Interview with Olga Quirós, ASEDIE

The Multi-sector Information Association, better known as ASEDIE, brings together infomediary companies, whose objective is the use, reuse and distribution of information, creating added value products that boost the economy. Its objectives include achieving greater openness of data, fostering public-private collaboration and promoting legislation in favour of access to and reuse of information, among other aspects.

Olga Quirós, Secretary-General of the Association, spent a few minutes telling us how they see the sector and what activities they carry out to achieve their objectives.

Full interview:

1. Could you briefly explain the activity carried out by ASEDIE?

Since its inception in 1999, ASEDIE has promoted and facilitated the reuse of public sector information and is the interlocutor, on behalf of its members, with the Administration to achieve and improve access to information. ASEDIE is made up of organisations and infomediary companies which, in different sectors (Commercial and mercantile information, electronic information, credit bureaus and information technologies), aim to use, re-use and distribute the information, creating added value products which contribute to giving greater security to global mercantile traffic.

In order to advance in this opening of data, we believe that public-private collaboration is of vital importance. The public sector as the holder of the information and the private sector aware of the needs of the business network, the citizen and society in general. At Asedie, we collaborate with different public sector bodies (both in Europe and at the level of the General State Administration, Autonomous Communities and Local Bodies) to achieve openness and access to public information, so that it can be reused and downloaded by machine in different formats.

Our sectors are interlinked through different working committees where the associates also collaborate. We believe that one of the most important ways to achieve objectives within the infomediary sector is through collaboration at all levels. Many of Asedie's partner companies are direct competitors, but they work together using different resources to overcome barriers and achieve common goals.

We study and analyse the issues of interest to our members at both the regulatory and business levels, trying to respond to their needs and transfer their interests and those of the sector they belong, to the various Public Bodies and Institutions.

2. Why is it important to boost the Infomediary Sector in our country?

The value-added products and services produced by the infomediary companies I referred to earlier make the business fabric transparent by fighting, for example, fraud and money laundering.

These actions make the infomediary sector one of the driving forces of the economy and even more so now, in times of crisis.

Opening the data and giving access to it is the way to boost the infomediary sector by supporting transparency and economic development.

Without going any further, the Digital Agenda 2025 points out that data is at the centre of the great transformations in terms of digitalisation and technology.  It also establishes as one of the objectives: to make the transition to a data economy, guaranteeing security and privacy by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence.

I would like to add that it is vitally important to recognise the infomediary sector as a horizontal/cross-cutting sector, since the other sectors make use of it, having a direct impact on decision-making and the development of the other sectors.

The reuse of data by the infomediaries sector opens up a wide range of opportunities and benefits in our current social, economic and business environment at all levels: local, regional, national and international.

3. One of the activities carried out by Asedie are annual reports on the state of the Infomediary Sector. Specifically, you have been studying the sector since 2013. How has it evolved over these years?

Based on the collaboration with the different representatives of the public sector, we observed that it was necessary to transmit confidence in the sector and to do so, the first thing was to raise awareness, transmit the benefits of transparency and openness of data. This work of knowledge and dissemination of the sector is also carried out through the international conferences that we have organized since 2009 on an annual basis and which have now become a forum for debate and analysis to deal with the advances, challenges and future prospects of the sector. Professionals from the sector participate as speakers at a national and international level. The last one was held on Friday 27 November.

But it was not enough, it was necessary to know not only the sector but also its economic value translated into figures, tangible indicators such as turnover or employment and of course its evolution. We had to transmit that the civil service made sense for the sector.

As an association of infomediaries, who better to prepare this report? We have been producing the annual report on the infomediaries sector for 8 years. Our report is an example of a product elaborated with data from the public sector whose added value is the analytical layer, the professional experience and the study of the environment. We also face the same barriers as any infomediary company. To obtain the data we access public sources so the economic data is accurate, to the cent, but it is also data presented with a time lag of more than one year due to the impossibility of accessing updated information, next year for example will be longer due to the delay in the presentation of accounts in the Registry.

In the report presented this year, the turnover of the 764 infomediaries listed was 2,045,732,378 euros, with an aggregate subscribed capital of the sector of 346,867,065 euros and 22,790 employees. Compared to 2013 data (first report): identified companies 444, turnover 899,225,727 euros, 9,971 employees, subscribed capital 90,035,212 euros.  It can be seen that this is a sector that is constantly growing. Although it must be considered that it is complicated to identify infomediary companies since they do not identify themselves as such, and we have learned over the years to identify them. I can assure you that the infomediary sector is a "healthy" sector with a very promising future outlook.

4.Infomediaries use both open and private data to develop valuable products and services. Which datasets are most in demand by these companies?

Our associates are infomediary companies and need raw materials to manufacture their products or services. One of Asedie's objectives is to achieve openness and access to data.

We all know that the Public Sector is the largest provider of information but not all the information demanded by the Sector is accessible

Through our working committees we have identified more than 60 databases (BBDD, in its Spanish acronym) at the level of the General State Administration (GSA), Autonomous Communities (CCAA) and Local Entities (EELL). Most of the databases identified are related to the transparency of the business world.

To give an example, the interest of the sector and I would dare say of all the citizens in the last few months has been the BBDD of the ERES and ERTES. How is it possible that not all the companies that are in this situation are already known? This is transparency. How can we expect our economy and our business network to evolve or be active if we do not have this vital information at this time? This type of information is needed now and we honestly do not understand what is preventing us from opening it.

With regard to the databases I referred to earlier, they have been prioritised based on the interest of the sector. Each of the databases has been studied by our legal committee to ensure that they comply with the "applicable" regulations and by our information sources committee to identify the datasets or fields to be selected.

There are certain fields that we consider essential, such as "a unique identifier", which eliminates the margin of error when identifying a company. We have observed that sometimes the NIF is not added to the databases because we are not aware of the importance of doing so and in other cases because it has not been requested and the data is not recorded. For example, if when filling in the data in a register the NIF is not made obligatory, the person who fills it in does not always complete it. It has been requested that from now on it be included on all forms as obligatory.

I would like to stress the importance of harmonisation, standardisation and coordination in the opening up of and access to public sector information.  This is something we are working on within the frameworks of collaboration with the Administration in the working groups with the various Autonomous Communities, in the group of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and with various ministries and public bodies.

5. Over the last year you have launched an initiative to boost all the autonomous communities to open up datasets in a unified way. Can you tell us more about this initiative? How is it working?

As I mentioned earlier we identified prioritized databases and from Asedie a request was made to open them. We observed that there was no harmony, no coordination. I will explain with a concrete example:

At Autonomous Community level, each of the 17 Autonomous Regions opened databases according to their own criteria, but we were unable to obtain a global image. The value of these databases grows exponentially if the number of communities that open them also grows. The sector demands a non-partial overview, without a global image it is difficult to produce quality services or products. The more datasets that are accessed, the more potential value can be extracted from them. The database needs to be open in all 17 ACs and it was not.

To promote a coordinated opening of data, Asedie created the "Top 3 Asedie": three specific databases whose opening has been requested to all the Autonomous Communities, at 17. It has been a joint effort and collaboration at all levels.

Before selecting the databases, we make sure that there are no regulations preventing them from being opened and that at least one Autonomous Region already has them open. The first 3 datasets we chose from our extensive list were associations, cooperatives and foundations.

The cooperative database, for example, is in great demand by the sector as there is no central register. In 2019 it was only open in 3 CC. AA and today there are 13.

We don't stop there, after the opening we analyse them to request improvements, for example as I mentioned before: to include such an important data as a unique identification (the NIF) that in many cases does not appear. It is a piece of information that helps not only to increase transparency but also to make the information much more accurate by reducing the margin of error.

Returning to the cooperatives, 8 of the 13 Autonomous Communities currently open have incorporated the NIF.

In view of the positive result, this year we have begun to work with a new TOP 3 2020: industrial estates, SAT register, and commercial establishments. And the Autonomous Regions which already have the first three open have started with these. In the presentation of the Report on the infomediary sector 2021 we will announce the results.

Within a collaborative environment, in this case public-public, the databases opened in certain Autonomous Regions have served as an example of good practice for other Autonomous Regions which have followed the same steps, bringing us all closer to this much-needed transparency.

At Asedie we have always promoted and recognised these good practices by the Administration, setting an example for other Administrations in Spain and Europe, and through the Asedie Prize, which is awarded to institutions, bodies and individuals who have promoted the Infomediaries Sector by opening data. This year (7th edition) the INE has been awarded.

To promote a coordinated opening of data, Asedie created the "Top 3 Asedie": three specific databases whose opening has been requested to all the Autonomous Communities. These databases are: associations, cooperatives and foundations.

6.What other measures in your opinion would be necessary to continue promoting the reuse of data in Spain?

Firstly, it is necessary that at a political level there is a firm belief that the infomediaries sector is really one of the motors that moves our economy and that for the gear to work it is necessary that the databases of the public sector are opened, made available to businesses and citizens.

While it is true that progress has been made in opening up public sector data, there are still barriers that make reuse difficult or even impossible. And by overcoming these barriers reuse is encouraged. I will comment on just three, the most relevant ones:

The first: The exclusion of the re-use of all the information obtained by the Tax Administration and the Social Security Administration in the performance of their functions is striking, regardless of the type of information and whether or not there are limitations due to intellectual property rights, commercial confidentiality, personal data protection or any other specific regulation.

These Administrations have the most complete, accurate and reliable databases with the most and best updates and are essential for economic recovery.

The second barrier identified is the refusal of requests due to administrative silence. The administration chooses not to respond under the RISP regulations, preventing citizens and companies from knowing the reason for the refusal (that they do not have it, that it is not the appropriate body, that there is any regulatory impediment...). Any request should have a response in one direction or another. The fact that there is no response is perhaps the best example of the Administration's opacity regarding the principles of reuse and transparency.

This year we intend to request the opening of data again formally at the National Government level, to monitor the responses and to follow up.

Finally: The regulations themselves: Here I would distinguish two aspects:

• On the one hand, the different regulations on access to information sometimes imply restrictions on access or re-use. The political support I spoke of earlier is essential, a real boost, so that the transposition of the Directive on the Re-use of Information makes a difference, a before and after.
• On the other hand, the confusion between different regulations and to be specified e.g. with respect to data protection regulations. We are referring to business information, so the personal data protection regulations would not affect it, but we have observed that a series of LOPDPGDD indications are misinterpreted, regarding administrative bodies that publish administrative acts on the editorial boards, in Official Gazettes and Diaries and in any other advertising medium.

These indications are intended to prevent third parties from being able to directly identify natural persons, to whom the publication refers. The problem encountered in practice is that the administrations are applying it not only to the only subjects on which there is an obligation, i.e. natural persons, but also to edicts addressed to legal persons, thus blocking access to this public information.

These that I have mentioned are the greatest barriers that we face from the Sector.

But I could not fail to mention that it is essential to have an organisation, an observatory that monitors practices in the area of openness, access to information. Asedie has recently been appointed a member of the Advisory Council on Digital Transformation of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. Asedie is also a member of the Standing Committee on the Digitisation of the Economy, Administration and Citizenship. We hope that in these public-private partnership forums we can convey the interests of the infomediaries sector not only in RISP but also in artificial intelligence, data economy, digitisation...

We believe that the newly created data office can be of great relevance to the sector and the economy in general, if it is given the necessary and adequate resources.

We hope that both the transposition of the RISP Directive and the recently approved IV open government plan will solve these barriers and allow for real access and reuse by favouring economic evolution and recovery.

We still have a long way to go.

7. Finally, can you tell us what your next projects are?

The truth is that we have been lucky enough not to stop, even in confinement. I comment on the projects that we have planned in the short and medium term without ruling out any initiative that may arise as a result of the different events.

In the short term

• Presentation of the Report on the Infomediary Sector 2021 with the evolution of the top3 and the monitoring of the responses to the requests to open data.
• Participation as Jury of the Aporta Challenge.
• Update of the success stories of the infomediary sector and examples of good practice in the public sector.
• Regulatory participation, such as the transposition of the RISP and transparency directive.
• Identification of high-value datasets in collaboration with the European Commission and at ministerial level
• Participation in the various forums, committees and working groups. 
• We do not forget about training: internal to the associates in matters of data protection, complying with the Code of Conduct for the Infomediate Sector, and external, collaborating and participating as speakers in matters of digitalisation, access and reuse.

In the medium term

• Consolidation of the Collaboration Agreements and Protocols in favour of transparency (having already been signed with the National Geographic Institute and the Regional Government of Castilla y León)
• Collaboration to coordinate and harmonize data at all levels (AGE, CCAA and EELL).
• Participation in the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
• Promotion of the opening of data of interest for the sector in Latin America.

In the 20 years of Asedie we have seen great progress in access to information from the public sector, but there are still barriers and this has to change, we are forced to change it, it may take more or less time, but it will change because the ecosystem in which we move and in which artificial intelligence, digital transformation and big data play a leading role... their common denominator is the data that keeps the ecosystem alive.