On 24 June 2010, the Croatian government introduced the Croatian Interoperability Framework, which enables the separate information systems of state government bodies to be connected to the government network. This improves information management processes and data exchange amongst state government bodies, while citizens carry out public services electronically in a simpler and faster manner.

The Croatian Interoperability Framework sets forth guidelines by which inter-alignment of state government bodies' information systems will be carried out. These guidelines are seen by the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia as a key factor within the implementation of the Strategy for the development of e-government, in association with representatives of the academic community, all state government bodies and the local IT community.

The goal of the Croatian Interoperability Framework is to:

• create conditions for communication amongst existing systems and faster data exchange between citizens and government officials;
• enable the electronic provision of public services;
• facilitate automatic exchange and use of a large amount of data filed in state registers, also for commercial purposes.

The guidelines were presented to the Croatian Government by Igor Lučić, the State Secretary of the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia, who said: "As the result of intense investment into informatisation by the Croatian Government, particularly in the past few years, we have highly informatised state government bodies, an abundance of electronic projects, registers and  set the foundations for further development and construction of a safety network for data exchange - HITRONet". Mr Lučić further added: "Nonetheless, the current government is automated in such a way in order for every government body to be an independent information source.. Therefore, the setting of these guidelines is necessary to enable further adoption of rules, regulations, norms, support services, resources and implementation measures for creating an electronic and networked government". He concluded by saying: "At the same time, by setting up interoperability, HRK 250 million (almost €34.5 million) will be saved annually in the State Budget, while savings to the overall economy will be even greater".

The Framework in question, which is completely aligned with the European Interoperability Framework, was prepared on the basis of analyses of best practices of European Union Member States as well as other countries with highly developed e-government practices.  This will eventually enable safe and efficient data exchange not only amongst state government bodies in the Republic of Croatia, but also between the Croatian Government and the European administration. Adoption of the Croatian Interoperability Framework represents one of the main implementation activities of the Economic Recovery Programme of the Croatian Government. Its  goal is to achieve considerable savings within the context of more efficient management of resources intended for the development of state government body information systems, and to decrease the costs for citizens and entrepreneurs who wish to obtain accessible state government data and acts.

Further Information:

• Original news article - e-Croatia website (in Croatian)