Studies

This report addresses the challenges faced by data providers and reusers in navigating licensing frameworks for datasets, emphasizing the impact of licensing decisions on data reuse and the European market. Data providers must select from a wide range of licenses, shaping reuse opportunities and overall data value, while reusers must understand and comply with licensing terms, often contending...

The report explores trends in geospatial data, focusing on geospatial digital twins and their relevance for data.europa.eu. The platform enhances access to public-sector information by aggregating metadata from geodata and open data catalogues across Europe. Geospatial data linked to locations provides valuable insights, and the report emphasizes strengthening ties between open geospatial and...

The European Union recognizes personal data protection as a fundamental right, with the GDPR outlining strict rules for processing personal data fairly, transparently, and only for specified purposes. Open data laws, developed in parallel, require public bodies to make information accessible for reuse, which can sometimes clash with data protection rules. When datasets include personal data...

This report investigates how the public sector can effectively reuse open data through innovative business models. It builds on a year-long campaign that included research, webinars, and focus groups, presenting findings and offering policy recommendations for Europe’s data ecosystem. The report examines the untapped economic potential of open data, which, while accessible, requires strategic...

This report explores the implementation of high-value datasets (HVDs) across EU-27 Member States, a key step in promoting open data and cross border data reuse following the enforcement of the HVD Implementing Regulation (the Regulation). The study assesses the findability and metadata comparability of 24 HVDs from Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland, focusing on six thematic categories outlined...

This report examines the concept of data ownership, noting its lack of definition and regulation at the EU level and in legal literature. Due to the non-rivalrous, non-exclusive, and inexhaustible nature of data, the focus should shift from ownership to access and usage rights. The Data Act addresses this by targeting data holders and emphasizing access and usage rights rather than ownership. This...

This paper explores the concept of data governance, emphasizing the processes and systems involved in managing the availability, usability, integrity, and security of datasets. It discusses the balance between straightforward and complex data governance systems, particularly in the context of the European data strategy and the Open Data Directive. The Directive aims to make public sector...

This report is the first in a series, the overall objective of which is to provide a better understanding of the links between the worlds of open government data, open science and education, which are tightly interrelated but seem to be often disconnected from each other in their current activities and recommendations. In this first report we characterise three types of (potential) users and...

This report examines the broad impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on businesses, governments, and the global economy, emphasising its transformative potential due to AI's capacity for large-scale data analysis. The study highlights the essential role of open data in AI development, noting that substantial data volume, variety, and veracity are crucial for effective AI training. It also...

Portugal, Serbia and Slovakia achieved large improvements in their open data maturity according to the 2023 open data maturity assessment, which annually measures the efforts of European countries in making public sector information available and stimulating its reuse. This report on open data best practices investigates the drivers behind this growth through interviews with the open data teams of...