ISA² Mid Term Evaluation published

The ISA² Programme supports a programme on interoperability solutions and common frameworks for European public administrations, businesses and citizens. ISA² is running from 1 January 2016 until 31 December 2020. The programme was adopted in November 2015 by the European Parliament and the Council of European Union.

The ISA² Programme supports the following actions: ISA² actionoverview.

Under the actions, the programme develops interoperability solutions are generally available for free and can be found here.

In compliance with Article 13 of Decision (EU) 2015/2240 establishing the ISA² programme, the interim evaluation assessed the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, EU added value, coherence, utility and sustainability of ISA2. Based on primary data collected from 129 consulted stakeholders, extensive desk research, and expert assessments, the evaluation confirms that ISA² performs well in all the evaluation criteria.

The objectives pursued by ISA² are still pertinent in relation to the evolving needs and problems in the field of interoperability of digital public services, and the results achieved so far are aligned with the objectives of the programme.

As ISA² progresses and solutions are further developed, the expected results should be attained, given that the implementation of the programme is continuing as planned. There are substantial synergies and limited overlaps among ISA² actions.

Moreover, particularly strong synergies exist with the 'Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in Telecom', which is a key EU instrument to facilitate cross-border interaction between public administrations, businesses and citizens, by deploying digital service infrastructures (DSIs) and broadband networks. CEF ist  the financial supporting framework e.g. for data file transfers for ePrescriptions within eHealth.

Supported projects will contribute to the creation of a European system of interoperable and interconnected digital services that sustain the Digital Single Market. A €1.04 billion budget is earmarked for trans-European digital services for 2014-2020.

ISA² contributed to enhancing cross-border interoperability and users generally tend to be satisfied with the solutions provided. Overall, ISA² plays a crucial role in enhancing the interoperability landscape in the European Union. In light of these findings, the evaluation outlines some measures to improve the performance of ISA² and future editions of the programme.