The Public Sector Tech Watch Observatory is a knowledge hub designed to serve public administrations, civil society, GovTech companies, and researchers. It provides a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences related to emerging technologies in the European Public Sector.

This observatory is a joint effort by the European Commission's Directorate General for Informatics (DG DIGIT) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

In this interview, we speak to Luca Tangi, Project Officer at JRC Unit T1 "Digital Economy", who is the JRC project officer responsible for providing scientific support to the Observatory.

JRC's Role in Advancing Emerging Technologies in Europe

Q: What is the JRC, and how does it support the diffusion and uptake of emerging technologies in Europe?

A: The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides independent, evidence-based science and knowledge dedicated to supporting EU policies that bring positive impacts to society. We have cultivated in-house scientific expertise in the realm of digital government and the transformations in the public sector associated with it.

At JRC, among many other activities, we actively conduct scientific research to comprehend the ongoing digital shifts within the private and the public sectors - encompassing aspects, such as digital governance, the use of new technologies for public service innovation and policymaking, trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), and interoperability. From these research endeavours, we extract recommendations and policy insights, contributing to the development of evidence-based policies and informing EU Member States on these matters.

Q: What is JRC’s role regarding the Public Sector Tech Watch?

A: We consider ourselves as the scientific partner of the Public Sector Tech Watch.

It's essential that the data and information shared through the observatory are founded on sound scientific knowledge. As AI and emerging tech implementation in the public sector is relatively new, scientific evidence is paramount in ensuring a safe and trustworthy use of these technologies.

Through various research projects, we explore how public administrations use digital technologies to enhance the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of public services. Specifically, our focus lies in understanding how public administration should adopt and employ emerging technologies with a human-centric approach to ensure system trustworthiness and encourage citizen co-creation. JRC produces outcomes such as recommendations and governance frameworks to guide public administrations in innovating their service delivery.

In the context of the Public Sector Tech Watch observatory, JRC undertakes two key activities:

• Support for Identifying and Analysing Use Cases: We assist DG DIGIT and contractors in identifying and analysing technological use cases in the public sector. This involves comprehensive research, workshops, and gathering use cases related to emerging technologies from various public administrations. We compile these use cases into accessible open data with a standardized taxonomy, benefitting public servants, academia, and other stakeholders.
• Scientific Reports and Foresight: We generate scientific reports and insights into AI adoption trends within the public sector, based on the collected data. Our current focus areas include AI governance, required competencies, factors influencing AI adoption, and the role of GovTech companies, among others. These results are shared through the publication of technical and science-for-policy reports available in the Public Sector Tech Watch knowledge centre.

And of course, not to forget our role in community building: we will organise a series of workshops, webinars and events to disseminate our results, and discuss with other researchers and policy makers.  I invite you to subscribe to the Public Sector Tech Watch, to stay in touch with us and be invited to our events.

Use Cases on AI, blockchain and other emerging technologies in the public sector

Q: Let’s talk about the use cases collected: How are they relevant for the digitalisation of European public administration?

A: Currently, the public sector is undergoing a significant digital transformation, both in service delivery and internal operations. AI and emerging technologies play a pivotal role in this process.

The cases collected responds to a simple, but very relevant question: What is happening around Europe in terms of the use of emerging tech in the public sector?

Therefore, the collection of use cases serves a crucial purpose: it raises awareness within public administrations about the potential of these emerging technologies. Our goal is to encourage the adoption of existing solutions rather than starting from scratch. Simultaneously, we aim to demonstrate to businesses that the public sector represents a viable market for innovative solutions, fostering further advancements. Collecting cases from across Europe offers insights into prevailing trends in public sector innovation, serving as a valuable resource for evidence-based policymaking.

Publishing all data as open data encourages its use by a wide audience, fostering collaboration and knowledge creation beyond our contributions.

Finally, soon there will be the possibility for everyone to contribute to this collection by adding new cases, we hope this will boost this activity, making it a common effort towards the sharing of good practices around Europe!

 

AI for Interoperability in the European Public Sector

Q: You have just published the 'Artificial Intelligence for Interoperability in the European Public Sector' report, focusing on a specific use of AI. How can public administrations benefit from the use of AI? How can AI enhance interoperability? What challenges emerge from this report?

A: This report exemplifies our scientific role within the project. It delves into a specific subset of AI solutions that enhance interoperability in the public sector.

The report provides a fresh perspective, introducing new layers of analysis and insights into the use of AI systems to support interoperability. It illustrates how AI can enhance interoperability on various levels: technical, semantic, legal, and organisational. AI can play a pivotal role in organising, standardising, and processing public administration data, leading to improved interoperability within and beyond public sector entities.

However, realising AI's full potential for supporting interoperability in public administration involves complex steps and often requires collaboration across different organisations. The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations derived from our observations. Just as an example we recommend public administration to invest in raising awareness on the importance of AI to address interoperability issues, remarking that AI requires a risk-based approach.

Q: How does the work of the JRC in the Public Sector Tech Watch observatory, such as case collection and report publication, fit into other JRC initiatives?

A: JRC is a very big research organisation, dealing with many topics. Our team at JRC, known as the Innovation of Public Services and Digital Transformation of Governance (INNPULSE), focuses broadly on the transformational impact of digital technologies in the public sector. Through our research activities, we play a crucial role in contributing to the EU's recovery and resilience efforts, wider public sector reforms and facilitating cross-border access to public services. I invite everyone to fill in this simple survey to stay in touch and be informed about all the research results of the INNPULSE team!

Our involvement in the Public Sector Tech Watch Observatory is a relevant part of these efforts. We have a large team of researchers: Isabelle Hupont Torres,  Marina Manzoni, Paula Rodriguez Muller, and I, supported by external consultants Marco Combetto and Jaume Martin Bosch, all supervised by Sven Schade and Eva Martinez Rodriguez. Everyone is coming with a different background, enriching the research and the debate with different points of view. Additionally, we collaborate with various universities and professors to conduct our research.

Given the nature of the European Union, our work addresses the entire multi-level governance ecosystem, from local to global, and involves close collaborations with relevant communities.

We are excited about our research on this topic, and as the Public Sector Tech Watch evolves, we look forward to continuing our collaboration with our colleagues in DG DIGIT.