The National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO) community is making available on the Joinup platform an updated series of European countries factsheets and analytical models. The updates track interoperability initiatives in 2015, and refine scoring. They also describe more precisely the implementation and monitoring of the National Interoperability Frameworks (NIFs).
The NIFO factsheets give a high-level abstract overview of the interoperability initiatives of each country, including those without a NIF. The analytical models allow a comparison of the interoperability frameworks with the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) for up to 4 countries. The factsheets now distinguish the information about the implementation and the monitoring of the NIFs and detail the scoring.
In particular, the scoring allows to distinguish large scale implementation from project examples. Large scale implementation is often achieved through the application of legislation covering a specific NIF element. An example is the NIF preservation of information element, as in the Czech Republic with its laws on archiving and records management.
Another example of a large scale implementation of the NIF conceptual model element is the Estonian X-Road system. This technical and organisational environment enables secure Internet-based data exchange between the state’s information systems.
Finland is reusing the X-Road system to implement the publicly accessible service bus, a part of the National Architecture for Digital Services program, implementing technical interoperability.
Norway implements the reusability element with national common components. These are building blocks reused for creating public services: eID, the National Population Register, Business Register and the Cadaster.
The 2015 data collection exercise shows a wider variety of NIF monitoring initiatives, with NIF elements fully or partially monitored.
More to come
The EU countries’ contribution to this data collection cycle was very comprehensive. Almost all countries with a NIF analytical model have contributed with up-to-date information. More updates are foreseen soon, as Romania, Latvia, Iceland and FYROM are updating or finalising their NIFs at this point.
About NIFO
The European Commission launched the National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO) in 2011, to facilitate and support the alignment of Member States national frameworks to the European Interoperability Framework (EIF). NIFO is a project by the European Commission's ISA programme (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations).