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:
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.