AR17: The Drivers for Data Sharing

From Regulation and Adoption

In August 2020, the European Data Portal (EDP) published the analytical report “From Regulation to Adoption: The Drivers of Data Sharing”. The study reviewed policy initiatives, the implementation and regulation of open data and data sharing incentives in selected countries in Europe. To explore the factors behind governmental compliance towards data sharing and open data regulation, the study conducted a comparative analysis of the different commitment to:

1. Open data at the sub-national level (i.e. local government) where similar municipalities in the region of Lombardi (Italy) diverge in their actions towards open data; and
2. Data sharing by two comparable public agencies in the Oil and Gas industry in two different countries: the Netherlands and Norway.

Open data

For the open data domain, the report found that economic incentives, coordination with business suppliers, and policy leadership, accompanied with technical guidance, explained the decision of Italian municipalities in Lombardi to open their data. This is particularly true for the smallest municipalities in terms of population.

In addition to regional programme support, the case of Pavia powerfully demonstrates the virtuous cycle between civil servant enthusiasm for publishing data, the impact on data quality, services being developed, and thus the effect on data re-use.

Data sharing

Regarding data sharing, the comparative analysis on data approach in the Oil and Gas sector in the Netherlands and Norway showed the significance of the governments’ role in incentivising and orchestrating data sharing in their country. In both cases, the government’s role had a significant impact in facilitating data sharing, whether by making subsurface data available with support of a public legal arm (i.e. TNO), or as a founder and partner of a joint venture such as DISKOS with the oil and gas companies.

Moreover, the government’s role is crucial in:

1. Mitigating risks, such as companies fearing sharing valuable datasets; and
2. Generating settings where organisations feel comfortable sharing their data with appropriate governance structures, contractual agreements and security standards that do not violate their legitimate private and commercial interests.  

To learn more, read the full analytical report on the EDP!

Upcoming discussions

Interested in learning more about incentives to open and share data? The EDP and Support Centre for Data Sharing (SCDS) team have two upcoming events that will discuss open data and data sharing incentives in more detail:

• A workshop titled “Data sharing for better cooperation”, where we will discuss real life examples of organisations sharing data and their approach. The workshop will be on Tuesday 13 October 2020 at 16:30 to 18:00 CET.
• A webinar titled “Data Talks: The Drivers for Data Sharing”, where the Laia Pujol, one of the authors of the report, will share insights in the research. The session will be on Wednesday 14 October 2020 at 13:00 CET.

For more information or examples on open data, explore the European Data Portal’s (EDP) news archive and featured highlight section. Aware of open data examples or stories? Share them with us via mail, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to stay up to date!