Concepts that connect - the potential power of adoption in NL-SBB

Toine Schijvenaars

Concepts give meaning to what we say and do. Whether it is a simple word like “resident” or a technical term in a policy document: we use concepts to understand each other. But in practice it turns out that we do not always mean the same thing with the same words. Think of cooperation between municipalities or government organizations: if everyone uses their own language, misunderstandings, delays or errors quickly arise.

That is why it is important that we make clear agreements about what exactly we mean. And that we all speak the same language. That is where the Dutch Standard for Descriptive Metadata (NL-SBB) comes in. This standard helps with describing and managing concepts, so that information can be found faster, better understood and shared more smoothly between organizations.

What is NL-SBB?
NL-SBB is a Dutch standard that helps to describe concepts (such as terms, definitions or technical terms) in a clear and unambiguous way. So that everyone in government or education, for example, uses the same words in the same way — and thus prevents misunderstandings. For example: if two municipalities use the word "resident", do they mean exactly the same thing? With NL-SBB you can record that precisely. In short: NL-SBB helps people to speak the same language about data and information.

The gain: context in action and smooth data exchange
If we embrace the concept of NL-SBB, we will see the benefits in practice. Think of better findability of information, because everyone uses the same search terms. But at least as important is the smooth and correct exchange of data between systems and organizations. Because the meaning of the terms used is clear and coordinated, computer systems can understand each other better and transfer information without errors. The shared language of concepts makes collaboration a lot more efficient.

The hurdle: efficient use
It sounds logical, but actually (re)using these concepts is not always easy. Sometimes we naturally use slightly different words, or interpret a concept slightly differently. The challenge lies in the transition from the abstract 'concept' that we have in our heads, to the concrete 'context' of how that concept is defined and used. And if we agree on the meaning, how are we going to use this concept in our own conceptual framework? How do we "adopt" a concept?

Adoption in NL-SBB?
In order to reuse concepts from other conceptual frameworks, NL-SBB has five harmonization relationships to other frameworks. These are indicated with the term "corresponding to", and then in combination with "exactly", "almost", "related", "parent" and "children". But a reference alone is not sufficient for accessible use, then you also want to immediately view the definition and explanation and other properties of the concept. Supporting tools such as concept managers and viewers should support this.

The functional requirements
An implementation of adoption can take place in various ways. It is important that the NL-SBB community and the standard itself formulate what a desired implementation method of this functionality is. This is to prevent different implementations from working against a federated use of concepts. For this reason, the NL-SBB Community has started a working group to map out these requirements. The idea behind this initiative is that the adoption concept can be a best practice or even a part of the NL-SBB standard.

Finally
The adoption of the concepts within NL-SBB is more than just referring or copying to parts of another conceptual framework. It is a journey from our individual understanding to a collective context, making information more accessible, usable and correctly exchangeable for everyone.