1. How the ISA Programme can help build
consensus on semantic interoperability
e-SENS kick-off meeting, Berlin, 10 April 2013
ISA Programme
Action 1.1 - Semantic Interoperability
Stijn.Goedertier@pwc.be

2. Agenda
0. About the ISA Programme
1. Document reusable building blocks with ADMS
2. Re-use the Core Vocabularies
3. Re-use ISA’s frameworks, tools, and services

3. ISA undertakes initiatives
to foster interoperability
of information exchanges
by public administrations
What is interoperability?
Ability of disparate organisations to
interact towards mutually beneficial
and agreed goals, involving the
sharing of information and
knowledge

4. The EIF defines 4 interoperability layers
Political context
Legal
• Aligned legislation
interoperability
Organisational
• Coordinated processes
Interoperability
Semantic
• Precise meaning of information
Interoperability
Technical
• Technical linking of systems
Interoperability

5. ISA Programme Action 1.1: semantic
interoperability
Raise awareness: organise conferences,
1 workshops, news items, events, ...
Encourage reuse: make collections of re-
2 usable assets searchable on Joinup.
Exploit opportunities for semantic
3 alignment: build consensus on core
vocabularies.
Provide insight into frameworks and
4 methodologies: conduct case studies and pilot
implementations.

6. Collaboration between ISA Action 1.1
and e-SENS WP6.2
• Period: April 2013 – June 2013
• Possible areas of collaboration:
1. 1. Document reusable building blocks with ADMS.
2. 2. Re-use the Core Vocabularies.
3. 3. Re-use ISA’s frameworks, tools, and services.

7. Agenda
0. About the ISA Programme
1. Document reusable building blocks with ADMS
2. Re-use the Core Vocabularies
3. Re-use ISA’s frameworks, tools, and services

8. Creating optimal
conditions for re-use.
What is needed to make an asset re-usable?
★ Applicability
eGov interoperability, re-use, compatibility,...
★ Maturity
Development status, quality, stability, ...
★ Openness
Creation and change process, availability, ...
★ IPR
Documented, FRAND or royalty free.
Benefits of reuse
★ Market support
Implementations, users, ...  Cost savings
 Coherent Architecture
★ Potential
Impact, risks, maintenance, ...  Interoperability
Common Assessment Method of Standards and Specifications (CAMSS)

9. What can be re-used?
Possible building blocks for the LSPs
• e-CODEX’ Data Model Governance
• ePSOS’ Master Value Set Catalogue
• PEPPOL’s/SPOCS’ Virtual Company Dossier
• SPOCS’ Omnifarious Container format
• STORK’s Technical Design
• STORK ‘s Integration Packages
• CIPA e-Delivery
• ETSI Rem
• OASIS BDX TC BusDoX Specifications

10. Describe your
interoperability assets
with ADMS
Asset Description Metadata Schema (ADMS)
• Re-usable building blocks = re-usable
interoperability assets.
• Describe e-SENS building blocks only once with
the ADMS vocabulary and publish them
everywhere.
• Escape the data jail.
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/asset/adms/description

11. Share your collection of
re-usable interoperability
assets with Joinup
The Joinup Team
will help you
identify the best
1Contact the Joinup team
way to describe
your assets with
ADMS.
Describe your
2 Describe your assets
assets using the
ADMS and export
them into an RDF
file. using ADMS
Propose a federated
repository on Joinup,
3 Import your
and upload the
ADMS RDF file or
configure a harvest
URL. descriptions on Joinup
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/cesar/description

12. Find reusable
interoperability assets on
Joinup
Enter a search keyword to find
1 interoperability assets available on
different websites.
Refine the
search results
via the faceted
2
search filters. The search results
contain a relevant
3 description of the
assets and the link
from where they
can be downloaded.
1500 interoperability assets
20 partner organisations
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/catalogue/all

13. EFIR: European Federated
Interoperability Repository
• Extend ADMS towards other interoperability
layers
• Participate in our Webinar on 24 April
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/64526

14. Agenda
0. About the ISA Programme
1. Document reusable building blocks with ADMS
2. Re-use the Core Vocabularies
3. Re-use ISA’s frameworks, methodologies, tools,
and services

15. European Interoperability Framework
• Recommendation 12. Public
administrations, when working to
establish European public
services, should develop
interfaces to authentic sources
and align them at semantic and
technical level.

16. Core vocabularies
Simplified, re-usable, and
extensible data models that
capture the fundamental
characteristics of a data entity
in a context-neutral fashion.
CORE
PUBLIC
SERVICE
VOCABULARY
Process and Methodology for Developing Core Vocabularies

17. Consensus building
Process and Methodology for
developing core vocabularies
• More than 60 WG members
• 21 EU Member States
• Many international experts
• Public review period
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/43160

18. 3 representation formats
Core vocabularies
Concept RDF XML
model schema schema
Re-use Re-uses Re-uses Core
existing existing Components
concepts in Linked Data Technical
CCL, INSPIRE, vocabularies Specification
etc. (CCTS).
ISA Open Metadata Licence v1.1
Maintained by W3C (Government Linked Data Working Group)

19. Core Person Vocabulary
Core Person Vocabulary
• Basic properties for a person.
• Re-used by e-CODEX.
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/asset/core_person/description

20. Core Business Vocabulary
Registered Organisation Vocabulary
• Renamed by W3C GLD into “Registered
Organisation” (specialises the ORG ontology).
• Good basic company data for everyone (URI,
legal identifier, name, company type, activities).
• Informs DG Markt – interconnecting business
registers (Directive 2012/17/EU).
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/asset/core_business/description

21. Core Public Service
Vocabulary
Core public service vocabulary
Bridge the gap between the supply and demand of
electronic public services.
Describe public services “only once” using a
standard vocabulary and make them searchable
on many governmental Access Portals.
Participate in our pilot (as simple as filling in a
spreadsheet).
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/asset/core_public_service/description

22. Core Location Vocabulary
Core Location Vocabulary
• Subset of the INSPIRE address specification.
• A linked data service can be implemented on top
of an INSPIRE representation.
• Address notation.
• Taken on board by the W3C location and address
community.

23. Core Location Vocabulary
Today address data is
fragmented across
various registers
DATA CONSUMER
Lack of common identifiers
Unlinked
Low quality Heterogeneous data formats
Non-interoperable
? Data fragmentation
UrBIS - Brussels CRAB - Flanders PICC - Wallonia NGI – National Civil register
Capital Region Geographic Institute
Core Location Pilot: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/63242

24. Core Location Vocabulary
The pilot Link
demonstrates Look up
interconnection of Address Address
base address
Identifier Notation
DATA CONSUMER Disambiguate
registers
lookup, disambiguate, link
DATA CONSUMER ORIENTED
USE CASES
SPARQL endpoint
Linked address data
Common Data models
INSPIRE
RDF
Repository
LOGD INFRASTRUCTURE
sample address data in native format
UrBIS - Brussels CRAB - Flanders PICC - Wallonia NGI – National Civil register
Capital Region Geographic Institute
Core Location Pilot: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/63242

25. Agenda
0. About the ISA Programme
1. Document reusable building blocks with ADMS
2. Re-use the Core Vocabularies
3. Re-use ISA’s frameworks, tools, and services

26. What can be re-used?
Joinup Licensing Framework
• The Joinup Licensing
Framework establishes a system
for:
• 1. the co-creation of assets on
the Joinup platform, the ISA
Contributor Agreement
v1.1, and
• 2. a licensing model, the ISA
Open Metadata Licence v1.1.
http://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/45058

27. What can be re-used?
Process and Methodology for reaching semantic
agreements
Process
Create and Reach
Endorsement
Assign roles and Establish a review drafts agreement on
of the Shared
responsibilities subgroup (at least 2 a Shared Data
Data Model
iterations) Model
Methodology
Compare Develop a
Identify data Implement
Agree on the selected existing Shared Data
entities and Shared Data
Use Cases description Model (at least
sources Model
models 2 iterations)
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/61062

28. Common Web identifiers
for basic data
10 rules URIs for persistent
Follow the pattern Avoid stating ownership
e.g. http://{domain}/{type}/{concept}/{reference} e.g. http://education.data.gov.uk/ministryofeducation/id/school/123456
Re-use existing identifiers Avoid version numbers
e.g. http://education.data.gov.uk/id/school/123456 e.g. http://education.data.gov.uk/doc/school/v01/123456
Link multiple representations Avoid using auto-increment
e.g. http://data.example.org/doc/foo/bar.html e.g. http://education.data.gov.uk/id/school1/123456
e.g. http://data.example.org/doc/foo/bar.rdf e.g. http://education.data.gov.uk/id/school1/123457
Implement 303 redirects for Avoid query strings
real-world objects
e.g. http://education.data.gov.uk/doc/school?id=123456
Use a dedicated service Avoid file extensions
i.e. independent of the data originator http://education.data.gov.uk/doc/schools/123456.csv
e.g. data.gov.uk and publications.europa.eu are decoupled from
specific government department and could readily be transferred and
run by someone else if necessary.
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/53858

29. What can be re-used?
Use Joinup as a collaborative work environment
Joinup provides wikis, news items, events,
mailman mailing lists, subversion, WebDav,
signing of contributor agreements,etc.
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/page/our_services

30. Project Officers:
Vassilios.Peristeras@ec.europa.eu
Szabolcs.Szekacs@ec.europa.eu
Contractors: Joao.Frade@pwc.be, Stijn.Goedertier@pwc.be
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