Imagine if every part of your city—public transport, water systems, building permits—spoke the same digital language. No more data locked in separate departments, no more digital systems that can’t talk to each other. This idea is called interoperability, and it is essential for building smarter, more connected cities.
The Swedish city of Gothenburg is putting interoperability into practice through MIMs (Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms), developed within the Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC) network. MIMs are simple, practical rules that help different digital systems and tools work together. They are the building blocks for making city data usable across departments and turning complex technology into useful services for people.
Making complex tech useful: Gothenburg’s approach to MIMs
For Gothenburg, interoperability is not an abstract goal but a daily practice. According to Erik Jeansson, who coordinates Gothenburg’s digital twin and geospatial strategies, it’s about systems understanding each other:
“For me, a MIM is just a bridge between two systems. It connects things in a way that both sides can understand.”
Thanks to this mindset, Gothenburg combines data from transport, environment, and urban planning to improve decisions and services. This makes it easier to plan bike lanes, monitor air quality, and manage city resources effectively.
Learning from experience: building on open standards
Gothenburg has been working with open standards for over a decade, using technologies like Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) to share data across departments. In projects like the EU-funded SCOREwater, Gothenburg partnered with Barcelona and Amersfoort to monitor environmental data using sensors and open data models.
Although they didn’t call it MIMs back then, they were already following the principles of interoperability: shared standards, open interfaces, and data that can move between systems seamlessly.
As Frederik Hallgren, who leads work on Artificial Intelligence and service innovation, puts it:
“MIMs are great as guidelines, but cities also need tools and examples to show how to actually use them.”
Interoperability is more urgent than ever
Today, new technologies like 3D city models and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are becoming part of everyday urban planning. But without interoperability, these technologies remain disconnected from real-world impact.
“A building should be a building, whether you’re looking at it from a local, national or EU perspective. Without shared definitions and interoperable data, cities cannot fully use digital twins or benefit from AI insights.”
Frederik also highlights the fast pace of AI development, with emerging tools like generative AI and Application Programming Interface (API’s):
“There’s so much happening in AI… but how do we ensure interoperability? We need MIMs that can guide us through this chaos.”
Collaboration: the key to practical interoperability
What makes Gothenburg’s approach stand out is its commitment to collaboration. The city doesn’t work in isolation—it shares lessons and co-develops standards through the OASC network. Gothenburg actively contributes to OASC’s MIMs working groups, helping shape practical rules for digital twins, geospatial data, and interoperable AI.
“Sometimes you think your city’s problems are unique, but then you talk to others and realise you’re not alone,” says Frederik.
A roadmap for other cities
Gothenburg’s experience shows that cities do not need to wait for perfect conditions to start working on interoperability with MIMs. By using open standards, aligning data models, and collaborating across departments and borders, cities can take practical steps to become more connected and human-centred.
Because in the end, interoperability is not about technology for its own sake—it is about making everyday life better, smarter, and more connected for people.
Get involved: join the MIMs working groups
The development of MIMs is a collaborative, community-driven effort led by OASC. Through thematic working groups, cities, researchers, and public agencies come together to identify challenges, share practical use cases, and co-create solutions for interoperability.
Whether your city is just beginning to explore interoperability or is already working with data standards, you are welcome to join. To learn more or get involved in a MIM working group—such as Local Digital Twins, Interoperable AI, or Geospatial Data—just fill in this form, and our team will contact you.