Russian-German Center for Interoperable eGovernment Systems

The Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS, the Institute SPIIRAS at the Russian Academy of Sciences and the St. Petersburg State University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) are establishing a "Center for Interoperable eGovernment Systems" in St. Petersburg.

The aim is to create interoperable and innovative eServices for Russia.

Keeping this aim in mind, the Innovation Center will develop secure and internationally usable IT supported administration processes and introduce them in the area around St. Petersburg and throughout Russia.

Core of the Innovation Center will be the affiliated eGovernment laboratory in St. Petersburg. In the laboratory new applications will be implemented, installed and tested for secure and continuous communication between autonomous, heterogynous eGovernment systems in inter-municipal and transnational application areas. Here, eGovernment application projects for public administration in Russia are carried out and best practice solutions for eServices are demonstrated. With the newly signed cooperation agreement for the eService area Fraunhofer and its Russian partners are responding to the planned introduction of eGovernment and eServices throughout Russia.

An institutionalization of the eGovernment cooperation is planned.

The new Innovation Center in St. Petersburg will cooperate with all relevant regional eGovernment actors.

Along with industry, businesses and sciences, standards and interoperable solutions for eServices in Russia will be produced. Close attention will be paid to the newest security technology as well as closed and open source aspects. Through this cooperation, expertise as well as the mutual project basis of the partners involved will be enhanced. That way the range of services offered will be improved even further.

The St. Petersburg Workshop of the Russian-German Center for interoperable eGovernment systems has been a successful prelude and an important milestone for the project. The event caused immense interest among Russian experts in this field.

The project is being supported by the International Office of the BMBF and the Fraunhofer Society.