Interoperability standards among National Cyber-Physical Infrastructure programme recommendations
The National Cyber-Physical Infrastructure (NCPI) ecosystem programme has published a series of reports summarising recommendations from workshops held in 2024 (read Digital Twin Hub news). The reports cover:
People involved with nima and the GIIG (including Dan Rossiter of BSI, and nima vice-chair Paul Wilkinson) attended some of the workshops, with the GIIG’s 2023 interoperability code of practice for technology providers discussed in detail at the third workshop held at the Connected Places Catapult in London.
The Challenges workshop recommendations included the establishment of clear standards for interoperability: “Develop and mandate minimal interoperability standards across physical, digital and organisational aspects to ensure systems and technologies work seamlessly together”.
The Interoperability workshop called for the UK Government to lead on interoperability (including incorporating interoperability requirements into Government procurement processes) and for it to co-ordinate interoperability best practice.
The fourth workshop highlighted the need for standards organisations to develop and publish a vocabulary for the ecosystem to adopt, particularly around difficult concepts about security and interoperability. (The GIIG also developed and published a glossary to help develop a common understanding of contractual and technical terms.)
The NCPI programme is creating a roadmap for future activity in the ecosystem which will be informed by the workshop findings, a series of interviews with industry experts and a stakeholder mapping exercise.
Encouraging more interoperable approaches is one of the requirements of the nima/CLC-backed Information Management Initiative, launched in November 2024. As part of its business function (process) element, the IMI Sector-Wide Directive calls for a common and consistent approach to information management. It seeks convergence on “a common framework for defining, procuring, delivering, storing and using data and information that is interoperable”.
