Ibero-america is moving forward in the interoperability of information systems

Interoperability is emerging as a key technical and institutional challenge in relation to the registration of information on SSC and Triangular Cooperation.

Ibero-America, under the leadership of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB, by its acronym in Spanish) and in coordination with member countries and the Ibero-American Programme for the Strengthening of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (PIFCSS, by its acronym in Spanish), has made progress in establishing a common conceptual and methodological framework, developing shared tools such as the Integrated Ibero-American Data System on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SIDICSS, by its acronym in Spanish), and the generation of regional knowledge products, including the Report on SSC and Triangular Cooperation in Ibero-America.

This progress is taking place at a time of growing global interest in improving the measurement of social and cultural sustainability and its contribution to sustainable development, particularly in the wake of the 2030 Agenda. In this context, international initiatives led by UNCTAD—with the support of ECLAC—and the International Forum of the TOSSD are particularly noteworthy.

In this framework, SEGIB organized a technical meeting in Madrid in May 2025 entitled ‘Ibero-America and the challenges of measuring South-South cooperation’. This event brought together the key stakeholders (countries, SEGIB, UNCTAD and IFT) and helped to identify two key challenges for Ibero-American countries participating in various measurement systems:

• The operational burden arising from reporting across different platforms, with limited staff and varying conceptual frameworks.
• A loss of data consistency and reliability, leading to divergent results that make it difficult to present a coherent narrative on the SSC.

The workshop therefore highlighted interoperability between frameworks as a key way of addressing these challenges. The participation of countries in the region in various schemes has highlighted the need to coordinate measurement systems, avoiding duplication, reducing administrative burdens and improving the quality and comparability of information.

Building on these developments, on 20 and 21 May 2026, SEGIB facilitated the workshop ‘Ibero-America and the challenges of measuring SSC: addressing interoperability’, organized by PIFCSS with the support of the Salvadoran Agency for International Cooperation (ESCO, by its acronym in Spanish). The meeting deepened the technical analysis, focusing on conceptual, operational and institutional aspects to advance towards greater interoperability between the Ibero-American system led by SEGIB and those of UNCTAD and the IFT of TOSSD.

Interoperability requires a comprehensive approach across three complementary dimensions: technical and operational (data transmission), semantic (understanding of information), and legal and organizational (data governance). As a result, the participating countries, the PIFCSS and the SEGIB agreed on a roadmap setting out short-, medium- and long-term actions to advance this process.

May 2026

***

Fuente: SEGIB

Fotografías: Salvadoran Agency for International Cooperation (ESCO, by its acronym in Spanish)