1. Opinions after the 24/25 February 2016 Plenary
DIME/ITDG
Opinions
after
the 24/25 February 2016 Plenary

2. Item 1 Validation
DIME/ITDG endorsed the proposed roadmap and supported the creation of the TF Validation under the WG Methodology and a possible ESSnet.
5 countries (EE,DE,NL,IT,UK) volunteered to join a DIME/ITDG high level group to develop the deployment actions, a roadmap and the governance structure; DIME/ITDG members are invited to signal their interest to participate by 26 February 2016.
In line with the Wiesbaden agreement and the SDMX roadmap, high priority will be put on improving VTL in view of testing a new version starting in May 2016.
Noting that Validation is the first project in the framework of the ESS Vision 2020 to come to an end, an action plan with indication of priorities for deployment would be presented to the ESSC in May 2016.

3. Item 2a ESDEN
DIME/ITDG expressed appreciation for the close link between the IT project and the business projects of the Vision. Phase one of the project implementation was found as a good example of collaboration between the MSs and ESTAT
Eurostat took note of the need to further work on automatizing the full SIMSTAT flow
A call will be launched for participation to the network of national contact points

4. Item 2b SERV
DIME/ITDG expressed support to move into phase II of the project subject to
Clearly focusing on the deployment (in parallel to development work), use of services in the catalogue
Clarification of the ultimate ambitions (priorities, budget, scope)
The DIME/ITDG considered crucial a clear user orientation of the work and a top-down approach based on prioritising the ESS Vision 2020 projects and coverage of GSBPM insofar as possible.
These elements shall be included in the revised version of the paper to be discussed at the next ESSC in May 2016

5. Item 3 Risk Management
DIME/ITDG took note of the distribution of the different mitigation actions foreseen with regard to the risks identified at the level of the ESS Vision 2020 portfolio, in particular with reference to the roles of the WG Methodology, WG IT, WG Standards and the EG on Standardisation.

6. Item 4 ESSnet 2017
DIME/ITDG was informed that a description of the governance clarifying the role of the various actors (incl. DIME/ITDG and VIG, VIN) would be provided by the VIG;
Members considered that their role is of particular importance with regard to possible ESSnets and CoEs not under the umbrella of the ESS Vision 2020
With regard to the proposed ESSnets the DIME/ITDG took note of the proposals that are in line with the ESS Vision It was announced that further ESSnets would likely be proposed under QUAL and in the context of a Validation implementation project

7. Item 5 DIGICOM and SIMSTAT
The DIME/ITDG took note of the Business case for DIGICOM as approved by the ESSC in November 2015, and expressed interest in the following areas of the project: linked open data, release of experimental statistics, improvement of access to microdata for research purposes and hackathons.

8. Item 6 Big Data
The DIME/ITDG welcomed the work done in Slovenia in the area of Big data and in particular the concrete case of job vacancies.
The DIME/ITDG took note of the different activities being carried out at ESS and International level

9. Item 8 Enterprise Architecture
The DIME & ITDG supported the ESS EA RF for ensuring project alignment with the Vision and encouraged Eurostat to carry on its testing/implementation along the proposed roadmap. This may include actions going beyond ESS actors, e.g. in the area of Big Data.
Encouraged for the next phase to link with GAMSO and underlined the importance of focusing on the business projects/products.
The EA RF should continue to evolve with the support of the ESS EA board, for which the DIME/ITDG members would nominate participants by 11 March 2016.

10. Item 9 Quality
DIME/ITDG welcomed the progress in the area following the ESSC Workshop on Quality
DIME/ITDG took note that further information on the possible ESSNets on Quality related topics would be provided once the work on QUAL has gained shape
DIME/ITDG endorsed the proposed revised mandate of the Quality WG

11. Item 10 SDMX
DIME/ITDG acknowledged the success of SDMX and encouraged to expand data sharing arrangements, with more Data Structure Definitions for global use, a higher attention to metadata standardisation initiatives (SIMS) and the enhancement of a user-friendly IT infrastructure supporting SDMX.
An action list with measurable objectives and a timeline will complement the Roadmap 2020
Eurostat will present to the next DIME/ITDG SG a Eurostat Roadmap for enhancing the implementation of SDMX in the ESS.

12. Item 11 Standardization
The DIME/ITDG expressed appreciation for the concrete work carried out by the recently established Expert Group on Standardization
The proposed work programme was approved

13. 12 IT Security Framework
DIME/ITDG supported the list of potential solutions for implementing the IT Security framework and welcomed the work done by the ESS IT Security Expert Group. MSs were invited to express their interest to join the group.
Regarding the Assurance Mechanism in the DIME/ITDG no clear consensus emerged; further work will be needed; the scope need to be clarified in the next version of the doc to be provided to the VIG
The proposed roadmap was considered a good basis towards the next discussion that will take place at VIG in March 2016

14. 13 EMOS
DIME/ITDG took note of the programme, the related governance and labelling system

15. Item 14 TCOs The DIME/ITDG took note of the results of the survey
Some doubts were expressed on the possibility to extend the mandate of the TCOs to act as the national contact point for data transmission of European statistics
DIME/ITDG suggested that the follow-up actions would be ensured by the ESS TF in charge of the implementation of the regulation 223

16. Item 16 Cross-countries Comparability
DIME/ITDG welcomed the presentation of this quality dimension that should be investigated further. Possibly with a dedicated stream of research presenting countries experience.