1.a. Organisational interoperability is concerned with the need to ensure alignment between business processes and information architectures of different departments/agencies for better collaboration and inter-agency coordination in service delivery (UNPAN 2008)25. The case of the Philippines illustrates how this becomes crucial to gender-inclusive e-service delivery. The Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Magna Carta for Women 2009 emphasise the alignment of all gender mainstreaming efforts undertaken by different government agencies, including in the domain of e-service delivery. The coordination and collaboration between government agencies at national and local levels has been made possible, through continuous investment in organisational interoperability and by overcoming traditional silos. This has been recognised in the Philippine Digital Strategy (2011-16) and the e-government Master Plan (2011-16). For more details, see Macapagal 2016.

1.b. Semantic interoperability is concerned with enabling the exchange, pooling and re-combining of data sets held by different service provider agencies, for meaningful information processing to support public decision making. Therefore, it is mainly concerned with providing a “common methodology, definition, and structure of information, along with shared services for retrieval” (UNPAN 2008)26. In the design and roll-out of women-directed services, data taxonomies become very important to avoid exclusions in targeting. For example, in a particular country-context, single women may be specifically targeted by different departments/agencies as part of their service delivery efforts. The Department of Social Welfare may have a pensions scheme directed at single women, the Department of Housing may offer them additional housing subsidies, and the Department of Small Industries may have a specific income generation programme directed at them. For better targeting, the government may decide to build a convergent database to coordinate service delivery efforts across these departments. However, this will be effective only if all departments are using the same definition of ‘single women’, and are collecting data in the same formats. Information privacy principles also call for ensuring that the structures of information are modelled for respecting privacy. Interoperability can undermine privacy, unless data governance protocols for de-identification are intrinsic to exchange, pooling and recombining of data sets. De-identification refers to the process of preventing a person’s identity from being connected to her information – and it includes not just anonymisation but the removal of other personal identifiers such as citizen ID numbers, and potential identifiers such as zip code or date of birth.

1.c. Technical interoperability is about setting standards and specifications that enable the effective exchange of information across computer systems. It covers the following categories (UNPAN 2008)27:

1. Interconnection: standards related to networks and systems development
2. Data integration: standards for description of data that enables data exchange across systems
3. Information access and presentation: design of user interfaces
4. Content management and metadata: standards for managing government information
5. Security aspects, cutting across all the above-mentioned layers

The selection of standards is not only an exercise in technical efficiency, but equally an exercise in ensuring inclusive access to e-services.

Standards adopted in e-governance should be open, and not proprietary/ vendor-controlled, in order to maximise end-user choice and ensure that those who cannot afford proprietary tools are not disadvantaged. Governance systems can also maximise reach if they adopt open standards, instead of proprietary artifacts and tools. This will release scarce resources for programmes to reach remote and underserved locations.

Technological advancements in e-government also necessitate a revisiting of data integration and interconnection standards. For example, new data solutions such as ‘whole government API’ enables the integration of disparate datasets held by different agencies through a separate “engagement” layer without melding them together, whilst at the same time facilitating the creation of a common interface. For example, see https://www.techinasia.com/singapore-government-api. Standards need to be regularly revisited to keep pace with these advancements.

Standards for user interface development should incorporate accessibility standards developed by W3C consortium to enable uptake of e-services by women with visual and auditory disabilities. These accessibility standards stress upon the following aspects:

• User interface is presented in textual and non-textual formats.
• User interface is navigable by mouse and keyboard, and allows users enough time to read and process the content
• Navigation and search features aid users who are completely dependent on textual interfaces as well as those who completely rely on text-to-speech options (using audio/ read-aloud software).
• Content appears and operates in predictable ways.

For more details, see https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web/principles

Content management is another area for standards development. A gender perspective should be infused into e-government data architectures right at the stage of initial design (See example of e-Kasih in Unit 2.1, Section 2.1.3, point 3). The importance of developing gendered data taxonomies is vital – as the non-availability of gendered datasets is a global problem that adversely impacts evidence-based planning. Estimates suggest that currently national data sets are available for less than one-quarter of key gender indicators across the SDGs – and this is a major impediment to the creation of effective gender and development plans at the national level (Data 2x 2016)28.

Data security protocols in e-government also need an overhaul in the context of the widespread adoption of cloud computing solutions, such as in the creation of citizen digital lockers, to enable easy storage of welfare applications and other service-related documents. While it is important for government agencies to gain the trust of all citizen-users, this is particularly important in the case of women. The most disadvantaged women are yet to go online. E-government transactions need to be secure to be rewarding for women. Cloud computing and storage needs to be determined by a cloud security architecture with clear rules and protocols so that public agencies account for these concerns.

The following data management protocols become critical to protecting privacy and confidentiality of women citizens32:

1. Notice for collection of data and breaches: When personal information is collected by government agencies, citizens should receive intimation about the reasons for which such information is being collected, and the purposes for which this information will be used. And if there are inadvertent data breaches, citizens should be immediately notified. The following illustration demonstrates how this protocol is critical, from a gender sensitivity standpoint. A government may launch schemes to support sex workers shift to alternative employment, or offer a higher education scholarship for children of sex workers. In the transition to digitalised service delivery systems, it is important that data sets about sex workers and their families that are collected by government agencies involved in the implementation of these schemes are not freely shared with other agencies, while working towards convergent service delivery. The identity of being a ‘sex worker’ usually carries with it social stigma that women may seek to avoid by keeping information about their work confidential. Data collection principles should be based on a need-to-know policy, and information collected for particular uses should not be redeployed without consent. Similarly, data breaches/leakages of identity information can increase vulnerability of women in the communities they live in – and therefore, if any such lapse occurs, women should be immediately notified.

2. Informed Consent: Any information collected from citizens should be based on informed consent. For example, in a  benefits scheme intended for single women, the service provider may collect details of marital status (i.e., widowed/divorced/separated/abandoned by spouse etc.).It is important to ensure that the beneficiary consents to share this information, after understanding why this is essential to receive benefits under this scheme. Consent is bound by ‘purpose limitation’, meaning that if a woman shares information about her marital status to avail benefits under one scheme offered by a particular agency, it cannot be automatically assumed that this information can be used for targeted delivery of other schemes. If such information is to be shared with other departments/agencies as part of strengthening integrated service delivery under a life-cycle approach, at the point of collection, the informed consent of the beneficiary should be obtained for such sharing.

3. Citizen access and right to seek corrections to personal information: All citizens have the right to view personal information about them that is being held by government agencies, and verify and correct this information, in case of errors. Oftentimes, data about women who may be physically disabled/ older or from highly restrictive cultural contexts is provided by other family members or recorded by intermediaries. Having access to online mechanisms for data verification is useful so that they can verify and make changes they deem important.

4. Disclosure of information: Government agencies shall not disclose any personal information to third parties, except for law enforcement purposes. This applies even to the release of databases to the public as part of open data measures for transparency and accountability. For example, in Karnataka state, India, in 2015, the state government had released disaggregated datasets from the socio-economic census on the status of single women into the online public domain, as part of its open data efforts. The High Court ordered these datasets to be taken down, as it compromised the privacy of women who are already vulnerable.

   In such cases where release of disaggregated data sets is being contemplated, it is important that they are de-identified. De-identification does not refer merely to removal of names, but also other personal identifiers such as date of birth, social security/ citizen ID number, and even mobile phone number, and postal zip code. In the digital context, where most datasets are multi-dimensional, it is fairly easy to interlink disaggregated, anonymised data sets with other data sets available online, and reidentify individuals, if such other identifiers are not removed.

   This issue becomes tricky when sensitive personal information is core to the design of the service – such as GBV support services or creation of a directory of sex offenders. Here, lines may need to be drawn differently, with respect to the release of data. While the identity of a GBV victim may be known to her immediate community when she approaches a support service, it may be useful to take a decision that as part of open data disclosures for accountability, only aggregate data about complaints received and processed will be released online, and individual names of complainants will not be disclosed. However, individualised monitoring of complaints by victims themselves may be enabled, through introducing systems such as mobile-based tracking of complaints/specific cases.

   Similarly, with respect to the development of a sex offender directory, the Republic of Korea has developed a system that effectively balances public interest concerns (of alerting citizens about sex offenders who pose a risk in their neighbourhoods), with survivor-confidentiality and the right to privacy of sex offenders (to offer them a fair chance of rehabilitation).Individuals have to register online and go through an online ID authentication process before they can access information about known sex offenders. Also, there are legal restrictions on release of information about sex offenders to media, and software safeguards that prevent copying/saving of content accessed from the portal.

5. Secure Storage: Government agencies should institute reasonable security safeguards against unauthorized access, processing and modification of citizen datasets stored by them, and guard against data breaches/leakages. For gender sensitivity, these protocols become non-negotiable. The 2014 Report of the World Economic Forum offers some concrete suggestions on data storage protocols in e-service delivery, which can enhance security:

   • Data should be stored in a distributed manner, with regional custodians from different government agencies appointed for different data sets. This will ensure that no one can combine data types without authentic authorization.
   • Decentralised data storage becomes even more important in the context of biometric based authentication mechanisms in service delivery, which have been introduced in some countries such as India. Research reveals that for biometric authentication, decentralised storage of biometric templates and personal information as encrypted data in microchips in smart cards may be more secure than the creation of a centralised biometric template database of all citizens. This system may also be more fool-proof and less susceptible to technical failures, as service providers performing identity authentication have to compare live biometric templates against the information encoded in the smart card carried by the citizens; rather than query a remote, online server. In this system, the chances of identity theft are also reduced (Smart Card Alliance 2011)33.
   • Data sharing across departments should be SQL/query-based (which allows sharing of specific fields rather than the entire data set). This minimises chances of accidental and deliberate leakages.

6. Accountability: As has been recommended by the EU General Data Protection Regulation, accidental data leakages should be penalised as well as wilful data breaches, to ensure accountability for violations of citizen privacy.

7. Effective governance of Big Data partnerships: The Independent UN Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development has called for accelerating evidence-based policy making towards the progress of Agenda 2030. It has recommended that national governments explore Big Data partnerships with private sector collaborators to fill in gaps in national statistical systems (IAEG 2014)34. However, such arrangements should not violate privacy and confidentiality of citizens whose data is implicated. Governments may enter into collaborations with mobile telecommunication operators to use Call Detail Records in order to enhance their emergency responses. But research shows how in certain countries in the African context, health response systems end up tracking personally sensitive information without consent, towards efficient management of epidemics like ebola. There is a risk here of extra-legal or unauthorised surveillance (Taylor, 2016)35.

As the UN E-government Survey 2016 observes, Open Data policies hold a lot of promise for enhancing vulnerable groups’ access to the benefits of development. For example, as the Survey observes, “data about location of health services and water points near slums or disadvantaged areas can help improve communities’ access to essential social and economic resources. Support can also be provided to help relevant non-governmental organizations to analyze and use Open Data for improving the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable”. However, if Open Data strategies are to aid efforts that seek to address women’s marginalisation, the following aspects should be addressed:

• Investing in the development of Open Data Sets that specifically focus on the development attainments of girls and women, and gaps to be addressed. The Girl Impact Map Platform, Rwanda offers a suitable exemplar. This platform provides a geo-spatial representation of the differences in girls’ development attainments and access to government support services across different geographic regions of the country. It also permits users to overlay this map with data about governmental budgetary allocation for girls.
• Building a gender budget into Open Data policies and programmes, to support civil society efforts to mine existing official statistics to raise awareness about gender-based discrimination and women’s low status.. Efforts such as the Femicide Dossier (Brazil), which has created an open map for recording deaths from gender based violence; the Jump Start Georgia initiative that uses official data from the government of Georgia on wages, wealth and labor to raise awareness about gender-based discrimination in the workplace; and the Khabar Lahariya initiative in India that has supported women community journalists in using open data sets from the Census of India to analyse the livelihoods crisis of women farmers, are suitable exemplars.