Project Title

Semantic Interoperability for Electronic Government

Project Description

Semantic Web and the underling family of web technologies, from XML, through RDF to various ontology-description languages like OWL, can considerably reduce system integration time and effort. They can also provide a level of independence from environmental changes that would otherwise require extensive re-engineering of software systems. A case in point are systems supporting the working of government organizations, particularly the production and delivery of public services to citizens, businesses and other arms of the government, and their dependence on changing administrative rules and regulations.

This project aims at developing foundational and technical solutions to the problem of semantic interoperability, particularly for public organizations, and disseminating the findings among e-Government experts and practitioners. The project is a collaboration effort between UNU-IIST and Microsoft Corporation carried out within the framework of the UNeGov.net initiative.

Project Objectives

• Establish the current state of research and practice in Semantic Interoperability for e-Government.
• Build precise models to capture requirements for Semantic Interoperability particularly for public organizations.
• Specify and implement prototype middleware software to meet such requirements.
• llustrate how new applications can be built on top of this middleware.
• Buld a Community of Practice to disseminate the findings of the project and further advance the area.

Project Funding

The project is jointly funded by Microsoft Corporation and UNU-IIST, the former providing the larger fraction of the overall budget.

Project Team

• Janowski, Tomasz (lead)
• Ojo, Adegboyega
• Sanchez, Alejandro
• Basanya, Rilwan

Project Collaborations

The project closely collaborates with Microsoft Corporation, who is the majority sponsor.