SinGLe Sign-on eGovernAnce paradigm based on a distributed file exchange network for Security, transparency, cost effectiveness and truSt

Project Information

GLASS

Grant agreement ID: 959879

DOI

10.3030/959879

Project closed

EC signature date 28 October 2020

Start date 1 January 2021

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Europe In A Changing World - Inclusive, Innovative And Reflective Societies

Total cost

€ 3 999 557,50

EU contribution

€ 3 999 557,50

Coordinated by

UNI SYSTEMS SYSTIMATA PLIROFORIKIS MONOPROSOPI ANONYMI EMPORIKI ETAIRIA
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GLASS (SinGLe Sign-on eGovernAnce paradigm based on a distributed file exchange network for Security, transparency, cost effectiveness and truSt)

Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Due to the rapid growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and its increasing pervasiveness across all parts of society, the role of the government is changing. The Internet, mobile communications, cloud infrastructures, distributed technologies and digitization have brought a uniquely positive impact to all spheres of the society and even more potentialities into the establishment of the eGovernment model. eGovernment is commonly defined as governments' use of ICTs combined with organizational change to improve the structures and operations of governments. The core values eGovernment is expected to yield are:
(i) improved public services and administrative efficiency;
(ii) Open Government capabilities;
(iii) improved ethical behaviour and professionalism;
(iv) improved trust and confidence in government; and
(v) improved value and well-being.
The vision for future eGovernment research actions in the EU is to extend the borders of ICT, increase the interoperability and efficiency of public sector organisations and offer user-centric and secure services. Towards the modernization of their services, public administrations need to transform their back-offices, upgrade their existing internal processes and services, and provide privacy-preserving and secure solutions for a new governance model.

The project objectives are the following:
1. Design and construction of an inclusive, open, cross-sector and cross-border eGovernance model for sharing common public services
2. Establishment of an eGovernance approach that supports and promotes the inclusiveness and accessibility regardless of cultural, social and societal factors
3. Development and deployment of a distributed, shared-resource public network for openness and transparency
4. Development and establishment of a novel platform to support the creation and sustainability of an EU ecosystem of distributed applications (dapps) and background services, tailored to the needs of citizens, businesses and public administrations
5. Provision of trusted, user-centric data governance and document sharing mobile services for citizens, businesses and public administrations
6. Delivery of middleware software and hybrid gateway components for secure data sharing and exchange processes, as well as intercommunication functionalities for heterogeneous structured-based systems towards meeting interoperability by default service standards and minimum data generation policies
7. Demonstration of the applicability and effectiveness of GLASS Governance Model in real-world use case scenarios, ensuring the engagement with industry, decision makers and public bodies
8. Wide communication and scientific dissemination of GLASS model and results

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the second reporting period of GLASS, all WPs were in progress. The time schedule of the project has been followed, as planned and all 33 deliverables have been submitted. The relevant milestones have been achieved and the consortium tackled successfully any challenges met, during this period.

In WP1, the management tools and procedures that were set up early in the project, were used to run the project smoothly and according to DoA expectations. Four general plenary meetings and several telcos also allowed the consortium to interact and discuss on the activities to be carried out.
Within the context of WP2 the consortium defined the GLASS eGovernance model and its adoption action plan and specified the actions which ensure its sustainability. The main outcomes were the submission of the GLASS eGovernance model white paper and the project’s business & sustainability strategy and adoption plan.
In WP3, the final version of the GLASS architecture, which presents the final features, inner functionalities, and interactions for the individual components of the GLASS system was developed.
In WP4, the design and development of the Single Sign on Wallet was finalised, and deployed as a Web and Mobile App.
In WP5, the distributed ledger’s design, development, and deployment was finalised, along with the secure management of identities. Moreover, the definition of common infrastructure was implemented and the definition of the dApps ecosystem’s architecture.
In WP6, the design and development of the first and final releases of the different components of the GLASS Enhanced Suite have been conducted. More specifically, the Secure Gateway, the Exploration Service, the Analytics Module and the AI Transformer have been developed with first and final releases.
In WP7, i) The production of an integration plan that defines API access mechanism for all components; ii) The deployment of a test network consisting of a fully functional blockchain solution, together with orchestration scripts; iii) The GLASS integrated platform that consists of the GLASS Wallet and the supporting modules of the GLASS suite; iv) A set of technical and operational evaluation criteria to be used by technical partners and end users to evaluate technical and operational aspects of the GLASS solution; v) The demonstration plan to guide the end users through the steps of each demonstrator; vi) The deployment of all demonstrators; vii) The testing and evaluation of the GLASS platform.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

GLASS enables organisations to join a secure and trustable distributed network to demonstrate the capacity of a modernised eGovernance model. It acts as the paradigm for various cross-sector and cross-border governance operations applications, respecting and following the EU policy priorities, connecting the citizens with various public authorities and private organisations.
The proposed distributed Governance framework utilises the IPFS-P2P public distributed network, which plays the role of the file storage system in a distributed manner.
A distributed ledger tracks and supervises all the transactions occurring between users, keeping an immutable transaction record with traceability functionalities, ensuring trust.
These services are operated through dapps that enable the document exchange and data sharing over the network and act as the main interface gateways.
Smart contracts define their functionality and are designed to operate over the distributed ledger.
The single sign-on Wallet provides a single documentation management tool for different applications running on the same ledger.
GLASS develops the AI Data Schema Transformer to enable interoperability between heterogeneous and non-standardized data schemas, allowing any public entity to join the network and transform its services.

The GLASS impact extends beyond its technical achievements. GLASS demonstrably contributed to positive socio-economic outcomes by streamlining processes, leading to efficiency gains for both businesses and citizens. By empowering individuals with control over their data and fostering trust in public institutions, GLASS helped to establish a more inclusive digital society, ensuring that all citizens, regardless of their background, have equal access to essential services. Furthermore, the project's focus on distributed architecture and efficient service design resulted in positive environmental impacts through reduced energy consumption and minimized hardware footprint. In conclusion, the GLASS project's legacy lies not just in its innovative solutions but also in its lasting positive societal and environmental contributions.

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