Today, there is a growing awareness that the interoperability of national public information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructures is a precondition for a more service-oriented and competitive public sector. Interoperability means the ability of ICT systems and of the business processes they support to exchange data and to enable the sharing of information and knowledge.

To help achieve interoperability, both within and across different policy areas, many countries have developed their own interoperability frameworks. However, in spite of the recommendations and guidelines provided by these frameworks, issues such as socio-economic disparities between regions challenge their effective and successful use. This panel will explore several key questions concerning success factors for an interoperability program from various perspectives. These include the following:

• When are organizations ready to think of running an interoperability initiative?
• The actions the organization must take to ensure that the process is established and will endure.
• Preconditions that must exist in the organization to implement interoperability (eventually through a framework).
• Roles and procedures necessary to implement an interoperability program
• Is it possible to start an interoperability program in under-resourced administrations? Opportunities and challenges in less-developed countries