SDMX Open Data Interchange (SODI)

1. SDMX Open Data Interchange (SODI) by Leonhard Maqua and Georges Pongas Eurostat, European Commission, Luxembourg

2. The Background of SODI: SDMX SDMX - Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange - is an initiative sponsored by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the European Central Bank (ECB), Eurostat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB), aimed at fostering more efficient processes for exchange and sharing of statistical data and metadata among international organisations, their constituencies and users. Full information on the SDMX standards and organisation are available on http://www.sdmx.org.

3. SODI: SDMX Open Data Interchange • The SODI project has been designed to test a new approach for collecting and disseminating short-term statistics from EU Member States, aimed particularly at • Making short-term statistics at EU available more quickly, ideally at the same time as they are available at national level • Making these statistics easily accessible to users in formats which facilitate further use. • The project is centred on the concept of data published at national level by EU Member States being made simultaneously available through a common dissemination environment at EU level.

4. The Framework of the SODI Pilots • Statistical Offices of DE, FR, NL, SE, UK as partners • ECB and OECD as observers • Mandated and supervised by the SPC (Statistical Programme Committee), FROCH (Friends of the Chair, a high-level discussion group, acting as a think-tank to the SPC), and the ITDG (IT-Directors’ Group)

5. The content of the SODI pilots • No external financing, to be done with internal resources • Restricted to quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) and monthly industrial production index (IPI) • Data formats are SDMX-EDI (corresponding to GESMES/TS) and SDMX-ML • “Push” transmission via STADIUM or EDAMIS, “Pull” transmission via SOAP web service, triggered by RSS feed • “Publication” of the received data on CIRCA (restricted area, but accessible to all National Statistical institutes) • Results available mid-2005

6. “Push” transmission: Traditional way of transmission: NSI sends data via STADIUM/EDAMIS to Eurostat, where it arrives in the reception environment “Pull” transmission: NSI sets up a web service to provide the data Eurostat requests the data connecting to the web service by SOAP protocol. NSI triggers the request by an RSS feed containing “What’s new?” Eurostat’s requestor feeds the data into Eurostat’s reception environment “Push” versus “Pull” Transmission

7. The State of the Pilots

8. Objectives of the Pilots • Proof-of-concept for the SDMX data formats of the Principal European Indicators (not trivial, as National Accounts data are currently not available in GESMES-TS) • Proof-of-concept for the “Pull” data transmission method • Proof-of-concept for the publication of SDMX-ML data (visualisation with CSS or XSL) • Proof of the ability of the Member States to provide data in SDMX format for Eurostat at the same time as national data • Feasibility study for the SODI Project • Issue paper covering open technical and non-technical (i.e. organisational, statistical, legal, political, etc.) questions

9. The next Step: SODI • Basic idea: Publication of data by Eurostat at the same time as by the National Statistical Institute, using SDMX technology • Extension of the SODI pilots to all Member States and to all PEEIs • Financing by IDABC (Interchange of Data between Administrations, Businesses and Citizens, a programme of DG Enterprises) envisaged • In a later stage, extension to other suitable statistical areas • Time frame: 2006 - 2009