COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT European Interoperability Framework for Smart Cities and Communities (EIF4SCC) Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on a strengthened public sector interoperability policy Linking public services, supporting public policies and building public benefits Towards an ‘Interoperable Europe’
Date: 2022-11-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Digital Services, European Commission
Subjects: European Interoperability Framework, European cooperation, administrative cooperation, digital single market, digital transformation, electronic government, public policy, public sector, public service, smart city

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.11.2022  SWD(2022) 710 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT European Interoperability Framework for Smart Cities and Communities (EIF4SCC) Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on a strengthened public sector interoperability policy  Linking public services, supporting public policies and building public benefits Towards an ‘Interoperable Europe’ {COM(2022) 710 final}  
 
 
Table of Contents 

 OVERVIEW AND SCOPE ............................................................................................ 3 

 INTRODUCTION TO EIF4SCC .................................................................................... 5 

 DEFINITIONS OF THE EIF4SCC CONCEPTS ........................................................... 8 

 PRINCIPLES FOR THE EIF4SCC ................................................................................ 9 

 ELEMENTS FOR THE EIF4SCC ................................................................................ 13 

 TAILORED CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR INTEGRATED SCC SERVICES ......... 18 

 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 23 

1 

 
 
 
 
Glossary 

Acronym 

Meaning 

AI  

API 

CEF  

EIF 

Artificial Intelligence 

Application Programming Interface 

Connecting Europe Facility  

European Interoperability Framework 

EIF4SCC 

European Interoperability Framework for Smart Cities/Communities 

ESPON 

European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion 

EU 

EC 

ICC 

ICT 

IoT 

ISA2 

European Union 

European Commission 

Intelligent Cities Challenge 

Information and Communication Technologies 

Internet of Things 

Interoperability solutions for public administrations, businesses and citizens 

LORDI 

Local and Regional Digital Indicators 

MIMs Plus 

Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms 

NIO 

SCC  

National Interoperability Framework 

Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities 

2 

 
 1.  OVERVIEW AND SCOPE 

As stipulated in the Treaties of the European Union (EU), the EU’s internal market guarantees 
four  ‘freedoms’  -  the  free  movement  of  goods,  capital,  services  and  people  between  the  27 
Member States. These freedoms are assured by common policies supported by interconnected, 
interoperable networks and systems. People are free to work and relocate and businesses are 
free to trade and operate in all EU Member States. In doing so, they inevitably have to interact 
electronically with all levels of Member State public administrations being national, regional 
or local. Public administrations at regional and local level including rural and urban areas can 
be named under the wording ‘Cities and Communities’. 

Cities  and  communities  are  confronted  with  complex  challenges,  such  as  climate  change, 
housing  quality,  health  and  social  issues,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  mobility.  More  and 
more cities and communities are making use of the possibilities offered by  digital  solutions 
and technological  advancements to  tackle those  growing  challenges  and  to  contribute to  the 
green transition. Cities and communities are therefore transforming themselves into Smart and 
Sustainable  Cities  and  Communities  (SCC)  taking  full  benefit  of  digital  technologies  and 
becoming more green, resilient and sustainable for the well-being of people. 

Interoperability  is  crucial  to  overcome  the  above-mentioned  challenges  in  cities  and 
communities.  Lack  of  interoperability  leads  to  fragmented  service  delivery  at  local  level  as 
well  as  a  lack  of  communication  among  different  platforms,  technologies  and  stakeholders, 
resulting in suboptimal services to the public. 

Acknowledging  the  importance  of  interoperability  for  the  well-being  of  inhabitants, 
businesses,  visitors  and  city/community  administrators  in  the  European  Union,  the 
European  Commission  developed  a  European  Interoperability  Framework  for  Smart 
Cities and Communities (EIF4SCC) as a specialisation of the European Interoperability 
Framework1. 

The  EIF4SCC  has  been  developed  by  building  on  and  finding  complementarities  with 
previous and ongoing initiatives, such as, for instance the Living-in.EU2 movement, the 2017 
European  Interoperability  Framework  (EIF)3,  the  Minimal  Interoperability  Mechanisms 
(MIMs  Plus)4  and  the  outcomes  of  EU  funded  initiatives  (e.g.  Connecting  Europe  Facility 
(CEF)  Digital  Building  Blocks5,  Smart  Cities  Marketplace6,  Intelligent  Cities  Challenge7, 
Digital  Transition  Partnership  under  the  Urban  Agenda8)  and  EU  funded  projects 
(Synchronicity9, Triangulum10, etc.) as illustrated in Figure 1. 

1  
2  
3  
4  
5  
6  
7  
8  
9  
10  

https://ec.europa.eu/isa2/eif_en/ 
https://www.living-in.eu/ 
https://ec.europa.eu/isa2/eif_en 
https://oascities.org/minimal-interoperability-mechanisms/ 
https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/wiki/display/CEFDIGITAL/CEF+Digital+Home 
https://smart-cities-marketplace.ec.europa.eu/ 
https://www.intelligentcitieschallenge.eu/ 
https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/digital-transition/digital-transition-action-plan 
https://synchronicity-iot.eu/ 
http://triangulum-project.eu/ 

3 

 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 1 – EIF4SCC alignment with other EU initiatives & projects 

The aim of the EIF4SCC is to provide European Union local administration leaders with 
concepts,  principles,  elements,  recommendations  and  a  common  model  to  facilitate 
service  delivery  to  the  public  across  domains,  cities,  regions  and  borders  (Figure  2). 
Practical  use  cases  available  in  the  proposal  for  an  EIF4SCC,  have  been  provided  for 
each recommendation in the course of the EIF4SCC development11. 

Figure 2 - EIF4SCC in a nutshell 

11  

See Proposal for an EIF4SCC: https://living-in.eu/news/proposal-european-interoperability-framework-
smart-cities-and-communities-eif4scc-published 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 2. 

INTRODUCTION TO EIF4SCC 

Cities and communities have a fundamental role in  the European Union. They are the place 
where  most  European  citizens  live  and  work12.  Cities  and  communities  include  inhabitants, 
visitors,  administrators,  businesses  and  organisations.  Furthermore,  they  are  places  where 
digital  solutions  and  technology  can  support  the  creation  of  value  that  unlocks  social, 
economic  and  environmental  benefits  for  their  citizens  and  businesses.  Cities  and 
communities are confronted with complex challenges, and therefore are using digital solutions 
and technological advancements to tackle these growing and often interlinked challenges. Co-
creation  with  citizens  is  also  key  to  turning  European  cities  and  communities  into  smart, 
resilient, sustainable and inclusive places where people enjoy living, working and visiting. 

Current complex challenges and their solutions raise the need for improved interoperability. 
Lack of interoperability leads to a missing integration of services provided at local level and 
beyond or a lack of communication among different (data) platforms and/or technologies. The 
lack of interoperability is also a major obstacle to foster the progress of innovation in cities 
and communities. It can delay the contribution to meet the targets stated under the Europe’s 
digital decade and the EU Green Deal. 

Progressing  interoperability  will  help  to  fully  address  the  challenges  faced  by  cities  and 
communities via digital solutions and technological advancements, the different actors need a 
common  understanding  of  their  way  of  working,  their  activities  and  services.  This  includes 
reflecting  on  the  applicable  legal  frameworks  but  also  on  the  standards  and  technical 
specifications  that  are  applied  in  the  technical  development  of  services,  just  to  mention  an 
example. In addition, interoperability avoids vendor or technology lock in and helps create an 
open  and  fair  market  where  SMEs  can  develop.  Cities  and  Communities  benefit  from  a 
variety of standard-based solutions that are interoperable and more affordable, reducing time 
to implement and to deliver services to the public. 

The purpose of the EIF4SCC is to: 

 

inspire cities and communities across the EU in their efforts to transition to SCC, in 
particular in the delivery of digital services within their local context, together with the 
other actors;  

  provide  guidance 

to  EU 

leaders  with  principles, 
recommendations and a common model that enables interoperability across domains, 
cities and communities, regions and borders, to improve service delivery for citizens 
and businesses; 

local  administration 

  contribute to shaping Europe’s digital future by  fostering  cross-border and cross-
sectoral  interoperability,  supporting  as  such  Europe’s  digital  transformation  in  the 
local context. 

The EIF4SCC deliberately focuses on EU local administration leaders as it aims to provide a 
generic  framework  of  what  interoperability  entails,  and  how  it  can  contribute  to  the 
development of a smart(er) city or community. This will pave the way for services for citizens 
and business to be offered not only in a single SCC, but also across cities, regions and across 
borders. 

The EIF4SCC includes three interconnected definitions, five principles, and seven  elements. 
To ensure that EU local administration leaders can easily apply the EIF4SCC to their city or 
community,  a  conceptual  model  for  integrated  service  governance  was  developed.  This 
conceptual model presents the governance support required for the coordination of activities. 
The EIF4SCC is punctuated with recommendations that can inspire EU local administration 

12  

Eurostat, 2016, Urban Europe Statistics on cities, towns and suburbs. 

5 

 
                                                           
leaders in  their work on interoperability.  All  these EIF4SCC parts are explained in  detail in 
the following sections. 

Whereas  Figure  3  presents  an  overview  of  the  EIF4SCC  and  its  elements,  the  content  and 
structure of the EIF4SCC is presented below: 

  Chapter 3 presents the definitions of the concepts set out in the EIF4SCC; 
  Chapter 4 presents  a set  of principles (five) intended to  establish a general  approach 

when developing SCC services based on interoperability; 
  Chapter 5 presents the elements (seven) of the EIF4SCC; 
  Chapter  6  outlines  a  conceptual  model  for  Integrated  SCC  Services.  The conceptual 
idea 

interoperability  principles and  proposes the 

is 

model 
the 
of ’interoperability by design’; 

line  with 

in 

  Chapter  7  concludes  the  document  by  providing  an  overview  and  tying  together  the 

 

major elements of the EIF4SCC; 
In  addition,  a  set  of  30  recommendations  are  presented  across  the  different  chapters 
and are illustrated by numerous use cases available in the proposal for an EIF4SCC13, 
as actionable items to be implemented in SCC. 

13  

https://living-in.eu/news/proposal-european-interoperability-framework-smart-cities-and-communities-
eif4scc-published 

6 

 
                                                           
Figure 3 - EIF4SCC Framework for SCC 

7 

 
 
 
 
 3.  DEFINITIONS OF THE EIF4SCC CONCEPTS 

This section presents how the concepts of Interoperability, Smart Cities and Communities and 
the  EIF4SCC  should  be  understood  (Figure  4).  A  definition  is  provided  for  each  concept. 
When referring to the EIF4SCC, these three definitions always need to be presented together, 
as they relate to and reinforce each other. One cannot fully benefit from the EIF4SCC, when 
the concepts of Interoperability and SCC are not well acknowledged. 

Figure 4 - EIF4SCC Concepts 

Interoperability in the context of SCC, and as such in and between the different domains of a 
city or community, is: 

The ability of organisations and individuals to  interact  towards  the delivery of services in 
cities and communities, through the exchange of data, information and knowledge, enabled 
by  aligned  processes  and  digital  technologies,  taking  into  account  security  and  privacy 
issues. 

A Smart City/Community14 is: 

A  sustainable  and  inclusive  city/community  aiming  at  the  well-being  of  their  inhabitants, 
businesses, visitors, organisations and city/community administrators by offering digitally-
enabled services. 

EIF4SCC is: 

to  support 

An  approach 
in  a  smart 
city/community  across  domains  and  across  cities  and  borders.  It  defines  basic 
interoperability  guidelines  in  the  form  of  common  principles,  elements,  models  and 
recommendations. 

interoperable  services 

the  development  of 

14  

This framework refers consequently to Cities and Communities, as the document targets local 
administration leaders from EU capital cities up to the local villages and urban areas around the EU. 
Cities and communities mean geographically defined communities of people, having legal status, legal 
representative and self-governance, legally recognised by its Member State. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 4.  PRINCIPLES FOR THE EIF4SCC 

Besides the three concepts defined above, the EIF4SCC is also underpinned by five principles 
(Figure 5). They are the result of tailoring the Living-in.eu movement and the 2017 European 
Interoperability  Framework  principles  to  the  context  of  SCC.  Hence,  they  form  the 
fundamental behavioural aspects defining the direction of the interoperability in SCC. 

These five principles are presented below, together with a set of respective recommendations 
on how to apply them in the SCC context. . 

Figure 5 - EIF4SCC Principles 

9 

 
 
 
 
  A  human-centric  approach,  whereby  well-being, 

inclusivity,  accessibility  and 
multiculturalism/multilingualism  play  a  key  role.  From  the  service  delivery  perspective, 
this  approach  should  also  include  administrative  simplification  for  the  benefit  of 
individuals and organisations. Therefore, this embraces the once only principle15, aiming 
to reuse data and documents that people have already provided, in a transparent and secure 
way. 

Recommendation #1 

Ensure that inhabitants and visitors play an active role by connecting, engaging and enabling 
them in policy-making, co-creation and testing of solutions for SCC. 

Recommendation #2 

As far as possible under the legislation in force, ask the users of cities/communities services 
once-only and relevant-only information, ensuring a fully transparent process on how data is 
used. 

Recommendation #3 

Ensure  that  accessibility  (including  for  people  with  disabilities,  the  elderly  and  other 
disadvantaged  groups) 
the  procurement,  design, 
development,  implementation  and  monitoring  phase  of  service  provision,  including  by 
following e-accessibility specifications at regional, national, European or international level. 

into  consideration  during 

taken 

is 

  A  city/community  needs-led  approach  at  EU  level,  sharing  experiences  relating  to 
interoperability  is  a  key  strategy  to  overcome  interoperability  challenges  and  to  inspire 
individuals  or organisations within and across  cities/communities. Therefore, identifying 
commonalities  across  different  city/community  contexts  can  help  provide  efficient  and 
tailored support. 

Recommendation #4 

Endorse and join existing forums, networks and  working  groups, at  local, regional, national 
and  European  level16  to  boost  cooperation,  collaboration,  join  forces,  discuss  and  share 
experiences  and  best  practices  and  build  upon  the  knowledge  and  experience  already 
available. 

15  

16  

The once only principle means that individual users/businesses should not be required to supply the 
same information more than once. For instance, if information has already been submitted to one public 
administration, individual users/businesses should not be required to submit that information again to 
another public administration. 
-  EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020, COM(2016) 179 https://digital-

strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/egovernment-action-
plan#:~:text=The%20eGovernment%20Action%20Plan%20enables,to%20operate%20efficiently%
20across%20borders 

-  Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government, 2020 

https://ec.europa.eu/isa2/sites/default/files/cdr_20201207_eu2020_berlin_declaration_on_digital_s
ociety_and_value-based_digital_government_.pdf 

Examples of existing forums, networks and working groups include: Living-in.EU, Intelligent Cities 
Challenge, Open and Agile Smart Cities, EUROCITIES, The European Network of Living Labs 
(ENoLL), Smart Cities Marketplace, European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), 
Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), etc. 

10 

 
 
 
                                                           
  The city/community as a participatory-driven and open innovation ecosystem should 
promote an open and collaborative approach that takes into consideration the opinion of 
individuals and organisations, and thereby builds on participatory approaches, such as co-
creation and co-production. 

Recommendation #5 

Ensure  collaboration  and  communication  between 
inhabitants,  business,  visitors, 
organisations  and  city/community  administrators,  in  your  city/community,  so  that  different 
needs (e.g. assisted living, social care, health, education, culture and environment), challenges 
and requirements are addressed in a collaborative way by involving stakeholders with all the 
necessary competencies and/or skills in the co-creation and co-production of services. 

Recommendation #6 

Foster  an  open  innovation  ecosystem  (such  as  local  living  labs,  digital  innovation  hubs)  to 
ensure that the local community is actively involved in creating new and scaling up solutions. 

  Ethical  and  socially  responsible  access,  use,  sharing  and  management  of  data  and 
technology,  that  considers  transparency,  security  and  privacy.  The  protection  of  the 
individuals’  privacy,  the  preservation  of  their  information  and  its  security  must  be 
guaranteed as well as the right of the individual to be forgotten. 

Recommendation #7 

Make sources of information (base registries, open data portals, etc.) available to inhabitants, 
business,  visitors,  organisations  and  city/community  administrators  ensuring  security,  trust 
and privacy in accordance with the relevant legislation and contribute to the EU data space for 
climate neutral and smart communities. 

Recommendation #8 

Ensure that digital  rights  are  respected during the design, development,  implementation  and 
monitoring phase of the services provision (including GDPR issues). 

Recommendation #9 

Ensure transparency on data sharing collaborations between and within government, citizens, 
businesses and organisations. 

  Technologies  as  key  enablers,  not  as  the  objective.  Technology  should  only  be 
considered as an enabler when appropriate. Technological  neutrality  and data portability 
should  be  taken  into  account  when  developing  services.  Open  standards  and  open 
technical  specifications  should  be  employed  in  the  development  of  interoperable  digital 
platforms.  This  will  require  an  appropriate  assessment  of  technologies  effectiveness  and 
efficiency. Hence, the use of technologies must consider the development of digital skills 
and capacities of the service providers and the users. 

Open standards and open technical specifications avoid vendor or technology lock in and 
enable  interoperability  while  fostering  the  smart  city  ecosystem  and  the  related  digital 
solutions  market.  The  level  of  openness  of  a  specification/standard  is  decisive  for  the 
reuse  of  software  components  implementing  that  specification.  This  also  applies  when 

11 

 
 
 
such components are used to introduce new services. If the openness principle is applied 
in full: 

o  All  stakeholders  have  the  opportunity  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  the 

specification and a public review is part of the decision-making process; 

o  The specification is available for everyone; 
o  Intellectual  Property  Rights  to  the  specification  are  licensed  on  Fair,  Reasonable 
and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms, in a way that allows implementation in 
both proprietary and open source software, and preferably on a royalty-free basis. 

Recommendation #10 

Use  open  standards  and  open  technical  specifications  when  developing  local  data 
platform/space  and  services,  include  multiple  access  and  assistance  channels  to  ensure  that 
users can choose the option that best addresses their needs and/or preferences. 

Recommendation #11 

Implement seamless solutions at the service of inhabitants, businesses, visitors, organisations 
and  city/community  administrators,  leveraging  advanced  technologies  (such  as  IoT, 
blockchain, AI, etc.). 

Recommendation #12 

Set-up  or  consolidate  interoperable  local  data  platform(s)/space(s)  that  integrate  and  reuse 
data  in  cities  and  communities  by  stakeholders,  and  promotes  open  standards  and  open 
technical specifications, APIs17 and data models to provide a holistic view of the information. 
This  aims  to  support  in  decision-making  process  and  to  foster  innovation  and  citizen 
engagement. 

17  

Directive 91/250 (or 2009/24/EC) 

12 

 
 
 
                                                           
 5.  ELEMENTS FOR THE EIF4SCC 

Building on the key concepts and principles, Figure 6 presents the elements of the EIF4SCC 

Figure 6 - EIF4SCC Elements 

EIF4SCC is built on five interoperability components, one cross-cutting layer, all built on the 
foundation  of  Interoperability  Governance  (Figure  7).  The  following  interoperability 
components have been identified: 

1)  Cultural interoperability, 
2)  Legal interoperability, 
3)  Organisational interoperability, 
4)  Semantic interoperability and, 
5)  Technical interoperability. 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 7 - The elements of the EIF4SCC interoperability model 

As  such  this  EIF4SCC  interoperability  model  retains  some  characteristics  of  the  2017 
European  Interoperability  Framework.  This  ensures  a  common  European  approach  to 
interoperability. In addition to the revised layered design, the main changes in the EIF4SCC 
are the addition of Cultural Interoperability and the modification of Integrated Public Service 
Governance, which is re-labelled as Integrated Service Governance. 

  Interoperability governance  is key to  a holistic approach to interoperability, referring 
to  decisions  on  interoperability  frameworks,  institutional  arrangements,  organisational 
structures,  roles  and  responsibilities,  policies,  agreements  and  other  aspects  of  ensuring 
and monitoring interoperability at local, national and EU levels. 

Recommendation #13 

Define and implement  a holistic governance of interoperability services across domains and 
stakeholders  at  the  local  level,  complying  with  national  and  European  interoperability 
requirements to ensure interoperability across cities/communities, regions and borders. 

that  European  public  service  provision  often 

  Integrated service governance. The 2017 EIF refers to the public nature of services and 
states 
requires  different  public 
administrations to work together to meet end-users’ needs and provide public services in 
an  integrated  way.  In  the  EIF4SCC  the  concept  public  is  removed.  The  cross-cutting 
layer becomes broader, acknowledging the role of non-public administration actors in the 
service provision in the context of SCC. As a substantial amount of data and information 
in  a  SCC  context  is  out  of  the  hands  of  public  administrations,  the  Integrated  service 
governance  has  to  take  a  broader  view  and  not  look  beyond  the  public  administration 
itself.  Therefore,  Integrated  service  governance  refers  to  the  governance  context  and 
encompasses  all  components:  cultural,  legal,  organisational,  semantic  and  technical 
interoperability.  Ensuring  interoperability  when  agreeing  the  cultural  context,  preparing 
legal  instruments,  organising  collaboration  processes,  data  and  information  exchange, 
task,  as 
that  support  SCC  services 
services  and  components 

is  a  continuous 

14 

 
 
 
 
interoperability  is  regularly  disrupted  by  changes  to  the  environment.  Integrated  service 
governance results in an integrated service pathway and shared workflows. 

Recommendation #14 

Reuse and share solutions, data, tools and services by cooperating with different stakeholders 
in  the  design,  development,  implementation  and  monitoring  phase  of  service  provision  at 
local, regional, national and European levels. 

Recommendation #15 

Establish and maintain an integrated governance structure with relevant stakeholders to ensure 
interoperability  in  the  delivery  of  the  integrated  services,  in  coordination  with  the  holistic 
interoperability governance guidance. 

Recommendation #16 

Establish, publish and maintain API design framework(s) to facilitate the automation of data 
sharing  and  data  access  for  cities  and  communities  to  enable  the  development  of  (new) 
services and solutions. 

Recommendation #17 

Support  and/or  promote  best  practices  among  stakeholders,  at  an  early  stage  of  any  (new) 
service design, development and implementation phase.  

  Cultural interoperability refers to the approach taken by individuals and organisations to 
take  into  consideration  their  social  and  cultural  differences  and,  if  applicable, 
organisational  cultural  differences.  Interoperability  can  be 
impacted  by  cultural 
differences,  as  individuals  and  organisations  can  respond  differently  to  the  same 
interoperability  challenge.  These  cultural  differences  can,  for  example,  be  reflected  in 
political  challenges  and  leadership  styles.  Different  actors  within  a  smart  city  can  have 
varying  views  on  how  leadership,  in  the  context  of  interoperability,  is  exercised.  This 
requires  a  debate  among  the  actors  involved  about  how  to  exercise  leadership  in  their 
interoperability context.  

Recommendation #18 

Ensure  that  diverse  stakeholders  (inhabitants,  businesses,  visitors,  organisations  and  cities/ 
communities administrators) are involved in  a multidisciplinary process  of definition and/or 
design  of  interoperable  services  so  that  societal  and  cultural  differences  (organisational, 
economic, ethnic, religious beliefs, gender, language) are accounted for. 

Recommendation #19 

Monitor  and  audit  software  codes  and  ensure  transparent  and  accountable  use  of  AI 
algorithms,  to  avoid  biases  (economic,  ethnic,  religious  beliefs,  gender,  etc.)  that  can 
discriminate people. 

  Legal  interoperability  is  about  ensuring  that  individuals  and  organisations,  be  they 
public  or  non-public  organisations,  operating  under  different  legal  and  regulatory 

15 

 
 
 
frameworks,  procurement  rules,  policies  and  strategies,  can  work  together.  Policies, 
regulations and legislation should enable the establishment of services within a SCC and 
between  different  SCCs,  rather  than  being  an  obstacle.  There  is  a  need  for  clear 
agreements  about  how  to  deal  with  differences  in  policies,  regulations  and  legislation 
across  SCCs,  including  the  option  of  putting  in  place  new  policies,  regulations  and 
legal 
legislation.  The  sharing  of  data 
interoperability, as this requires the development and use of data licences. 

is  for  example  strongly 

influenced  by 

Recommendation #20 

Put  in  place a solid and  trusted legal  framework  to  enable and  facilitate data sharing across 
stakeholders and across domains at local, regional, national and European level. 

Recommendation #21 

Communicate  the  right  to  access  and  reuse  of  solutions,  data,  tools  and  services.  The  legal 
permission for facilitating access and reuse, such as Creative Commons Licenses, should be 
standardised as much as possible. 

  Organisational  interoperability  refers  to  the  way  in  which  organisations  align  their 
processes,  responsibilities  and  expectations 
to  achieve  commonly  agreed  goals. 
Organisational interoperability means documenting, integrating or aligning processes and 
exchanging  relevant  information.  Organisational  interoperability  also  aims  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  users  by  making  services  available,  easily  identifiable,  accessible  and 
user-focused. Furthermore, active involvement of the user community can be part of the 
organisational interoperability component. 

Recommendation #22 

Put  in  place  an  organisational  structure  to  establish  and  maintain  clear  roles  and 
responsibilities of processes to deliver services at local level. 

  Semantic interoperability ensures that the precise format and meaning of exchanged data 
and  information  is  preserved  and  understood  throughout  exchanges  between  individuals 
and  organisations.  Semantic  interoperability  covers  both  semantic  and  syntactic  aspects: 
The semantic aspect refers to the meaning of data elements and the relationship between 
them. It includes data models, controlled vocabularies and common code lists to describe 
data  exchanges  and  ensures  that  data  elements  are  understood  in  the  same  way  by  all 
communicating  parties.  The  syntactic  aspect  refers  to  describing  the  exact  format  of  the 
information to be exchanged in terms of grammar and format. 

Recommendation #23 

Work towards a commonly agreed description and understanding of the solutions, data, tools 
and services (format, meaning of data, relationship between parties), across stakeholders and 
across domains at local, regional, national and European level. 

  Technical 

interoperability 

interface  specifications, 
the 
interconnection  services,  data  integration  services,  data  presentation  and  exchange,  and 
secure  communication  protocols.  Furthermore,  when  applying  standards  they  should  be 

inclusion  of 

refers 

to 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
available  in  an  open  format.  Open  technical  specifications  should  be  tailored  to  the 
specific context in which they will be used. For example, from a technical interoperability 
point of view, the Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs Plus) and the Connecting 
Europe  Facility  Building  Blocks,  based  on  commonly  agreed  open  standards  and  open 
technical  specifications,  ensure  achieving  interoperability  of  data,  systems,  and  services 
between  cities  and  suppliers  around  the  world,  and  can  guide  those  working  on 
interoperability in a SCC ecosystem. 

Recommendation #24 

Create  more  horizontal  services  towards  local  data  platforms,  to  overcome  silos  within 
different  domains,  by  encouraging  collaboration  and  engagement  among  inhabitants, 
business, visitors, organisations and city/community administrators. 

Recommendation #25 

Develop  and  provide  seamless  services  where  inhabitants,  businesses,  visitors  and 
organisations are able to identify and authenticate using eID schemes. 

Recommendation #26 

Use  commonly  agreed  open  standards  and  open  technical  specifications  for  achieving 
interoperability  of  data,  systems,  and  services,  to  support  cities/  communities  and  suppliers 
during  the  design,  development  and  implementation  phase  of  new  services  or  reengineer 
existing ones (to avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’). 

Recommendation #27 

Use and raise  awareness of the benefits  of open  standards and open technical  specifications 
amongst SCC service providers, during the design, development and implementation phase. 

Recommendation #28 

Ensure  a  local  level  playing  field  for  open  source  software  and  demonstrate  active  and  fair 
consideration  to  increase  the  quality  and  interoperability  solution  and  become  more  cost-
efficient. 

Recommendation #29 

Develop apps/ digital services ensuring that these are open by default (even if not using open 
standards and open technical specifications, the apps/ digital services should allow integration 
with others through APIs, to boost the digital transformation at local level). 

17 

 
 
 
 6.  TAILORED CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR INTEGRATED SCC SERVICES 

Figure 8 - EIF4SCC Conceptual Model 

To make the EIF4SCC actionable, this section introduces a  conceptual model for  Integrated 
SCC Services (Figure 9). It aims to support the understanding of local administration leaders 
for  the  planning,  development,  operation  and  maintenance  of  Integrated  SCC  Services  by 
applying the EIF4SCC concepts, principles and elements. The conceptual model is developed 
from  a  generalised  SCC  ecosystem  perspective  and  serves  as  a  generalised  model  that  may 
need to be adapted according to the specific context of local administrations.  

The  conceptual  model  is  in  line  with  the  2017  European  Interoperability  Framework  and 
proposes  the  idea  of  ‘interoperability  by  design’,  meaning  that  the  integrated  SCC  services 
should  be  designed  in  accordance  with  the  proposed  model  and  with  interoperability  and 
reusability requirements in mind. 

Figure 9 - Conceptual model for Integrated SCC Services 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
The model includes  six  essential  parts  and its  related interactions. They are 1) Service 
Users, 2) Integrated SCC Services, 3) Service Providers, 4) Data Sources & Services, 5) 
Technology and 6) Security & Privacy, and are explained below. 

1. Service Users, such as inhabitants, 
visitors,  businesses,  organisations 
and  city/community  administrators 
make  use  of  the  services  offered  by 
the Service Providers. Service Users can take an active role by providing their input through 
co-creation  and  coproduction  processes  in  the  Integrated  SCC  Services.  Service  Users  can 
also  provide  their  input  via  technology,  which  might  lead  to  improved  services  offered  to 
them. This dynamic implies a continuous exchange of data, guarantying security and privacy. 

2. Integrated Smart City/Community Services are 
services  offered 
to  Service  Users  by  Service 
Providers.  Integrated  SCC  Services  may  be  offered 
by the public sector or though collaboration between 
the public and non-public sector. Examples range from the development  of services that are 
cloud-based and provide a user-friendly interface for Service Users to the development of a 
Local  Digital  Twin.  A  Digital  Twin  is  a  digital  copy  of  the  city  or  community  that  allows 
policy decisions to be tested in a digital environment. These services can make use of building 
blocks that are available for reuse. Examples of such building blocks are the Digital Europe 
Programme  and  ISA²  solutions  and  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  (CEF)  Building  Blocks, 
which  offer  basic  capabilities  and  can  be  used  in  any  European  project  to  facilitate  the 
delivery of digital public services across borders. Examples of ISA² and CEF Building Blocks 
include the Core Vocabularies18, eSignature19 and eInvoicing20. 

3.  Service  providers,  such  as  local  public 
administrations, businesses and societal  actors 
can  provide  a  great  variety  of  services  to 
Service Users. Those services  range from the 

registration  of  the  birth  of  a  child,  to  the  waste  collection  at  your 
home  or  the  management  of  the  streetlights  during  the  night.  The 
interaction between Service Providers and Service Users in the SCC 
can occur within a Common SCC Council. The aim of the Council is 
to facilitate the delivery of services in the SCC. 

The  Common  SCC  Council  provides  an  interaction  stage  for  Service  Providers  and  Service 
Users. This Council can take a leading role in identifying service needs, in planning how to 
handle  service  needs,  in  executing  the  plans  regarding  services  and  in  evaluating  the 
achievement of the objectives. 

Considering that the Common SCC Council is an interaction ground in the relation between 
the Service Users and Service Providers, it is important to reflect on the organisation of the 
Council.  The  different  actors  of  a  SCC  should  decide  on  how  they  want  to  organise  the 
Council so that it can function according to their needs and context. This interaction can lead 
to co-creation and coproduction processes. Figure 10 offers a detailed view of the Common 
SCC  Council.  The  Council  can  be  developed  taking  into  account  different  possible  service 

18  
19  
20  

https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/semantic-interoperability-community-semic/core-vocabularies 
https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/wiki/display/CEFDIGITAL/eSignature 
https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/wiki/display/CEFDIGITAL/eInvoicing 

19 

 
 
 
                                                           
domains  as  well as  the interactions between those domains  – think of Smart  Economy (e.g. 
entrepreneurship,  economic  grown  and  value  creation),  Smart  Governance  (e.g.  public 
participation,  public-private  partnerships,  transparent  governance),  Smart  Environment  (e.g. 
waste  management,  sustainable  energy  use,  water  resilience),  Smart  Living  (e.g.  housing 
quality,  urban  safety,  educational  quality,  cultural  facilities),  Smart  People  (e.g.  skills  & 
talented  human  capital,  a  caring  community)  and  Smart  Mobility  (e.g.  public  transport 
systems, efficient road accessibility). 

Figure 10 - Common SCC Council 

4.  Data  Sources  &  Services  consists 
of  two  aspects.  The  first  aspect  is 
focused  on  the  data  sources  available 
in a SCC. Data can be gathered by both 
Service  Providers  and  Service  Users,  through  Smart  Sensors,  Internet  of  Things,  Software 
Applications, etc. 

Data  can  be  classified  as  open,  shared  or  closed,  depending  on  privacy  and  security 
considerations. 

  Open data is available for reuse by third parties with minimal restrictions. In the EU, 
the  concept  of  open  data  denotes  the  specific  relationship  of  public  administrations 
opening their data with  a minimum set of restrictions towards third parties (whereby 
limited financial compensations can still apply)21.  

  Shared data is an intermediate category. This is data that is not shared as open data, 
but  it  is  available  for  third  parties  while  respecting  certain  conditions.  Those 
conditions are more restrictive than those governing open data. 

  Finally, closed data has a restricted use and cannot be shared with third parties. 

The sharing and opening of data can apply to all actors in the smart city or community. Public 
administration  actors  can  share  data  with  non-public  administration  actors  and  vice  versa. 
Data  should  be  structured  in  data  catalogues  that  support  service  providers  to  find  reusable 
data  sources.  Data  from  public  administration  can  be  recognised  in  the  format  of  a  base 
registry.  A  base  registry  is  a  trusted  and  authoritative  source  of  information  which  can  and 
should be digitally reused by others, where one  actor is  responsible and accountable for the 

21  

An overview of the applicable legislative framework concerning open data can be found at: 
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/legislation-open-data 

20 

 
 
 
                                                           
collection, use, updating and preservation of information. From the perspective of non-public 
administration,  it  could  also  be  relevant  to  reflect  on  the  possibilities  offered  by  the 
development of base registries. This requires the necessary legal framework and agreements 
with the public administration actors. Base registries can facilitate the application of the once 
only principle, the reuse of data and documents that service users have already supplied, in a 
transparent and secure way. 

In line with data, services can be classified as open, shared or closed. 

  When services are available in an open format, they can be reused by third parties with 

a minimal set of restrictions.  

  Shared services are also reusable, but the reuse will be restricted to certain conditions 
– e.g. time limitations, allowed number of users, restrictions on which type of actors 
can reuse it. 

  Closed services are not available for reuse by third parties. 

The  European  Commission,  as  well  as  national  and  regional  public  administrations,  have 
developed building blocks. These are services that are available to both public administration 
and non-public administration actors for reuse. Building blocks can be available in an open or 
in a shared format. These building blocks allow the Service Providers to offer Integrated SCC 
Services  to  the Service  Users in  a standardised  way. The reusable building blocks lead to  a 
higher efficiency for the Service Providers, and to a possible increase in the user-friendliness 
for the Service Users.  

Data and services can be shared among the different SCC actors in a 
Common SCC Data Platform, also known as a Local Data Platform 
or Space. This Platform, established by Service Providers, facilitates 
management  and  sharing  of  city/community  data  and  services.  This 
can  be  done  in  line  with  the  governance  approaches  of  the  Common  SCC  Council.  The 
difference between the Common SCC Council and this Data Platform lies in the fact that the 
Common  SCC  Council  is  focused  on  the  overall  organisation  of  the  SCC  and  the  services 
offered in it. In contrast, the Data Platform focuses on the exchange of data and services. Both 
are as such complementary to each other.  

Figure  11  provides  a  detailed  view  of  this  Common  SCC  Data  Platform.  The  main 
beneficiaries of this Data Platform are Service Providers, who feed in and use data from the 
Data  Platform  to  develop  and  offer  services.  The  dotted  line  in  Figure  11  indicates  that  the 
data  reused  from  the  Data  Platform  can  be  offered  under  specific  reusability  conditions. 
Together with the Service Providers, Service Users play a key role in the Data Platform. Via 
their overall behaviour within the SCC and the use of services offered to them by the Service 
Providers, the Service Users provide data to  the Data Platform.  The privacy and security of 
data  is  of  crucial  importance  and  can  be  improved  via  the  Platform.  Since  the  Service 
Providers tend to provide more data to the Data Platform when compared to the data they use, 
the yellow arrow is wider than the blue arrow. Different types of data can be available in the 
Data  Platform  –  including  administrative  data,  scientific  data,  crowd-sourced  and  statistical 
data, data collected via Internet of Things (IoT) or data collected via environmental and urban 
sensors. 

21 

 
 
Figure 11 - Common SCC Platform 

5. Technology has, together with Security & Privacy, a fundamental 
role in the set-up of the Integrated SCC Services. Both aspects have a 
relevant  impact  on  the  process  of  creating  Integrated  SCC  Services 
offered  by  the  Service  Providers  to  the  Service  Users.  The 
Technology  allows  for  the  collection,  storing,  sharing,  updating  and 
preservation  of  data,  and  creates  the  possibility  to  build  reusable 
services.  It  allows  the  Service  Providers  to  create  Integrated  SCC  Services  for  the  Service 
Users and  gives the possibility  to  the Service Users to  take an active  role in  the creation of 
those  services.  Examples  of  technology  that  is  relevant  in  a  SCC  context  are  Artificial 
Intelligence, Big Data, Blockchain,  Cloud  computing, High performance computing, Digital 
Twins, Data Integration platforms, Internet of Things, Mobile applications, etc. 

6.  Security  &  Privacy  are  primary  concerns  in  the  provision  of 
services,  and  both 
the  public  administration  and  non-public 
administration  actors  need  to  ensure  that  a  privacy-by-design  and 
security-by-design approach is followed. It should also be ensured that 
services  are  not  vulnerable  to  attacks  and  that  the  services  are 
compliant  with  [contractual  and]  legal  requirements  and  obligations 
regarding data protection and privacy. Like Technology, Security & Privacy impacts not only 
the  City/Community  Data  Sources  &  Services,  but  also  the  relation  between  the  Service 
Providers and the offering of Integrated SCC Services to the Service Users. 

Recommendation #30 

Use the conceptual model for Integrated Smart City and Community Services to support the 
design  of  new  services  or  update  existing  ones  and  reuse,  where  possible,  existing  data, 
service  building  blocks  and  digital  solutions  such  as  CEF  Building  Blocks,  Digital  Europe 
Programme and ISA2 solutions. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 7.  CONCLUSION 

Cities and communities play a fundamental role in the life of European Union citizens. Public 
administrations  in  cities  and  communities  are  the  closest  to  the  inhabitants,  businesses  and 
visitors and have a key role in the creation of value for through the delivery of services. The 
vast growth of digital solutions and technological advances of the previous decades have seen 
local administrations begin their transition towards becoming a smart city or community and 
has demonstrated the importance of interoperability. 

Interoperability  is  a  prerequisite  for  electronic  communication  and  the  exchange  of 
information between different actors, but as we have seen, it is much broader than technical in 
nature. Taken in the broader sense as presented in the EIF4CC, interoperability is a necessary 
condition for achieving and further developing Smart Cities and Communities in Europe. 

to 

improved  delivery  of  services 

The EIF4SCC  (see Figure 12)  provides European Union local administration leaders with  a 
guide  to  interoperability.  It  includes  principles,  a  common  interoperability  model  and 
recommendations  to  enable  interoperability  across  domains,  cities,  regions  and  borders, 
inhabitants,  visitors,  businesses  and 
leading 
city/community administrators. The EIF4SCC is part of a wider range of initiatives taken by 
the  European  Commission  to  facilitate  the  development  of  SCCs  as  well  as  the 
interoperability within and across public administrations, and private actors in the smart city 
and  community  context.  The  EIF4SCC  must  be  seen  as  a  complementing  effort  of  the 
European  Commission  to  stimulate  and  contribute  to  interoperability  from  a  local,  regional, 
national, European and global perspective. 

to 

The EIF4SCC is premised on the fact that that interoperability goes beyond ICT matters. The 
EIF4SCC  identifies  seven  elements  of  interoperability  (cultural,  legal,  organisational, 
semantic and technical, one cross-cutting layer, all built on the foundation of Interoperability 
Governance). 

Figure 12 - EIF4SCC Conceptual Model 

The EIF4SCC involves governance factors to ensure coordination of relevant activities across 
all domains of a SCC. The Conceptual Model for Integrated SCC Services aims to facilitate 

23 

 
 
this governance support by providing local administration leaders with a framework that help 
in the planning, development, operation and maintenance of integrated SCC services. 

Besides  the  EIF4SCC  recommendations,  local  administrators  are  also  encouraged  to  follow 
and  to  contribute  to  other  initiatives.  One  of  these  is  the  Living-in.EU  movement,  a 
commitment  in  which  decision  makers  can  join  forces  to  boost  sustainable  digital 
transformation  in  cities  and  communities  in  the  EU  and  together  develop  sustainable 
measures.  This  also  includes  exchange  of  knowledge  and  sharing  best  practices  around 
interoperability solutions in the cities. 

The  activities  conducted  by  the  European  Commission  to  progress  interoperability  are  a 
continuous learning path. Therefore, this is a living document that will need to be updated on 
the  basis  of  the  input  provided  by  local  administrations,  the  evolution  of  ICT  and  public 
administrations and the development of new insights on interoperability. Furthermore, it has 
to  be  underlined  that  in  light  of  the  EIF,  which  targets  only  public  administrations,  the  EU 
Member  State  administrations  have  developed  National  Interoperability  Frameworks.  Local 
administration 
the  overarching  National 
Interoperability Framework of their Member State. 

leaders  are  encouraged 

to  participate 

in 

The EIF4SCC as such fits into the multi-level governance context of the EU, where all levels 
of  public  administration  play  a  key  role  in  achieving  interoperability  at  local,  regional, 
national,  European  and  global  level.  Taking  an  approach  which  considers  interoperability 
from the beginning, means being better prepared to tackle complex challenges such as climate 
change,  health  issues  and  socio-economic  issues.  Therefore,  it  is  important  to  see 
interoperability as a facilitator of present and future actions or initiatives such as the European 
Green Deal22 or the Digital Single Market23. 

22  
23  

https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en 
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en 

24