Pim van der Eijk is an independent consultant and project manager, based in the Netherlands. He delivers XML consulting and project management services, with a recent emphasis on EAI/B2B applications in the public sector, such as the project discussed in this paper and a major e-health integration effort in the UK. His other recent activities include a study on electronic catalogue standards and the first European ebXML interoperability pilot project. Separately, Pim also works for OASIS as their European Representative. In that capacity, he supports and expands OASIS membership in Europe by organizing activities and promoting involvement in technical work. He has presented and published extensively on various topics, and co-authored the book Professional ebXML Foundations. Prior to becoming full-time involved in XML topics, Pim worked as a researcher and software developer in the field of Language Technology and Information Retrieval. He co-developed several academic and commercial natural language processing systems.