Public Sector Information management frameworks, usually in the form of ontologies and taxonomies containing controlled vocabularies and relevant metadata sets, appear as a key enabler that assists the classification and sharing of resources related to the provision of open data and efficient digital services towards citizen and enterprises. As different authorities typically use different terms to describe their resources and publish them in various data and service registries that may enhance the access to and delivery of governmental knowledge, but also need to communicate seamlessly at a national and pan-European level, the need for unifying and inclusive digital public service metadata standards emerges. This paper presents the creation of an ontology-based extended metadata set that embraces public sectors services, documents, XML Schemas, codelists, public bodies and information systems. Furthermore, the paper presents experiences of application within the Greek Public Sector, as part of the National Interoperability Framework specification. Such a metadata framework is an attempt to formalize the automated exchange of information between various portals and registries and further assist the service transformation and simplification efforts, while it can be further taken into consideration when applying Web 2.0 techniques in governance.

1. Yannis Charalabidis
University of the Aegean
Digital Governance Research Centre

2. Motivation
 Governmental resources metadata: an important ingredient to
achieve standardised service description, retrieval, composition
and cross-organisational collaboration
 Existing schemas present certain shortcomings:
 Pan-European standardisation of service metadata is essential.
The ISA Core Standardisations are in the right way, but still
cover very basic data.
 Metadata sets form parts in larger Government Ontologies, with
applications in public knowledge management and semantic
interoperability (Opendata, etc)

3. Legal
Elements
Books,
Papers,
Press
Documents
Service
Forms
Process
Data
(definition
&
execution)
Data
Bases Back
Office
Systems
Citizen &
Enterprise
Data
Governmental
Data
Electronic
Documentation
Electronic
Service
Forms
Electronic
Services
Semantic
Annotation
Citizen-
Business
e-ID
&
Systems
Gov
e-ID
Knowledge
Bases
Front
Office
Systems
Process
Description
&
WorkFlow
Systems
Sources of eGovernment Knowledge
Citizen Access / Users

4. Resource
Citizen Enterprise
Book,Paper
Portal
BackOffice
Project
IT Provider
Legal
Element
Policy
Research &
Technology
Org.Process
Life & Bus.
Events
Administration
Document
Service
Information
System
WebService
isSupportedBy isProvidedBy
operates
isA
provides
relatesTo
issues
isControlledBy isPartOf
isPartOf
BPMN Model
WSDL
Description
isPartOf
hasDescriptionhasDescriptionhasDescription
Codification
XML Model
EGOV Ontology - 1st and 2nd Circle

5. Non-
Governmental
Organisation
Enterprise
Citizen
Administration
ICT Provider
Foreign
Administration
Researcher
&Trainer
Visitor

6. The Context:The Greek eGIF
Enterprise Architecture /
Organizational Interoperability
(Guidelines for Service Documentation,
Business Process Alignment & Re-engineering ,
Legal Issues)
Services &
Processes
Repository
“Systems” Level “Standards & Specifications” Level
Web Portals &
Multi-channel
Access
Specifications
(Accessibility,
Ergonomics,
Structure, GCL)
Technical
Interoperability
Specifications
(Communication,
WS stack, storage
standards,
vertical standards)
Authentication
& Security
Specifications
(eID, Trust levels,
authentication
mechanisms,
encryption)
Training Activities
(Skills Management,
Training Process,
Training Material)
Co-ordination Strategy
(Vision and Strategy for
Interoperability & e-Government,
Goals & Metrics,
Maturity Matrix & Roadmap for PA)
Computational Architecture /
Technical Interoperability
(System & Components Topology, Design guidelines)
Systems Reference
Repository
Web Services
Repository & UDDI
Co-ordination Activities
(Marketing & Comm. Plan,
Co-ordination & Acceptance
Mechanisms)
XML Schemas &
Core Components
Repository
Information Architecture / Semantic Interoperability
(Guidelines for XML, Standard Schemas, Codelists,
Development Tools)
“Coordination” Level
Certification Framework
(For organisations, systems, data and people)Certification Tools
Maintenance Processes
(Update, Change Management,
Versioning Processes)
Access &
Collaboration Tools
Need for
describing
resources in a
systematic way:
eGMS+

7. The Context: Service Registries in eGovernment
Need for
describing
resources in a
systematic way:
eGMS+

8. Metadata definitions within a Service Registry

9. e-Government Ontology
Extract

10. Metadata Set for Services
Part I
General Information
Identifier Title Responsible Public Body
Final Service (*) Addressee (*) Type (*)
Aggregation (3 level-GCL) (*) Life Event (*) Business Episode (*)
Service In Abstract Level (*) Parent Service Service Delivery Channels (*)
Conventional Service Provision
Demand On Physical Presence In
Submission (*)
Demand On Physical Presence In
Receipt (*)
Conventional Authentication
Method (*)
Electronic Service Provision
Website
Electronic Service Delivery
Method (*)
Current Online Sophistication
Level (*)
Target Online Sophistication
Level (*)
Multilingual Content (*) Offline Operation (*)
Progress Monitoring Support (*) Personal Data Level (*) Trust Level (*)
Required Authentication Level
(*)
Current Authentication
Mechanism (*)
Registration Process (*)
Service Significance / Importance
TransactionsVolume (per year) Frequency of Service Requests Based On European Policies (*)

11. Metadata Set for Services
Part II
Service Delivery Information
Delivery Cost Delivery Time Responsible Department
Responsible Public Servant Service Preconditions
Related Announcements Related Attachments
Service Alternative Scenaria Information
Identifier Title Conditions
Resources for Public Administration Resources for Addressee Total Resources
Cost for Public Administration Cost for Addressee Total Cost
Time for Public Administration Time for Addressee TotalTime
ServiceTracing
Source Date. Published Date. Modified
Date.Valid (From-To) State (*) Language (*)
Documents List
Identifier Title Position In Service (*)
Mandatory (*) Replaces Document Self-appointed Call (*)
Information Systems List
Legal Framework List
SupportingWeb Services List
BPMNWorkflow Diagram

12. General Information
Identifier Title Creator
Publisher Type (*) Subject
Coverage Format (*) Language (*)
Addressee Audience
Mandate. Authorizing
Statute
Source Date. Published Date. Modified
Date.Valid (From-To) State (*)
Document Fields List
Name Description Aggregation
Filled In By Mandatory (*) ComplexType (*)
MultipleValues (*) PredefinedValues from Code List
Type (*) Length
XML Schemas List
Metadata Set for Documents

13. General Information
Identifier Title Creator
Version Type (*) Format (*)
Date. Published Date.Valid (From-To) State (*)
XML Elements Details
Unique Identifier Name Dictionary Entry Name
Type (*) Version Definition
Object ClassTerm Qualifier Object ClassTerm PropertyTerm Qualifier
PropertyTerm
Associated Object Class Term
Qualifier
RepresentationTerm (*)
DateType Qualifier PrimitiveType (*) Qualified DataType
Cardinality Min Cardinality Max
Facets (i.e. Pattern, Length,
Min/Max Length, Enumeration,
Total Digits, Fraction Digits,
Min/Max Inclusive/Exclusive)
Context: Business Process Context: Organization Context: Region (*)
BusinessTerm Example Remarks
Metadata Set for XML Schemas

14. Metadata Set for Public Bodies
General Information
Identifier Title Acronym
Type (*) Supervisor Public Organization Description
Location Website State (*)
Contact Details Remarks Date.Valid (From-To)

15. Metadata Set for Information Systems
General Information
Identifier Title Owner Organization
Contractor Project Description
Type Users (Total Number) Date.Acquired
Date. Modified Date.Valid (From-To) State (*)
Preservation Mechanism (SLA) Contact Details Website
Technical Architecture Details
Database Management System Application Level Network Infrastructure
Authentication Mechanism (*) Security Mechanism (*) Technical Standards (*)
IntegrationWith Other Systems
Identifier Title
Integration Mechanism (*) Communication Frequency

16. Metadata Set for Legal Framework
General Information
Identifier Title Official Journal Identifier
Official Journal Page
Numbers
Application Field (*) Application Status (*)
Type (*) Language (*) Date. Issued
Date. Signed Date.Valid (From-To) Relevant Attachments
Legal Rule Details
Identifier Title Description
Legal Framework Relations Details
Legal Framework Identifier RelationType (*)

17. Controlled Lists
Government Category List (1st
Level out of 3)
City Planning and Land Registry Civilization and Free Time Education and Research
Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Economy Health and Social Care
Information and Communication International Affairs and European
Union
Justice, State and Public
Administration
People, Communities and Way of
Living
Public Order and Defence Services for Companies
Transportation Means, Trips and Tourism Work, Insurance and Pension
Service Type
Request Information Discovery Declaration
Return Registration Participative Actions
Permit / Licence Certificate Issuance Payment
Life Event1
Birth Marriage Divorce
Death in Family Sickness Employment
Dismissal Retirement Property Acquisition
Property Loss Residence Change Education
Travel Abroad Military Service Other …
Not Applicable Unknown
Service Delivery Method
Service Provider Premises Single Points of Contact (Citizen
Service Centers in Greece)
Call Centers
Mail Internet Mobile Phone
Digital TV Other Unknown
Electronic Service Delivery Method
Internet Browser Web Service Desktop Application
Other Unknown

18. Population of eGMS+
Entity Population
Public Administration Organisations / Entities 1,797 / 18,000
Governmental Services Definitions 2,066
IT Systems Definitions 76
Service Execution & Orchestration Models – BPMN 614
Web Services Definitions – WSDL + 35
Government Category List Nodes 166
Life Events / Business Episodes 35 / 25
Other Taxonomies (Legal, Security, Quality, Channels, etc) 200
Documents Definitions 3,912
Unique Document Field Definitions 1,434
Standard Codelists (ISO, UN, EC, CEN, GR) 16
Standard Document Schemas – XSD 404
Reusable Business Information Entities – CCTS 154
Core Components – CCTS 36

19. Conclusions – FutureWork
 Standardization of an ontology-based extended metadata set
embracing the Government knowledge, from services and documents
to code lists and information systems, which:
◦ Effectively supports the Greek e-Government Interoperability Framework
and the Interoperability Registry Prototype implementation.
◦ Formalizes the exchange of information between portals and registries.
◦ Includes metadata around service delivery scenarios that can guide any
business process re-engineering effort in the public sector.
 Future steps include exploration of how such a metadata set can:
(a) embrace policy modelling and intelligent governmental service front-ends
(b) be further elicited in order to take into account citizens’ feedback when
designing public services.
(c) automated metadata filling