The county councils have been in dialogue with the cross-sectoral data collaboration on a recently started work on a transport standard. The purpose of the dialogue has been to obtain more information about the data collaboration and the status of the work on the transport standard. A key element in the dialogue is the strategic participation of the counties in the data collaboration. This article explains in more detail what the data collaboration and the transport standard are, and also discusses the way forward for the collaboration between the counties and the cross-sectoral data collaboration.
The cross-sectoral data collaboration
The background to the data collaboration is that optimized use and sharing of data in the transport sector can provide major benefits to transport companies, travelers and society in general. The data collaboration is initiated and financed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and consists of Avinor, Bane NOR, Entur AS, the Norwegian Railway Directorate, the Norwegian Coastal Administration, Nye Veier AS and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Entur is responsible for coordinating the collaboration.
The data collaboration has a flexible organization with interdisciplinary forums; legal forum, technical forum, etc. The work in the data collaboration will be driven by resources in the participating companies, as shown in Figure 1 above.
Work on a possible transport standard (Transport standard)
The work on the transport standard is one of the most important activities for the data collaboration. As shown in Figure 2 below, the background to this work is that the Ministry of Transport and Communications has encouraged the data collaboration to consider developing its own industry standard (behavioral standard) for privacy and information security in the transport sector. A code of conduct is a set of rules for a specific industry. It is intended to provide specific rules and guidelines for how companies should act to comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation. It is not the intention of the Data Collaboration that the Transport Standard should be a formal standard under the GDPR, but is inspired by the Standard for Information Security and Privacy in the Health and Care Sector (the Standard).
At a meeting between the county councils and the cross-sectoral data collaboration on September 17, 2024, the data collaboration informed that the work on the transport standard has just started. The first working meeting was in August 2024. Initially, it is important to get the lawyers in the government agencies involved to establish a common understanding of the legal issues such as processing responsibility, legal basis for sharing and (further) use of personal data and what data is actually personal data. As part of the work on the transport standard, consideration is also being given to how the Norwegian Railway Directorate's industry standard for privacy and information security in electronic ticketing (the ticketing standard) can be incorporated into the transport standard. It has not yet been decided how comprehensive the standard should be, and whether micro-mobility, ticketing, parking etc. should be included. Figure 3 below shows the structure of the Transport Standard as it currently stands.
The county councils are not yet involved in the work; initially the focus is on getting the government agencies to collaborate. The data collaboration intends to incorporate the municipal sector into the work on the transport standard if it turns out that it is possible to get the government agencies to work together.
The conclusion of the meeting in September between the counties and the data collaboration is that there is a good climate for further collaboration. The data collaboration emphasized that they want the counties to participate, and that the municipal sector is invited to join the work.
-"The county councils see a great benefit in establishing a common transport standard that includes both the state and municipal sectors, and the county councils want to be a good team player with the data collaboration in the future," emphasizes Knut Lindland, County Director of Innovation and Organizational Development at Agder County Council.
The counties' further cooperation with the data collaboration
The county councils, together with KS, have repeatedly pointed out that the municipal sector must be included as an equal party in the cross-sectoral data collaboration. The county councils and KS have had meetings with the Ministry of Transport and Communications at the administrative level, and at the political level in KS' bilateral meetings with political leadership in the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
KS sent a letter to the Ministry of Transport and Communications on 28.03.2023 regarding the involvement of the municipal sector in cross-sectoral cooperation. The purpose of the letter was to put in place a collaboration between the administrative levels that ensures the participation of the municipal sector in the data collaboration.
In the bilateral consultation meeting that KS had with the Minister of Transport on December 1, 2023, KS asked the Minister of Transport to help ensure that the counties are involved at a strategic level in the cross-sectoral data collaboration, and to set requirements for the data collaboration on this.
The message from the county authorities and KS has always been the same: The county councils have a decisive role to play in achieving the goals of a comprehensive transport system, comprehensive travel information and a transport system that supports the climate goals.
Konrad Pütz, Director of Transport at Trøndelag County Council, points out that the data collaboration seems somewhat exclusionary as it is currently organized. "Bottom-up collaboration is good, but it is important to be aware that strategic collaboration across administrative levels has obvious benefits and will be crucial for travelers to get a good offer," says Pütz.
The College of Transport Managers discussed data collaboration and the Transport Standard at its meeting on September 18 and 19, 2024. The government's management of the work on the transport standard, seen in the context of the processes surrounding digital service development and transport data, was discussed.
At its meeting on August 29, 2024, the county council discussed a new mobility report: "A step-by-step approach to a joint collaboration for digital service development". From this meeting, the College of Transport Managers has a follow-up point about contacting the state. The points of discussion between the county councils and the state are the scope for future division of roles and responsibilities, use of resources/financing, management systems and democratic control within digital service development/data management. The College of Transport Managers will draw up a proposal for organizing the process with the parties involved, which will be presented to the County Council by the end of 2024. A significant issue will be the state's lack of involvement of the counties in key processes.
In the study of a joint collaboration for digital service development, it became clear that roles and influence are very important, comments Konrad Pütz. -"What is the state's ability to share influence? How can the county councils be involved at a strategic level in key processes that affect public transport? We can't wait too long to clarify this," he concludes.
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Text: Anne Mette Dørum