The purpose of this Communication is to present the findings and recommendations of the final evaluation of the implementation of Decision 2004/387/EC (the IDABC programme). The evaluation focuses on issues of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, utility, sustainability and coherence. The paper discusses to what extent the programme has measured up to these criteria. Apart from specific questions linked to these evaluation issues, two cross-cutting questions were raised in relation to:

the current state of progress of the actions funded by the IDABC programme, and co-ordination with and involvement of Member States.

Overall the Commission considers that the programme is in line with the eGovernment Policy priorities of the European Commission, plays a unique role within the European instruments to foster the integration of Europe through interoperable public administrations and is on track in the implementation of actions.

Efforts to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the programme should concentrate on:

· the strategic environment in which the programme should operate : the evaluation suggests raising the programme's profile in order to increase its political standing and enhance awareness at national level. In the context of the proposal for the IDABC follow-on programme, ISA, the Commission has suggested that Member States nominate management committee members at the level of the national Chief Information Officer. The Commission is in the process of developing a European Interoperability Strategy (EIS) which will form the basis of the ISA programme. In addition to the EIS, the ISA programme will be based on the European Interoperability Framework (EIF), which is in the process of being completed. Priorities established in the EIS will be translated into concrete actions which will form the basis of the rolling ISA work programme covering the duration of the programme (6 years);

· stakeholder communication tools: the evaluation highlights the importance of putting in place appropriate communication and consultation mechanisms for interacting with stakeholders, in particular policy sectors and Member States, but also the ICT industry. These mechanisms should be used, as an example, for discussing the sustainability of different actions with Member States. The Commission will intensify the communication efforts made by the IDABC programme in the future ISA programme. A communication strategy will be developed, targeting various stakeholders, such as administrations at various levels, industry, standardisation organisation and open source communities;

· development of monitoring methods: for future programmes the evaluation recommends that the appropriate contractual frameworks be put in place in due time, to avoid the risk of a delayed start to the actions. The Commission outlines the indicators in the ISA proposal and discusses its plans for the monitoring of individual actions.

The Commission will take all recommendations into consideration in the implementation of the ISA programme, as well as, for the actions still to be implemented in the remaining period of the IDABC programme, to the extent this is possible in the current time-frame.

COM(2009)0247
EUR-Lex

This document consists of a Commission Recommendation on data protection guidelines for the Internal Market Information System (IMI).

Decision 2004/387/EC on the interoperable delivery of pan-European eGovernment services to public administrations, businesses and citizens (IDABC) provides for the implementation of projects of common interest, in order to enable the efficient, effective and secure interchange of information between public administrations at all appropriate levels, as well as between such administrations and the Community institutions or other entities as appropriate.

In March 2006, Member States representatives in the Internal Market Advisory Committee approved the Global Implementation Plan for the Internal Market Information System (IMI) and its development aimed at improving communication among Member State administrations.

Further to this approval, the Commission decided on the financing and setting up of the Internal Market Information System as a project of common interest by adopting a number of Decisions. IMI is a software application accessible via the Internet designed by the European Commission in cooperation with the Member States. Its main goal is to assist Member States with the practical implementation of EU legislation that provides for mutual assistance and administrative cooperation.

IMI currently supports exchanges of information under the Professional Qualifications Directive and it will also support exchanges of information under the Services Directive from the end of 2009. In the future it may support exchanges of information for additional legislative areas of the Internal Market.

Commission Decision 2008/49/EC of 12 December 2007 concerning the implementation of the Internal Market Information System (IMI) as regards the protection of personal data laid down the functions, rights and obligations of the IMI actors and IMI users. Further to the adoption of this Decision, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an opinion where it called for the adoption of a legal instrument, preferably in the form of a Council and Parliament Regulation. However, in several meetings and in an exchange of letters between the EDPS and the Commission services it was agreed to follow a step by step approach which would start with the adoption of data protection guidelines , to be drawn up in close consultation with the EDPS.

Therefore, the Commission recommends the Member States to:

take steps to ensure the implementation of the guidelines in the Annex among actors and users of IMI; encourage national IMI coordinators to make contacts with their national Data Protection Authorities for guidance and assistance on the best way to implement these guidelines under national law; provide feedback to the European Commission on the implementation of the guidelines in the Annex, not later than nine months after the adoption of this Recommendation and with the assistance of the national IMI coordinators. This feedback will be taken into account by the European Commission in a report it will draw up not later than one year after the adoption of this Recommendation in which it will assess the data protection situation in IMI as well as the content and timeliness of any future measures including the possible adoption of a legal instrument.

C(2009)2041

The purpose of this communication is to present the findings and recommendations of the evaluation of the implementation of the IDABC programme, in accordance with Article 13(2)-(4) of the IDABC Decision. The evaluation was performed by the Commission with the assistance of a team of independent experts from a consultancy company. The evaluation was largely positive describing the IDABC programme as having a global very high quality. However, it highlights a few shortcomings that it recommends for consideration in the further implementation of the programme.

To recall, the IDABC programme provides funding to actions under two headings, namely Projects of Common Interest and Horizontal Measures, which are listed in the rolling IDABC work programme. Projects of Common Interest are actions in the policy areas of the EU concerning the establishment or enhancement of pan-European eGovernment services in support of public administrations, businesses and citizens. Horizontal Measures are actions designed to support Projects of Common Interest and eGovernment in general.

Findings:

Relevance: all the data gathered for the evaluation point to a very satisfactory level of relevance for the IDABC programme. The evaluation found that the IDABC programme’s objectives and planned actions are fully in line with the needs and priorities established at EU level by the Lisbon objectives. The IDABC programme generally contributes directly to broader objectives such as the facilitation of innovation and the uptake of ICT as well as to more specific objectives such as the creation of a more mobile workforce, e.g. by providing information services facilitating movements across borders. 5.2. Efficiency: the evaluation notes that an in-depth analysis of efficiency at this stage is premature, given the general and understandably low level of progress of the programme at this early stage. Nonetheless, based on the data gathered from the survey, the evaluation tentatively judges the way the resources are used to implement the activities satisfactory from an economic point of view.

Effectiveness: the IDABC programme is still in its early stages, and a detailed appraisal of the benefits yielded is not yet feasible. Nonetheless, it is possible to make hypotheses regarding the future evolution of the actions. The majority of Projects of Common Interest are considered likely to deliver according to schedule, whereas the Horizontal Measures are generally expected to require either extra help or extended durations, primarily due to a late start, lengthy procedures and staff shortage. However promising levels of effectiveness are likely to be achieved by both Projects of Common Interest and Horizontal Measures.

Utility: the sort of eGovernment services provided by the IDABC programme are considered unique, as the need for common pan-European telematic interfaces across public administrations is not satisfied by any other programme or initiative in the same manner. Member States that have joined the EU in the last enlargement are in particular extremely satisfied with the services provided, not least since IDABC offers them a way to improve their own telematic infrastructures and services. Stakeholders do not seem to have a consensual view on whether administrations are a sufficient and satisfactory target group or whether efforts to satisfy needs of businesses and citizens should be increased.

Coherence: there appears to be a good level of internal coherence between the measures supported by the IDABC programme. IDABC actions contribute to the programme’s objectives following a holistic approach. The coherence of the programme vis-à-vis the other Community activities in the area of Pan-European eGovernment and infrastructure services, i.e. the external coherence, deserves more attention.

The current state of progress of the actions funded by the IDABC programme - about 50% of the actions included in the work programme had actually started in the first quarter of year 2006. The proportion was slightly higher for the Projects of Common Interest than for the Horizontal Measures. Co-ordination and involvement of Member States: the establishment, within the Member States, of a national co-ordinated and consolidated approach to Projects of Common Interest appeared to be quite controversial for certain categories of stakeholders. This controversy leads actually to a global level of dissatisfaction as regards the ability to co-ordinate opinions between Member States' representatives in the PEGSCO and in the sectoral committees. However, some Member States have implemented specific means by which the PEGSCO member and the sectoral committee members co-ordinate their views.

The evaluation of the implementation of the IDABC programme has lead to a number of conclusions and recommendations , which are detailed in the Communication. In brief, they are as follows:

- a greater attention must be paid to the timing of evaluations. Since compliance to the calendar in the IDABC Decision is obligatory, for future programmes a higher degree of flexibility with regard to the timing of the evaluations should be envisaged in the Decision, and consequently enable the programme to benefit from evaluation results more fully;

- the Commission must ensure that all players know their part in the implementation process. Organisational diagrams should be designed and operational descriptions of the roles of the contributors adequately disseminated, first and foremost in the case of Projects of Common Interest;

- efforts should be made at the strategic level of the programme to gather and disseminate specific and up-to-date information about users’ needs. The evaluation suggests that PEGSCO members are solicited as they are an important source of knowledge and, at the same time, that knowledge sharing sessions are organised. Data from the project feasibility studies could also be synthesised and disseminated;

- the extent to which IDABC actions are able to comply with agreed milestones should be closely monitored during the implementation of the programme, in particular for Horizontal Measures . The evaluation underlines the need for establishing a more balanced action/staff ratio in the management of the Horizontal Measures, both in relation to the IDABC programme and to any subsequent programme;

- a strategic appraisal of the links between the various EU programmes within which the EC develops interoperable eGovernment initiatives should be carried out in order that inter-programme learning processes and synergies can be enhanced. The results of this strategic appraisal should lead to a specification of the strategic positions and inter-relationships of the EC eGovernment related programmes.

COM(2006)0611
EUR-Lex

Decision 2004/387
OJ L 181 18.05.2004, p. 0025-0035

COM(2004)0219
EUR-Lex

T5-0172/2004
OJ C 102 28.04.2004, p. 0648-0776 E

T5-0172/2004

Debate in Parliament

A5-0124/2004

A5-0124/2004

COM(2004)0013
EUR-Lex

14816/1/2003
OJ C 066 16.03.2004, p. 0022-0035 E

14816/1/2003

15208/2003

CDR0247/2003
OJ C 073 23.03.2004, p. 0072-0076

T5-0494/2003
OJ C 087 07.04.2004, p. 0023-0046 E

T5-0494/2003

Debate in Parliament

CES1610/2003
OJ C 080 30.03.2004, p. 0083-0087

A5-0375/2003

A5-0375/2003

COM(2003)0406
EUR-Lex

COM(2003)0406
EUR-Lex