The European grand idea is that people, goods and businesses can move freely cross-borders. That should also be the case for data and services. In a world where people live, work, and move across borders more than ever, digital services need to catch up. Citizens expect to access many services such as healthcare and social benefits seamlessly—even when their lives span more than one country. This is where cross-border digital collaboration becomes not only relevant but necessary.
The Interoperable Europe Act is a game-changing initiative for EU Member States that lays the foundation for digital services to work effortlessly across borders. While this might sound like a technical regulatory move, its real-world implications are deeply human. INVEST builds on the shared commitment of EU member states to co-develop cross-border digital services for businesses and citizens. In line with this goal, the Nordic DigiGovLab serves as an inspiring example, showcasing a citizen-first, collaborative approach to digital transformation that aligns closely with INVEST’s objectives.
The Nordic DigiGovLab: Putting People First
The Nordic DigiGovLab—a joint effort by Sweden (DIGG), Finland (DVV), and Norway (Digdir), in collaboration with other Nordic and Baltic countries, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers —is a flagship project showing what real cross-border interoperability looks like in practice. Unlike many public sector initiatives, the Nordic DigiGovLab doesn’t start with government processes—it starts with people. What makes the Nordic approach unique is how national strengths are aligned toward a common purpose:
- Finland’s DVV is leading the way in developing automated information exchange related to death and inheritance, so notifications and procedures don’t have to be done multiple times in different countries.
- Norway’s Digdir is building an AI-powered guidance tool to help citizens understand their rights and benefits during this life event.
- Sweden’s Digg is spearheading the Trust Model for AI, a self-assessment framework that gives public agencies a “trust mark” if they meet shared transparency, safety, and ethical standards. This model also includes a public register so that citizens can see which AI tools are being used by their governments—and trust them.
These prototypes aren’t just academic. They’re being developed with scalability in mind, using open standards, APIs, and open source so that any country in the region—or the EU—can build upon them.
Beyond Pilots: Building a New Kind of Public Service
The real goal is to create a repeatable model for digital services that work across borders and across life events. Think of changing jobs, moving, getting married, or caring for elderly parents—events where governments play a role and where seamless services would improve lives. That’s why the Nordic collaboration is focused on more than code. It’s about governance, values, and shared human-centric principles.
The Interoperable Europe Act sets the stage, and it’s projects like Nordic DigiGov Lab show how to bring the vision to life. The collaboration proves that it’s not only possible—but highly effective—for countries to balance national flexibility with regional standardisation. This is what the future of digital government looks like: interconnected, citizen-first, and trustworthy.
Cross-border collaboration isn’t just about travel convenience or administrative efficiency. It’s about dignity in moments that matter. It’s about ensuring that your rights follow you, no matter where you go. And it’s about building public services that respect your time, your data, and your life. These are the core ambitions of INVEST as well.
Comments
Hey Dimitra,
I don't know if this is a coincidence but I was at https://www.digdir.no/ trying to figure how to (auto) translate when even Google doesn't Norwegian in their list.
Could you do me/us a favour? (this is an old editor talking). Could you put a few links in your report? Just to save us all some time getting through the detail. Thanks.
Just going through your members list Can't see any guys in your area who have already built publicly-funded interoperable networks for schools, research labs and unis. Might be nice to give them a heads up.
They're well ahead of the (technical) learning curve. So If anyone knows of a technical network collection please let us know,
Hi Simon,
Many thanks for reaching out and for your fruitful comments!
I have now added to the article the links to the involved partners, funding bodies, and the Nordic DigiGovLab website. Here’s also a page about the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency, in case Google doesn’t automatically translate the Norwegian text (it works on my browser).
NORDUnet is indeed a strong collaboration in the research and education networking field, with active participation in European and global e-infrastructure initiatives. The INVEST project aims at enhancing the interoperability of digital public services across the European Union, and as such, the articles and news of this collection mainly address topics relevant to this goal.
However, since you’re interested in the education field, you might also find here the following initiative relevant.
Hiya, and many thanks Dimitra, (I thought Firefox used Google translate. Obviously not)
Thanks for the links. So much easier/quicker to understand when a reader can see the places a writer knows and makes explicit.
You say "the INVEST project aims at enhancing the interoperability of digital public services across the European Union". I'll argue that R&E are the public services that are fundamental to all others (globally).
Norden's CDBS study is a great example of why we mustn't keep the publicly-funded sectors apart.
We mustn't keep the infrastructure designers and the content managers/policy designers in different boxes/collections. That's been going on for far too long.
You'll know Nordunet and their European mates are here. One (technical) link to the European-wide version of the CBDS project can be seen at the Erasmus+ program.
And ultimately, we all want just one Wallet (for our publicly-issued credentials) regardless of sector. INteresting?
Hey Simon,
No sector is exempt from the efforts to achieve interoperability across public administrations—from mapping and evaluating reusable GovTech solutions to establishing regulatory sandboxes and developing digital skills, these efforts will potentially generate a positive impact across various levels of public governance.
As a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), INVEST does not focus on a single thematic area; rather, it adopts a horizontal approach, using good practices from different domains to enhance understanding, share knowledge, and provide concrete examples that support interoperability across Europe.
Many Thanks Dimitra, (Warning, Opinion!)
You'll have to excuse me. Ive been trying so hard to get orientated around this domain, and that's after, with 30 years of being on the web, getting orientated around public/social media web sites.
Rather than just waste time, let me explain my ( a new reader's) perspective. and hopefully Claudia, Ifigeniya, and Eleonora can factor it into the next (co-designed) version of this domain.
THIS should be the first page of this domain. This domain's immediate audience is policy makers and content developers/managers. So this is the easiest (i.e. best) way to help interested readers get orientated, (although there are too many words),
I notice you're from the grnet domain; one of the 28 European NRENs. So, your ( EC-funded) inter-National technical hub for "Interoperability" peers coalesce HERE. They've been designing "interoperable" projects down to the networking level over the past 35 years in Europe. So logically, that's where we should set up this interoperability domain.
The global picture of access to interoperable/shared services from this R&E sectoral perspective is HERE. Once a user/citizen has access to a domain (via their National Identity Provider), they can share all sorts of (public) services with their global peers via a Service's/ Resource's Manager who might use edugain's "interconnection" services.
Now, if you talk to to the techs/geeks - network managers - who run public R&E networks, they will wonder what policy makers are doing when they talk about Interoperability, cause that's what they've been attempting to do for 40 years.
It's just very hard to break down the language barriers ( national and professional) between the two communities. That's the primary challenge the Interoperability Act is addressing. Thoughts?