The EIF conceptual model for public services covers the design, planning, development, operation and maintenance of integrated public services at all governmental levels from local to EU level.

The EIF principles are fundamental behavioural aspects to drive interoperability actions. There are 12 principles relevant to the process of establishing interoperable European public services. They describe the context in which European public services are designed and implemented.

The European Interoperability Cartography (EIC), as defined by the Decision (EU) 2015/2240 is a “repository of interoperability solutions for European public administrations provided by Union institutions and Member States, presented in a common format and complying with specific re-usability and interoperability criteria that can be represented on the EIRA”.

The new European Interoperability Framework (EIF) 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.

EIRA is an architecture content metamodel defining the most salient architectural building blocks (ABBs) needed to build interoperable eGovernment systems. The EIRA provides a common terminology that can be used by people working for public administrations in various architecture and system development tasks.

A European public service comprises any public sector service exposed to a cross-border dimension and supplied by public administrations in Europe, either to one another or to businesses and citizens in the European Union.

Reference Doc: Revised EIF

Public administrations need to exploit external information sources to deliver their services effectively, such data may include open data and data from international organisations, chambers of commerce, etc. Moreover, useful external information and data can be collected through the Internet of Things (e.g. sensors) and social web applications.