Common policies for public sector API development

The Ministry of Finance has published common policies and recommendations for the development of application programming interfaces (APIs) in the public sector. The API principles are organised into three levels: strategic, tactical and operative.

Strategic principles apply to the organisation’s management. These principles describe how the direction and goals of API development should be defined and how APIs should be taken into account in the development of operations. 

Tactical principles apply to those in charge of developing information management in the organisation. They guide the management of API development and the organisation’s system of APIs. 

Operative principles apply to those who develop and maintain APIs. They guide the development and maintenance of individual APIs.

The API principles are intended for use by the entire public administration in interface development and information system procurement. The goal of the principles is to increase customer orientation, cooperation, semantic and technical interoperability, reusability, attention to information security and data protection, and quality in API development.

The API principles will be used in the national implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations on an API Framework for digital government. The principles were prepared in an open process with the participation of stakeholders and experts. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will take over the maintenance of the Public Administration API Principles from 2022.

Inquiries:
Tanja Lahti, Project Manager, Ministry of Finance, tel. +358 2955 30650, tanja.m.lahti(at)gov.fi
Mika Honkanen, Business Development Manager, Digital and Population Data Services Agency, tel. +358 2955 35078, mika.honkanen(at)dvv.fi