TIEKE is a non-profit organization in Finland that helps advance the country's information society through projects focused on digital skills, networking, and interoperability. It has over 150 years of combined experience in digitalization across 50 member organizations from the public and private sectors. TIEKE is currently working with the Finnish government to develop national API guidelines for public organizations through stakeholder engagement and feedback to promote interoperability across different sectors.

1. TIEKE, The Finnish Information Society Development
Centre, helping Finland advance with
(interoperable) APIs
Hanna Niemi-Hugaerts
Executive Director, TIEKE
@niemihugaerts

2. TIEKE
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 2
TIEKE helps society make the most of digitalisation and new technologies.
We’re an independent, non-profit organisation, dedicated to expanding digital
know-how.
In short, we want to create a thriving information society, which benefits everyone!
We focus on the development of digital skills, digital networking and
interoperability.
50 member organisations, representing the public and the private sector.

3. TIEKE in numbers
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 3
150+ years of
combined experience
in advancing
digitalisation
70+ projects
40+ annual events
50+
member organisations
1 000 organisations
in our network
300 000 examinations
taken
TIEKE’s mission:
Finland thrives in the
ever-changing digital
realm, as a
competitive, adaptable
and human-centric
society.
TIEKE was founded in
1981.
Learn more tieke.fi

4. Do we have the needed infastructure for information society?
 Get data moving and used
 Interoperability and discovery require more work
 Collaboration across silos, organizations and geographical boundaries
 Consent mechanisms create new roles – is your ecosystem ready?
 Digital identy and use-case based identification solutions needed
 DevX and UX: marketing, tools, training and support
 Ethics & shared values – regulation to supporting both
19.12.2021 TIEKE Tietoyhteiskunnan kehittämiskeskus ry 4

5. New York
JULY
Australia
SEPTEMBER
Singapore
APRIL
Helsinki & North
MARCH
Paris
DECEMBER
London
OCTOBER
Jakarta
FEBRUARY
Hong Kong
AUGUST
JUNE
India
MAY
Check out our API Conferences here
50+ events since 2012, 14 countries, 2,000+ speakers, 50,000+ attendees,
300k+ online community
Want to talk at one of our conferences?
Apply to speak here

6. How to we work on achieving
the previously mentioned
goals?

7. 19.12.2021
TIEKE Tietoyhteiskunnan kehittämiskeskus ry 6

8. More accurate, harmonized data
19.12.2021
TIEKE Tietoyhteiskunnan kehittämiskeskus ry 7

9. GPRD2DSM –
Data Protection for SMEs
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 8
Project active: 11/2020-11/2022
Funded by: EU’s Fundamental Rights, Equality
and Citizenship Programme
Partners: The Office of the Data Protection
Ombudsman (project coordinator)
and TIEKE
• We help Finnish SMEs bring their data
protection practices in line with GDPR.
• We survey SMEs on current practices and
build tools to improve them.
• With the project findings, SMEs can enhance
their data protection practices both in
Finland and other ESM areas.
Co-funded by the European Union’s
Fundamental Rights, Equality and Citizenship
Programme (REC 2014 – 2020).

10. National API guidelines
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 9
Project active: 5-12/2021
Funded by: Ministry of Finance in
Finland
Partners: a wide variety of public and
private organisations!
• We support the Finnish government in
enganging organisations in mapping out
a national application programming
interface (API) guidelines.
• The policy is developed in collaboration
with theprivate and public sector,
ensuring a high-quality policy and
movable data.
• The national API policy will apply to all
public organisations in Finland, but
affect other sectors as well through its
expected effect on standardisation.

11. API principles and guidelines for the Finnish Public
Administration

12. Background
• The project on opening up and using public data, set up by the Ministry of
Finance on 30 April 2020, will implement the objectives of the Government
Programme by promoting wider and more effective use of public data
across society.
• The term of the project is 30 April 2020 – 31 December 2022.
• The project aims, among other things, to promote the coherent use of data
and functions, primarily through APIs. The project involves preparing and
implementing national API principles and guidelines.
• These principles will be used in the national implementation of the European
Commission’s recommendations on an API Framework for digital
government.
11
Slides by Miina Arajärvi, Senior Specialist, Ministry of
Finance in Finland

13. Why API principles for the Finnish Public Administration?
• At the moment there are no common principles for API development in the
public sector in Finland.
• API development is carried out in individual organisations and there is a
lack of technical interoperability.
• The benefits of API are not identified or understood at different levels of
organisations.
• There is room for improvement in competence and capabilities
12
Slides by Miina Arajärvi, Senior Specialist, Ministry of
Finance in Finland

14. Goals of the API principles
• The main goal of the application programming interface (API) principles is to
create a shared set of principles for API development in public administration
in Finland.
• Another objective is to promote a customer-driven approach and
cooperation, reusability, technical interoperability, information security and
data protection, as well as quality in API development.
• Common principles promote functionality and harmonised use of information,
primarily through APIs.
• The principles are intended for use by the entire public administration for
purposes such as public information system procurement and interface
development.
13
Slides by Miina Arajärvi, Senior Specialist, Ministry of
Finance in Finland

15. Levels of API principles in public administration:
strategic, tactical and operational
14
API
Strategic level
principles
Tactical level
principles
Operational level principles
Provide guidance for the organisation’s
management for setting the direction and
goals for API development.
Provide guidance for the overall
management of APIs and
for their further development.
Provide guidance for the development
and maintenance of
individual APIs.
API API API
Guidance
Guidance
Slides by Miina Arajärvi, Senior Specialist, Ministry of
Finance in Finland

16. GOALS
OPERATIONAL
LEVEL
PRINCIPLES
TACTICAL
LEVEL
PRINCIPLES
STRATEGIC
LEVEL
PRINCIPLES
API principles in public administration
Customer-driven approach and cooperation Reusability Interoperability
1.1 Provide and use information primarily over APIs
1.2 Set goals for the provision and use of APIs and
acquire sufficient resources
15
Information security and data protection Quality
1.3. In conjunction with procurement, ensure
interoperability with other information systems
2.2 Define the tasks, roles and responsibilities
related to the provision and use of APIs
2.1 Develop APIs based on needs 2.3 Describe the entire API system
3.1 Use open and technology-independent
standards and protocols to develop APIs
3.2 Use common and generic data models to
describe the data processed by APIs
3.3 Test, version, document and publish the API
3.4 Monitor the API metrics and other features
1.4 Promote internal and external cooperation
2.4 Identify the risks related to APIs

17. Schedule
Q3/2020 Q4/2020 Q1/2021 Q2/2021 Q3/2021 Q4/2021
16
Preliminary API
principles
Detailed API
principles
Creating hands-on instructions
Piloting of API
principles
1. Comment round 2. Comment round
3. Comment
round
API
principles
9 February 2021
Stakeholderevent
May 2021
Stakeholderevent
The priciples will be ready!
Finishing the API
principles
Finishing the
instructions
Creating training materials
Hands-on
instructions
Training
materials
30 November 2020
Stakeholderevent
21 September2020
Stakeholderevent
Slides by Miina Arajärvi, Senior Specialist, Ministry of
Finance in Finland

18. What will happen next year?
• Ensuring maintenance and further development of the API principles
• Support for cooperation across networks
• Virtual training
17
Slides by Miina Arajärvi, Senior Specialist, Ministry of
Finance in Finland

19. TIEKEs role in stakeholder engagement
 Bring together the private and public sector
 API providers, API utilizers and API builders
 Around 300 organizations engaged
 Webinars to share experiences
 Workshops to gather insights
 Inspiring organizations to get started with APIs
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 18

20. Series of webinars on different angles of APIs
https://youtube.co
m/playlist?list=PLF
Ms9Qmp5uLIXOE0K
YJFwF8e7YUyUXqEi
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 19

21. Workshops for gathering fears, hopes, needs and insights
2021 TIEKE - The Finnish Information Society Development Centre​ @tiekery 20

22. T I E K E
Get in touch!
Executive director
Hanna-Niemi Hugaerts
hanna.niemi-hugaerts@tieke.fi
+35840 674 9911

23. New York
JULY
Australia
SEPTEMBER
Singapore
APRIL
Helsinki & North
MARCH
Paris
DECEMBER
London
OCTOBER
Jakarta
FEBRUARY
Hong Kong
AUGUST
JUNE
India
MAY
Check out our API Conferences here
50+ events since 2012, 14 countries, 2,000+ speakers, 50,000+ attendees,
300k+ online community
Want to talk at one of our conferences?
Apply to speak here