On September 25, the European consortium INVEST hosted an in-person workshop with 19 representatives of European public administrations in a foresight exercise to discuss challenges and opportunities regarding the implementation of an interoperable Europe.
Facilitated by NASK - PIB Research Institute (PL), with the support of ARTE – State Technological Reform Agency (PT) and the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance (GR), this workshop was included in the official agenda of the event "Europe goes Once-Only - Portugal Edition" (co-organized by ARTE and the European Commission, it brought together in Lisbon approximately 300 representatives of public administrations and competent authorities involved in the implementation of the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS)/EU Single Digital Gateway Regulation).
Participants were divided into four groups and encouraged to brainstorming different futures and to reflect on the role and impact of ICT on society and, consequently, on the enshrinement – or deviation – of EU's fundamental values.
This methodology facilitated individual and collective discussion of the different emotions and challenges underlying the use of technology by public administrations, highlighting: the fragmentation of data management; the fact that distrust in government is rooted, in some countries, on historical and cultural factors that are difficult to counter; and the possibility of using ICT as an instrument of social control and disinformation.
In this context, interoperability has naturally emerged as a key factor to promote transparency and trust, both among citizens and governments and between States. Stakeholder collaboration and community validation were also referred as powerful means for strengthening this trust, for example, through the development, sharing and reuse of interoperable open source solutions, where anyone can check the code for glitches or manipulation.
Finally, participants recognized that they have an active role in instilling a culture of interoperability in their organizations as well as the power to positively influence the construction of a truly interoperable Europe – bearing in mind that technology, although key to accountability and for delivering better public services, is merely a proxy for trust toward governments.