IT
CZ: Data Boxes - Government to save 20 million Czech crowns a year
2 - Summary:
Following a recent agreement between the Ministry of the Interior and Czech Post, as from April 2012 the cost of sending a single message to a Data Box will drop from CZK 15.04 without VAT (approx. €0.59) to CZK 11.68 without VAT (approx. €0.46). This is expected to save the government CZK 20 million (approx €790 600) a year.
3 - Description:Data Boxes are repositories designed to store electronic communications of: citizens and companies with the state (official correspondence); citizens with companies; and between public authorities. The Ministry of the Interior (Ministerstvo Vnitra, in Czech) manages the project, and Czech Post (Česká pošta, in Czech) operates the Information System of Data Boxes.
Citizens, companies and public authorities sent and received over 66 million messages to/in Data Boxes between the launch of the service (July 2009) and January 2012. Sending messages to Data Boxes is free of charge to citizens and businesses, whereas the cost of the messages sent by public authorities is covered by the state budget.
For every million messages sent by public authorities to Data Boxes, Czech Post receives CZK 3.36 million (approx €133 000) less than at the start of the project. As a result of the newly agreed price reduction and given that there is an average of three million messages sent a month, the annual savings for the State are expected to be CZK 20 million (approx €790 600).
Sending messages to Data Boxes has been entirely free of charge for citizens and businesses since the beginning of the project, thus reducing paper-based correspondence. It is estimated that CZK 600 million will be saved subsequently.
Each Data Box is password protected and accessible only with a certified eSignature. The Data Boxes Information System is fast (the message data is delivered almost immediately), reliable (the data cannot be lost) and simple to use, while offering the advantage of authenticating the sender and the receiver.
The use of Data Boxes has fundamentally changed the way citizens and businesses interact with the State and the way public authorities communicate with each other. Users can now send and receive official correspondence from any location, at any time.
In January 2012, there were over 439 000 Data Boxes owners: public authorities, legal entities and natural persons. All public authorities and legal entities must have a Data Box whereas self-employed people and individuals can set up a Data Box on a voluntary basis.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking Services for Businesses Services for Citizens Infrastructure 7 - Country: Czech Republic 9 - Source URL: http://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/cena-za-datovou-zpravu-opet-klesne-stat-usetri-miliony-korun.aspx 12 - Tags: Data Boxes cost efficiency state budget
Categories: IT
BE: Portal on PSI re-use launched
2 - Summary:
The Belgian Federal Agency for Administrative Simplification (ASA/DAV) recently deployed a Public Sector Information (PSI) portal. It allows users to find a wide range of information and data which has been issued by the federal public services and can be re-used by third parties for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
3 - Description:The portal's overall objective is to make PSI more widely usable and accessible; however, re-usable information per se is not directly available on the site. Thus, information is organised into virtual file cards providing: a description of available information; conditions governing re-use; the name of the administration; and contact details. Furthermore, it aims to centralise the available information so as to facilitate (information) search for data operators and to encourage profitable PSI re-use. Priority is given to data search.
The portal currently hosts a relatively limited amount of information. This is expected to increase gradually as awareness is raised among individual administrations of their PSI re-use and the potential such re-usable information holds for development and knowledge management.
The portal is a response to the PSI re-use Directive, which calls on the EU Member States to "ensure that practical arrangements are in place that facilitate the search for documents available for re-use, such as assets lists, accessible preferably online, of main documents, and portal sites that are linked to decentralised assets lists."
The public services collect a considerable amount of information, including data on individuals and businesses. They process, research, digitise and reproduce such information in order to make it available to other public services, citizens and businesses. Some of the information can already be re-used today, such as geographical, meteorological, transport management or socio-economic data (businesses and
consumers).
Further information:
- Original news article - 'Belgium.be' portal
- PSI portal (In Dutch and French)
- Related news article - BE: Federal government makes open data available online
-
Background information - ePractice eGovernment Factsheet for Belgium
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking Services for Businesses Services for Citizens Infrastructure Legal Aspects User-centric Services 7 - Country: Belgium 9 - Source URL: http://www.belgium.be/en/news/2012/news_portal_public_sector_information.jsp 12 - Tags: open data PSI re-use PSI portal 13 - Sector: Internal market
Categories: IT
LT: National SNOMED CT Terminology Management Centre established
2 - Summary:
On 2 January 2012, the newly created National SNOMED CT Terminology Management Centre at the Lithuanian Medical Library officially started its activities.
3 - Description:The introduction of standardised clinical languages for medical information systems is a step forward in improving healthcare quality and safety. More and more countries are giving priority to implementing SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms), the most comprehensive terminology and classification system in the medico-clinical field worldwide.
SNOMED CT consists of a systematically organised computer processable collection of medical terminology for diseases, procedures, lab tests, medicines, micro-organisms, diet, topographic, geographic, environmental and social factors, and other aspects of medical codification.
The Lithuanian Medical Library prepared a draft 'uniform classification of medical terms for the creation of quality eServices in healthcare' under the eHealth System Development Programme 2009-2015. Funding for eHealth projects comes under the Operational Programme 'Economic Growth', priority 'Information Society for All'.
The National SNOMED CT Terminology Centre project team will translate the SNOMED CT terminology sets in Lithuanian, so as to use them in national information systems, in line with Lithuanian eHealth priorities. A pilot integration of these terms in a Medical Dictionary will also be conducted.
In order to facilitate and ensure the consistency of the translation process, authorities and organisations will be consulted, namely:
- the State Centre of Pathology - it has four years of experience in carrying out pilot translations of the SNOMED CT terminology;
- the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) - it develops and promotes the use of SNOMED CT;
- the states involved in the translation of medical terms in their respective national languages.
According to the website of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation, "SNOMED CT provides the core general terminology for the electronic health record (EHR) and contains [hundreds of thousand] active concepts with unique meanings and formal logic-based definitions organised into hierarchies. When implemented in software applications, SNOMED CT can be used to represent clinically relevant information consistently, reliably and comprehensively as an integral part of producing electronic health records."
Further information:
4 - Domain: eHealth 5 - Topic: Electronic health records Hospital information systems ICT for patient safety Regional/national Health Information Networks 7 - Country: Lithuania 9 - Source URL: http://www.sam.lt/go.php/lit/Lietuvos_medicinos_bibliotekoje_savo_vei/2524/2 12 - Tags: SNOMED CT interoperability healthcare terminology 13 - Sector: Healthcare
Categories: IT
ES: ‘Datos.gob.es’ wins award for most user friendly PSI portal in EU
2 - Summary:
On 24 January 2012, the Spanish website 'Datos.gob.es' received the LAPSI Award for the most user friendly public sector information (PSI) portal design in the EU.
3 - Description:The portal was recognised during the 2nd Public Conference of the European Thematic Network on Legal Aspects of Public Sector Information (LAPSI) held in Brussels. LAPSI is an EU-funded network which brings together experts from EU Member States for high-level policy discussions and strategic action on all legal issues concerning access to and re-use of PSI.
The objective of the LAPSI Award is to support any initiative which can be beneficial to PSI re-use policies for moving forward. The award features the winning portal's innovativeness, accessibility, ease of navigation and commitment to disclosure. Furthermore, it recognises the leading role of Spain and the General State Administration in particular in fostering a culture of open data and PSI re-use. Also worthy of recognition is the professional community, businesses and concerned citizens who encourage the opening of public data, given that key private sector associations and concerned civil society organisations were consulted in the portal's design process.
In addition, the award reflects the Spanish infomediary sector's potential (companies that reuse information). This sector develops new products and services through PSI re-use, generating € 550-650 million turnover in 2010 while directly employing 5 000-5 500 people.
As part of the 'Aporta' project which is aimed at placing Spain at the European forefront in re-using PSI, the Datos.gov.es portal features the PSI Catalogue of the General State Administration. It also provides general information, educational materials and news updates on PSI re-use.
By virtue of 'Aporta', technical documents on which the portal is based have been developed in collaboration with the CTIC Foundation (Centre for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies in Asturias) and they will soon become available to all stakeholders for free reuse.
The portal is one of the tools foreseen in the Royal Decree (1495/2011) of 24 October 2011 implementing the Law on the re-use of PSI for the public sector (37/2007).
Further information:
- Original news article - eGovernment portal (in Spanish)
- Datos.gob.es (in Spanish)
- LAPSI
- 'Aporta' project
- Characterization Study of the Infomediary Sector
- Related ePractice news article - ES: Council of Ministers adopts Royal Decree implementing Law 37/2007 on the re-use of public sector information
-
Background information - ePractice eGovernment Factsheet for Spain
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking Services for Businesses Services for Citizens Infrastructure Interoperability Legal Aspects Policy User-centric Services 7 - Country: Spain 9 - Source URL: http://administracionelectronica.gob.es/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P804924061272303754870&langPae=es&detalleLista=PAE_13274246164486042 12 - Tags: award PSI re-use open data
Categories: IT
EU: Open Forum Europe: Cloud computing a way out of vendor lock-in
2 - Summary:
European public administrations can avoid being locked-in by IT vendors when moving to cloud computing that is firmly based on principles of transparency, open access and open standards, says Open Forum Europe (OFE), an organisation advocating the use of open standards in ICT.
3 - Description:
The group supports the European Commission's strategy for cloud computing, it says in a press release published on 26 January 2012. OFE writes it shares the vision of Neelie Kroes, the Vice-President of the European responsible for the Digital Agenda.
"VP Kroes' focus on the role of the public sector strikes the right tone", OFE writes in the press release. The group agrees with her that governments should play and active role and set a good example "As she points out, public procurement of IT represents a massive chunk of Europe's IT industry. OFE consistently has stated this is the single most important way that government can influence market behaviour."
The advocacy group also announces that it will soon publish an update of its procurement monitoring report. "(This) will again illustrate how a significant, and not diminishing, proportion of the public sector continue to ignore EC guidelines and EU legislation."
OFE concludes that many government agencies and departments across the continent remain the victims of lock-in. "A change in public procurement behaviour is undeniably required."
OFE thinks that the Commission's cloud computing strategy offers could lead the public sector out of this problem.
In her speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier the same day, Kroes invited public authorities and industry, users and suppliers of cloud computing to join the European Commission to come up with common requirements. This partnership "will look at standards, it will look at security, it will look at ensuring competition, not lock-in."
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: eProcurement Interoperability Open Source Policy 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: Pan european EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/advocacy-group-cloud-computing-way-out-vendor-lock 12 - Tags: cloud computing open standards IT Procurement 13 - Sector: Procurement
Categories: IT
EU: "Open source not yet very popular in healthcare organisations"
2 - Summary:
The use of free and open source software is not yet very common in Europe's healthcare organisations, says Thomas Karopka, chair of the International Medical Informatics Association. However, several online and offline networks of healthcare specialists interested in this type of software are slowly becoming stronger. "We're progressing, for instance, towards an open source ecosystem in the domain of ambient assisted living."
3 - Description:According to Mr Karopka, 'eHealth Open Source', a group on a business-related social networking site is one of the most active. Many of the members are based in the United Kingdom: "Free and open source approaches are receiving more and more attention among the medical informatics community in the UK."
A second example of an active online group is formed by some forty organisations and healthcare specialists working on interoperability, that signed the so-called 'Lecce Declaration', calling for the development and use of open standards in ambient assisted living.
This should lead to the use of free software tools specialised in 'ambient assisted living', the use of technology to allow elderly, disabled and sick people to remain more or less independent from healthcare providers, as opposed to staying in care centres.
Mr Karopka is one of the organisers of a workshop on the topic, taking place in the city of Luxembourg, from 18 to 20 April 2012. The workshop is part of the conference 'Med-e-Tel 2012'.
Last year one of the presentations given at Med-e-Tel was on the Open Health Assistant, a tool that manages devices that monitor weight, blood pressure, temperature, glucose levels and even pill boxes.
The tool is published under the Apache public software license, version 2, and is developed by a Spanish IT company specialised in health care solutions. Karopka: "Other interesting solutions are available at Medfloss.org, a portal for free and open source in health care."
It is the third time that this open source track takes place at Med-e-Tel. Karopka says the programme committee has received more than ten abstracts for potential presentations. "The deadline for submitting is 3 February 2012, and we will announce the workshop schedule shortly after."
Further information:
4 - Domain: eHealth 5 - Topic: Continuity of care ICT for disease prevention and health promotion ICT for patient safety Policy Wearable/Portable Systems for Health monitoring Other 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: United Kingdom Pan european 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/open-source-not-yet-very-popular-health-care-organisations 12 - Tags: Open source ehealth Ambient Assisted Living 13 - Sector: Healthcare
Categories: IT
EU: Draft guide on ICT standards and procurement aims to reduce vendor lock-in
2 - Summary:
"The appropriate use of standards will help alleviate lock-in", says a draft guideline prepared for the European Commission, on the link between ICT standardisation and public procurement. The draft text was published on 21 December 2011.
3 - Description:According to a survey carried out in preparation for the guideline, around 40 % of public administrations report some degree of vendor lock-in. "This can prevent authorities from switching to optimal solutions and making best use of public funds."
IT systems designed for citizens' use that are based on proprietary technologies which cannot be implemented by competitors, will restrict the choice that citizens have in the way they interact with the public authority, the guide explains. "For example, a public website that can only be accessed through a specific Web browser will oblige citizens to use that specific browser. This can have a number of undesirable effects, including limiting competition in the ICT market."
Symptoms of lock-in include the use of specific brand names of products in tender descriptions and requests for backward compatibility with proprietary systems, of which only a few suppliers have knowledge. These practices can limit competition in the IT market.
The draft text explains that procuring ICT that is based on standards accessible to all ICT suppliers can help promote competition. "This will reduce the risk of public authorities becoming excessively dependent on a single vendor for the provision of ICT products or services beyond the timeframe of the initial procurement contract".
The guide is for the use of public authorities in learning to use standards in order to reduce lock-in.
The draft guideline was published shortly after a workshop held in Brussels on 12 December 2012.
The European Commission also launched on 23 January 2012 a new consultation aimed at gathering views on the guideline and on the impact of practical implementation options. Those interested in the survey can submit their input until 14 February 2012.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: eProcurement Infrastructure Interoperability Open Source Policy 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-draft-guide-standards-and-procurement-aims-reduce-vendor-lock 12 - Tags: standards ICT procurement Digital Agenda 13 - Sector: Procurement
Categories: IT
EU: Open source software assists European citizens to petition the EU
2 - Summary:
OCS (OnLine Collection Software), the European Commission's open source software written for the European Citizens' Initiative, will make it easier for citizens to bring legislative proposals to the Commission, European officials said at a conference in Brussels on 26 January 2012.
3 - Description:The European Citizens' Initiative allows EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies, by calling on the European Commission to make a legislative proposal. The initiative was officially opened by Commission Vice-President Maroš Šef?ovi? at the European Citizens' Initiative - Warm up Conference'. To propose legislation to the European Commission, groups will have to gather at least one million signatures from at least seven out of the 27 member states.
The European Commission (EC) officials involved in making OCS hope that interested open source developers will build mobile applications linking to OCS, and that they write software that integrates social media.
To lower the threshold for petitioning, the EC's ISA Programme (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) developed OCS. The tool helps users to record, store and submit signatures.
Using OCS for this will be more efficient than collecting signatures on paper. The tool can also streamline data collection and verification. The EU countries have different laws relating to petitioning, for instance on how to identify voters, and OCS handles such variations by producing customised and pre-completed forms.
The tool also makes it easier to get national governments to certify the accuracy and safety of software systems used for gathering signatures, according to the programme managers involved.
The EC will help the member states by showing IT auditors how to check if OCS is installed and run securely. And in countries that do not keep up-to-date lists of voters or where the rules for authenticating citizens make petitioning complex, statistically significant samples will be allowed. One of the involved developers said: "If you use our software, the certification procedure should be a lot easier."
The software is offered free of charge, but it is up to the organisers of petitions to provide a hosting solution.
The OCS tool comes complete with support for all 23 official languages of the European Union. A conference attendee asked the European Commission if it would support other European languages such as Welsh, Catalan or Galician. Francisco García Morán replied: "It is open source, so if a community shows sufficient interest, other languages can be added." Mr García Morán is the Director General for Informatics (DIGIT), the DG responsible for the ISA programme.
OCS has been available on the Joinup software forge since 23 December 2011. The ISA Programme will help open source developers to build extensions, explained Declan Deasy, Director for Information Systems and Interoperability Solutions. "If there is sufficient interest, we will foster an OCS community."
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: eParticipation, eDemocracy and eVoting Legal Aspects Open Source 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/open-source-software-assists-european-citizens-petition-eu 12 - Tags: Open source OCS European Citizen's Initiative
Categories: IT
EU: ADMS Public Review to close on 6 February 2012
2 - Summary:
On 6 January 2012, the Interoperability
Solutions for European Public Administrations (ISA) programme of the European Commission launched the public review of the Asset Description Metadata Schema (ADMS). The review will last until 6 February 2012 (inclusive).
The
Asset Description Metadata Schema (ADMS) is a common way to describe semantic
interoperability assets including metadata schemas, controlled vocabularies and
code lists.
Better
documenting semantic assets can help improve interoperability of eGovernment
initiatives across Europe, and possibly
beyond. ADMS will also be a key element of the upcoming federation of semantic
asset repositories in Europe.
From
mid 2012, the ISA Programme-funded Joinup
platform will make available a large number of semantic interoperability
assets, described using ADMS, through a federation of asset repositories of
Member States, standardisation bodies and other relevant stakeholders.
People
willing to take part in the public review are invited to download the ADMS
specification from the Joinup platform and comment on it, by either using
the ADMS Forum (registration required)
or by sending an e-mail to the ADMS editor, Makx Dekkers.
All
comments will be registered in an issues list that will be discussed by the
Working Group in early February 2012. Resolutions of those issues will be
shared on Joinup, and will lead to a final version of the specification that
will be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement by the European
Union Member States. During the first two quarters of 2012, the specification
will be tested in a pilot implementation with four existing repositories. The
results of that pilot will also be shared with the wider community through
Joinup.
Background information:
The
Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations programme (ISA)
facilitates the efficient and effective cross-border electronic collaboration
between European public administrations.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking High Impact Services with Pan-European Scope Interoperability 7 - Country: EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: http://ec.europa.eu/isa/news/2012/adms_public_review_is_launched__en.htm 12 - Tags: interoperability assets eGovernment metadata public review Starred Content: News
Categories: IT
NL: Patient’s view of an operation procedure to be publicised via social media
2 - Summary:
For the first time in the Netherlands, the treatment of a patient with a heart rhythm disorder can be followed via social media, it was announced on 12 January 2012. The aim is to provide information to the public in an accessible manner and to show how rewarding healthcare innovation can be for both patients and society.
3 - Description:The treatment will take place at Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, a city in southern Netherlands. The progress of the patient Ad Langendonk and his cardiologist from the hospital, Dr Lukas Dekker, can be followed via a social networking site for a month from 10 January 2012. On 27 January 2012, the disorder will be treated with a minimally invasive procedure known as catheter ablation. This treatment is designed to improve the patient's quality of life, and is rapidly increasing in popularity after a large amount of research and development over the last decade. Together, the patient and doctor will describe the events before, during and after the catheter ablation.
The treatment can be followed 'live' via a dedicated web page, with the medical team at Catharina Hospital updating the progress. In this way, people will be able to see the direct impact that healthcare innovation can have on a patient's quality of life. Users can also contact the patient or his cardiologist with questions about heart rhythm disorders and how they are treated.
Dr Dekker said: "Innovation is the only means by which we can offer solutions to future healthcare issues. We need to keep an eye on costs, but this needs to be done in a balanced way. There is no denying that innovations such as this one are the future. It therefore remains vital to keep investing."
He added: "To stimulate that investment, it is important to increase awareness. That is why I am so enthusiastic about this initiative. In this way, people are brought together, discussions are encouraged and ideas exchanged. Most importantly, the disease is given a face, which gives people a more personalised insight into the issues. Visitors share the journey of the patient and feel as if they are part of it every step of the way."
"Discussions about healthcare innovation are often complex and abstract, but ultimately healthcare is all about people," said Will Ickenroth from the health and well-being company which is participating in the project. "The value of healthcare and the importance of innovation to people and to society as a whole becomes much clearer when you visit a hospital or have a conversation with physicians and patients. Together with the Catharina Hospital and Ad Langendonk, we are launching this unique initiative to show this from a patient's personal perspective."
Background Information:
Almost 300 000 Dutch people currently suffer from a heart rhythm disorder, and this number is expected to rise to about 1 million by 2050. The treatment for atrial fibrillation - the particular heart rhythm disorder which Ad Langendonk has - costs around €580 million per year.
Heart rhythm disorders have a highly detrimental effect on the patient's quality of life. However, innovative treatment methods, such as the catheter ablation procedure, will aid in providing efficient and affordable care for sufferers.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eHealth 5 - Topic: Continuity of care Health portals ICT for disease prevention and health promotion Other 7 - Country: Netherlands 9 - Source URL: http://www.ehealthnews.eu/philips/2903-catharina-hospital-and-philips-launch-unique-dutch-social-media-initiative 12 - Tags: social media healthcare innovation patient experience 13 - Sector: Healthcare Starred Content: News
Categories: IT
FI: Social and health care IT projects are performing well
2 - Summary:
A recently released audit report by the National Audit Office of Finland covering the period 2003-2009 reveals that IT projects in the field of social services and healthcare did not achieve satisfying performance results. However, many of the shortcomings mentioned in the report have already been corrected based on an internal audit of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
3 - Description:In contrast with the conclusions of the National Audit Office's report, the Ministry announced that significant results have been achieved at national level. Electronic prescription, electronic health records and the possibility for patients to view their own data in such records have been made available in several municipalities. Adoption is expanding gradually, and municipalities are getting equipped with the appropriate systems while user trainings are provided.
Only the best local projects have been turned into nationwide projects, based on their adaptability to diverse options and situations.
The social and health care IT projects are aimed at establishing an information system that is both local and regional. Some of the services are implemented at national level, some at local level, so that the varying needs of the Finnish regions can be taken into account. Cooperation between regions is ensured by common standards.
While healthcare service providers are responsible for their own systems, they must use the same content and communication standards in order to join the national information system. Healthcare centres and hospital districts traditionally acquired patient information systems independently, but since 2000, regional cooperation in the procurement of such systems has gradually become more common.
In the future, the nationwide social and healthcare information system will be developed as part of the information management package of the dedicated government programme.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eHealth 5 - Topic: Electronic health records ePrescribing Hospital information systems Policy Regional/national Health Information Networks 7 - Country: Finland 9 - Source URL: http://www.stm.fi/tiedotteet/tiedote/view/1576886#fi 12 - Tags: HIS interoperability audit 13 - Sector: Healthcare
Categories: IT
EU: Helping public authorities procure ICT based on Standards - Survey open
2 - Summary:
A short online survey has been launched on behalf of the Information Society and Media Directorate General of the European Commission to gather views on possible ways in which public authorities could be helped to procure ICT goods and services that are based on greater use of Standards. The survey will be open until 14 February 2012.
3 - Description:Action 23 of the Digital Agenda for Europe aims at providing guidance on ICT standardisation and public procurement. Draft guidelines entitled 'Guide for the procurement of standards-based
ICT - Elements of Good Practice' are now ready, advising public authorities on how to make the best use of available standards when commissioning hardware, software and IT services from external suppliers. The guidelines are illustrated with best practices from all over Europe.
With this survey, the European Commission is seeking views on how useful these guidelines might be, as well as views on practical implementation measures. Responses from all interested parties are invited, for all sections of the questionnaire.
One of the main objectives of public procurement is to be as open as possible and to elicit bids from a good number of competitive suppliers. However, when a public authority is highly dependent on a single vendor for its ICT systems there will be a lack of competition and value for money might not be achieved in the long term. Symptoms of possible lock-in include using specific brand names of products in tender descriptions and requesting backward compatibility with proprietary systems of which only a few suppliers have knowledge. The
appropriate use of Standards will help alleviate lock in.
Another advantage of using Standards is that they help achieve interoperability, which is defined as the ability of two or more systems to exchange information and use the information that has been exchanged. This is important in the context of the European Commission's ISA (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) programme which facilitates electronic collaboration between public authorities. It becomes easier to share information across ICT systems if their architectures are based on common Standards. (Actions 24, 26 and 27 of the Digital Agenda).
The Digital Agenda is Europe's strategy for a flourishing digital economy by 2020. It outlines policies and actions to maximise the benefits of ICT for all. Several actions are related to improved standard-setting procedures and increased interoperability. Europe must ensure that new IT devices, applications, data repositories and services interact seamlessly anywhere. The new standard
setting process that is in the making will allow referring to more standards in public procurement. A multi-stakeholder platform will develop a list of standards that can legally be used in public procurement bid (Action 21 of the Digital Agenda).
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: eProcurement Services for Businesses Interoperability Policy Regional and Local 7 - Country: EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=7690 12 - Tags: standards ICT procurement Digital Agenda Starred Content: News
Categories: IT
PT: Open data portal launched in beta version
2 - Summary:
The beta version of 'Dados.gov', a Portuguese open government platform which makes a wide range of data available to the general public, was launched on 24 November 2011.
3 - Description:'Dados.gov' is in line with the government strategy to promote a Public Administration (PA) that is increasingly open to participating and collaborating with citizens. The platform will enable access - automatically where possible - to raw datasets compiled by the PA. Confidential information and/or personal data are protected, and information is properly organised and made available to the public in electronic formats that allow easy reading, processing and interlinking.
'Dados.gov' promotes access to public information, transparency, collaboration and particularly to the creation by civil society of added value based on such data, through the development of applications or visualisation tools.
There are currently more than 120 datasets available from 14 public bodies concerning such topics as: election results; statistics on education and justice; direct State contracts; local government revenue and expenditure; information on trademarks, patents or registered domains. 'Dados.gov' is expected to grow as public bodies become aware of the project concept and its added value in terms of transparency and re-use of information, and also as civil society itself conforms to the concept by reusing available information.
Feliciano Barreiras Duarte, Deputy Secretary of State of the Deputy and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, released the beta version on the occasion of the 21st Congress of the Portuguese Association for Communications Development. 'Dados.gov' is an initiative of the Agency for the Public Services Reform (AMA) in cooperation with the municipal council of Lisbon.
Further information:
- Original news article - Agency for the Public Services Reform (in Portuguese)
- Dados.gov (in Portuguese)
-
Background information - ePractice eGovernment Factsheet for Portugal
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking eParticipation, eDemocracy and eVoting Services for Businesses Services for Citizens Infrastructure Legal Aspects User-centric Services 7 - Country: Portugal 9 - Source URL: http://www.ama.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=658&Itemid=44 12 - Tags: data access open government PSI re-use
Categories: IT
EU: Telecentre-Europe organises Get Online Week 2012
2 - Summary:
Get Online Week 2012 is a campaign organised by Telecentre-Europe between 26 and 30 March 2012, supported by the European Commission and a number of international organisations.
3 - Description:Get online week 2012 will bring together Telecentres in at least 50 countries across and beyond Europe to support at least 200 000 people in their online journeys. This year the Telecentre networks involved will use new learning products that will support the themes like:
- intergenerational learning,
- youth employability,
- active aging,
- civic participation
- social engagement.
In 2011, 112 000 people were reached by the campaign in which Neelie Kroes, the European Commission Vice President and Commissioner Responsible for the Digital Agenda, hailed Telecentre staff as 'heroes' in their work to help people get online and gain confidence in using computers and the internet.
Further Information:
4 - Domain: eInclusion 5 - Topic: Digital literacy and competences Geographical eInclusion ICT and Aging ICT and community development ICT and Marginalised youth Other 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: Pan european 9 - Source URL: www.getonlineweek.eu 12 - Tags: Telecentre-Europe get online week campaign
Categories: IT
LU: New eHealth Agency to start operations soon
2 - Summary:
An extraordinary general meeting of the HealthNet Economic Interest Group was held on 13 December 2011 that marks the end of the legal formation of Luxembourg's 'eHealth Agency'. The recruitment process of the Agency's key personnel has started with a view to launching operations rapidly.
3 - Description:The HealthNet Economic Interest Group (GIE, in French) was established in 2005 with the aim of enabling the exchange and the secured sharing of health data. The establishment of the eHealth Agency has thus been built on the extension of the GIE's role to new remits and the adoption of a new governance model.
The new governance model of HealthNet GIE, now renamed as 'eHealth GIE - National agency for shared information in the field of health' (in short, 'eHealth Agency') involves in the statutory and decisional bodies of the Agency the main actors of the health sectors and patient representatives, namely:
- Association of physicians and dental physicians (AMMD, in French)
- 'Patiente Vertriedung' Association, the single association for the defence of patient rights
- National Health Fund (Caisse nationale de santé - CNS, in French)
- Common social security centre (CCSS, in French)
- Confederation of assistance and healthcare providers (COPAS, in French);
- Coordination of Luxembourg's hospitals (Entente des hôpitaux luxembourgeois - EHL, in French)
- Luxembourg federation of medical analysis laboratories (FLLAM, in French)
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Social Security
- Association of Pharmacies of Luxembourg (Syndicat des pharmaciens luxembourgeois, in French)
The President of the Agency's management committee is Mr Paul Schimt, the head of CNS.
The Act of 12 December 2010 providing for the reform of the healthcare system foresees the creation of the 'National agency for shared information in the field of health'. The future remits of the eHealth Agency include:
- the establishment, at national level, of an eHealth platform and of its added value services, e.g. the patient's shared healthcare records folder (dossiers de soins partagé - DSP, in French), as well as the computerisation of other information flows (prescriptions, reports, referral letters, etc);
- the administrative and technical management of the platform and its services;
- defining interoperability and security frameworks for information systems in order to ensure the transmission of data between the various information systems of the healthcare sector;
- the establishment in the years to come of a 'Master Plan', a sort of common roadmap of strategic projects in the field of health that takes into account the country's health policy priorities as well as the needs of both healthcare staff and patients.
The Government of Luxembourg has put in place a National eHealth Programme in the framework of which a set of initial steps were taken with the sector's actors. In particular, the theme of health information systems' interoperability as a means to facilitate both the sharing and exchange of health data, has been widely explored. The first business services, e.g. exchange and national-level sharing of laboratory tests and X-ray results, have also been outlined.
From this preparatory work, a need arose for an IT platform enabling the exchange and sharing of health data. The aforementioned Act of 12 December 2010 also foresees the creation of a patient's shared healthcare records folder (dossiers de soins partagé - DSP, in French). The DSP is an electronic folder for sharing the patient's data which will be accessible to those professionals in charge of the patient, provided the latter will have granted prior authorisation to do so. Patients will also be able to access their records and place personal comments in a dedicated space.
The DSP will thus gather the patient's healthcare information originating from various sources, such as: primary care physicians, general practitioners, specialists, hospitals, analysis laboratories, etc. It will comprise information that contribute, directly or indirectly, to optimising treatment and care coordination. Only data identified as relevant and useful for sharing between professionals will be featured in the DSP.
The DSP will make it possible to access very quickly such information on the previous state of health of a patient, and thus contribute to the better coordination and safety of healthcare.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eHealth 5 - Topic: Continuity of care e-referral Electronic health records ePrescribing Hospital information systems ICT for disease prevention and health promotion ICT for patient safety Regional/national Health Information Networks 7 - Country: Luxembourg 9 - Source URL: http://www.gouvernement.lu/salle_presse/communiques/2011/12-decembre/13-agence/index.html 12 - Tags: eHealth Agency interoperability Patient Safety 13 - Sector: Healthcare Starred Content: News
Categories: IT
UK: Website launched to monitor London’s GP practices
2 - Summary:
A new website showing performance and patient satisfaction levels for London's general practitioner (GP) practices was launched on 8 December 2011.
3 - Description:The myhealthlondon website brings together data on a set of 22 standards developed by NHS London with Londonwide Local Medical Committees. Patients will be able to see how their own practice performs against national standards on such matters as childhood immunisations and cervical screening, as well as how they compare with other London practices.
Each practice will have its own myhealthlondon web page which can be customised to showcase their work and keep the public informed of clinics and services. Practices that already have websites can create a link to this page. The web page will also enable patients to provide feedback, and allows patient groups to provide information about support groups and services.
An NHS London statement said that the aim is to create an information hub that will constantly be developed like an "online newspaper focusing on health issues for Londoners".
NHS London chief executive Dame Ruth Carnall said the website would be a useful tool for patients to find out about services and contribute to discussions about how they might be improved. "For GPs, the website provides a platform to showcase their successes and learn from each other, contributing to our priority to continually develop a world class standard of healthcare for Londoners," she said.
The launch of myhealthlondon comes just a day after health secretary Andrew Lansley launched two online tools designed to give patients more information about their GPs and local care providers. One of these, which was modelled on the NHS London scheme, provides comparative outcome data for GP practices to the NHS Choices website.
Further information:
4 - Domain: eHealth 5 - Topic: Continuity of care Health portals Regional/national Health Information Networks 7 - Country: United Kingdom 9 - Source URL: http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/7391/myhealthlondon-gp-compare-site-launched 12 - Tags: General practitioners website benchmarking 13 - Sector: Healthcare
Categories: IT
SE: Lower IT budgets will push public administrations to open source
2 - Summary:
Cutting IT budgets of public administrations will push them to use more open source software, expects Daniel Melin, a procurement specialist at 'Statens Inköpscentral', the Swedish Central Procurement Agency, in his intervention during the Free Society and Nordic Summit Conference 2011 (FSCONS 2011) in November 2011.
3 - Description:Mr. Melin is closely involved in the development of a Framework Agreement that makes it easier for Sweden's public administrations to purchase IT services based on open source software from any of five pre-selected IT companies and their subcontractors. The Framework Agreement has made it easier for public administrations to procure IT services based on free and open source solutions, says Melin and cites recent numbers derived from edelegationen, a project that wants to make the public sector more accessible.
The numbers showed that free and open source office tools are used on 21% of all public administration desktop PCs. This type of software is even more commonly used for servers (43 %), for databases (39 %), and for operating systems (30 %). The draft legislation prepared by Statens Inköpscentral contains only a few clauses that are radically different from those in standard contracts, Melin said." These aim to create competition between suppliers, minimise risks for buyers and make sure that software developed with taxpayers' money is provided back to the community" he added.
The procurement specialist finds that most public authorities in Sweden don't really care which type of software is used. "Most just want to buy an application and use it. They don't bother with freedom or licenses or sharing or making good use of taxpayer's money. Some even think it increases their status if they buy expensive proprietary software."
Further Information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: eProcurement Interoperability Open Source Policy Regional and Local 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: Sweden 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/lower-it-budget-will-push-public-administrations-open-source 12 - Tags: public administrations open source software framework agreement
Categories: IT
EU: Shape the European Citizen Initiatives by contributing early
2 - Summary:
Fondation EurActiv PoliTech invites EU stakeholders to participate in the Pilot Phase of www.initiative.eu, an online community platform to federate European Citizen Initiatives (ECIs) and empower initiators to build support and alliances with relevant EU stakeholders prior to the official submission of their ECIs to the European Commission.
3 - Description:The ECI,
a new form of public participation in European Union policy shaping, will allow 1 million citizens from at least one quarter of the EU Member States to invite the European Commission to bring forward proposals for legal acts in areas where the Commission has the power to do so. The organisers of a citizens' initiative, a citizens' committee composed of at least seven EU citizens who are resident in at least seven different Member States, will have one year to collect the necessary statements of support. The number of statements of support has to be certified by the competent authorities in the Member States. The Commission will then have three months to examine the initiative and decide how
to act on it.
In this context, the main objectives of the Initiative.eu platform are to:
- empower (potential) initiators of ECIs to open a deliberative online space for their respective ECI ideas, and to invite EU stakeholders to support and give input in the formulation of their initiatives;
- help the various stakeholders across Europe to
federate their initiatives; - improve the quality and effectiveness of the ECIs in making, to increase their chances to get support from 1 million citizens in at least seven member states.
The closed pilot phase of Initiative.eu started in December 2011 and will run until 26 January
2012. The users of Initiative.eu during this phase will position themselves as early members of the ECI community and thus have the opportunity to gain useful insights.
Initiative.eu will be officially launched on 26 January 2012 at the 'European Citizens' Initiative - Warm-up Conference' hosted by Maroš Šef?ovi?, European Commission Vice-President and commissioner responsible for the ECI. At the
event, Initiative.eu will be present in the Social Networks Panel next
to representatives from main social media websites. The first day to officially register an ECI in the European Commission's online portal will be 1 April 2012.
Registered users will be able to:
- Act
- ECI
initiators can create a space to grow their ECI and gather support - Debate
- submit ideas
on the ECI debates of their choice - Support
- as
stakeholders, they can follow the ECIs of their choice - Join
- create
a profile and participate in the ECI polls, surveys and all of
the above - Explore
and provide
feedback
Likewise, participants will be able to use the power of social
media to build alliances with like-minded stakeholders, to engage in
constructive debates on EU policy issues, to launch their own ECI, to
find similar ECIs across the EU or simply to follow what will be the
hottest EU policy topics in 2012.
For Pilot Phase initiators, a space of deliberation and presentation will be created for their ECI, with information available on the Internet. As soon as they
are registered to Initiative.eu, they will be granted administrator rights for their
dedicated online space where they will be able to modify and add content
related to their ECI and to moderate discussions.
In order to register to Initiative.eu, one must sign
up at http://www.initiative.eu/signup and fill in their profile with a picture
and information about themselves or their organisation. Any questions regarding
the registration or the use of the platform can be sent to the Initiative.eu
Team by email.
Background information
The Lisbon
Treaty introduces a new form of public participation in European Union policy
shaping, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). As required by the Treaty, on
a proposal from the European Commission, the European Parliament and the
Council adopted a Regulation which defines the rules and procedure governing
this new instrument (Regulation (EU) No. 211/2011 of the European Parliament
and of the Council 16 February 2011 on the citizens' initiative).
Further information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: eParticipation, eDemocracy and eVoting Services for Citizens High Impact Services with Pan-European Scope Legal Aspects Policy User-centric Services 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: Pan european EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: www.initiative.eu 12 - Tags: eParticipation web 2.0 European Citizens Initiative Starred Content: News
Categories: IT
ES/EU: Cenatic: developing software in communities of public administrations
2 - Summary:
Public administrations should, when building their own applications, collaborate in creating communities of open source developers, recommends Miguel Jaque Barbero, the managing director of Cenatic, during the workshop organised by the European Commission's ISA Programme on 12 January 2012 in the context of the Open Source World Conference.
3 - Description:Jaque Barbero would like public authorities to create their own communities in order to share applications' development and maintenance costs. Such communities will increase interoperability, by making and using open source applications, argues Jaque Barbero. This type of software allows faster development and quicker diffusion, he adds. "(The alternative) takes years, by building new interfaces or standards" concludes Mr. Barbero.
The director was one of the speakers in a workshop on public administrations and open source communities that took place in Granada, Spain. The workshop was organised by the European Commission's ISA programme, and coincided with the Open Source World Conference.
Cenatic's director says that communities formed by public administrations differ from other groups involving open source developers. These communities evolve voluntarily, but public administrations can actively identify and contact similar organisations that could be interested, across regions and countries. "Public authorities should actually plan their community", he said, "and take into account a technical roadmap, financing, marketing and quality control".
The first step of public administrations taking up open source software is usually re-use, according to Jaque Barbero. Next comes sharing applications with other public administrations, and making it publicly available. In the final, third stage, of this evolution, public administrations collaborate on applications with the motto: "It's not my software. It's our software"
Further Information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking Infrastructure Interoperability Open Source Policy 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: Spain EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/cenatic-developing-software-communities-public-administrations 12 - Tags: public administrations open software open source communities
Categories: IT
NO/EU: Hosting makes open source easier for public administrations
2 - Summary:
Britt Inger Kolset, coordinator for SuksIt, an IT project by seven municipalities in the Kongsberg region in Norway, supports that hosted collections of open source IT applications will make it easier for public administrations to use this type of software. The example of the Kongsberg region was presented during the workshop organised by the European Commission's ISA Programme on 12 January 2012 in Granada, Spain, in the context of the Open Source World Conference.
3 - Description:SuksIt last year helped found Friprogforeningen (Free Software Association in Norwegian), an organisation that aims to develop and manage free software for use in public administrations.
Friprogforeningen is considering offering Norway's municipalities several open source applications, including the Redmine project management suite, Limesurvey, for managing surveys online, and the print queue management tool Bifrost. According to Inger: "Hosting these applications is something commercial IT service providers should consider. It makes it a lot easier for small public administrations to switch to using open source tools."
Friprogforeningen is already hosting one of Norway's most successful open source projects, Frikomport. This open source online course management tool developed by the Kongsberg region is now used by some seventy municipalities, universities and other organisations in the country, Britt Inger said in a presentation at the Open Source World Conference in Granada, Spain, in the workshop organised by the European Commission's ISA programme (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations).
The Frikomport code is made available as open source, using the GPL licence. But organisations prefer to use the online hosted version, Inger notices. "The hosted service carries a very low cost, of €750 per year". The more municipalities join in the using and development of such tools, the lower the costs, she explained. "Sharing development costs is a very important motive for our community of municipalities. A programmer will cost us about €115 per hour. Sharing these between sixty municipalities it comes down to a mere €2 per hour. This would not be possible if we didn't have a sustainable community", she concludes.
Further Information:
4 - Domain: eGovernment 5 - Topic: Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking Services for Businesses Infrastructure Open Source Regional and Local 6 - Languages: English 7 - Country: Norway EU Institutions 9 - Source URL: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/hosting-makes-open-source-easier-public-administrations 12 - Tags: Hosting public administrations open source applications
Categories: IT