Italy

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This good practice is linked to the EIF Principle 2 - Openness

Italy engages in the development of projects using opensource technology. Additionally, the country's regulatory framework necessitates a thorough comparison of features and costs, taking into account the specific requirements of each project, for both open and closed-source solutions. Based on Article 68 of Digital Administration Code, public administrations are required to carry out a comparative assessment of the different solutions available on the basis of the following criteria: 
(a) overall cost of the programme or solution as the cost of purchase, implementation, maintenance and support;  
(b) level of use of open data formats and interfaces as well as of standards capable of ensuring interoperability and application cooperation between the different IT systems of the public administration; 
(c) supplier's guarantees with regard to security levels, compliance with personal data protection regulations, service levels taking into account the type of software acquired.   
Where the comparative technical and economic assessment shows that it is impossible to access solutions already available within the public administration or free software or open source software, suitable for the needs to be satisfied, the acquisition of proprietary computer programmes by means of a user licence is allowed. 

This good practice is linked to the EIF Principle 6 - User-centricity

In Italy, regulations have been put in place to mandate a user-centric approach in the development of new digital services or update of existing ones. This includes a mandate to involve relevant stakeholders during the design process, to prototype and test with the users if the solution proposed properly responds to user needs. See Linee guida di design per i siti internet e i servizi digitali della PA". On a practical level, a series of resources available at designers.italia.it, referenced in the law, help each single public entity in carrying out design processes, step-by-step, and to reuse as much as possible existing user-centered design patterns. 

This good practice is linked to the EIF Principle 11 - Preservation of information

Italy has a policy which establishes a long-term preservation of information regulated by the national regulations and guidelines adopted and published by the Agenda for Digital Italy (AgID). More information can also be found at the following link. 

This good practice is linked to the EIF Interoperability layer - Semantic interoperability

National guidelines mandate the use of semantic material to document and develop APIs. In this context, Italy developed the National Data Catalogue for semantic interoperability that encourages the reuse of semantic resources such as ontologies, controlled vocabularies, and data schemas, fostering the creation of semantically interoperable services. A registry linked to the INSPIRE framework is also available at the following link.  

This good practice is linked to the EIF Interoperability layer - Legal interoperability

Article 71 of the Digital Administration Code mandates the following stipulations: 
Section 2) evaluate the anticipated impacts of ICT on stakeholders; 
Section 4) guarantee that new legislative measures align with existing initiatives at national, EU, or international levels; 
Section 5) formulate new processes and procedures as specified in the legislative proposal; 
Section 6) uphold compliance with data protection standards. 

This good practice is linked to the EIF Conceptual model - Open Data

As stated in Article 52 of the Digital Administration Code, in business processes and procedures and development of new information systems, data generated and managed in the execution of public contracts must be available as open data. Activities aimed at enabling telematics access to and reuse of public administration data are relevant in the performance evaluation procedures of public managers. Moreover, in the National Guidelines on open data and re-use of public sector information, requirements and recommendations on open data and its reuse and integration have been defined. 

The Undersecretary for Technological Innovation, within the Prime Minister’s Office, oversees the coordination of eGovernment tasks at all levels of the Italian administration. It ensures consistency among digital innovation policies, while coordinating projects involving several administrations. The Undersecretary also acts as an observatory on the information society and the digital divide, monitoring the projects implemented by central and local administrations. 

The Undersecretary together with the DTD is responsible for defining a whole-of-government strategy to modernise Italy, in line with the other EU Member States.

Alessio Butti  Undersecretary for Technological Innovation - Presidency of the Council of Ministers   Source: https://innovazione.gov.it/ 

Along with the Undersecretary, the Digital Transformation Department (DTD) is in charge of implementing the Italian digital strategy and has the same competences of the previous Innovation Technology Department. The DTD was created to support the Prime Minister in the promotion and coordination of government activities aimed at defining a uniform strategy for the digital transformation and modernisation of the country through digital technologies. The department has been in operation since September 2019.  

The DTD supports the modernisation of the Italian public administration. The department promotes reform initiatives to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the public administration. Among the tasks of the DTD, there is also the coordination of different government and public administration stakeholders to manage existing and future digital programmes in an integrated manner, with an agile methodology and an open data approach. The DTD is structured in three offices: (i) the ‘Office for Technological Guidance’, which deals with the coordination and execution of digital transformation programs; (ii) the ‘Transformation Office’, which is the link between the central and local administration and is in charge of supporting the digital strategy implementation at local level, with a view to overcoming territorial disparity and monitoring the progress of the NRRP projects; and (iii) the ‘Office for Administrative Management’, which guarantees the orderly management of administrative obligations. The three offices are supported by the NRRP Mission Unit for the management, monitoring, control and reporting of milestones and targets. 

Angello Borrelli  Director of the Digital Transformation Department   Source: https://innovazione.gov.it/ 

The Minister of Technological Innovation and Digital Transition (MITD) is in charge of coordinating eGovernment tasks at all levels of the Italian administration (central, regional and local). It ensures consistency among digital innovation policies conducted at central and local levels while coordinating projects involving several administrations. The Ministry also acts as an observatory on the information society and the digital divide, monitoring the projects implemented by central and local administrations.

The Ministry is responsible for defining a whole-of-government strategy to modernise Italy, in line with the other European Member States. The Ministry shall aim to enable Italy to bridge the technology gap with other Member States and to plan new business models, in order to carry out the digital transformation of the country and to make up for the delay against international standards pointed out by the European Commission.

Vittorio Colao Minister of Innovation Technology and Digital Transition Source: https://innovazione.gov.it/ 

Decree No. 22 of 1 March 2021 established the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Digital Transition (CiTD) within the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.  The CiTD ensures the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of technological innovation and digital transition initiatives of the public administrations. The CiTD is chaired by the President of the Council of Ministers or by the Minister/Undersecretary for technological innovation and digital transition and is composed of the several permanent      Ministers (e.g. public administration, economy and finance, justice, economic development, health) as well as other Ministers with competence in the matters covered by the provisions and the topics on the agenda. Furthermore, regional and local representatives can participate in the meetings of the CITD, when dealing with matters affecting the regions and provinces.       

The initiatives of the public administrations supervised by the CiTD cover many area such as: technological innovation, implementation of the Italian and European digital agenda, Italian strategy for ultra-wide bandwidth, digitization of public administrations and businesses, digital transformation, growth and transition in the public and private sectors, access to online services, connectivity, tangible and intangible digital infrastructures, and national public data strategy.       

The technical-administrative secretariat of the CiTD is set up within the DTD, which supports and coordinates the implementation of the resolutions of the Committee. The technical-administrative Secretariat is made up of experts highly competent in the study, support, development and management of technological and digital transformation processes.       

Article 2 (4) of Decree No. 77 of 31 May 2021, converted with amendments into Law No. 108 of 29 July 2021, assigned the CiTD responsibilities on the implementation of NRRP-related interventions.  

The Agency for Digital Italy (Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale - AgID) coordinates actions in the field of information and communication technologies to promote innovation in support of public administration, ensuring the achievement of the Italian Digital Agenda objectives in line with the Digital Agenda for Europe. 

The Agency was established by Decree No. 83, converted into Law No. 134/2012. Since 2019, it is under the supervision of the Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition. AgID is the main body in charge of interoperability activities in Italy. It defines the technical rules and guidelines for seamless interoperability and application cooperation between the national information systems and those of the European Union. 

Moreover, it ensures the technical uniformity of public information systems designed to deliver services to citizens and businesses, while providing consistent levels of quality and usability throughout the country, as well as their full integration at European level. It has published online guidelines for digital professionals and eLeadership skills. 

Mario Nobile  Director of the Agency for Digital Italy Source: http://www.agid.gov.it/

PagoPA is a State-owned enterprise created for the purpose of disseminating digital services in Italy. The company is responsible for the development of the PagoPA National Payment System and the App IO.  

Sogei is an information technology company fully owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and is the in-house provider of the organisational model. 

The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) is an independent authority in charge of supervising and enforcing the application of the Data Protection Code. In an effort to simplify the complaints process, the Authority has published a complaint form on its website. 

The National Agency for Cybersecurity (Agenzia per la cybersicurezza nazionale) safeguards national interests in the field of cybersecurity, including cyberdefence. The agency was set up by Decree No. 82 of 14 June 2021 and has legal personality under public law. Moreover, the agency is endowed with regulatory, administrative, patrimonial, organisational, accounting and financial autonomy, within the limits set out by the decree. 

The objective of the agency is to contribute to the implementation of common actions aimed to guarantee levels of cybersecurity and cyberresilience which can foster the country’s digital development. It also offers specific training courses for the development of the workforce in the cybersecurity sector and supports awareness-raising campaigns. 

Within the agency, the Cybersecurity Centre supports the President of the Council of Ministers in the field of cybersecurity, more specifically in crisis prevention and preparedness and for the activation of alert procedures. 

The Inter-ministerial Committee on Cybersecurity (Comitato interministeriale per la cybersicurezza) was set up by the Decree No. 82 of 14 June 2021. It advises, proposes and deliberates on cybersecurity policies, also for the purposes of protecting national security in cyberspace.   

The DTD oversees the coordination of eGovernment tasks at the regional and local levels of the Italian administration, by ensuring consistency in digital innovation policies while coordinating projects involving several administrations. 

Besides the common policies agreed at national level with the central government, Ministries and other regional governments, each Italian regional government has adopted a regional information society strategy, which almost invariably comprises a regional eGovernment action plan. Regional and local authorities are responsible for the implementation of regional and local eGovernment projects falling within their respective areas of competence. 

The National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) represents Italian municipalities and provides them with technical and political support. In 1987, ANCI created the company Ancitel, focused on bringing innovation and modernisation to Italian municipalities and local authorities. Ancitel has become ANCI’s main service provider, supporting and promoting the introduction of new information and communication technologies in municipalities. 

Established by Regional Law No. 11 of 2004, the Community Network Emilia-Romagna (CN-ER) is a central governance structure made of different entities, which is based on an agreement between municipalities and unions of municipalities. This central structure foresees a strong collaboration between the region, municipalities, and technical partners, as the in-house company Lepida, both in defining regional initiatives and programs and sharing ideas, competences, and experience. 

It has established a central governance structure called ‘Tavolo permanente della CN-ER’, which gathers all the municipalities and the Trade Unions in a collaborative effort to identify the administrative procedures that present the most critical issues and formulate proposals. 

Inside the CN-ER, different thematic communities are organised, in which the participating entities share knowledge, experience and skills in a collaborative process about both horizontal and vertical aspects of implementing the digital transition.