iniciativas

Imagine you want to know how many terraces there are in your neighbourhood, how the pollen levels in the air you breathe every day are evolving or whether recycling in your city is working well. All this information exists in your municipality's databases, but it sits in spreadsheets and technical documents that only experts know how to interpret.

This is where open data visualisation initiativescome in: they transform those seemingly cold numbers into stories that anyone can understand at a glance.  A colourful graph showing the evolution of traffic on your street, an interactive map showing the green areas of your city, or an infographic explaining how the municipal budget is spent. These tools make public information accessible, useful and, moreover, comprehensible to all citizens.

Moreover, the advantages of this type of solution are not only for the citizens, but also benefit the Administration that carries out the exercise, because it allows:

• Detect and correct data errors.
• Add new sets to the portal.
• Reduce the number of questions from citizens.
• Generate more trust on the part of society.

Therefore, visualising open data brings government closer to citizens, facilitates informed decision-making, helps public administrations to improve their open data offer and creates a more participatory society where we can all better understand how the public sector works. In this post, we present some examples of open data visualisation initiatives in regional and municipal open data portals.

Visualiza Madrid: bringing data closer to the public

Madrid City Council's open data portal has developed the initiative "Visualiza Madrid", a project born with the specific objective of making open data and its potential reach the general public , transcending specialised technical profiles. As Ascensión Hidalgo Bellota, Deputy Director General for Transparency of Madrid City Council, explained during the IV National Meeting on Open Data, "this initiative responds to the need to democratise access to public information".

Visualiza Madrid currently has 29 visualisations that cover different topics of interest to citizens, from information on hotel and restaurant terraces to waste management and urban traffic analysis. This thematic diversity demonstrates the versatility of visualisations as a tool for communicating information from very diverse sectors of public administration.

 In addition, the initiative has received external recognition this year through the Audaz 2,025 Awards, an initiative of the Spanish chapter of the Open Government Academic Network (RAGA Spain).The initiative has also received external recognition through the Audaz 2,025 Awards.

Castilla y León: comprehensive analysis of regional data

 The Junta de Castilla y León has also developed a portal specialised in analysis and visualisations that stands out for its comprehensive approach to the presentation of regional data. Its visualisation platform offers a systematic approach to the analysis of regional information, allowing users to explore different dimensions of the reality of Castilla y Leónthrough interactive and dynamic tools.

This initiative allows complex information to be presented in a structured and understandable way, facilitating both academic analysis and citizen use of the data. The platform integrates different sources of regional information, creating a coherent ecosystem of visualisations that provides a panoramic view of different aspects of regional management. Among the topics it offers are data on tourism, the labour market and budget execution. All the visualisations are made with open data sets from the regional portal of Castilla y León .

The Castilla y León approach demonstrates how visualisations can serve as a tool for territorial analysis, providing valuable insights on economic, social and demographic dynamics that are fundamental for the planning and evaluation of regional public policies.

Canary Islands: technological integration with interactive widgets .

On the other hand, the Government of the Canary Islands has opted for an innovative strategy through the implementation of widgets that allow the integration of open data visualisations of the Instituto Canario de Estadística (ISTAC) in different platforms and contexts. This technological approach represents a qualitative leap in the distribution and reuse of public data visualisations.

The widgets developed by the Canary Islands make it easier for third parties to embed official visualisations in their own applications, websites or analyses, exponentially expanding the scope and usefulness of Canary Islands open data. This strategy not only multiplies the points of access to public information, but also fosters the creation of a collaborative ecosystem where different actors can benefit from and contribute to the value of open data.

The Canarian initiative illustrates how technology can be used to create scalable and flexible solutions that maximise the impact of investments in open data visualisation, establishing a replicable model for other administrations seeking to amplify the reach of their transparency initiatives.

Lessons learned and best practices

By way of example, the cases analysed reveal common patterns that can serve as a guide for future initiatives. The orientation towards the general public, beyond specialised technical users, emerges as an opportunity factor for the success of these platforms. To maintain the interest and relevance of the visualisations, it is important to offer thematic diversity and to update the data regularly.

Technological integration and interoperability, as demonstrated in the case of the Canary Islands, open up new possibilities to maximise the impact of public investments in data visualisation. Likewise, external recognition and participation in professional networks, as evidenced in the case of Madrid, contribute to continuous improvement and the exchange of best practices between administrations.

In general terms, open data visualisation initiatives represent a very valuable opportunity in the transparency and open government strategy of Spanish public administrations. The cases of Madrid, Castilla y León, as well as the Canary Islands, are examples of the enormous potential for transforming public data into tools for citizen empowerment and improved public management.

The success of these initiatives lies in their ability to connect government information with the real needs of citizens, creating bridges of understanding that strengthen the relationship between administration and society. As these experiences mature and consolidate, it will be crucial to keep the focus on the usability, accessibility and relevance of visualisations, ensuring that open data truly delivers on its promise to contribute to a more informed, participatory and democratic society.

Open data visualisation is not just a technical issue, but a strategic opportunity to redefine public communication and strengthen the foundations of a truly open and transparent administration.

Access to financial and banking data is revolutionising the sector, promoting transparency, financial inclusion and innovation in economic services. However, the management of this data faces regulatory challenges in balancing openness with security and privacy.

For this reason, there are different ways of accessing this type of data, as we will see below.

Open Banking and Open Finance versus Open Data.

These terms, although related, have important differences.

The term Open Banking refers to a system that allows banks and other financial institutions to securely and digitally share customer financial data with third parties. This requires the customers' express approval of the data sharing conditions . This consent can be cancelled at any time according to the customer's wishes.

Open Finance, on the other hand, is an evolution of Open Banking which embraces a broader range of financial products and services. When we talk about Open Finance, in addition to banking data, data on insurance, pensions, investments and other financial services are included.

In both Open Banking and Open Finance, the data is not open (Open Data), but can only be accessed by those previously authorised by the customer. The exchange of data is done through an application programming interface or API , which guarantees the agility and security of the process. All of this is regulated by the European directive on payment services in the internal market (known as PSD2), although the European Commission is working on updating the regulatory framework.

• Applications of Open Banking and Open Finance:

The purpose of these activities is to provide access to new services based on information sharing. For example, they facilitate the creation of apps that unify access to all the bank accounts of a customer, even if they are from different providers. This improves the management and control of income and expenditure by providing an overview in a single environment.

Another example of use is that they allow providers to cross-check information more quickly. For example, by allowing access to a customer's financial data, a dealer could provide information on financing options more quickly.

Open data platforms on banking

While private banking data, like all types of personal data, is strictly regulated and cannot be openly published due to privacy protection regulations, there are sets of financial data that can be freely shared. For example, aggregate information on interest rates, economic indicators, historical stock market data, investment trends and macroeconomic statistics, which are accessible through open sources.

This data, in addition to boosting transparency and confidence in markets, can be used to monitor economic trends, prevent fraud and improve risk management globally. In addition, fintechcompanies, developers and entrepreneurs can take advantage of them to create solutions such as financial analysis tools, digital payment systems or automated advice.

Let's look at some examples of places where open data on the banking and financial sector can be obtained.

International sources

Some of the most popular international sources are:

• European Central Bank: provides statistics and data on euro area financial markets, through various platforms. Among other information, users can download datasets on inflation, bank interest rates, balance of payments, public finances, etc.

• World Bank: provides access to global economic data on financial development, poverty and economic growth.

• International Monetary Fund: provides simplified access to macroeconomic and financial data, such as the outlook for the global or regional economy. It also provides open data from reports such as its Fiscal Monitor, which analyses the latest developments in public finances.

• Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED): focuses on US economic data, including market indicators and interest rates. This repository is created and maintained by the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

National sources

Through the National Open Data Catalogue of datos.gob.es a large number of datasets related to the economy can be accessed. One of the most prominent publishers is the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), which provides data on defaults by financial institution, mortgages, etc.

In addition, the Banco de España offers various products for those interested in the country's economic data:

• Statistics: the Banco de España collects, compiles and publishes a wide range of economic and financial statistics. It includes information on interest and exchange rates, financial accounts of the institutional sectors, balances of payments and even household financial surveys, among others.
• Dashboard: the Banco de España has also made available to the public an interactive viewer that allows quarterly and annual data on external statistics to be consumed in a more user-friendly way.

In addition, Banco de España has set up asecure room for researchers to access  data that is valuable but cannot be opened to the general public due to its nature. In this sense we find:

• BELab: the secure data laboratory managed by the Banco de España, offering on-site (Madrid) and remote access. These data have been used in various projects.
• ES_DataLab: restricted microdata laboratory for researchers developing projects for scientific and public interest purposes. In this case, it brings together micro-data from various organisations, including the Bank of Spain.

Data spaces: an opportunity for secure and controlled exchange of financial data

As we have just seen, there are also options to facilitate access to financial and banking data in a controlled and secure manner. This is where data spaces come into play, an ecosystem where different actors share data in a voluntary and secure manner, following common governance, regulatory and technical mechanisms.

In this respect, Europe is pushing for a European Financial Data Facility (EEDF), a key initiative within the European Data Strategy. The EEDF consists of three main pillars:

• Public reporting data ("public disclosures"): collects financial reporting data (balance sheets, revenues, income statements), which financial firms are required by law to disclose on a regular basis. In this area is the European Single Access Point (ESAP)initiative, a centralised platform for accessing data from over 200 public reports from more than 150,000 companies.

• Private customer data of financial service providers: encompasses those data held by financial service providers such as banks. In this area is the framework for access to financial data, which covers data such as investments, insurance, pensions, loans and savings.

• Data from supervisory reports: for this type of data, the supervisory strategy, which covers data from different sectors (banks, insurance, pension funds...) has to be taken into account in order to promote digital transformation in the financial sector.

In conclusion, access to financial and banking data is evolving significantly thanks to various initiatives that have enabled greater transparency and that will encourage the development of new services, while ensuring the security and privacy of shared data. The future of the financial sector will be shaped by the ability of institutions and regulators to foster data ecosystems that drive innovation and trust in the market.

The General direction of traffic (DGT in its Spanish acronym) is the body responsible for ensuring safety and fluidity on the roads in Spain. Among other activities, it is responsible for the issuing of permits, traffic control and the management of infringements.

As a result of its activity, a large amount of data is generated, much of which is made available to the public as open data. These datasets not only promote transparency but are also a tool to encourage innovation and improve road safety through their re-use by researchers, companies, public administrations and interested citizens.

In this article we will review some of these datasets, including application examples.

How to access the DGT's datasets

DGT datasets provide detailed and structured information on various aspects of road safety and mobility in Spain, ranging from accident statistics to vehicle and driver information. The temporal continuity of these datasets, available from the beginning of the century to the present day, enables longitudinal analyses that reflect the evolution of mobility and road safety patterns in Spain.

Users can access datasets in different spaces:

• DGT en cifras. It is a section of the General direction of traffic that offers a centralised access to statistics and key data related to road safety, vehicles and drivers in Spain. This portal includes detailed information on accidents, complaints, vehicle fleet and technical characteristics of vehicles, among other topics. It also provides historical and comparative analyses to assess trends and design strategies to improve road safety.
• National Access Point (NAP). Managed by the DGT, it is a platform designed to centralise and facilitate access to road and traffic data, including updates. This portal has been created under the framework of the European Directive 2010/40/EU and brings together information provided by various traffic management bodies, road authorities and infrastructure operators. Available data includes traffic incidents, electric vehicle charging points, low-emission zones and car park occupancy, among others. It aims to promote interoperability and the development of intelligent solutions that improve road safety and transport efficiency.

While the NAP is focused on real-time data and technological solutions, DGT en cifras focuses on providing statistics and historical information for analysis and decision making. In addition, the NAP collects data not only from the DGT, but also from other agencies and private companies.

Most of these data are available through datos.gob.es.

Examples of DGT datasets

Some examples of datasets that can be found in datos.gob.es are:

• Accidents with casualties: includes detailed information on fatalities, hospitalised and minor injuries, as well as circumstances by road type. This data helps to understand why accidents happen and who is involved, to identify risky situations and to detect dangerous behaviour on the road. It is useful for creating better prevention campaigns, detecting black spots on the roads and helping authorities to make more informed decisions. They are also of interest to public health professionals, urban planners and insurance companies working to reduce accidents and their consequences.
• Census of drivers: provides a complete x-ray of who has a driving licence in Spain. The information is particularly useful for understanding the evolution of the driver fleet, identifying demographic trends and analysing the penetration of different types of licences by territory and gender.
• Car registrations by make and engine capacity: shows which new cars Spaniards bought, organised by brand and engine power. The information allows consumer trends to be identified. This data is valuable for manufacturers, dealers and automotive analysts, who can study the market performance in a given year. They are also useful for researchers in mobility, environment and economics, allowing to analyse the evolution of the Spanish vehicle fleet and its impact in terms of emissions, energy consumption and market trends.

Use cases of DGT datasets

The publication of this data in an open format enables innovation in areas such as accident prevention, the development of safer road infrastructure, the development of evidence-based public policies, and the creation of mobility-related technology applications. Some examples are given below:

DGT's own use of data

The DGT itself reuses its data to create tools that facilitate the visualisation of the information and bring it closer to citizens in a simple way. This is the case of the Traffic status and incident map, which is constantly and automatically updated with the information entered 24 hours a day by the Civil Guard Traffic Group and the heads of the Traffic Management Centres of the DGT, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Basque Government. Includes information on roads affected by weather phenomena (e.g. ice, floods, etc.) and forecast developments.

In addition, the DGT also uses its data to carry out studies that provide information on certain aspects related to mobility and road safety, which are very useful for decision-making and policy-making. One example is this study which analyses the behaviour and activity of certain groups in traffic accidents in order to propose proactive measures. Another example: this project to implement a computer system that identifies, through geolocation, the critical points with the highest accident rates on roads for their treatment and transfer of conclusions.

Use of data by third parties

The datasets provided by the DGT are also reused by other public administrations, researchers, entrepreneurs and private companies, fostering innovation in this field. Thanks to them, we find apps that allow users to access detailed information about vehicles in Spain (such as technical characteristics and inspection history and other data) or that provide information about the most dangerous places for cyclists.

In addition, its combination with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence allows extracting even more value from the data, facilitating the identification of patterns and helping citizens and authorities to take preventive measures. One example is the Waze application, which has implemented an artificial intelligence-based functionality to identify and alert drivers to high-crashstretches of road, known as "black spots". This system combines historical accident data with analysis of road characteristics, such as gradients, traffic density and intersections, to provide accurate and highly useful alerts. The application notifies users in advance when they are approaching these dangerous areas, with the aim of reducing risks and improving road safety. This innovation complements the data provided by the DGT, helping to save lives by encouraging more cautious driving.

 For those who would like to get a taste and practice with DGT data, from datos.gob.es we have a step-by-step data science exercise. Users will be able to analyse these datasets and use predictive models to estimate the evolution of the electric vehicle in Spain. Documented code development and free-to-use tools are used for this purpose. All the material generated is available for reuse in the GitHub repository of datos.gob.es.

In short, the DGT's data sets offer great opportunities for reuse, even more so when combined with disruptive technologies. This is driving innovation, sustainability and safer, more connected transport, which is helping to transform urban and rural mobility.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an initiative that brings together government leaders and civil society representatives to promote more transparent, participatory and inclusive governance.

The presidency of the project, which already involves more than 75 countries and more than 100 local governments, is rotating. This year, it is the turn of Spain, which will co-chair, together with the Philippine organisation Bankay Kita, Cielo Magno from 1 October until 30 September 2025.

Spain was chosen to co-chair this multilateral organisation at the 8th Global Conference of the Open Government Partnership, which was held in September last year in Tallinn (Estonia). For years, Spain has been represented in the Alliance by the three levels of public administration: national, regional and local. In addition to the Spanish Government, the OGP includes Autonomous Communities such as the Basque Country, Catalonia and Aragon and local entities such as the Madrid City Council.

As part of this commitment, at the Tallinn Summit, Spain took a further step forward by being elected to co-chair the Steering Committee for the period 2024-2025. The presidency involves leading the Steering Committee, promoting OGP initiatives and leading the thematic areas of open government. In this sense, Spain is committed to promoting with greater commitment those measures that seek greater citizen involvement in public decision-making through deliberative processes.

Open data for a more open government

To take over the co-presidency, the Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, Óscar López, travelled to New York this week in the context of the United Nations General Assembly. At this ceremony, the Minister emphasised that the Co-Presidency's programme will highlight three aspects: placing the citizen at the centre of decision-making, strengthening democracy to make it more resilient, and the protection of rights. ‘We also want to promote innovative ideas by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by technology, especially open data and artificial intelligence, which must serve as tools with which to successfully tackle the dual green and digital transition,’ he said in his speech.

In addition to promoting a more open government, Minister López has insisted on the search for a ‘qualitative leap’ so that democracy transcends the act of voting, strengthening citizen participation in decision-making. On the other hand, the minister stressed the need to carry out reforms through consensus and social participation. In this sense, the Open Government Guide is a reference document to help institutions through innovative methodologies, concrete recommendations and international guidelines.

IX Global Summit 2025

Assuming the co-presidency of the OGP also brings with it the responsibility to organise the IX Global Summit in 2025. This event, which will bring together more than 2,000 representatives of governments and civil society, will address issues related to open government. At the OGP 2025 Global Summit in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the most promising and impactful reforms submitted to the Open Government Challenge will be recognised through the Open Gov Awards.

This will be the ninth OGP Global Summit. Previous OGP Global Summits have been held in Canada, Georgia, Estonia, France, Korea, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Subscribe to OGP's monthly newsletter to receive updates on this and other upcoming events, new publications, stories and relevant open government news. You can also keep up to date with our social media channels so you don't miss out on open data, international partnerships and other news of interest.

Local public bodies, such as county councils and municipalities, play a crucial role in opening their data to the public. Making data available to citizens not only builds trust in institutions, but also drives innovation, facilitates citizen participation and promotes informed decision-making. Through open data, these entities can contribute to a more efficient, collaborative and accountable management that is more responsive to the needs of society.

To find out about their activities and the most popular datasets, a survey was carried out last May in which more than 65 representatives of local authorities took part. Some of the conclusions drawn are summarised below.

Strategies to boost open data

Some municipalities have designed specific open data strategies tailored to their needs. This is the case of the city councils of Barakaldo, Pinto, Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Valencia, among others. 

Other municipalities include the promotion of open data within broader strategic plans, such as Granada and its Strategic Plan for Innovation and SmartCity. In its strategic line number eight, the Granada City Council includes actions related to data governance and its data platform, focusing on the application of Open Data principles in the City Council and the public availability of municipal databases.

In addition, some city councils are going a step further, such as Alcobendas City Council, which is updating its open data strategy with a Data Governance strategy, focused on three axes (people, processes and technology), with which they seek to promote the data culture. Vitoria Gasteiz, for its part, is working on the constitution of a data office and the necessary infrastructure to support it, which will allow them to design a more general data strategy.

This is a path where the Provincial Councils have a lot to say, helping local councils to make progress in making data of interest available to citizens. One example is the Cordoba Provincial Council, which has launched a Public Sector Information Re-use Plan to promote the opening of data in a homogeneous way through its provincial smart platform and automated uploading.  The provincial councils also promote open data through training, giving courses to public employees in the province. This has been done by the Salamanca and Cáceres Provincial Councils.

Provincial Council

Publishing open data is not enough if it is not updated in a continuous and timely manner. As a result, all respondents agree that updating their datasets is one of the most time and resource consuming tasks. Keeping open data up to date allows citizens, businesses and other stakeholders to access relevant and timely information, facilitating planning, research and the development of new solutions in a changing environment.

To this end, many respondents confirm that they carry out regular audits as well as inventories of databases - as, for example, the municipality of Quart de Poblet. These inventories are also being carried out in order to identify high-value data. This is the case of Valencia City Council, which is cataloguing current data and classifying them according to whether or not they belong to the so-called high-value categories.

In order to ensure that the data provided are up to date, many organisations are also promoting automation processes, such as the Diputación de Salamanca. By implementing automated systems, public bodies can ensure that data are continuously updated, reducing human error and optimising resources. In addition, it ensures that the information is the same on all of the organisation's portals.

In addition to continuous updating and improvement audits, the use of geospatial data enables local authorities to better understand their environment and make informed decisions. Publishing this type of data makes it possible to visualise the distribution of services, infrastructures, resources and problems in a territory, facilitating urban planning, environmental management and mobility, among other key aspects. In this sense, Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) continue to be developed at local level, such as the SDI of the Provincial Council of Guipuzcoa, or Geoportals such as that of the Provincial Council of Cordoba.

Another priority, indicated by Sant Feliu Town Council, is the incorporation of the gender perspective in data publications, whenever and wherever possible, with a double objective: to adequately highlight the differences and inequalities in the situation of women and, above all, to help define corrective public policies.

On the other hand, among the challenges, agencies highlight the technical difficulties in standardising and normalising data at the corporate level, often because information is isolated in silos. For this reason, they see the need to establish coordination mechanisms between areas and structures of data governance.

In addition, the organisations surveyed consider it necessary, in the first place, to promote the data culture within the organisation, by increasing human and technical resources and training.

Most popular datasets

The ultimate goal of open data portals is the re-use of data. In this sense, some of the mechanisms used by local authorities to monitor the use of their data are:

• View statistics on the most downloaded datasets. In this sense, the creation of interactive dashboards is being promoted, such as this one with access to all the datasets of the portals of local councils that use the AOC (Administració Oberta de Catalunya) consortium solution.
• Consultation of feedback and implementation of a rating system.
• Use of software observability platforms , based on artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, to monitor, analyse and optimise the user experience.
• Implementation of tools that generate popularity indexes.
• Creation of forms so that re-users can report on the products and services they develop using the portal's data, such as this example from the Cabildo de Tenerife.

Of all the datasets, the categories highlighted by the local authorities participating in the survey are the following:

Access the accessible version here

In short, local bodies' open data initiatives represent an invaluable opportunity to strengthen open data. Challenges remain, but the commitment to open data is a reality.

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a European Union initiative that aims to promote open science through the creation of an open, collaborative and sustainabledigital research infrastructure. EOSC's main objective is to provide European researchers with easier access to the data, tools and resources they need to conduct quality research.

EOSC on the European Research and Data Agenda

EOSC is part of the 20 actions of the European Research Area (ERA) agenda 2022-2024 and is recognised as the European data space for science, research and innovation, to be integrated with other sectoral data spaces defined in the European data strategy. Among the expected benefits of the platform are the following:

• An improvement in the confidence, quality and productivity of European science.
• The development of new  innovative products and services.
•  Improving the impact of research in tackling major societal challenges.

The EOSC platform

EOSC is in fact an ongoing process that sets out a roadmap in which all European states participate, based on the central idea that research data is a public good that should be available to all researchers, regardless of their location or affiliation. This model aims to ensure that scientific results comply with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) Principles to facilitate reuse, as in any other data space.

However, the most visible part of EOSC is its platform that gives access to millions of resources contributed by hundreds of content providers. This platform is designed to facilitate the search, discovery and interoperability of data and other content such as training resources, security, analysis, tools, etc. To this end, the key elements of the architecture envisaged in EOSC include two main components:

• EOSC Core: which provides all the basic elements needed to discover, share, access and reuse resources - authentication, metadata management, metrics, persistent identifiers, etc.
• EOSC Exchange: to ensure that common and thematic services for data management and exploitation are available to the scientific community.

In addition, the ESOC Interoperability Framework (EOSC-IF)is a set of policies and guidelines that enable interoperability between different resources and services and facilitate their subsequent combination.

The platform is currently available in 24 languages and is continuously updated to add new data and services. Over the next seven years, a joint investment by the EU partners of at least EUR 1 billion is foreseen for its further development.

Participation in EOSC

The evolution of EOSC is being guided by a tripartite coordinating body consisting of the European Commission itself, the participating countries represented on the EOSC Steering Board and the research community represented through the EOSC Association. In addition, in order to be part of the ESCO community, you only have to follow a series of minimum rules of participation:

1. The whole EOSC concept is based on the general principle of openness.
2. Existing EOSC resources must comply with the FAIR principles.
3. Services must comply with the EOSC architecture and interoperability guidelines.
4. EOSC follows the principles of ethical behaviour and integrity in research.
5. EOSC users are also expected to contribute to EOSC.
6. Users must comply with the terms and conditions associated with the data they use.
7. EOSC users always cite the sources of the resources they use in their work.
8. Participation in EOSC is subject to applicable policies and legislation.

EOSC in Spain

The Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) of Spain was one of the 4 founding members of the association and is currently a commissioned member of the association, in charge of coordination at national level.

CSIC has been working for years on its open access repository DIGITAL.CSIC as a step towards its future integration into EOSC. Within its work in open science we can highlight for example the adoption of the Current Research Information System (CRIS), information systems designed to help research institutions to collect, organise and manage data on their research activity: researchers, projects, publications, patents, collaborations, funding, etc.

CRIS are already important tools in helping institutions track and manage their scientific output, promoting transparency and open access to research. But they can also play an important role as sources of information feeding into the EOSC, as data collected in CRIS can also be easily shared and used through the EOSC.

The road to open science

Collaboration between CRIS and ESCO has the potential to significantly improve the accessibility and re-use of research data, but there are also other transitional actions that can be taken on the road to producing increasingly open science:

1. Ensure the quality of metadata to facilitate open data exchange.
2. Disseminate the FAIR principles among the research community.
3. Promote and develop common standards to facilitate interoperability.
4. Encourage the use of open repositories.
5. Contribute by sharing resources with the rest of the community.

This will help to boost open science, increasing the efficiency, transparency and replicability of research.

Content prepared by Carlos Iglesias, Open data Researcher and consultant, World Wide Web Foundation.

The contents and points of view reflected in this publication are the sole responsibility of its author.