This document discusses using a lightweight approach to reduce the gap between ambitious interoperability plans and reality in the public sector. It uses the example of Los, a controlled thesaurus vocabulary arranged in a faceted classification and expressed using Dublin Core metadata standards. Los has been adopted by 100 of Norway's 430 municipalities to enable cross-sector and cross-organization information exchange. While waiting for updated interoperability frameworks to provide guidelines, lightweight solutions like Los that focus on practical simplicity over theoretical perfection can help bridge the gap between interoperability ambitions and on-the-ground implementation in the public sector.

1. Interoperability in Public Sector
- How Use of a Lightweight Approach Can
Reduce the Gap Between Plans and Reality
- Svein Ølnes, Western Norway Research Institute (Vestforsk), Norway

2. Interoperability?
Norwegian Swiss
www.vestforsk.no

3. Content
 Main question answered
 What a difference a little semantics can do
 The troublesome gap between plans and reality
 Los – An example of a lightweight approach
 Conclusions and further research
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4. Main question answered
 There is a huge gap between plans and reality when it
comes to functional interoperability in public sector
 Are the ambitions too high?
 Part of the solution: A lightweight approach
 “as simple as possible”
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5. What a difference a little semantics can do
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6. What a difference a little semantics can do
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7. Gap between plans and reality
 European level (Codagnone and Wimmer, 2007):
 Although a lot of attention is already been paid to interoperability,
the gaps in this storyline were assessed as very high and relevant
according to the eGovernance model.
 Norway
 Framework for service oriented architecture proposed 2007
 Not much has happened since
 The Government is struggling with how to deal with this issue
 In the mean time a lot of trials and errors (for instance the Seres I
and II example by the National Registry Centre (Brønnøysund
Register Centre)
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8. Interoperability - definitions
 Definition 1 (EIF 1.0):
 Interoperability means the ability of information and communication
technology (ICT) systems and of the business processes they support
to exchange data and to enable the sharing of information and
knowledge.
 Definition 2 (EIF 2.0):
 Interoperability is the ability of disparate and diverse organisations to
interact towards mutually beneficial and agreed common goals,
involving the sharing of information and knowledge between the
organizations via the business processes they support, by means of
the exchange of data between their respective information and
communication technology (ICT) systems.
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9. Increasing complexity in frameworks
 EIF 1.0 (2004)
 Organisational interoperability
 Semantic i.o.
 Technical i.o.
 EIF 2.0 (draft, 2008)
 Revision of EIF 1.0 started
in 2006 – still no final update
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10. Comparison to the development of HTML5
 xhtml 1.0
 HTML 4.01 expressed in xml syntacs
 xhtml 1.1
 Pure xml
 xhtml 2.0
 a shiny new and bright standard “relieved from the HTML sufferings”
 full support for the semantic web
 no backwards compatibility
 a disaster!
 HTML5
 the browser developers in charge
 support for Microformats rather than the full semantic web
 pragmatics rather than theoretical perfection
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11. Los – A lightweight approach to interoperability
 Los – Norwegian for “Navigator at sea”
 aided navigation in a sea of information
 A thesauri for public services
 controlled vocabulary arranged as a thesauri
 ca. 400 keywords + ca. 1 500 synonyms, outdated terms ++
 faceted classification
 expressed in the Dublin Core metadata standard
 Exchange of information between sectors and organisations
 Cross sector: Between government agencies and municipalities
 Between organisations in the same sector
 Primarily used in the municipalities
www.vestforsk.no 100 (of 430) municipalities uses Los in their portals
 ca.

12. Los – structure
Tema = Theme
Emneord = Keyword
Nettressurs = Net resources
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13. Los – examples of use in municipality portals
Bergen
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14. Los – examples of use in municipality portals
Sørum
Førde
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15. Classification and Categorisation
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16. Conclusions and further research
 We are waiting for guidelines (ref. EIF 2.0 and other
frameworks)
 In the mean time: Shed light on the good examples
 Is there too little emphasis on “simple” solutions?
 “Top down” or “bottom up”?
 How does lightweight approaches go together with more
demanding interoperability initiatives and frameworks?
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17. End of presentation
Thanks!
Contact information
Svein Ølnes – sol@vestforsk.no
www.vestforsk.no