National Interoperability Framework
The National Interoperability Framework (NIF) is a set of standards, policies, and guidelines that ensure that information and communication technology (ICT) systems can communicate and share data seamlessly. It promotes the development of interoperable systems that facilitate data exchange and collaboration between different organizations and levels of government. The NIF provides a common language and a framework for ensuring that ICT solutions are compatible, secure, and reliable, which enhances the efficiency of public services and improves citizen outcomes.
Estonian Interoperability Framework Year: 2005 | The interoperability framework is a set of standards and guidelines aimed at ensuring the provision of services for public administration institutions, enterprises and citizens both in the national and the European context. |
Good Practices
This section provides examples at the national level in line with a selection of different thematic areas of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF). Further initiatives and good practices are available in the country’s Digital Public Administration Factsheet.
A new interoperability framework was launched in 2023. This will be more of a living document rather than a legislative text, so that it can be edited more frequently. It will also not be mandatory across the government, and it will rather be a guidance document containing suggested principles, and will provide value to domains where some of the principles would not apply.
As an alternative to the mobile-ID, Estonia has a new private sector-offered solution for secure authentication, called smart-ID. The smart-ID can be used to log in to eServices, to use the online banking and to sign documents. Signatures given with the smart-ID are legally binding and recognised in all Member States, and have the same legal effect as handwritten signatures.
The Open Data Portal provides the general public and businesses with a single point of access to unrestricted public sector data, with the permission to reuse and redistribute such data for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. In other words, the Open Data Portal is intended to serve as a platform for the dissemination of data by public bodies, and for the search and retrieval of such datasets by open data users.