts to develop effective and efficient public services.
The economic and technical efforts need to be monitored and tracked to ensure that policies are implemented without additional effort. At that point is where public administrations need to put mechanisms to follow-up on implementations and the attainment of public policy objectives.
Implications:
Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of different interoperability solutions and technological options considering user needs, proportionality and balance between costs and benefits
Principle Source: Assessment of Effectiveness and Efficiency Underlying Principle (12) of European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/convergence-control-public-policy-goals-…
Statement: Data and metadata availability through standardised mechanism and ensure its long-term availability.
Rationale:
Data format should be readable for machines without the need for specialised or ad hoc algorithms, translators, or mappings.
Data does not exist in isolation but is highly dependent upon other data that is available from other parties. Data should also be reused, when possible, to prevent collecting the same data twice and introducing duplication, with the risk of inconsistency.
Controlled vocabularies define the terms in a specific domain, standardising their interpretation. These concepts are the foundation for data, providing definitions and meaning to them. It is important for users of data to have access to these definitions, so they can correctly interpret the data.
Implications:
Barriers to access that should be avoided include protocols that have limited implementation, poor documentation and components that require human manual intervention. For sensitive data, it is perfectly FAIR to provide an email, phone number or contact person who can discuss access to the data.
Metadata must be treated at the same level as data, using the proper formats, and reusing relevant vocabularies that ensure its long-term availability.
Principle source: FAIR Principles
Principle source URL: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/
Scope: Digital Public Service Operation
Category: Business agnostic
Statement: Metadata and data should be easy to find for both humans and computers
Rationale:
Global and universal identification of metadata and data must be achieved by globally unique and persistent identifiers.
Enriched (Meta)Data refers to data enrichment, regardless of any specific purpose or use.
Metadata needs to be linked to the data that is described.
Metadata and data should promote the discovery of digital resources.
Implications:
Data provided must be properly described, ensuring data quality and its discovery. Data and metadata with a high level of standardisation and reuse of already available tools (vocabularies, etc) that allow its discoverability and reuse. Key aspects to make data findable are: Has a persistent identifier, has rich metadata, and is searchable and discoverable online.
Principle Source: FAIR principles
Principle Source URL: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Datasets metadata machine-readable format, vocabularies reused, and reference to other datasets and their metadata.
Rationale:
Data format should be readable for machines without the need for specialised or ad hoc algorithms, translators, or mappings.
Data does not exist in isolation but is highly dependent upon other data that is available from other parties. Data should also be reused, when possible, to prevent collecting the same data twice and introducing duplication, with the risk of inconsistency.
Controlled vocabularies define the terms in a specific domain, standardising their interpretation. These concepts are the foundation for data, providing definitions and meaning to them. It is important for users of data to have access to these definitions, so they can correctly interpret the data.
Implications:
The usage of standardised methods for the representation of metadata (RDF, OWL, DAM+OIL, JSON LD).
In the metadata of datasets, references are made to the metadata of other datasets that the dataset depends upon. The data model of the dataset refers to the data model and the specific data elements and definitions that are reused from other datasets. The data itself includes identifiers to data in other datasets that the data depends upon.
Relevant controlled vocabularies that exist for the domain that is covered by a specific dataset are determined. Important terms that are not defined by existing controlled vocabularies are defined in a new controlled vocabulary. The controlled vocabulary is published in a standardized format in a location that can easly be found by the target audience. The controlled vocabulary and the concepts that it describes have globally unique and persistent identifiers, so they can easily be referred to.
Principle Source: FAIR principles
Principle Source URL: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Metadata and data should be well-described so that they can be replicated and/or combined in different settings.
Rationale:
Reusability is the central goal of FAIR and is usually the trigger for the introduction of data management and FAIR in companies. In principle, achieving F, A and I should achieve most of R - but there is another important aspect of the reusability principle that needs to be resolved. When designing data collection processes, reusability beyond the original purpose must be considered. It is usually extremely difficult to make data that is not FAIR reusable after the fact. Data reusability must be in place from the beginning, i.e. context and tacit knowledge must be built in from the start. Otherwise, there is a risk that datasets will be found and analysed under false assumptions, leading to a disruption of projects and sometimes a reluctance of researchers to share 'their' data with others.
Implications:
Data reusability must be in place from the beginning, i.e. context and tacit knowledge must be built in from the start. Otherwise, there is a risk that datasets will be found and analysed under false assumptions, leading to a disruption of projects and sometimes a reluctance of researchers to share 'their' data with others.
Mechanisms that ensure the data can be reused by other stakeholders are relevant, for this, two aspects to take into account are well-documented and clear licence and provenance information.
Principle Source: FAIR principles
Principle Source URL: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
| Statement: | Data Sovereignty refers to the ability of stakeholders involved in the delivery of public services to have full control over the shared data. |
| Rationale: | The concept of data sovereignty is becoming more and more relevant while digital transformation advances. Digital Sovereignty is relevant in the context of digital public services because allows the control of which data is shared between parties. Under an environment compliant with data sovereignty, all stakeholders can manage the data they aim to provide. Therefore, when planning and designing public services, data sovereignty is a pillar to guarantee the rights and obligations of the different parties. Nowadays, data spaces are gaining relevance and public administrations are putting efforts to focus on interoperability through the establishment of domain-specific data spaces. In this field, data sovereignty is specifically relevant and needs to be taken into account. |
| Implications: | Organisations behind digital pubic services should ensure and put in place the required mechanism to ensure that parties involved in the services (public administrations, citizens, and businesses) have the capability to control the data shared. Additionally, mechanisms to detect when relevant and private data is about to be leaked. Security and privacy are narrowly related and need to be handled accordingly to ensure compliance with the principle. |
| Principle Source: | "Towards a Reference Enterprise Architecture to enforce Digital Sovereignty in International Data Spaces". University of Twente. |
| Principle Source URL: | https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/285489087/_Firdausy_2022_T… |
| Scope | Business Agnostic |
| Category | Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle) |
| Interoperability Layer: | Legal IoP, Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP |
| PURI: | http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/data-sovereignty |
Statement: Data portability is ensured.
Rationale:
The functioning of the digital single market requires data to be easily transferable among different systems to avoid lock-in and support the free movement of data. This requirement relates to data portability - the ability to move and reuse data easily among different applications and systems, which becomes even more challenging in cross-border scenarios.
Implications:
Data are made FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) enabling their reuse for other purposes. Data are made available outside their applications, by making them accessible through open and standard protocols and formats.
Principle Source: Technological neutrality and data portability Underlying Principle (5) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Decide early on the type of deployment: On-premise, vs. Cloud-native and sourcing models IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, etc
Rationale:
It is relevant for the success of Digital Public Services to select the deployment methodologies that fit the needs of the administration and stakeholders (citizens and businesses).
Implications:
Public administration needs to perform the proper benchmark analysis to select the proper methodology for the development of digital public services. This strategy needs to be present throughout the design process and the decision-making process to ensure the delivery of streamlined services according to the users' needs.
Principle Source: EUROPEAN COMMISSION CLOUD STRATEGY Cloud as an enabler for the European Commission Digital Strategy
Principle Source URL: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahU…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/deployment-fit-cloud-first-approach
Statement: Public services are transformed into digital public services.
Rationale:
Making public services digital makes them more accessible, reduces administrative burdens and time and allows faster responses to individuals and organizations. The European Commission has also set out a strategy for the digital transformation of its own services. Digital channels are also the Commission’s preferred way to communicate.
Implications:
Laws and regulations are adapted to enable digital services when they lead to barriers to digital transformation.
Public administrations seek to transform existing public services into digital public services.
Digital public services can easily be found and accessed by users on the web sites of public administrations.
Digital public services that are focused on government-to-business are made accessible through automated systems interfaces, such as API.
Principle Source: C(2022) 4388 final COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMISSION European Commission digital strategy Next generation digital Commission.
Principle Source URL: https://commission.europa.eu/publications/european-commission-digital-s…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: The European Commission's digital transformation must be based on the identification of cross-organisational needs and the development of internal partnerships.
Rationale:
Strong and reliable relationships with other EU institutions and beyond, should be fostered in order to share resources and remain at the forefront of the latest technological trends. Specific approaches in technology such as user-centric, data-driven and agile trends must be pursued.
Implications:
The creation of MoU and organisational agreements is required to ensure that public Institutions are aware of their role and the role of others.
Principle Source: C(2022) 4388 final COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMISSION European Commission digital strategy Next generation digital Commission
Principle Source URL: https://commission.europa.eu/publications/european-commission-digital-s…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
Statement: Digital sovereignty means digital infrastructures, products and services that safeguard European security, strategic assets and interests while respecting European values and requirements.
Rationale:
European Institutions and Administrations are representing citizens and businesses and respond to and ensuring the proper development of European society in its most holistic manner. Therefore, there is a need of preventing to spend and depending on external stakeholders to foster the monopoly and vendor lock-in making non-efficient solutions and subject to external agents' desires.
Implications:
Digital sovereignty and autonomy imply the adoption of technical alternatives to promote cost-effective, sustainable, independent and secure solutions. Prior assessments of the suitability of these alternatives are strongly recommended, considering each area of implementation and taking into account relevant legal frameworks.
Principle Source: C(2022) 4388 final COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMISSION European Commission digital strategy Next generation digital Commission
Principle Source URL: https://commission.europa.eu/publications/european-commission-digital-s…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/digital-sovereignty-and-autonomy
Statement: EU Legislation Compliance is the property of (national/local) legislation to be coherent or to implement European legislation.
Rationale:
Member States play a key role in ensuring EU law is implemented correctly and in a timely manner. This is essential for people and businesses to optimally benefit from commonly agreed rules.
Implications:
A compliance assessment of EU Directives must be carried out in two stages:
(1) timely and systematic check whether Member States have transposed Union law;
(2) a timely and systematic conformity check of national transposing measures against the relevant Union legislation (correct transposition).
While Member States are responsible for the timely and accurate transposition of directives as well as the correct application of the entire acquis, the Commission has to monitor the Member States’ efforts and ensure that their legislation complies with Union law.
Principle Source: COM(2017) 134 final ANNEX 2 COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS European Interoperability Framework - Implementation Strategy
Principle Source URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:2c2f2554-0faf-11e7-8…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/eu-legislation-compliance
Statement: EU Localisation Framework compliance refers to digital public services being compliant and implementing the INSPIRE directive and the different requirements stated in the regulation.
Rationale:
The EU Localisation Framework concept consists of a package of case studies, specifications, guidelines, training materials, recommendations and actions required by public administrations and stakeholder communities to facilitate the implementation, use and expansion of INSPIRE in an e-government context.
Implications:
Public Administrations and stakeholders need to follow the different guidelines, implement the specifications and foster training for the understanding of INSPIRE directive.
Principle Source: European Union Location Framework (EULF)
Principle Source URL: https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/eulf/31
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/eu-localisation-framework-compliance
Definition of the principle
| European digital sovereignty entails the ensurance that all underlying digital components of ICT solutions (hardware, software, and services) meet European requirements, including the requirements to deploy a secure cloud infrastructure and interoperable services that fully comply with European legal provisions and ethical values. |
Source
| Digital sovereignty and interoperability Digital sovereignty is key in ensuring the ability of citizens and public administrations to make decisions and act in a self-determined manner in the digital world. We must ensure that all underlying digital components of ICT solutions (hardware, software, and services) meet European requirements. We must create the right conditions for Europe to develop and deploy our own key digital capacities, including the deployment of secure cloud infrastructure and interoperable services that fully comply with European legal provisions and ethical values. Common standards, modular architectures and the use of Open-Source Software (OSS) in the public sector are facilitators for deploying and developing strategic digital tools and capacities. We must ensure the availability of diverse and high-performing digital solutions to guarantee freedom of choice and the ability to change IT modules when necessary. Software, data and tools generated by the public sector should be reusable and openly accessible as long as this is compliant with fundamental rights. As explained in the European data strategy, a strengthened interoperability framework, as well as suitable regulatory frameworks are key in helping Europe benefit from the economic value of data, thus creating a single market for data that will ensure Europe's global competitiveness and data sovereignty. |
Scope
| Business agnostic |
Category
| Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle) |
Identifier
| 2994a0a122f41d5fdeeda656e757a4798afd60b1c1b4060e2062e169de3e77c8 |
Statement: Evidence-based Public Policies are policies designed and periodically reviewed looking at experimental evidences and incontrovertible data.
Rationale:
The primary goal is to improve the reliability of advice concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of policy settings and possible alternatives.
There are three crucial enabling factors that underpin modern conceptions of evidence-based policy (EBP): high-quality information basis on relevant topic areas, cohorts of professionals with skills in data analysis and policy evaluation, and political incentives for utilising evidence-based analysis and advice in governmental decision-making processes.
Implications:
Public administrations should foster the creation of public policies by:
- Promoting the creation and collection of information and knowledge on relevant topics for the administration;
- Training and ensuring the evolution and aggregation of professionals knowledgable in all domains that public administrations should legislate, and elaborate policies;
- Actively promoting the creation of public policies based on the analysis and collection of evidence.
Additionally, public administrations must put in place mechanisms to review ongoing public policies but also the whole public policy life cycle.
Principle Source: Evidence-based policy (EBP)
Principle Source URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242709855_2_Evidence-based_pol…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/evidence-based-public-policy
Statement: Innovation entails rethinking organisations and processes and changing behaviour so that public services are delivered more efficiently to people.
Rationale:
Implemented well, eGovernment enables citizens, enterprises and organisations to carry out their business with the government more easily, more quickly and at a lower cost.
Investing in research and innovation is investing in Europe’s future. It helps us to compete globally and preserve our unique social model. It improves the daily lives of millions of people here in Europe and around the world, helping to solve some of our biggest societal challenges.
Implications:
Innovation implies iterative and active thinking in public administrations and digital public services delivery. This includes several aspects and different layers.
At the organisational layer, monitoring and looking for strategies to create new public services according to new technologies.
At the technical level, implement new approaches and technologies aligned with public policies and their objectives.
Principle Source: OPEN EUROPE Policies, Reforms and Achievements in EI Science and Innovation 2014-2019
Principle Source URL: https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/actions-topic/r…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Users have an integrated experience of digital public services.
Rationale:
Users should be optimally supported in their tasks. They should not be bothered by the fact that multiple organizations, processes or applications are needed to support these tasks.
Implications:
Users of digital public services experience one user interface which supports them in the execution of their tasks, and which feels like one application.
Users are not confronted with duplicate steps or data entry in the execution of their tasks.
Users need to only log in once to execute their tasks.
Principle Source: eID Building Block of DIGITAL Europe
Principle Source URL: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/DIGITAL/What…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/integrated-horizontal-user-experience
Statement: Organisations are loosely coupled with other organisations.
Rationale:
Loosely coupled organisations are able to function with minimal dependency on other organisations. This enables faster implementation and change of digital public services.
Any public organisation should avoid the entanglement of inter-organisational processes for performing activities, that spread over multiple organisations. The application for a visa, for instance, should be performed in a single transaction, from an applicant's perspective. Whether the process comprises multiple interactions between public institutions (like Frontex, Embassy, Interpol) or not, should be transparent to the applicant. Inter-organisational interfaces in this case should not duplicate the processes, using the same data and leading to the same outcome. Each organisation serves a unique part of the application process.
Implications:
Loosely coupled integration can be achieved by establishing the proper organisational agreements, that ensure the proper implementation of digital public services without hampering any change or modification in those services.
At technical and semantic layers, it can be achieved by reusing existing application services or core vocabularies that ensure interoperability between services without including dependencies between them.
Principle Source: Organizations Social Systems Conducting Experiments
Principle Source URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-14316-8
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/loosely-coupled-integration
Statement: European digital public services are multilingual.
Rationale:
European public services can potentially be used by anyone in any Member State. So multilingualism needs to be carefully considered when designing them. Citizens across Europe often have problems accessing and using digital public services if these are not available in the languages they speak.
Implications:
Multilingualism is taken into account at all levels in the design of European digital public services, e.g. also in documentation and systems interfaces.
A balance needs to be found between the expectations of citizens and businesses to be served in their own language(s) or their preferred language(s) and the ability of Member States’ public administrations to offer services in all official EU languages.
A suitable balance could be that European public services are available in the languages of the expected end-users, i.e. the number of languages is decided on the basis of users’ needs, such as the level to which the service is critical for the implementation of the digital single market or national policies, or the size of the relevant audience.
Principle Source: Multilingualism Underlying Principle (9) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Technical IoP
Statement: Ensure the evolution of society and eGovernment by implementing means for the achievement of the purpose, specifically for inclusion and equitative public service, resilience towards crises and efficient and effective innovation.
Rationale:
NWS is a hierarchy-driven system within a hierarchy-market-network space. This NWS (based and driven by hierarchy) then moved to one of the normative reform models.
The Neo-Weberian-State approach is focused an aimed to ensure three main core principles, that are specifically relevant to the development of eGovernment and societies: inclusive and equitable service delivery, resilient crises governance, and effective innovation for government and society.
The application of the principle or the work towards the approach is a key enabler for digital and healthy societies, where users and the overall society is taken into account, and put on the focus on the development of Digital Public Services.
Implications:
Public administrations need to promote and implement policies, and legal instruments that guide the creation of inclusive and equitable service delivery, resilient crises governance, and effective innovation for government and society.
Principle Source: "The neo-Weberian state: From ideal type model to reality?" by UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Principle Source URL: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/sites/bartlett_public_pur…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/neo-weberian-state-approach
Statement: Citizens and businesses provide public administrations data only once
Rationale:
Requesting the data multiple times leads to an unnecessary administrative burden for citizens and businesses. It also leads to multiple administrations of the same data, with a high risk of inconsistency and low data quality. It is essential that the data that public administrations use is of good quality, in order to prevent errors and delays in processes and provide high-quality services.
Implications:
There is a central metadata administration of all the datasets that public administration bodies have available for reuse. Public administration bodies first determine whether specific data elements are available for reuse before they decide to collect them. Data that can be reused from other public administrations are not requested from citizens or businesses but simply referred to.
Principle Source: Once Only Principle of DIGITAL Europe
Principle Source URL: https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/wiki/display/CEFDIGITAL/Once+Only+Princ…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: In the context of interoperable public services, the concept of openness mainly relates to data, specifications and software.
Rationale:
This principle is based on three pillars: the openness of public administration's data, the openness of the software used and implemented and the openness of standards and specifications used to develop digital public services.
Implications:
Refers to the idea that all public data should be freely available for use and reuse by others unless restrictions apply e.g. for the protection of personal data, confidentiality, or intellectual property rights.
Also, refers to ensuring a level playing field for open-source software and demonstrating active and fair consideration of using open-source software, taking into account the total cost of ownership of the solution.
And last but not least, give preference to open specifications, taking due account of the coverage of functional needs, maturity and market support and innovation.
Principle Source: Openness Underlying Principle (2) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Signifies the agreement to the processing of personal data related to an individual
Rationale:
Privacy refers to any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.
Additionally, it refers to ensuring that the vast amounts of citizens' personal data held and processed by public bodies are protected by complying with the applicable legal framework.
A relevant aspect to consider when focusing on the application of privacy is full compliance with GDPR Regulation.
Implications:
The controller shall implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure and be able to demonstrate that processing is performed according to this Regulation. Those measures shall be reviewed and updated where necessary.
Member States, the supervisory authorities, the Board and the Commission shall encourage, in particular at the Union level, the establishment of data protection certification mechanisms and data protection seals and marks, for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with this Regulation of processing operations by controllers and processors.
All interoperability layers need to consider and foresee the implementation of mechanisms to achieve GDPR compliance.
Principle Source: Security and Privacy Underlying Principle (8) of European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Records are preserved and made long-term accessible.
Rationale:
Legislation requires that decisions and data are stored and can be accessed for a specified time. This includes all data and information in the electronic form held by public administrations for the purpose of documenting procedures and decisions. The goal is to ensure that records and other forms of information keep their legibility, reliability and integrity and can be accessed as long as needed subject to security and privacy provisions.
Implications:
- Records are accompanied by metadata that supports records management and archiving.
- Records are stored in formats that ensure long-term accessibility, including the preservation of associated electronic signatures or seals.
- Records are preserved during their retention period, and selected for deletion after that.
- Records are converted to recent standard formats, whilst also keeping the original version in the original format.
- Records are converted, where necessary, to new media when old media become obsolete.
- Records that are not strictly national are governed under an appropriate preservation policy, to cope with any difficulties arising if the relevant information is used under different jurisdictions.
Principle Source: Preservation of information Underlying Principle (12) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/preservation-information
Statement: Proactiveness refers to proactive services, which are public services that a public institution delivers following its own initiatives.
Rationale:
European institutions and public administrations throughout Europe, are reference actors and roles that can lead the environment on digital public services and also on the use of available data for the creation of innovative services taking as basis life, business events and circumstances.
There is an increasing amount of data from citizens, businesses and other stakeholders that European institutions can leverage to think and create digital public services according to users' needs (citizens or businesses).
Implications:
For the implementation of proactiveness on digital public services, making proactive public services, there are implications at different levels such as:
- At the legal level, ensure that the data used is treated and managed following the correspondent legal clauses;
- At the organisational level, ensure that digital capabilities are instantiated by services aligned with user needs and following the correspondent agreement between parties to ensure data sovereignty;
- At the legal interoperability, ensure that data is properly described and following the current approaches for semantic interoperability; and,
- At the technical level, ensure that proper technical application and technology services are available to reuse and deliver those services.
Principle Source: Joinup
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP
Statement: Existing IT systems are reused, before deciding upon buying or even building them.
Rationale:
Taxpayers' money can only be spent once. Reusing existing systems is a lot cheaper that buying new systems or even building them. In most cases, the requirements of public administrations are not very specific, and existing systems are sufficient to support the processes. It may seem that the costs of building new IT systems can be acceptable, but the costs of the maintenance and support of these systems are often forgotten and are much higher than the cost related to the initial development.
Implications:
When requirements for IT support arise, it is first determined whether systems that provide similar functionality are already available in the organization or otherwise in the market.
Requirements that are not supported by existing systems are critically analyzed to determine whether they are really essential.
Processes are adapted to existing systems or standard systems that are available in the market, when possible and acceptable.
Building new IT systems is only considered a last resort when no existing systems exist or cannot fulfil essential requirements.
Principle Source: Reusability Underlying Principle (4) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Technical IoP
Statement: Security by design refers to one of the prime principles found in any standard and in any practice throughout the whole of IT.
Rationale:
Security by design encompasses the protection of valuable assets, by securing them safely within the boundaries of organizations, taking into account the ownership of the assets. This means that in any circumstance, one has to attend to the valuable property, being 'data' and 'technology' as a whole, both by securing access to (data)assets and by securing the proliferation of data(assets) outside the boundaries, for which one is responsible.
Security by design (or secure by design), sometimes abbreviated “SbD,” is a new industry term for a range of security practices built on one fundamental idea — that security should be built into a product by design, instead of being added on later by third-party products and services.
Implications:
Security by design implies the control and the security approach to the whole process of creating Digital Public Service, from the design to the implementation. This approach has holistic implications on the whole process and its layers of it (Legal level, organisational level and technical level).
Principle Source: Security and Privacy Underlying Principle (8) of European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
PURI:
Statement: Service orientation is a way of thinking in terms of services and service-based development and the outcomes of services.
Rationale:
Being user-centred or remaining "user-led," is possible with a service-oriented strategy. It entails offering services that employ the best technological solutions to provide better results. By making this change, the organization will put user demands and goals at the centre of its vision, culture, and operations. After then, make sure that everyone supports it and owns it so that decisions and technology are driven by user demands.
A service-oriented strategy entails developing an IT platform made up of numerous systems, each one tailored to carry out particular tasks. You can change one aspect of a system's functionality with a tech stack made up of separate components without changing the operation of the entire system. Certain components can be digitalized more quickly because of this function fragmentation, which also offers a distribution strategy that allows for independently distributed functions. Communication with external programs is also made possible by separate systems where each software tool is designed to carry out a specific task using a well-defined interface.
There are a variety of technologies that can be applied to this service orientation approach such as SOAP, REST API and GraphQL.
Implications:
At the organisational level, public administrations need to establish the proper agreements that allow collaboration and common mechanisms to provide relevant information through the desired Service Oriented Architecture.
At the technical level, the organisations in charge of implementing and delivery of digital public services will need to determine which is the best approach to fit their needs. There are different approaches such as SAP, RESTApi or GraphQL, taking into account the relevant aspects of the services, the organisation responsible for the service should select the more sustainable and efficient way of implementing the SOA approach.
Principle Source: Open Group
Principle Source URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20160819141303/http://opengroup.org/soa/sou…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: Social participation refers to Promoting Civic Participation and Transparency of Government Decision-Making Processes covering policies concerning ICT.
Rationale:
The usage of digital environments can promote new kinds of sociability, support, and usability or revive certainly lost facets of social ties.
The construction of more effective public services, as well as new kinds of communication and interaction between citizens and the various levels of government, can all be facilitated by the use of digital tools. Even more public involvement in various levels of local management processes is possible with their use. These fresh working alliances also contribute to the legitimacy and increased transparency of public activity. Some examples of social participation are:
• E-democracy
• E-participation
• Government-to-citizen (G2C)
• Citizen-to-government (C2G)
• Citizen-to-citizen (C2C)
• Open governance partnership
• Grass-root activism and social networking
• Political campaigns
• Online media
• I-voting
• Mechanisms: e-petitions, online consultation and crowd-sourcing platforms etc.
Implications:
The implications of social participation are related to the creation and implementation of policies that include as the backbone, the citizens and businesses.
Additionally, to policies that govern, it is relevant that public administrations implement tools that foster, enable and ensure stakeholders' participation.
Principle Source: Digital Democracy of European Citizen Action Service (ECAS)
Principle Source URL: https://ecas.org/digital-democracy/
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
Statement: The subsidiarity principle requires EU decisions to be taken as closely as possible by the citizen.
Rationale:
The proportionality principle limits EU actions to what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties.
Implications:
One of the implications of the principle is that at a national level, some measures should be put in place to ensure that the specific needs of a specific country are considered and planned within national interoperability frameworks.
Principle Source: Subsidiarity and proportionality Underlying Principle (1) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/subsidiarity-and-proportionality
Statement: Laws and regulations are technology neutral
Rationale:
Regulations tied to a particular technology may quickly become obsolete and require further amendment. Also, technology-specific regulations lead to dependency on specific manufacturers, developers, suppliers or distributors of technology or services. It guarantees freedom of choice by not forcing users into using any specific technology.
Implications:
Laws and regulations do not require the use of any specific technology and do not favour nor discriminate against any technology.
It is possible to adhere to the laws and regulations with solutions and technologies from different manufacturers, developers, suppliers and distributors.
Principle Source: Technological neutrality and data portability Underlying Principle (5) of European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Design
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP
Description of the principle:
Transparency in the EIF context refers to:
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Source:
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f… - 2.4
The European Interoperability Framework is part of the Communication (COM(2017)134) from the European Commission adopted on 23 March 2017. The framework gives specific guidance on how to set up interoperable digital public services.
Scope:
Business agnostic
Category:
Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Identifier:
| 8b773803e66e0fc2e2bb6a629f56a915cf65dffb599302b3d54a08179af6bd07 |
Statement: Ensuring availability of interfaces with internal information systems.
Rationale:
Public administrations operate a large number of what are often heterogeneous and disparate information systems in support of their internal processes. Interoperability depends on ensuring the availability of interfaces to these systems and the data they handle. In turn, interoperability facilitates the reuse of systems and data and enables these to be integrated into larger systems.
Implications:
Incorporation of horizontal approaches to ensure the availability of services, applications and systems working towards harmonising how information is available, organised and in standardized formats that allow data exchange without limiting it.
Principle Source: Transparency Underlying Principle (3) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Semantic IoP, Technical IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/transparency-of-internal-information-sys…
Statement: Enabling visibility inside the administrative environment of a public administration.
Rationale:
Enabling visibility within the administrative environment of a public administration. It is about enabling other public administrations, citizens and businesses to view and understand administrative rules, processes, data, services and decision-making processes.
Implications:
Transparency at this stage requires public administrations to align with legal texts promoting and ensuring accountability from European institutions to citizens and businesses.
Public organisations at the organisational level, need to include standardised processes that allow users to understand information, rules, data, services or the decision-making process of any organisation.
Principle Source: Transparency Underlying Principle (3) of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
Principle Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/nifo-national-interoperability-f…
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Strategy (Public Policy Cycle)
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP
PURI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/elap/transparency-of-the-administrative-envir…
Statement: Digital Public Services, the organisations behind them and the data managed need to incorporate the relevant mechanism to ensure overall trustworthiness.
Rationale:
Trust entails citizens' reliance on trustworthy and verifiable digital government applications and services, which fully conform to high-security standards and respond to user needs. Fundamental rights and security should be integrated into all policies with a digital dimension. To foster trust in digital interactions with the public sector, suitable regulatory frameworks that ensure transparency, predictability, security-by-design and, where necessary, reinforcement or adjustment of existing provisions must be provided.
Implications:
The principle has a horizontal approach, where it affects the adoption of legal measures, organisational mechanisms, and technical means to ensure services are part of a network of trustworthiness interactions.
At the legal level, relevant and binding legislation needs to be put in place to ensure legal interoperability and guarantee that trust is the base of data interactions (exchange, processing, etc amongst digital public services).
At the technical level, mechanisms, tools and standards should be part of processes certification that data exchange involving all stakeholders, is saved, with integrity and trustable.
Principle Source: Digital trust, from Shaping Europe’s digital future
Principle Source URL: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/trust
Scope: Business Agnostic
Category: Digital Public Service Operation
Interoperability Layer: Legal IoP, Organisational IoP, Semantic IoP, Technical IoP