Digital Europe Programme
Organisation | European Commission, DG DIGIT
My Role | Communications Strategy, Editorial Planning, Content Management
How can governments harness big data to build public trust and generate public value?
Part 1: Interoperable Europe.
As the Communications Lead at DG DIGIT (European Commission), I was in charge of developing public-facing communication assets to help execute the rebranding of ISA² (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) as Interoperable Europe, emphasising EU's commitment to building a more cohesive and connected European Union through interoperable public services.
ISA² was a program launched in 2016 to support the implementation of European Union (EU) legislation related to the development of interoperable digital solutions across EU public administrations. The project aimed to standardize the data formats and protocols used by different public administrations across the EU to enable seamless data sharing and communication among them. While the program itself was successful, ISA² as a moniker didn't adequately convey the Commission’s broader goal of promoting digital innovation and transformation in the EU.
The rebranding of ISA² as Interoperable Europe better reflects the program's emphasis on promoting the interoperability of digital solutions across EU public administrations and its broader impact on the development of a more interconnected, seamless, and efficient digital ecosystem, enabling citizens to interact with public services in a more streamlined and efficient manner. The move also underlines the shift in the Commission's focus from technical solutions to broader issues of policy and governance.
Digital public services.
The primary objective of this communication campaign was to raise awareness about the benefits of interoperability and position Interoperable Europe as the go-to source for all information related to interoperability. The rebranding also reflects the changing nature of the EU's digital landscape, with an increasing focus on open data, digital transformation, and the development of a European Data Space.
Interoperability allows for seamless and secure data exchange and cross-border collaboration between different public administrations, thereby facilitating the provision of public services that are accessible to all citizens, regardless of their location or the specific system they use. It also reduces duplication of effort and enables more streamlined service delivery.
This will, in turn, lead to greater trust and confidence in digital public services,
A major shift in EU’s digital agenda.
In effect, the rebranding of ISA² as Interoperable Europe represents a major shift in the way public services are designed, developed, and delivered across the EU. It also speaks to a broader restructuring of the Commission's digital agenda, with a focus on creating a more streamlined and coherent framework for promoting digital innovation and transformation across all sectors of the economy.
By breaking down silos and enabling data to flow seamlessly across different systems and applications, interoperability will play a critical role in driving innovation and growth across the EU, and improving the quality of services delivered to citizens, businesses, and public administrations alike.
One-stop portal.
As part of my editorial responsibilities, I also developed a one-stop Joinup portal for Interoperable Europe, focussing on content guidelines and editorial principles to inspire all future messaging from the European Commission on data-driven public administration. This portal, in conjunction with a monthly newsletter, now serves as an active, end-to-end resource for the Commission’s progress on interoperablility in the public sector.
European Commission’s digest of all things interoperable.
The transformative rebranding of ISA² to Interoperable Europe fostered a 34% increase in web traffic and an 18% boost in brand recognition. Additionally, a 25% uptake in newsletter subscription rate and a 28% dip in the Joinup portal’s bounce rate were recorded, reinforcing user engagement and interest in the content.
Part 2: Public administration powered by data.
21st century governments must deliver on the promises of the digital age. As the EU prepares itself for the Digital Decade, a data revolution continues to sweep through the public sector. This has in turn empowered public administrations to be more receptive to the enormous potential of meaningful data in boosting the delivery of public services, forecasting social needs more efficiently and building a culture of transparency and trust with citizens.
The Big Data Test Infrastructure platform (BDTI) was created by the European Commission as part of the Digital Europe Programme (DEP), with the goal to accelerate the digital transformation of the European Union, increasing the easy availability, quality and usability of public sector data in compliance with the requirement of the Open Data Directive.
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BDTI is a free of charge, open-source, cloud-based data analytics platform provided by the European Commission to all national, regional and local European Public Administrations to allow them to experiment with open-source technologies in a safe and controlled environment, and to test and prototype solutions for a period of six months before deploying them in the production environment on their own premises.
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This way, the platform offers European Public Administrators the opportunity to derive valuable insights from public sector information and accelerate their transition towards data-driven decision making. From detecting whether agricultural grasslands in Estonia have been mowed or not using image recognition data, to automating social assistance decisions like unemployment benefits for a Swedish municipality, to reducing misuse of public funding in the Netherlands and detecting false police reports in the Spanish national police information system, BDTI has been successfully deployed to harness the potential of big data in public administration.
As the lead resource in charge of DG DIGIT’s data communications piece, I was also tasked with curating a series of webinars, How-to manuals and case studies around BDTI for some of the most influential public administrators and GovTech leaders across the EU.
Data: From Hype to Action
The first webinar in this series, titled ‘Data: From Hype to Action’ was an opportunity to learn about the services offered by BDTI, the benefits it offers to public administrations across EU and the steps needed to apply for a pilot project. Hosted on the European Commission’s internal platform, its primary goal was to illustrate how the public sector can push the limits of what’s possible with open data and cloud-based infrastructures.
During my tenure at the European Commission, I organised and hosted 100+ webinars and case study sessions on the ins and outs of user-centric messaging in digital public services, drawing an audience of 500+ public administrators from across the EU, each time. These sessions have played a crucial role in simplifying complex tech communication to boost service delivery and citizen engagement, as evidenced by a 25% surge in pilot projects harnessing data for public good.
Supercharging the public sector.
The best part of it all: the opportunity to supercharge the public sector by improving decision-making systems, enhancing service delivery, increasing efficiency and effectiveness, reducing costs, and improving citizen engagement.
BDTI is one of the most eloquent testimonies of how the European Commission supports data-driven innovation in line with the Digital Europe strategy. My close collaboration with public administrators across the EU enabled me to transform intricate technology narratives into clear, approachable, and actionable communication assets.