Metadata and eGovernment The Danish Approach and Experience

Palle AagaardNational IT and Telecom Agency, Denmark

ERPANET training SeminarSeptember 3-5, 2003; Marburg

About the speaker

Chair of the Danish eGovernment WG for Information and Documentation (metadata)

Member Advisory Committee Dublin Core Member Advisory Board for MIReG (Management

Information Resources for eGovernment) Co-chair Dublin Core Government WG Has worked with Danish eGovernment usability

guidelines for public web-sites Has a background in information and library science

About the next 30 minutes

Metadata and Danish eGovernment The past and the present The building process and organization International relations The projects and initiatives Something about the future

The metadata approach in eGovernmentThe purpose

InteroperabilityFree flow of information

The metadata approach in eGovernment

Why interoperability?Improve quality: Connecting ”all” information and resources Improve possibilities for the use of information and

resources from different sources and stored in different ways

Minimize costs: Easy re-use of information and resources ”Full automatic” handling the information and

resources

Why interoperability. Example free flow

Information

Resource

Document

ERMsystem

ERMsystem

CMS CMS

Internet

Internet

PublishedPaper

PublishedPaper

Archivesystem

Library

Co-operation of institutions

Exchange of information

Why interoperability. Example free access to information

InternetInternet

Archivesystem

LibrarysystemERM

system

CMS

Metadata + resources

MetadataMetadata + resources

One access to information

The metadata approach in eGovernment

What was/is the challengeInteroperability - free flow of information: not depending on media not depending on system not depending on sector or

administrative level not depending on content or type of

information

The metadata approach in eGovernment

What was illustrated about free flow and free acces – interoperability - is only possible with:

Standardized metadata

The metadata approach in eGovernment

The ideal situation A comprehensive metadata element model

and framework is defined and established – ´a priory

”Users” know about the model and framework and just pick from it when needed

The metadata model and framework in use is internationally standardized

The metadata approach in eGovernment

The real situation Only some models exists – and they are

often not co-ordinated (mapped) If models exist they are often not in use by

actual working systems If there are common European models and

framework – there is only little knowledge about them

The past in Denmark How was the situation

There was already launched several projects for services etc. Some very succesfull

But they was not co-ordinated In the metadata-area there was no common

eGovernment standard eGovernment was isolated islands of

information

The past in DenmarkSome initiatives

OIO preliminary metadata survey – spring 2001 (OIO = Open public Information Online)

A decision for using XML when transporting data between IT-systems – summer 2001

An organization for the XML initiative The Infostructurebase was initiated. A XML-

schema and eGov standards repository

XML-initiative in DenmarkThe organization

XML-CommitteeXML-secretariate

Standardization groupDokForm

Standardization groupKey-elements

Infostructure databaseXML secretariate

Board

State, Municipalities, Counties

Experts from State, Municipalities, Counties

COP COP

COP = Community of Practise. Domain specific work

Standardization groupsBasic and central work

The Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is the vital factot in it all

2 years of work

The XML infostructure database was established – launched March 2003

The workgroups finished their initial standardization work

Several projects and work groups delivered XML schemas to the Infostructurebase describing data-interfaces

The present in DenmarkXML and the Infostructurebase

The present in DenmarkInfostructurebase repository

The present in DenmarkMetadata models in the

standards repository

XML-initiative DenmarkDokForm group

The Danish Government WG for Information and Documentation

Tasks at the moment: Metadata standardization regarding

information – elements and encoding schemes

Metadata core for exchange between ERM systems

Standardization (mark-up) for documents and legislation

DokForm groupHow do it work

Use international standards: Dublin Core MIReG (from EU IDA programme) Moreq (from EU IDA programme)Use local expertise: Experts in the group Hearing industry – solution vendors Hearing relevant community

DokForm groupWhat was/are the obstacles

MIReG (Managing Information Resources for eGovernment) the EU-IDA work item was not finished. Risk: lack of international interoperability

An almost total lack of appropriate encoding schemes (except for dates and language). Risk: lack of interoperability

Standardization in areas with a lot of practise but no standards. Risk: a lot of discussion and some has to change registration rutines and perhaps gets extra work

The metadata approach in eGovernment

A Danish example 1Task: Make a metadata core for exchange of

metadata between ERM systemsRessources: 7 meetings. 2 public hearing processes Time: A little yearResults: Agreement about 17 elements. And the

knowledge that many encoding schemes do not exist

DokForm groupWhat is the outcome

Metadata core for exchange between ERM systems – in XML

OIO subject scheme – in XML XML schemes for the structure of letters,

mails, notes, agendas and minutes XML schemes for the generic structure of

Danish legislation Chosen the authority file for corporation an

d institution names (”encoding scheme”)

Standardization in the area of eGovernment information and

documentationFuture work

Endorsing MIReG Look more closely in the area of encoding

schemes A comprensive metadata model for an

almost complete ERM systems Maintaining the core for ERM systems for

special use

The metadata approach for eGovernment in Denmark

Relevant links

www.oio.dkhttp://isb.oio.dkwww.netsteder.dk