CEF DSI maturity study : final report

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is the EU's financial instrument to fund the deployment and operations of Digital Service Infrastructure (DSIs). It has a budget of 1.14 billion euros, out of which 970 million euros were earmarked for DSIs delivering networked cross-border services for citizens, businesses and public administrations. There are a large number of different DSIs (and potential DSIs), which deliver or will deliver cross-border services. The DSIs consist of two elements, the Core Service Platforms (CSPs) and Generic Services (GSs). The CSPs are the common elements, whether centralised or distributed, which enable the functioning of the DSI. The GSs are the Service Provider implementations (at Member State level). In accordance with Article 6 of the CEF Telecom guidelines, the DSIs which can be implemented, and which are therefore eligible for CEF funding must have achieved "sufficient maturity to be deployed, as proven in particular through successful piloting under programmes such as the Union programmes related to innovation and research". The objective of the assignment is to evaluate the technical and deployment maturity of DSIs listed in the CEF Telecom guidelines which have not yet been assessed as fully mature, thus not already included in the Work Programme for 2014, or only included with preparatory measures In accordance with Article 17 of the CEF Regulation, the Commission must adopt multiannual and annual work programmes defining which DSIs will be implemented. The methodology developed in this report will provide the Commission with a strategic tool to assess the maturity of current and future DSIs, in order to assess their readiness for deployment under CEF. For this assignment, and in preparation for the Work Programme 2015, the DSIs to be evaluated are: Automated translation (AT); Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS); Cyber Security; eHealth; eJustice; Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI); Electronic Procurement (eProcurement); Electronic Procedures for Setting up and Running a Business (eBusiness); and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).