Flanders Information Agency, the IT service provider of the Flanders region in Belgium hosted the Trefdag Informatie Vlaanderen conference for the second time in a row on November 30th 2017 in Ghent. Boris Marinov from SCOOP4C gave an insightful talk on the once-only principle, the SCOOP4C project and raised the question: Is Flanders paving the way for Europe?

The conference offered informative presentations and workshops on e-Government, innovative IT-services as well as regional topics relevant to Flanders. There was also an information fair where institutions, companies and public administrations could showcase their products and services.

The more than 2000 participants could choose between the two topics “Smart Data Sharing” and “User friendly services” and listen to e-Government experts share their knowledge on currents trends and projects.

Boris Marinov, the Region Manager Europe from ]init[ Digital Communication, explained the once-only principle to the audience and how it reduces the administrative burden for citizens as part of the "Smart Data Sharing" session. The vision of SCOOP4C: “By 2020, the once-only principle (OOP) has become a centerpiece of public administration with a clear commitment to transparency, privacy and data protection.” Marinov also explained the current activities of the project as well as first research results: the project defined the types of stakeholders, which are involved in OOP and established stakeholder maps and models. The enablers and barriers of the OOP were also discussed: political commitment, legal interoperability, socio-cultural influence factors, citizens-centered design, and data quality among others. Marinov also focused on cases of once-only application: The Studielink system in the Netherlands and the MAGDA Platform in Flanders. Politically, the Single Digital Gateway, which is currently discussed by the European Commission, will also be a great application tool of the once-only principle.

For more information:

• Trefdag Informatie Vlaanderen 2017 Website (Nov 30th) 
• Boris Marinov presentation on once-only principle (SCOOP4C)