GovStack’s new Data Lead Maksim Ovtšinnikov

Maksim Ovtšinnikov previously held the position of Head of Data Exchange Technologies at Cybernetica AS and his 8 years of experience in the e-Governance domain has made him truly grasp the intricacies of different nations’ problems to find long-lasting solutions. He has been working with the governments of Ukraine, Benin, Malaysia, Brazil, Tunisia, Namibia, Aruba, Kenya and many others, helping these countries to digitalize their public services.

To start with – how would you describe your role as GovStack Data Lead? What would you like to achieve in this position?

I see my role as one of the core members of the CTO team, directly helping Kristo Vaher to achieve the goals that are to be accomplished before the end of Q2.

My goals for the near future are to have the next version of Information Mediator Building Block and Workflow Building Block specifications released. The new release would include improvements of both functional and non-functional requirements as well as correcting bugs, typos and numbering.

Another very ambitious goal that I have is to transform the working groups that I represent into a well-known and respected open-source community. We have great examples such as Linux Kernel Foundation with thousands of contributors ranging from big corporations to freelance enthusiasts, a mature contribution process and transparent governance. This is the ‘shoot at the moon’ type of goal, but I hope that one day we will get there.

What are the main benefits one could get from following the GovStack principles in building digital public infrastructure (DPI) and services?

First, I would bring out the country- and technology-agnostic principles of GovStack. By following these principles, a country is way less likely to end up in a vendor lock situation where their critical infrastructure is under the control of a private business. The specifications of GovStack Building Blocks combine the best practices from all over the globe. Exemplary software that complies with these specifications can be accessed in GovStack sandbox, so the governments can try them out before going live, which significantly reduces implementation risks.

As a Data Lead, I also find it very important that different building blocks are interoperable by design, so they can talk to each other from the very beginning. This makes cross-sector and even cross-border collaboration much easier.From the perspective of a citizen, I would bring out the fact that everything that GovStack does has security, consent and privacy built into it. We put the protection of private data of the citizens first because we know that trust from the public is the key to success when it comes to e-Governance.

Focusing on interoperability and data exchange, what would be the key aspects to focus on when a government wants to build a resilient digital public infrastructure? And how GovStack can support the process?

The key aspects to keep in mind are 1) the usage of open standards and ensuring interoperability, 2) being vendor-neutral and designing the architecture in a modular manner with reusable building blocks, 3) putting citizens first by ensuring that they are in control of their own personal data and implementing security measures to protect the data, and, of course, 4) capacity building because long-term success of the DPI largely depends on the amount of skilled people working with the DPI.

For other experts like yourself – why should someone join GovStack working groups?

Because you can shape the very important aspects of how modern-day governments operate. We see the GovStack principles becoming the gold standard for governments in the foreseeable future and now is the best time for experts of various backgrounds to review the specifications and add your local context and experience to it.

You will also meet a lot of very smart people here that have exciting backgrounds, and you will definitely learn a lot.

GovStack is a multi-stakeholder initiative founded in 2020. The initiative aims to break down barriers to building sustainable digital infrastructure and help governments create human-centred digital services to empower individuals and improve their well-being. Sustainable, cost-effective modular solutions for building an e-state, known as building blocks, can be adapted, implemented and scaled according to a country’s needs. By adopting GovStack solutions, governments can reduce the cost of digital services and applications and save the time and resources typically spent on development.