- Email: [email protected]
EDI for local government: The EEC project edicities
Pergamon
Comput., Environ. and Urban Systems, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 185-192, 1995 Copyright © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0198-9715/95 $9.50 + 0.00
0198-9715(95)00007-0
EDI FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT: THE EEC PROJECT EDICITIES" Massimo Rumor* and Antonio Daniefi t * Comune di Padova, Italy t Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, Italy
BACKGROUND INFORMATION I would like to start by sharing some basic information and concepts about EDI. Electronic Data Interchange means "exchange of data between computer applications through a communication network". It implies that no human intervention is needed, the dialogue is treated in a completely automatic way by computer programmes. It must be clear that we are talking of situations where there exist applications sending, as a result of an automatic process, messages to other applications, all of them running on different computers, and then receiving applications which start automatically, on the basis of the messages received, their own processes. This situation cannot be compared with the exchange of electronic mail where no automatic processing is required. Clearly the whole community concerned must agree in advance upon structure and vocabulary of EDI messages. This is the most important prerequisite of any EDI application. The other important requirement, availability of a suitable communication network at reasonable cost, is now widely satisfied. A great amount of work has already been done, defining the messages needed to use EDI in many fields of activity. This work of standardization started many years ago and faced many problems also relating to the international dimension of EDI. I don't want to tell the whole story, let me only recall that an international body has been established under the United Nations patronage, the UN/EDIFACT Board supported by continental boards, in Western Europe by the Western European Edifact Board (WEEB). The standard developed is called EDIFACT and is made up by many components. As regards the existing standardized messages, the first messages developed dealt with the field of business, like trade, customs, transport, banking; later, more messages have been developed for other fields of activity like construction, statistics, insurance, tourism and travel, health care, and a few others. The use of EDI is increasing and its advantages are widely recognized.
a This paper also appears in the proceedings of the 17th Urban Data Management Symposium (UDMS) '94, held in Helsinki-Expoo on September 4-8, 1994.
185
186
M. Rumor and A. Daniefi
EDI FOR URBAN MANAGEMENT The application of EDI in many business fields found its rationale in cost and time saving and in accuracy increase. The same considerations apply also in the field of the Public Administration and particularly for local Authorities. However, there is something even more interesting: the capability of EDI in helping coordination between the various actors in the complex system of local government. The City is a very complicated system and the degree of complexity is continuously increasing. The various actors, local government departments, utilities, health authorities, agencies and private companies dealing with public works or, for some reasons, active in the territory must coordinate their plans and their actions. Coordination means exchange of information and here EDI finds its critical role in providing an effective, reliable and standardized way to communicate in real time. As a consequence of the above considerations the interest in the use of EDI for urban management has increased greatly in recent times. For that reason, EEC has financed, inside the frame of the TEDIS programme, the project EDICITIES.
THE EDICITIES PROJECT The Project has been launched by URBA2000 after many years of experience working in the field of public authorities and utilities. URBA2000 has been joined by other partners sharing the same enthusiasm about EDI potentiality for Urban Management: The Netherlands • Municipality of ROTTERDAM • EDIBOUW • Ballast Nedam (Public works company) Italy • Municipality of PADOVAA. • M.A.G. (Water utility company) • Engineering (Software company) France • DUNKERQUE Urban District • SEDINOV (Software company) URBA2000 acted as coordinator of the project and the three cities were also the sites where prototype applications were tested. The main objectives of the project were the following: • the promotion of the use of EDI in the exchanges between local authorities, public services and their partners, to be finalised by establishing an Edicities European User Group; • the analysis of the situation of the data exchanges related to the coordination of roadworks to be carried out in the three concerned countries; • the development of the EDIFACT messages able to support the above mentioned exchange; • development, installation and test of prototype applications in the three pilot sites. The project, financed by the EEC with 502.860 ECU, was carried out in 1993.
EDI for Local Government
187
RESULTS OF THE EDICITIES PROJECT A Starting Main-Line: Road Works Coordination The findings of the analyses carried out in the three countries demonstrated that, besides different organizational procedures and formalization rules, there exists a common structure of the whole process of road works coordination and management and, basically the same situation about data exchange. Two main activities have been identified: • planning • operation management The planning phase is intended to allow all partners to share a basic overall plan for periods varying from three months to one year. Operation management starts based on the information already gathered during planning, and is a much more formalized activity characterized by the preparation and exchange of documents between all concerned actors. In detail the necessary documents are the following: • permit request addressed to the coordinating body; • answer from the coordinating body (i.e., authorization or request for further information); • information of the scheduled date for the beginning of works (from contractor to all concerned interlocutors); • information that works have started (from contractor to coordinating body); • confirmation that works ended (from contractor to coordinating body); • report after execution (very much dependent on local regulation and organization; it may also inform on economic and on map related aspects). In the above described situation EDI can clearly play a substantial role in facilitating the dialogue between all concerned partners. As for the EDIFACT messages, two messages have been deemed necessary and have been developed: • CONAPW: CONstruction Advice for Pending WorksThis message is used to take the initiative in an information exchange concerning road works. It is typically used to send permit requests, to provide the information needed for work coordination and to ask for data regarding potential interference with existing networks.CONAPW contains data regarding identification of the parties, contact persons, works location, works technical details, and reference to other non EDI information. • CONRPW: CONstruction Response for Pending WorksThe function of this message is to answer C O N A P W messages.It is typically used to grant authorisations or to provide required information.The content is similar to CONAPW. To make it possible to exchange CONAPW and C O N R P W messages each actor has to be provided with the necessary EDI tool, the translator, which manages the communication and interface the application software. The translator automatizes: • EDIFACT messages generation from software issued data. • EDIFACT messages reading and transposition into a format accepted by the application software. The translator also takes care of any necessary control. Figure 1 illustrates the EDI communication system. The necessary communication links must be provided and an efficient solution has been found using an X.400 E.mail system.
188
M. Rumor and A, Daniefi EDI IYSTIIM
1
I
I-" r
............................
IIDI
I ',
r ~
In
.
"
m
AND COMMUNICATION
I
lind
f'Nm'wo.x I
I"
cf. (Hetwork MHS. Comcm'd)
of, (Nelwork)
IIYSTIIM
FIGURE 1. EDI and Communication System.
The users can have access to the mail system on a wide area situation via switched telephone lines.
Pilot Installations Main aims of the test program were: (1) to test the suitability of the normalized messages for practical use by local communities and their partners which means:.Definition of exchange scenarios in relation to the various national regulations and uses.Technical evaluation of CONAPW and CONRPW messages in order to verify effective response to user needs. (2) to test the software developed and the availability of communication networks and E.mail systems at European level; (3) to identify the factors that could hamper implementation of the system. These activities were carried out during '93 in each pilot site. The following are the main steps in which the experiment was divided: First phase - - February 93
Definition of the EDI reference scenario and evaluation of CONAPW and CONRPW messages by each experimenter inside its own environment. Second phase - - March~April 93
Test of the scenario, of the communication network and of X.400 email use exchanging messages between all participating actors. Third phase - - May~September 93
Test of the whole system including the application software of all partners. A fourth phase was planned, but so far has not yet been carried out, with the aim to reach and formalise an interchange agreement between participating partners considering also possible extensions to other partners. A final evaluation after site tests was carried out with the aim to measure how the solutions we have promoted: - are operational in the three sites; - will improve the coordination of road works; - m a y be considered as general and suitable to be extended to others municipalities/countries. For this final evaluation three aspects have been identified:
EDI for Local Government
189
(1) Organisational With the aim to generalise user requirements coming from the analyses in the three sites to define a common information model to be easily adapted to any situation. (2) Technical In order to implement this information model on the basis of EDIFACT syntax rules, selected EDI tools, existing communication systems and application software. (3) Economic To be able to assess the impact of such EDI system in cost/benefit terms. The activity under point three is still in progress. Padova Pilot Site The main goal of the test in Padova was to deliver the users a comprehensive and if possible friendly software solution able to allow them to check if the envisaged EDI solution could replace the previous solutions for routine work. We decided to concentrate on the two main actors, the municipality of Padova and AMAG, its utility company. Both were not using any software application in the field, all activities were treated using pen and paper, consequently we had to develop and to install a software package, with the EDI system included, which was able to support the whole process and in particular the exchange of documents between Comune di Padova and AMAG. In detail the software developed has enabled the Municipality to: • receive via EDI, store and retrieve all the received requests for authorisation of road works; • manage the files in order to add information and to control the whole process; • send via EDI to AMAG the authorisations and the requests of information. As regards AMAG the software has provided the following functions: • input and management of the requests of authorisation of road works; • forwarding via EDI the requests to the Municipality; • receiving via EDI the authorisations from the Municipality. The edifact translator used is Teledi, developed by Sedinov. The software packages have been installed on personal computers and, in the case of the Municipality, an integration with existing applications has been implemented. The test was carried out using an X.400 private network set up by the Municipality. Figure 2 illustrates the structure of the application. Figure 3 shows the succession of messages exchanged between the two actors. For the time being, as agreed upon by the Municipality and AMAG, two messages are used for road work coordination in Padova. RA: Richiesta di Autorizzazione (Request for Authorisation), sent by AMAG to the Municipality's Road Department, to obtain the information and the authorisations necessary for the programmed works. A: Autorizzazione (Authorisation), which is the answer sent by the Municipality's Road Department to AMAG to deliver the required authorisation. The results of the test were positive, the system proved to be effective. In a short time we plan to complete the implementation and to substitute completely the old manual procedure. In fact we have been delayed by some internal organisational problems mainly related to the replacement of the Municipality's technical offices, including the Road Department, in a newly restored building. What, I think, will need more work is the involvement of the other actors, the telephone and electricity companies which are national entities, and the great number of contractors, sometimes very small companies.
190
M. Rumor and A. Daniefi AMAG
COMUNE
P.C. + E D I S Y S T E M
DI PADOVA
P.C. + E D I S Y S T E M
F I G U R E 2. Structure of the Application.
THE SECOND PHASE OF THE EDICITIES PROJECT The second part of the project has been financed by the EEC and was started at the beginning of this year. The main aims are the following: 1. Making the most of the results of the first phase 2. Including in the EDIFACT messages the exchange of Geographical Information files 3. Extending the application of EDI interchanges to other fields 4. Diffusion of the use of EDI in the public sector through the PEG "EDICITIES."
Making the Most of the Results of Edicities Phase 1 This programme is based on coordination and awareness actions addressed towards local authorities wishing to take advantage of the results of phase 1, implementing the application for road works' management. The following actions have been planned and will be carried out with no cost for interested authorities: • organisation of awareness seminars; • accomplishment of audit and feasibility analyses; • organisation of training activities to enable successful implementation of the system; Moreover a users' guide and a handbook regarding structure and use of CONAPW and CONRPW messages will be distributed and actions will be started towards the software companies working for local authorities. Including in the Edifact Messages the Exchange of Geographical Information Files This programme will be carried out in relation with the CEN TC 287 group that is responsible for the standardisation of the exchange formats of geographic data, considering
EDI for Local Government
191
EXCHANGE SCENARIO Private person,
or company
Network,
Utility (AMAG)
Other Companies
Municipmlity road departm coordination
(Sub) contractor
Digger
Other
Manic,a! departments
IIRequ~t f~- Authorisatihn:EDI
2/Request for Authorisatiol (Internal)
3/Au~oN~tton (Internal)
,4 t
4/Authorisa finn: EDI
5/Put in MotiOn sube~ntrac :or /
i L i 6/Request fr r Cartography [ i 7/Cartograp y Answer I I
1
,8/Information on the wor~ done (optional)
!'
~9/Re~rt on le work done :optional) i
FIGURE 3. Succession of Messages Exchanged Between the Two Actors.
192
M. Rumor and A. Daniefi
the needs already understood during phase 1. Again field tests will be carried out in Dunkerque, Padova and Rotterdam
Extending the Application of EDI Interchanges to Other Fields The model for analysis, test and implementation defined in phase 1 can be applied to other interchange situations between urban actors, therefore, as agreed upon by the representatives of the cities who attended the Edicities meeting on April 14 in Rotterdam, it is planned to work on the extension of EDI application in the following areas: a. information exchanges between city departments and suppliersThis will be carried out starting from the existing and largely used "Trade" messages (dealing with prices, orders, invoices) and adapting them to support the relations between local communities and their suppliers at european level considering the specific rules of public procurement. b. information exchanges between different local authorities regarding environmental aspects and registry acts. c. relations between local and central authorities in the fields of planning, budgetary and statistical information and staff management. Diffusion of the Use of EDI in the Public Sector Through the PEG "Edicities" The EDICITIES Pan European users Group has been officially acknowledged by the Western European Edifact Board and consequently will participate to the various activities regarding Edi in Europe and will be able to represent the needs and the opinions of local authorities. Moreover, the establishing of national EDICITIES users groups is starting with the aim to diffuse the use of EDI within local authorities. CONCLUSION I believe that the application of EDI in urban management has a great future and will progressively change the way in which local authorities exchange information. This requires increased awareness and changes in the organisational processes. Both need time to take place but I do feel that we are on the right track and with the support of the European Union and the growing interest from cities' governments the great advantages provided by EDI will be eventually shared by all of us.
Comput., Environ. and Urban Systems, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 185-192, 1995 Copyright © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0198-9715/95 $9.50 + 0.00
0198-9715(95)00007-0
EDI FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT: THE EEC PROJECT EDICITIES" Massimo Rumor* and Antonio Daniefi t * Comune di Padova, Italy t Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, Italy
BACKGROUND INFORMATION I would like to start by sharing some basic information and concepts about EDI. Electronic Data Interchange means "exchange of data between computer applications through a communication network". It implies that no human intervention is needed, the dialogue is treated in a completely automatic way by computer programmes. It must be clear that we are talking of situations where there exist applications sending, as a result of an automatic process, messages to other applications, all of them running on different computers, and then receiving applications which start automatically, on the basis of the messages received, their own processes. This situation cannot be compared with the exchange of electronic mail where no automatic processing is required. Clearly the whole community concerned must agree in advance upon structure and vocabulary of EDI messages. This is the most important prerequisite of any EDI application. The other important requirement, availability of a suitable communication network at reasonable cost, is now widely satisfied. A great amount of work has already been done, defining the messages needed to use EDI in many fields of activity. This work of standardization started many years ago and faced many problems also relating to the international dimension of EDI. I don't want to tell the whole story, let me only recall that an international body has been established under the United Nations patronage, the UN/EDIFACT Board supported by continental boards, in Western Europe by the Western European Edifact Board (WEEB). The standard developed is called EDIFACT and is made up by many components. As regards the existing standardized messages, the first messages developed dealt with the field of business, like trade, customs, transport, banking; later, more messages have been developed for other fields of activity like construction, statistics, insurance, tourism and travel, health care, and a few others. The use of EDI is increasing and its advantages are widely recognized.
a This paper also appears in the proceedings of the 17th Urban Data Management Symposium (UDMS) '94, held in Helsinki-Expoo on September 4-8, 1994.
185
186
M. Rumor and A. Daniefi
EDI FOR URBAN MANAGEMENT The application of EDI in many business fields found its rationale in cost and time saving and in accuracy increase. The same considerations apply also in the field of the Public Administration and particularly for local Authorities. However, there is something even more interesting: the capability of EDI in helping coordination between the various actors in the complex system of local government. The City is a very complicated system and the degree of complexity is continuously increasing. The various actors, local government departments, utilities, health authorities, agencies and private companies dealing with public works or, for some reasons, active in the territory must coordinate their plans and their actions. Coordination means exchange of information and here EDI finds its critical role in providing an effective, reliable and standardized way to communicate in real time. As a consequence of the above considerations the interest in the use of EDI for urban management has increased greatly in recent times. For that reason, EEC has financed, inside the frame of the TEDIS programme, the project EDICITIES.
THE EDICITIES PROJECT The Project has been launched by URBA2000 after many years of experience working in the field of public authorities and utilities. URBA2000 has been joined by other partners sharing the same enthusiasm about EDI potentiality for Urban Management: The Netherlands • Municipality of ROTTERDAM • EDIBOUW • Ballast Nedam (Public works company) Italy • Municipality of PADOVAA. • M.A.G. (Water utility company) • Engineering (Software company) France • DUNKERQUE Urban District • SEDINOV (Software company) URBA2000 acted as coordinator of the project and the three cities were also the sites where prototype applications were tested. The main objectives of the project were the following: • the promotion of the use of EDI in the exchanges between local authorities, public services and their partners, to be finalised by establishing an Edicities European User Group; • the analysis of the situation of the data exchanges related to the coordination of roadworks to be carried out in the three concerned countries; • the development of the EDIFACT messages able to support the above mentioned exchange; • development, installation and test of prototype applications in the three pilot sites. The project, financed by the EEC with 502.860 ECU, was carried out in 1993.
EDI for Local Government
187
RESULTS OF THE EDICITIES PROJECT A Starting Main-Line: Road Works Coordination The findings of the analyses carried out in the three countries demonstrated that, besides different organizational procedures and formalization rules, there exists a common structure of the whole process of road works coordination and management and, basically the same situation about data exchange. Two main activities have been identified: • planning • operation management The planning phase is intended to allow all partners to share a basic overall plan for periods varying from three months to one year. Operation management starts based on the information already gathered during planning, and is a much more formalized activity characterized by the preparation and exchange of documents between all concerned actors. In detail the necessary documents are the following: • permit request addressed to the coordinating body; • answer from the coordinating body (i.e., authorization or request for further information); • information of the scheduled date for the beginning of works (from contractor to all concerned interlocutors); • information that works have started (from contractor to coordinating body); • confirmation that works ended (from contractor to coordinating body); • report after execution (very much dependent on local regulation and organization; it may also inform on economic and on map related aspects). In the above described situation EDI can clearly play a substantial role in facilitating the dialogue between all concerned partners. As for the EDIFACT messages, two messages have been deemed necessary and have been developed: • CONAPW: CONstruction Advice for Pending WorksThis message is used to take the initiative in an information exchange concerning road works. It is typically used to send permit requests, to provide the information needed for work coordination and to ask for data regarding potential interference with existing networks.CONAPW contains data regarding identification of the parties, contact persons, works location, works technical details, and reference to other non EDI information. • CONRPW: CONstruction Response for Pending WorksThe function of this message is to answer C O N A P W messages.It is typically used to grant authorisations or to provide required information.The content is similar to CONAPW. To make it possible to exchange CONAPW and C O N R P W messages each actor has to be provided with the necessary EDI tool, the translator, which manages the communication and interface the application software. The translator automatizes: • EDIFACT messages generation from software issued data. • EDIFACT messages reading and transposition into a format accepted by the application software. The translator also takes care of any necessary control. Figure 1 illustrates the EDI communication system. The necessary communication links must be provided and an efficient solution has been found using an X.400 E.mail system.
188
M. Rumor and A, Daniefi EDI IYSTIIM
1
I
I-" r
............................
IIDI
I ',
r ~
In
.
"
m
AND COMMUNICATION
I
lind
f'Nm'wo.x I
I"
cf. (Hetwork MHS. Comcm'd)
of, (Nelwork)
IIYSTIIM
FIGURE 1. EDI and Communication System.
The users can have access to the mail system on a wide area situation via switched telephone lines.
Pilot Installations Main aims of the test program were: (1) to test the suitability of the normalized messages for practical use by local communities and their partners which means:.Definition of exchange scenarios in relation to the various national regulations and uses.Technical evaluation of CONAPW and CONRPW messages in order to verify effective response to user needs. (2) to test the software developed and the availability of communication networks and E.mail systems at European level; (3) to identify the factors that could hamper implementation of the system. These activities were carried out during '93 in each pilot site. The following are the main steps in which the experiment was divided: First phase - - February 93
Definition of the EDI reference scenario and evaluation of CONAPW and CONRPW messages by each experimenter inside its own environment. Second phase - - March~April 93
Test of the scenario, of the communication network and of X.400 email use exchanging messages between all participating actors. Third phase - - May~September 93
Test of the whole system including the application software of all partners. A fourth phase was planned, but so far has not yet been carried out, with the aim to reach and formalise an interchange agreement between participating partners considering also possible extensions to other partners. A final evaluation after site tests was carried out with the aim to measure how the solutions we have promoted: - are operational in the three sites; - will improve the coordination of road works; - m a y be considered as general and suitable to be extended to others municipalities/countries. For this final evaluation three aspects have been identified:
EDI for Local Government
189
(1) Organisational With the aim to generalise user requirements coming from the analyses in the three sites to define a common information model to be easily adapted to any situation. (2) Technical In order to implement this information model on the basis of EDIFACT syntax rules, selected EDI tools, existing communication systems and application software. (3) Economic To be able to assess the impact of such EDI system in cost/benefit terms. The activity under point three is still in progress. Padova Pilot Site The main goal of the test in Padova was to deliver the users a comprehensive and if possible friendly software solution able to allow them to check if the envisaged EDI solution could replace the previous solutions for routine work. We decided to concentrate on the two main actors, the municipality of Padova and AMAG, its utility company. Both were not using any software application in the field, all activities were treated using pen and paper, consequently we had to develop and to install a software package, with the EDI system included, which was able to support the whole process and in particular the exchange of documents between Comune di Padova and AMAG. In detail the software developed has enabled the Municipality to: • receive via EDI, store and retrieve all the received requests for authorisation of road works; • manage the files in order to add information and to control the whole process; • send via EDI to AMAG the authorisations and the requests of information. As regards AMAG the software has provided the following functions: • input and management of the requests of authorisation of road works; • forwarding via EDI the requests to the Municipality; • receiving via EDI the authorisations from the Municipality. The edifact translator used is Teledi, developed by Sedinov. The software packages have been installed on personal computers and, in the case of the Municipality, an integration with existing applications has been implemented. The test was carried out using an X.400 private network set up by the Municipality. Figure 2 illustrates the structure of the application. Figure 3 shows the succession of messages exchanged between the two actors. For the time being, as agreed upon by the Municipality and AMAG, two messages are used for road work coordination in Padova. RA: Richiesta di Autorizzazione (Request for Authorisation), sent by AMAG to the Municipality's Road Department, to obtain the information and the authorisations necessary for the programmed works. A: Autorizzazione (Authorisation), which is the answer sent by the Municipality's Road Department to AMAG to deliver the required authorisation. The results of the test were positive, the system proved to be effective. In a short time we plan to complete the implementation and to substitute completely the old manual procedure. In fact we have been delayed by some internal organisational problems mainly related to the replacement of the Municipality's technical offices, including the Road Department, in a newly restored building. What, I think, will need more work is the involvement of the other actors, the telephone and electricity companies which are national entities, and the great number of contractors, sometimes very small companies.
190
M. Rumor and A. Daniefi AMAG
COMUNE
P.C. + E D I S Y S T E M
DI PADOVA
P.C. + E D I S Y S T E M
F I G U R E 2. Structure of the Application.
THE SECOND PHASE OF THE EDICITIES PROJECT The second part of the project has been financed by the EEC and was started at the beginning of this year. The main aims are the following: 1. Making the most of the results of the first phase 2. Including in the EDIFACT messages the exchange of Geographical Information files 3. Extending the application of EDI interchanges to other fields 4. Diffusion of the use of EDI in the public sector through the PEG "EDICITIES."
Making the Most of the Results of Edicities Phase 1 This programme is based on coordination and awareness actions addressed towards local authorities wishing to take advantage of the results of phase 1, implementing the application for road works' management. The following actions have been planned and will be carried out with no cost for interested authorities: • organisation of awareness seminars; • accomplishment of audit and feasibility analyses; • organisation of training activities to enable successful implementation of the system; Moreover a users' guide and a handbook regarding structure and use of CONAPW and CONRPW messages will be distributed and actions will be started towards the software companies working for local authorities. Including in the Edifact Messages the Exchange of Geographical Information Files This programme will be carried out in relation with the CEN TC 287 group that is responsible for the standardisation of the exchange formats of geographic data, considering
EDI for Local Government
191
EXCHANGE SCENARIO Private person,
or company
Network,
Utility (AMAG)
Other Companies
Municipmlity road departm coordination
(Sub) contractor
Digger
Other
Manic,a! departments
IIRequ~t f~- Authorisatihn:EDI
2/Request for Authorisatiol (Internal)
3/Au~oN~tton (Internal)
,4 t
4/Authorisa finn: EDI
5/Put in MotiOn sube~ntrac :or /
i L i 6/Request fr r Cartography [ i 7/Cartograp y Answer I I
1
,8/Information on the wor~ done (optional)
!'
~9/Re~rt on le work done :optional) i
FIGURE 3. Succession of Messages Exchanged Between the Two Actors.
192
M. Rumor and A. Daniefi
the needs already understood during phase 1. Again field tests will be carried out in Dunkerque, Padova and Rotterdam
Extending the Application of EDI Interchanges to Other Fields The model for analysis, test and implementation defined in phase 1 can be applied to other interchange situations between urban actors, therefore, as agreed upon by the representatives of the cities who attended the Edicities meeting on April 14 in Rotterdam, it is planned to work on the extension of EDI application in the following areas: a. information exchanges between city departments and suppliersThis will be carried out starting from the existing and largely used "Trade" messages (dealing with prices, orders, invoices) and adapting them to support the relations between local communities and their suppliers at european level considering the specific rules of public procurement. b. information exchanges between different local authorities regarding environmental aspects and registry acts. c. relations between local and central authorities in the fields of planning, budgetary and statistical information and staff management. Diffusion of the Use of EDI in the Public Sector Through the PEG "Edicities" The EDICITIES Pan European users Group has been officially acknowledged by the Western European Edifact Board and consequently will participate to the various activities regarding Edi in Europe and will be able to represent the needs and the opinions of local authorities. Moreover, the establishing of national EDICITIES users groups is starting with the aim to diffuse the use of EDI within local authorities. CONCLUSION I believe that the application of EDI in urban management has a great future and will progressively change the way in which local authorities exchange information. This requires increased awareness and changes in the organisational processes. Both need time to take place but I do feel that we are on the right track and with the support of the European Union and the growing interest from cities' governments the great advantages provided by EDI will be eventually shared by all of us.