The digital health ecosystem is rife with opportunities to improve healthcare through data-driven services in the European Union (EU). The value of health data, in the multiple forms in which they come (from health records to lifestyle data collected by smartphones or wearables), can truly emerge when they are allowed to flow in the ecosystem within a governance framework supported by all relevant stakeholders, with trust as the common and clear thread underpinning it. The coronavirus pandemic has provided an additional impetus for change, showing the importance of coordination and adequate communication between Member States and quality data to inform decision-making. Significant challenges remain, however, in order to achieve a fully integrated European digital health ecosystem, including: (1) the potentially diverging rules set by Member States at the national level and the need for an EU framework for the secondary use of health data; (2) the need for transparency and accountability for sustaining a data-sharing framework involving public authorities, research organisations, industry and citizens; and (3) the need for interoperable data and processes. Taking stock of these challenges, this article puts forward policy recommendations to enable the provision of pan-European data-driven healthcare services and to build a transparent and trustworthy framework for citizens.
The European Commission published a new Communication on better regulation on 29 April 2021, with the aim of improving the European Union’s (EU) policymaking process. By updating the better regulation agenda to mainstream sustainable development goals and the digital and green transition and by ensuring more foresight-based policymaking, this Communication shows that the Commission is moving in the right direction. Several proposals also have great potential to simplify the better regulation process and make it more transparent. By contrast, the envisaged simplification of the public consultation process may jeopardise its effectiveness and should be carefully reconsidered. In addition, a more cautious, stepwise approach to introducing, testing and adjusting the new EU one-in, one-out system is certainly needed. This article aims to identify and assess the key changes proposed by the new Communication and to share ideas for the preparation of the new Better Regulation Guidelines and Toolbox, which are expected to translate the Communication into practice.
This article explores the role of interoperability in the development of digital public services in Europe, analyzing the effects of an European Union (EU)-level initiative (the European interoperability framework, EIF) and the development of e-Government services on how citizens interact online with public administrations. The EIF is a common EU framework providing guidance on public sector interoperability. EU countries are not mandated to follow the EIF, but they are encouraged to take up its guidance in their respective national interoperability frameworks (NIFs). Against this background, this article tests two hypotheses: (a) the introduction of NIFs facilitates the online interaction between citizens and public administrations and (b) better e-Government services encourage citizens to interact online with public administrations. Both hypotheses are confirmed by a panel data analysis covering 26 European countries over the period 2012–2019. The analysis relies on a dummy variable reflecting the adoption of NIFs, built by carefully examining official documents of the countries in the scope of the analysis. Based on the empirical results, this article puts forward two main policy recommendations. First, efforts to improve e-Government services across Europe should be intensified in order to support the overarching digital agenda of the EU and increase benefits for European citizens. Second, interoperability should become a central element when designing new digital public services. Therefore, the European Commission could foster a common approach to interoperability of digital public services across the EU by strengthening the governance of interoperability initiatives and encouraging the adoption of specific interoperability requirements.
Relational theory has been a key advancement in understanding how entrepreneurial ecosystems work. However, the theory has not yet been operationalised through measurement methodologies. This study proposes an indicator-based framework and composite index methodology which builds on relational ecosystem theory. Starting from the premise that common aggregation methods like the arithmetic mean fail to convey the interdependence of ecosystem components (such as complementarity vs. substitution), this study explores the potential of geometric mean as an alternative approach. Our analysis shows that geometric mean methods render more plausible results than simple arithmetic mean; they operationalise complementarity between components more directly by introducing heftier penalties for imbalances in the ecosystem. Additionally, our methodology identifies the less-explored city-level as the most meaningful unit of analysis of entrepreneurial ecosystems. To test the index, we use a unique set of quantitative data for eleven middle-income cities, namely Accra, Amman, Bangkok, Beirut, Bengaluru, Cairo, Jakarta, Manila, Nairobi, Rabat, and Tunis. As most previously conducted measurements have targeted either mature or country ecosystems, our goal is not limited to methodological advancements in measuring entrepreneurial ecosystems, but it also relates to expanding the current status of research to less explored world regions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.