How would the life of citizens in 2020 look like if the once-only principle is implemented on a European scale? The SCOOP4C project team defined a vision of the once-only principle in Europe in 2020 in its deliverable 1.1: 

By 2020, the once-only principle (OOP) has become a centrepiece of public administration with a clear commitment to transparency, privacy, and data protection. The once-only principle is so well understood by active citizens and by businesses that it is demanded from their respective public administrations. The general public is aware of the significant reduction of administrative burden and trusts implementations of once-only delivery of data across Europe and on national level, based on their ability to verify and track the compliant use of their data at any time. The public administration values the benefits delivered by realising the once-only principle, such as improved quality of data and efficiency gains, and thus considers it as the default option for any new administrative process or reform of existing processes. Based on the full political commitment, any deviation from the once-only principle needs to be explicitly justified. The legislative, organisational, and technological framework for implementing data provision only once also creates new opportunities for innovative private sector services aimed at citizens.

In order to realise the vision of once-only implementations for citizens, a number of key enablers have to be in place, which have to be understood well. If they are not implemented, the once-only principle may be exposed to severe barriers for its implementations. That´s why the SCOOP4C project team has also analysed enablers and barriers of the once-only principle to identify the key determinants.  

Hence, countries need to overcome these barriers by putting in place the respective enablers to ensure the successful and effective implementation of the once-only principle and therefore reaping the benefits of the principle in the widest possible way. 

The deliverable has not yet been approved by the European Commission but you can read it by registering on our website and checking the community forum. We would appreciate your feedback and comments.