Before PDND, data sharing in Italy relied on fragmented, bilateral integrations that were slow to negotiate, hard to maintain and often limited to local arrangements. PDND replaces this with a single, national interoperability platform that combines a shared legal and governance framework with a common technical infrastructure, API catalogue and authorisation model.​

The innovation lies in turning the “once-only” principle into an operational reality at scale, by shifting from project-by-project integrations to reusable services that any accredited public body can expose and consume. It is also innovative in how it links legislation, funding (via the national recovery plan) and practical onboarding support for administrations, making interoperability a structural feature of service design rather than a purely technical afterthought.

Moreover, PDND only enables data exchanges that take place directly between emitter and consumer in complete compliance with GDPR regulation.

PDND has been in operation since 2022 and is now scaling across levels of government and policy domains. More than 9200 entities have adhered to the platform and are progressively exposing and consuming services through the central API catalogue. New use cases are continuously developed in areas such as civil registries, welfare, education, procurement and digital identity, often supported through targeted funding and technical assistance under the national recovery plan.

The DDT leads strategy, while the state-owned company PagoPA designs, operates and evolves the platform. The national digital agency (AgID) contributed to the Interoperability Model and guidelines, and other public bodies at central and local level codesigned high impact use cases. Private providers of public services and technical communities are progressively involved.

The DDT has signed 30 agreements with central administrations and lumpsum public funding calls to finance API publication.

Citizens and businesses benefit from simpler, faster services and fewer repetitive requests for information. PA gain secure, standardised access to data held by other entities, reducing manual checks and integration costs. Policymakers benefit from higher quality, timely data for evidence-based decisions. With the new guidelines, private entities operating in the public interest can also join the platform, under clear regulatory and governance safeguards that ensure participation in ecosystem.

The intended impact is to make “once-only” operational, reducing redundant data requests, accelerating service delivery and enabling data driven policies. Observed results include faster and more reliable public services, lower administrative costs and higher data quality, as administrations reuse verified information from trusted sources. These outcomes are measured through PDND’s central monitoring dashboard, which tracks adoption metrics (9,274 entities, 14,200+ eservices, 39,000+ connections, 1.2 billion sessions) and ecosystem development in key domains such as welfare, education, procurement and digital identity, with tangible benefits for citizens and businesses in terms of time saved and service quality.

Key challenges included aligning legacy systems, differing legal interpretations, limited skills in small administrations, and building trust in data sharing. The Department for Digital Transformation leveraged regulatory reforms (updates to the Digital Administration Code, specific directives, and Decree-Law 19/2026) to mandate PDND adoption and introduce sanctions for non‑compliance. It also strengthened capacities through training with ANCI’s Accademia dei Comuni Digitali, regional sessions, and vendor workshops. To overcome resistance to change, it fostered dialogue, provided EU‑funded support, involved early adopters, and simplified processes based on real use cases.

Success depended on a clear legal basis (the Italian Digital Administration Code and dedicated directives and Decree-Law), strong political backing and alignment with the national digital strategy. A decisive condition was the availability of EU Recovery and Resilience Facility funds, channelled through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which enabled bilateral cooperation agreements with central administrations and standardised lumpsum calls for local and territorial entities. Dedicated operational capacity at the state-owned platform operator, specialised teams in the Department for Digital Transformation, and the provision of guidelines, toolkits and training of practice further supported adoption and long-term sustainability.

Interoperability is not only a technical project but a long-term institutional change that must combine law, funding, governance and day-to-day support. Starting from concrete, high impact use cases helps to demonstrate value and build trust among administrations, creating momentum for broader adoption. Investing in clear guidelines, reusable components, communities of practice and continuous listening to users is essential to make a national platform usable for organisations with very different capabilities.

PDND is designed to interoperate with European initiatives such as cross border digital services and emerging data spaces, positioning Italy as an active contributor to the European data strategy. The project also aims to foster innovation by enabling new data driven services from public bodies and, where appropriate, private actors delivering public services, while preserving high standards of security, privacy and accountability.
Feasibility studies and prototype development are underway to enable, through an extension of PDND, cross‑border data exchanges between public administrations of different EU Member States.