Developed in the context of European Union ISA programme, the Sharing and Reuse Framework for IT solutions addresses EU, national, regional and local public administrations that aim at reducing costs, increasing their efficiency and fostering interoperability by reusing, sharing or jointly developing IT solutions that meet common requirements. The framework should be taken into account by decision makers, legal professionals, IT architects, developers and communication experts when:
1. Sharing a tool once it has been developed or sharing the provision of a service
2. Reusing existing tools or using an existing services; and
3. Collaborating in the development of a tool or service.
The framework puts forward 10 key recommendations that public administrations are encouraged to follow in order to promote the sharing and reuse of IT solutions in the public sector. It is important that central governments also support this process by creating a climate of innovation in their administrations, encouraging staff to take an active role in the process and promoting the use of information and communication technologies. To facilitate this effort, the SRF also includes 19 supporting measures which specifically target central organisations.
The final version of the Framework is the result of the consultation conducted between 25 May and 29 June 2016.
Table of contents
Introduction
1. Enhance cross-organisation coordination
- 1.1. Adopt cross-organisation IT governance
- 1.2. Follow guidelines and templates when drafting collaborative agreements
2. Collaborate to identify common needs
- 2.1. Communicate your needs
- 2.2. Define sets of requirements supporting common business processes
- 2.3. Identify generic functionalities that can be used in multiple solutions
3. Adopt business models that facilitate sharing and reuse
- 3.1. Apply business models that facilitate the co-creation, sharing and reuse of IT solutions
- 3.2. When assessing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of an IT solution, take into account costs related to its end-of-life management
- 3.3. Consider making your IT solution available as Software as a Service (SaaS)
- 4.1. Use standard templates for liability agreements
- 4.2. Decide the type of rights’ attribution approach to be used as early as possible and inform all involved
- 4.3. Use existing open source software licences to share your IT solution
- 4.4. Detect licence compatibility issues
5. Procure IT solutions in a transparent and open way
- 5.1. Use common standards and specifications in IT procurement
- 5.2. Share assessments of standards and technical specifications
- 5.3. Use standard clauses and contractual templates that facilitate the sharing and reuse of IT solutions
- 5.4. Open source software: take into account community contribution in public procurement
6. Document, share and reuse common solution building blocks
- 6.1. Document key solution building blocks using a common reference architecture
- 6.2. Check the reusability of existing solutions before developing a new one
7. Enhance your IT solution’s technical readiness
- 7.1. Design your IT solution to be extensible and modular
- 7.2. Design your IT solution to be scalable
- 7.3. Plan adequate levels of maintenance and support for your IT solution
- 7.4. Assess an IT solution’s maturity level
8. Increase visibility of and trust in available IT solutions
- 8.1. Use common registries to share your solutions
- 8.2. Use standard ways to describe your IT solutions
- 8.3. Provide insights into the quality, usage and support structure of your IT solutions
9. Take into account the multilingual EU environment when developing IT solutions
10. Share your solution by default and explain any decision not to share