Facilitating Data Interoperability in Science and Technology: A Case Study and a Technical Solution

Abstract

Government data interoperability facilitates information sharing between business processes and organizations contributing to enhance public service delivery and informed decisions to support public policy making. Despite its relevance, there is scarce research work on solutions to facilitate data interoperability in the Science and Technology government sector. This paper presents a case study describing a technical solution -- Integrated Management and Evaluation System (SIGEVA -- Sistema Integrado de Gestión y Evaluación), implemented by the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) in Argentina. SIGEVA comprises a set of applications for the management and evaluation of research projects and researchers, widely used by research centers, public and private universities, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation in Argentina. The relevance of SIGEVA relies on showcasing a technical solution overcoming barriers for data exchange, enabling to nationally consolidate relevant information related to science and technology. However, the analysis of the case study reveals weaknesses. Results show that an initial stage of data interoperability contributes to break information silos among organizations contributing to improve end users' activities. However, further interoperability levels and non-technical issues are required and must be considered during the development process of technical solutions for data interoperability. The paper also presents a data interoperability framework to ensure semantic consistency while dealing with data heterogeneity. The framework is validated against the weaknesses identified for the case study, and an approach for generalizing its usage to other government sectors is discussed.