In the current context, digitalisation has expanded exponentially, reaching beyond the boundaries of the private sector and consolidating itself as one of the great challenges in all productive sectors of society. This process has brought with it the massive generation of data from which to extract value. However, according to an IDC/EMC study, it is believed that, despite the fact that the volume of data will multiply exponentially in the short term, only 1% of the data generated is used, processed and exploited. One of the reasons for this lies in the inconsistency and inflexibility of data models, which block data integration.

In this regard, the Spanish government's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which details Spain's strategy for channelling EU funds to repair the damage caused by the pandemic, emphasises technological reforms and investments focused on building a more sustainable future. One of the main challenges in this area is to boost data sharing, mainly in those sectors with the greatest impact on society, such as health and tourism.

To this end, smart data models play a fundamental role. But what exactly are they?

visión común que proporciona una base técnica para lograr la apertura de la innovación.

What are Smart Data Models?

A traditional data model is a representation of the elements of a dataset and their relationships and connections to each other. Smart Data Models go one step further. They are common and compatible data models, with the objective of supporting a digital marketplace of interoperable and replicable smart solutions across multiple sectors, so that the availability of data in specific domains is homogenised.

These models propose a common vision that provides a technical basis for unlocking innovation.

SDM Initiative

The FIWARE Foundation, TM Forum, IUDX and OASC have joined forces to lead a joint collaborative initiative to bring together intelligent data models by domains, making them available to organisations and any user who wants them. This is known as the SDM (Smart data models) initiative, in which all data models are public.

In this way, it responds to the new data modelling needs at the speed required by the market, reusing models that have already been tested in real scenarios.

How does it work?

The fundamental objective of SDM is that organisations can evolve their vision of data exchange towards a sharing that supports both the so-called Data Economy and the data spaces.

The Data Economy is nothing more than the set of activities and initiatives whose business model is based on the discovery and exploitation of data to identify opportunities that generate products and services.

SDM classifies information by domains or industrial sectors, creating a repository for each of them. In addition, each domain contains sub-modules with the relevant topics for that domain and, within each topic, the related data models. However, shared cross-cutting elements are also available for all domains. For each of these repositories, models can be extracted free of charge. It is also possible to contribute to the initiative by filling in a collaboration form to create new ones.

To facilitate sharing and common understanding, each model includes three elements:

• The model's technical representation that defines the data and its relationships, using JSON structures.
• The specification or manual with the functional descriptions of each of the elements contained in the model.
• Examples to ensure understanding.

In addition to its public nature and free use, it has a licence that allows users to make modifications if they consider it necessary, as well as to share these modifications with the rest of the users. To this end, a workflow is defined according to the phases of the life cycle of the data models, which presents three stages:

• Official: the data models have already been accepted and are fully available to users with the three elements described above.
• In harmonisation: the models have already been accepted, but are still in progress to complete the elements.
• In incubation: the models are being developed and supported by the organisation to achieve an official model.

Through this initiative, data models sharing at all levels will be made more dynamic. For the moment, models have already been homogenised in the domains of smart cities, the agri-food sector, water treatment, energy, environment, sensor technology, robotics, aeronautics, tourist destinations, health and manufacturing industry, as well as some transversal ones such as social media or incident monitoring, although not all to the same extent, as shown in the following image with the number of models included in each domain.

It is, without a doubt, an initiative that facilitates the path towards the data-driven transformation of products and services, providing the opening of models as the technical basis on which the adoption of reference architectures will be based. If you want to go deeper, the SDM itself contains a "Learning zone" section to facilitate learning about the initiative and encourage its use, including self-explanatory videos.

There is also a whole series of tools for those users who, although experts in their sector of activity, are not experts in the generation of data models. Under the tools menu item, there are services that allow users to generate a draft data model with an example, an assisted online data model editor, options to generate examples from existing data models, and options to incorporate the @context element that allows connection to linked data solutions.

Global initiatives such as SDM are of great importance when it comes to agreeing benchmarks to optimise citizen services. They constitute a further step in the objective of achieving common data spaces, making available contrasted data models. This milestone is a major accelerator for its transcendence, even at European level, with major initiatives already underway, such as GAIA-X.

Content prepared by Juan Mañes, expert in Data Governance, with contributions from the Data Office.

The contents and views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

The Commission's drive to promote data spaces within the framework of a European Strategy is based on the firm commitment to a regulatory framework that provides regulatory coherence throughout the Union. In particular, the aim is to establish a solid regulation that offers legal certainty to a model based on respect for rights and freedoms. Thus, initially, two initiatives have been promoted to, on the one hand, establish the regulatory bases of the governance model - already definitively adopted by Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of 30 May - and, on the other hand, to establish harmonised rules on the access and fair use of data throughout the Union.

However, while recognising the importance of the design of this general legal architecture, the effective opening and exchange of data requires a more concrete approach that takes into account the specificities of each sectoral area and, in particular, the difficulties and challenges to be faced. Therefore, taking into account the general regulatory framework referred to above, the Commission has presented the first regulatory initiative for one of these areas, related to health data, which is currently under public consultation and negotiation in the Council of the EU and in the European Parliament, and which is part of the project to create a European health data area.

In particular, beyond facilitating the development of cross-border e-services, the proposal aims to address a triple objective:

• Establish a uniform legal framework to facilitate the development, marketing and use of electronic health record systems by establishing a compulsory self-certification scheme for certain systems, which in any case provides for some exceptions, e.g. general purpose software used in healthcare environments.

• Facilitating patients' electronic access to their own data in the framework of healthcare provision (primary use of health data). In this respect, the proposal seeks to strengthen consistency across Member States in protecting health data irrespective of where the healthcare provision takes place or the type of entity carrying it out.

• Encourage the re-use of such data for other secondary purposes. To this end, a specific governance model is envisaged with a specific body at the head - the so-called European Health Data Space Board - and the deployment of duly coordinated state administrative structures - health data access bodies.

We will look at this last point in more detail below.

The promotion of secondary uses

With regard to the re-use of data for purposes other than health care, the proposed regulation is based on the following evidence: although health data are already being collected and processed using electronic means, in many cases, however, access to them is not facilitated to satisfy other purposes of general interest. For this reason, in general, it is intended to establish a broad regulation that facilitates secondary uses of health data. For example, the elaboration of statistics, the development of training and research activities, such as technological innovation -including the training of algorithms- or personalised medicine.

However, for the purposes of denying access to health data, some secondary uses are expressly declared incompatible, such as:

•  The adoption of decisions detrimental to natural persons, meaning not only those that produce legal effects but also those that significantly affect them. In this respect, changes relating to insurance contracts, such as an increase in the amounts to be paid, are specifically highlighted.

• The carrying out of advertising or marketing activities aimed at healthcare professionals, organisations in the sector or natural persons.

•  Making data available to third parties that are not covered by the data permission granted.

• The development of harmful products and services, including in particular illicit drugs, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products or goods or services that contravene public order or morality.

With regard to the parties obliged to share data, in principle the proposed regulation extends to those who collect and process data with public funding, who must make them available to the competent bodies for access to health data in order to facilitate their re-use. However, given their importance in some States, the regulation also extends its scope of application to private parties providing health services - except in the case of micro-enterprises - and also to professional associations. Specifically, this regulation would affect "any natural or legal person, which is an entity or a body in the health or care sector, or performing research in relation to these sectors, as well as Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies who has the right or obligation, in accordance with this Regulation, applicable Union law or national legislation implementing Union law, or in the case of non-personal data, through control of the technical design of a product and related services, the ability to make available, including to register, provide, restrict access or exchange certain data".

Purpose and conditions of access to health data

The proposed Regulation is based on a broad concept of health data, which includes the following categories: 

The regulation is based on a general rule: access to anonymised data as a measure to reduce privacy risks, although a specific regime is also envisaged for personal data. In this case, the request must include an adequate justification and the data will only be provided in pseudonymised form.

As regards the form of access, the particular sensitivity of health data determines that it is proposed that they should be made available through a secure processing environment that complies with the technical and security standards included in the proposal. In particular, the proposal does not allow that, except for non-personal data, the data are transmitted directly to the person who will re-use them.  Furthermore, it provides for processing to take place in secure environments under the control of the access authorities.

Access authorities for health data

From the perspective of the governance model underpinning the proposal, States should have at least one health data access body to provide electronic access to health data for secondary purposes. In the case of multiple bodies due to requirements arising from their political-administrative organisation, one of them will have a coordinating role. Beyond the organisational freedom of the States to choose one or another organisational formula, it is essential that the independence of the coordinating body be guaranteed, without prejudice to the mechanisms of financial or judicial control.

As already indicated, the main purpose of this measure is to ensure a uniform and consistent application of the regulatory framework for access to health data for secondary purposes across the European Union, in particular as regards the protection of personal data in this sector. In this respect, it is proposed that these bodies should be given the powers to verify compliance with these rules and, in particular, to impose sanctions and other measures such as temporary or definitive exclusion from the European Health Data Area of those who do not comply with their obligations.

The harmonisation sought by the proposed Regulation is also envisaged in the establishment of a standardised process for the issuing of permissions to re-use data for secondary purposes. In particular, in cases where anonymised access to the data is not enough, reasons should be given as to why pseudonymised access is necessary. In the latter case, the request must specify the legal basis for requesting access to the data from the perspective of personal data protection law, the secondary purposes for which the data are intended to be re-used, as well as a description of the data and tools necessary for their processing.

Finally, the proposed regulation includes active disclosure obligations addressed to these bodies about the available datasets. This is an essential measure, since the existence of a catalogue of datasets at European level - based on the interconnection of national datasets - would be extremely useful for promoting not only research and innovation but also decision-making at regulatory and political level. Specifically, for each set of available data, the nature of the data, its source and the conditions for making it available will have to be indicated.

In short, this is a certainly innovative initiative to address the regulatory diversity existing in each Member State, which is, however, at an early stage of processing. Precisely, a participation procedure is currently open that allows for the submission of allegations against the initial drafting until 28 July 2022 through a simple procedure accessible via this link.

Content prepared by Julián Valero, Professor at the University of Murcia and Coordinator of the Research Group "Innovation, Law and Technology" (iDerTec).

The contents and views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

What role can data portals play in the context of the data spaces identified in the European Data Strategy? This is the question posed by the European Commission, through its open data initiative 'data.europa.eu', and which serves as the starting point for the report "data.europa.eu and the European common data spaces".

Data.europa.eu and the Common European Data Spaces: Report Methodology

"data.europa.eu and the European common data spaces" is the first of two reports analysing the role that data.europa.eu could play in the context of the emerging European Union common data spaces envisaged in the European Data Strategy. It should be noted that part of this strategy is the development of interoperable common European data spaces across different sectors, an initiative that is still in the process of consolidation.

The objective of the report is twofold. On the one hand, it seeks to identify open data holders who are involved in ongoing implementations of data spaces. On the other hand, it offers a reflection on the role that open data portals could play in these implementations, especially the European portal.

To carry out the development of this first report, its authors (Óscar Corcho and Elena Simperl), conducted an in-depth analysis of the existing official documentation on the European Data Strategy, as well as reviewing online resources and use cases of initiatives such as IDSA, Gaia-X or Open DEI.

Simultaneously, they conducted interviews with developers of data architectures and data spaces. As full implementations do not yet exist, the analysis was based on use cases, work in progress and roadmaps, rather than on operational data spaces.

Main findings of the report

Although this is only the first of two studies, the authors have been able to highlight several far-reaching conclusions:

1. Open data is commonly mentioned alongside private and personal data as a type of data source. However, open data owners are often not involved in initiatives to develop reference data space architectures or their implementations. This situation needs to change by ensuring their involvement.
2. Open data holders have extensive experience in data publishing, metadata management, quality indicators, dataset discovery and federation, as well as in technologies and standards such as DCAT. However, there is very little transfer of knowledge and technologies from the open data community to the data space community.
3. The use of data from multiple sources requires interoperability at various levels. The need for data intermediaries acting as neutral brokers to ensure interoperability is an under-explored issue in the context of data spaces. Public administrations, building on their experience in data publishing, are best placed to take on this role.

The second report - to be published once the data space implementations are available in 2023 - will explore three data space scenarios, with data.europa.eu as data holder or data broker. In addition, it will analyse in detail the challenges and opportunities for the European portal in the context of these developments.

A webinar to further explore the role of the European Data Portal in data spaces

The concept of "data space" arises from the need to provide as much openness of information as possible, while recognising that some data should not be completely open. As a result of this dichotomy, the idea of creating a community of participants who share and use data on the basis of pre-established rules, guaranteeing an environment of sovereignty and trust, was born.

Ideas such as these prompted a webinar on open data and how it fits into broader data space ecosystems to be held on 4 May in the framework of the data.europa.academy. During this session in English, which you can access via this link, some key points of the report's analysis were explored in more detail. In addition to the recording of the session, you can view and download for free the PDF presentation that was used as a guide for the webinar.

Next steps

Ultimately, data spaces belong to an emerging field that still has some biases and limitations. Open government data sources, portals and their practitioners are not as well represented as they could be, even in sectors where they play a key role, such as mobility or smart cities. This needs to change.

The future of the research conducted in this report is to await the publication of the aforementioned second report, which will become effective once more developed European common data spaces are available and the work on reference resources has been completed by IDSA and Gaia-X. These forthcoming actions will allow the formulation of more specific recommendations that can be based on the characteristics of the actual data spaces in operation.

In the framework of european data strategy, one of the issues on which the European Commission is working is to facilitate the exchange of data held by companies with the administrations to improve public services and guide policy decisions. According to the Commission's own definition, theB2G data exchange it is a collaboration in which a company or other private organization makes its data (or knowledge) available to the public sector (local, regional, national or EU) for a purpose of public interest.

In order to obtain legal advice, identify good practices and collect recommendations for its policies, in 2018, the European Commission appointed a group of high-level independent experts with experience in the public and private sector in the field of B2G data exchange. The conclusions and recommendations of the group to the Commission were included in a report final which has been used to advise possible Commission initiatives on this matter.

The report recognizes that much of the potential of data and knowledge, so that they can be used for the benefit of society, still unexploded. Organizational, technical, and legal obstacles, as well as a general lack of a data-sharing culture, are among the causes that make most current collaborations ad hoc. The report provides a detailed description of the barriers to collaboration and proposes a comprehensive framework of policy, legal, and funding recommendations to enable scalable, responsible, and sustainable B2G data sharing in the public interest. A good number of examples of European B2G collaborations that have been used in the analysis methodology and that are generally little known even to the most specialized public are also included.

The most interesting part perhaps lies in the key recommendations that are made to the European Commission and a Member States to consider data as critical public infrastructure for the future of the EU and take action accordingly to facilitate the use of private data for the public interest.

These recommendations are structured in three main categories that refer to the governance of exchanges, the transparency of said exchanges and the tools that facilitate exchanges. Specific measures are suggested for each of them.

Governance of B2G data exchange across the EU

The first recommendation made by the report is that all Member States establish governance structures that can monitor and provide advice on responsible B2G data sharing practices. Additionally, and in order to support this idea, it is recommended that private, public and civil society organizations promote the function of data administrator and that the European Commission encourage the creation of a network of such data managers, as a community of practice in the field.

Recommendations are also made regarding the application of reference conditions (including, in some cases, free conditions) applicable to the acquisition of privately owned data for purposes of public interest in accordance with the B2G data exchange principles.

Transparency, citizen participation and ethics in the exchange of B2G data

The first recommendation in this category is that B2G data collaborations between public, private, and civil society organizations should be transparent, including regarding the data used and the impact of the collaborations.

The recommendations also focus on the need for Member States and the European Commission to raise citizens' public awareness of the societal benefits of data (for example, by initiating data literacy programs) and to involve the general public in the choice of societal challenges to be addressed. This line of action calls on Member States to promote user-friendly data donation mechanisms and encourage the general public to share your data for the public interest purposes of your choice. In this sense, his own EU data portal acknowledges in a recently published report the enormous gaps, as well as the great opportunities, in relation to the publication of data generated by citizens.

The experts do not forget to remind the European Commission of the need to develop ethical guidelines on the use of data, including for the public interest and, where appropriate, taking into account the European Union Ethical Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence.

Finally, Member States are asked to invest in the training, education and up-skilling of policy makers and public sector workers to increase the readiness and operational capacity of the public sector to use and act on data.

Operating models, structures and technical tools to facilitate data exchange

Experts propose that the European Commission and Member States put in place incentives for B2G data sharing and mechanisms that ensure public recognition of private companies and civil society organizations involved in B2G data sharing.

Experts consider the programs of the new financial framework 2021-2027 and in particular the Digital Europe Program and the Horizon Europe Program as key pieces to implement the recommendations. Firstly, to finance the development and deployment of technologies (privacy preservation, security technologies and access control technologies) that favor B2G data exchange at scale and in a responsible and sustainable manner. But also, to promote the creation of a light governance structure that prioritizes standards that allow reducing the transaction costs of B2G data exchange and guaranteeing interoperability.

Finally, the European Commission is asked to carry out studies to obtain further empirical evidence of the macroeconomic and social benefits of B2G data sharing for the public interest.

In short, the EU seems determined to promote B2G collaborations by creating a common framework that allows the development of fast, responsible and sustainable B2G data exchange. And the list of areas in which the exchange of B2G data can have a great impact on the lives of citizens is endless: making health services be more efficient, improve the diagnosis of diseases in the population, react faster in emergencies and natural or humanitarian disasters, allow public research institutes access to data for the development of ethical artificial intelligence services, save energy for a more sustainable society, improve mobility, develop smarter cities, etc.

Content written by Jose Luis Marín, Senior Consultant in Data, Strategy, Innovation & Digitalization.

The contents and views reflected in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

Part of the European Union's new strategy to create a digital single market focuses its attention on the construction of a Data Economy. In carrying out this process, European data spaces are of paramount importance. Data spaces are ecosystems that make it easy to share, find, access, and use data.

To talk about it, Cajasiete Chair of Big Data, Open Data and Blockchain of the University of La Laguna will arrange a new online webinar focused on this theme. The event will take place next Thursday, May 24, at 12:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. in the Canary Islands) and will be attended by Carlos Alonso Peña, director of the Data Office Division.

The webinar will focus on the importance of this ecosystem when materializing the voluntary sharing of the data of its participants, within an environment of sovereignty, trust and security. This requires the establishment of integrated governance, organizational, regulatory and technical mechanisms.

The boost of the Data Economy

Promoting the Data Economy is one of the main priorities set by both the European Union and our country. In fact, one of the EU's goals is to become a leader in a data-driven society, relying on a single digital market where data is shared freely between member countries. For this purpose, the European Data Strategy was launched, from which you can obtain more information through this link.

Digital Spain 2025, the plan designed to promote digital transformation in our country includes the Data Economy as one of its main axes. This document sets out, among other aspects, the need to make Spain a benchmark in the digital transformation towards a Data Economy, using the opportunities offered by cloud services or new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.

The role of the Data Office in this process

One of the measures that it was agreed to carry out to achieve the above objectives was the implementation of a Data Office, something that is already a reality. This body is in charge of designing and proposing strategies that promote the sharing, management and use of data in all productive sectors of the economy and society, thus guaranteeing good governance and security.

In this sense, the Data Office seeks to face the main challenges that currently exist in the Data Economy, defining legal and policy frameworks for data sharing and governance, as well as collaborating in the promotion of data spaces and initiatives such as the Spanish hub of Gaia-X, which will enhance and support the competitiveness of the Data Economy.

Both the data spaces and initiatives of the nature of Gaia-X are undoubtedly presented as elements of great importance when it comes to achieving the objectives of the European strategy, also helping to promote the creation of ecosystems capable of promoting development new products and services based on more accessible data.

The following infographic shows the context driving the development of data spaces, focusing on some related European initiatives such as Gaia-X and ISDA. For more in-depth content you can read the following articles:

• The importance of deploying European Data Spaces
• Gaia-X and the drive for the data economy
• https://datos.gob.es/en/blog/ids-ram-reference-architecture-model-and-its-role-data-spaces
• The Data Office: the challenge of promoting the Data Economy

Click on the infographic to see it in full size and access the links:

The data economy represents a huge business opportunity for companies of all sizes and sectors. According to European Commission estimates, the Data Economy will be worth €829 billion in 2025 for the 27 member states. But for the data economy to develop properly, structures are needed to facilitate the exchange of data and, with it, the development of business models based on its exploration and exploitation.

Data spaces fulfil this function by facilitating the development of an ecosystem where different actors share data in a voluntary and secure manner. To do so, they must follow common governance, organisational, regulatory and technical mechanisms.

One way to ensure that this is done properly is through reference models, such as the IDS-RAM (International Data Spaces Reference Architect Model), an initiative developed by the International Data Space Association and endorsed by the European Union.

What is the International Data Space Association?

IDSA (International Data Spaces Association) is a coalition currently comprised of 133 international, not-for-profit companies, which emerged in 2016 to work on the concept of data spaces and the principles that their design should follow in order to obtain value from data through sharing, based on secure, transparent and fair mechanisms for participants, which guarantee sovereignty and trust. These companies represent dozens of industry sectors and are based in 22 countries around the world.

IDSA is connected to different European initiatives, including BDVA, FIWARE and Plattform Industrie 4.0, participating in more than twenty European research projects, mainly in the Horizon 2020 programme.

IDSA's mission is to drive the global digital economy. To this end, among other things, it promotes an architectural reference model called IDS (International Data Spaces), a secure and sovereign data exchange system. The aim of this model is to standardise data exchange in such a way that participants can obtain all possible value from their information without losing control over it, setting the conditions for the use of their own data.

IDS-RAM architecture

The IDS-RAM (Reference Architecture model) is characterised by an open architecture (they publish their code as open source software), reliable and federated for cross-sector data exchange, facilitating sovereignty and interoperability.

IDS-RAM establishes a series of standardised roles and interactions through a 5-layer structure (business, functional, process, information and system) that are addressed from the perspective of security, certification and governance, as shown in the following figure.

These layers are critical to ensure the success of a data sharing initiative. Let's look at each of them based on the IDSA's own "Reference architecture model" and Planetic's "Positioning on Data Spaces" report, where IDS-RAM is analysed as a success story.

The business layer defines the different existing roles and the interaction patterns between them, including contracts and data usage policies. Specifically, there are four roles:

• Essential participant: any organisation that owns, offers or consumes data.
• Intermediary: trusted entities and intermediaries, such as brokers, clearing houses, identity providers and others.
• Service/Software Provider: companies that provide services and/or software to participants.
• Governance body: such as certification bodies, which are essential to guarantee the capabilities of organisations and generate an environment of trust. The IDS Association itself would also be included in this section.

These roles are related in an ecosystem marked by six categories of requirements, defined in the functional layer:

• Trust, achieved through identity management and user certification.
• Security and data sovereignty, which includes authentication and authorisation, usage policies, trusted communication and technical certification.
• Data Ecosystem, which includes the description of data sources, data brokering and vocabularies used for metadata.
• Standardisation and interoperability, which ensures the operability necessary for successful data exchange.
• Value-added applications, which allow data to be transformed or processed.
• Data marketisation, which covers aspects such as billing, usage restrictions, governance, etc., necessary when data sharing is done under payment models.

The process layer captures the interactions that take place within the data space, including the on-boarding of users, for which they need to acquire an identity provided by a certification body and request a data connector (a technical component to be installed) from a software provider.

identity provided by a certification body and request a data connector (a technical component to be installed) from a software provider. This layer also defines the processes required for data exchange and the publication and use of data apps.

The information layer explains the information model and the common vocabulary to be used to facilitate compatibility and interoperability, so that data exchange can be automated. A proprietary ontology based on an RDF schema is used for its definition.

Finally, the system layer assigns a concrete architecture of data and services to each role in order to guarantee functional requirements.

All these abstractions of layers and perspectives enable the exchange of data between data providers and data consumers, using the appropriate software connectors, accessing the metadata broker where data catalogues and their conditions of use are specified, with the possibility of deploying applications for data processing and keeping track of the transactions carried out (clearing house), all of this guaranteeing the identity of the participants.

Ultimately, it is a functional framework that provides a governance framework for secure and reliable interoperability and an open software architecture to ensure maximum adoption. In this sense, the IDSA has set itself the following objectives:

• Establish the IDS model (RAM) as the international standard for data exchange in the economy of the future.
• Evolve this reference model according to use cases.
• Develop and evolve an adoption strategy for the model.
• Support its deployment based on certifiable software solutions and commercial models.

This standard is already being used by many companies as diverse as Deutsche Telekom, IBM or Volkswagen.

The role of IDS-RAM in Gaia-X and the European Data Strategy

The IDS reference architecture model is part of the initiatives deployed within the overall framework of the EU data strategy.

Through various initiatives, the European Commission seeks to promote and interconnect data spaces in order to foster the consultation, sharing and cross-exploitation of available data, while ensuring their privacy. It is in this framework that Gaia-X has been launched, an European private sector initiative for the creation of an open, federated and interoperable data infrastructure, built on the values of digital sovereignty and data availability, and the promotion of the data economy.

The IDSA association, promoter of the IDS reference architecture, is actively participating in Gaia-X, so that the initiatives currently underway to develop reference models and implementations for data sharing with sovereignty and trust can be brought together in a de facto open standard.

Content prepared by the datos.gob.es team.

There is no doubt that data is a fundamental asset for companies. Properly processed, they generate great competitive advantages, both in decision-making and in the generation of new products and services, enabling technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. This situation has made many organisations wary of sharing their data. However, the situation is changing and more and more companies and organisations are becoming aware of the advantages of this practice.

Data sharing drives efficiency in supply chains, enabling faster and more innovative product development. By sharing their data, organisations also benefit from access to third-party data, which can be of great use in a variety of fields: from training machine learning systems to enriching internal analytics. In addition, the fact that several companies are working in the same field, generating advances, means that the market matures earlier, opening up new business opportunities, as well as reducing the time and costs of marketing products. There are also benefits in terms of transparency and reputation.

Secure and controlled environments, such as data spaces, are necessary for this data exchange to take place in a safe and secure manner.

What are data spaces?

A data space is an ecosystem where diverse actors share data in a voluntary and secure manner, following common governance, organisational, regulatory and technical mechanisms. Some of the characteristics of advanced data spaces include:

• They ensure participants' trust and sovereignty over their data, creating an ecosystem of peer-to-peer data sharing. In a data space, each participant retains control over its own data, indicating the terms and conditions under which it can be used.
• They are independent of the underlying technological solution. This allows for portability and deployment in different physical infrastructures.
• Data is shared under FAIR principles, which facilitates the location, access and use of the data. To this end, datasets must be properly described, including the taxonomies used and their restrictions on use.
• They enable the deployment of different roles, such as data producers, consumers, data service providers, component developers or operators of essential services, facilitating the development of data intermediaries.
• They ensure the identity of the participants, as well as the suitability of the software components used, by means of appropriate approval or certification mechanisms.
• They enable different policies of access and use of information, so that data subjects can determine whether data is shared for free or not, under mechanisms that guarantee its proportionality.
• They ensure interoperability

European data spaces key to boosting the data economy

Data spaces are a key element of the European Data Strategy, which, among other issues, seeks to boost the region's economy through the creation of a single European data market, where data flows between Member States and between sectors of activity, in accordance with the European values of self-determination, privacy, transparency, security and fair competition.

In this strategy, the European Commission has already announced its interest in investing in and developing common data spaces in strategic economic sectors and sectors of public interest, notably those related to manufacturing, sustainable energy, mobility, health, finance, energy, agriculture, public administrations and skills. Once developed, these spaces are expected to be interconnected, so that the data available in them can be cross-exploited.

The creation of these data spaces seeks to overcome the legal and technical barriers linked to data sharing, through common standards, tools and infrastructures in a context of digital sovereignty. According to the European data strategy, the development of European data spaces should be carried out taking into account the following elements:

• The deployment of tools and services for data processing, exchange and sharing, as well as the federation of secure and energy-efficient cloud capabilities and related services. These tools should enable access to data in a fair, transparent, proportionate and non- discriminatory manner.
• The development of clear and reliable data governance structures, in compliance with EU law, with particular attention to the protection of personal data, consumer and competition law.
• Improving the availability, quality and interoperability of data, both within specific domains and across sectors.

In this regard, the European Commission endorses various measures and initiatives for the development of secure and sustainable digital infrastructures. These include Gaia-X, which seeks the development of an open, federated and interoperable data infrastructure in the cloud, and the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA), probably a substantial part of Gaia-X, which promotes an architectural reference model for the development of data spaces.

In the image below you can see these and other European initiatives at different levels related to data spaces. The left and central part shows some of the main European data initiatives, and how these are supported by hardware infrastructures. The right hand side shows the alignment with the most important EU initiatives within the European Data Strategy.

Spain is aligned with Europe in this area: the transition to a data economy is among the axes of the Digital Spain 2025 Plan. Work is currently underway to promote the enabling environment for the creation of sectoral data spaces, through the various data initiatives included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. One example is the Spanish Gaia-X Hub, aimed at deploying a robust ecosystem in the field of industrial data sharing, comprising companies of all sizes. The aim of this type of action is to create a community around data that favours innovation and economic growth, with the consequent benefit for society.

Content written by the datos.gob.es team

The application of new techniques aimed at extracting value from data has become a reality in the current environment, accelerating its transformation into knowledge for decision making. Therefore, it is common to focus on the exploitation of data as an indispensable part of its management, arising linked to the concept of its exploitation the concept of data space, enabling its sharing, involving both the private sector and the different public agencies, whether local, national or international.

A data space is an ecosystem where the voluntary sharing of its participants' data materializes within an environment of sovereignty, trust and security, established through integrated governance, organizational, regulatory and technical mechanisms. The concept of sovereignty is key, understood as the ability of a participant to maintain control over its own data, expressing the terms and conditions that will govern its permitted uses.

What is Gaia - X?

In this context, the Gaia-X initiative was born, a European private sector initiative for the creation of an open, federated and interoperable data infrastructure, built on the values of digital sovereignty and data availability, and the promotion of the Data Economy. The challenge is to establish an ecosystem in which data from European entities are available and shared in a trusted and managed environment according to European principles of decentralization, openness, transparency, sovereignty and interoperability.

Gaia-X aims to develop a federation of cloud data services, enabling cooperation and data sharing between companies and organizations across the European Union independently of infrastructure providers. Gaia-X defines the technical concepts, as well as the governance, for the interoperability of datasets and data infrastructures, assuming the role of orchestrator, mediating between data providers and data consumers via the federated services, and creating a physical decoupling between the data layer and the infrastructure layer.

From the origins

The Gaia-X initiative began to see the light of day in October 2019, when the French and German ministries of economic affairs presented the project. Since then, its growth has been exponential. At the end of 2020, a summit was held, leading to the founding of the Gaia-X association AISBL in January 2021. During that year, Gaia-X is defined as a brand, as well as the first versions of its services. Among its objectives is the development of common standards, best practices, tools, as well as governance mechanisms.

Gaia-X currently has 324 members around the world. Companies, associations, research institutions, administrations and politicians have joined forces to work together in the initiative. The 22 founding members are divided between France and Germany, where organizations such as Amadeus, Atos, OVH, Orange Business Services, Siemens, IDS, SAP SE and Deustche Telekom stand out. However, these 22 have been joined over the years by private and public organizations from Asia (China, India, Japan, Singapore, Qatar, Korea), the USA and mainly Europe (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK).

In Spain, in mid-2021, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, through the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, promotes the creation of the Gaia-X national hub, an organizational initiative whose objective is to accelerate European capacity in industrial/sectoral data sharing and digital sovereignty, contributing to generate the common European infrastructure, through the launch of a manifesto of interest whose response from private sector companies was overwhelming.

In this way, Spain also joins the Government Advisory Board of Gaia-X, the European partnership to accelerate the response to data sharing. The Spanish Gaia-X Hub seeks that companies of all sizes create community around data, serving to develop and implement innovative solutions based on data and Artificial Intelligence, which boost national competitiveness, paying special attention to SMEs and micro-SMEs. Thus, it is proposed the creation of data spaces in the different productive sectors, interoperable with European spaces and without interfering in other spaces that the industry has planned to develop.

The data economy in Spain

This project aims to contribute to the economic growth of our country. According to the European Data Market study, the data economy in Spain had in 2019 a value equivalent to 2.5% of the national GDP, and it is estimated that by 2025, this value will represent more than 4% of the Spanish GDP, provided that the appropriate legal, political and financing environment is created, which highlights the importance of data in the economy.

Spain's commitment to the data economy is part of the Digital Spain 2025 strategy, which highlights the need to support the digitization of key sectors for the economy, such as tourism and healthcare in particular, but also others such as mobility, the agri-food sector and e-commerce.

Conclusions

Data are the focus of the major transformations taking place in today's environment as a result of the application of new digital technologies. For this reason, no digital economy will be able to consolidate and compete globally without a strong data economy.

The European strategy aims to create a single European data market, open to data from all over the world, in which personal and non-personal data, including sensitive business data, is secure and businesses have access to high-quality industrial data in a way that drives growth and creates value. Through the associated rules and mechanisms, the aim is to ensure that data can flow, European standards and values are fully respected, and the rules for data access and use are fair, practical and clear.

Data spaces in general, and initiatives such as Gaia-X in particular, are key elements in achieving the objectives of the European strategy, serving to foster ecosystems that create new products and services based on more accessible data.

Content prepared by Juan Mañes, expert in Data Governance, with contributions from the Data Office.

The contents and views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.