Description
The European open data portal has published the third volume of its Use Case Observatory, a report that compiles the evolution of data reuse projects across Europe. This initiative highlights the progress made in four areas: economic, governmental, social and environmental impact.
The closure of a three-year investigation
Between 2022 and 2025, the European Open Data Portal has systematically monitored the evolution of various European projects. The research began with an initial selection of 30 representative initiatives, which were analyzed in depth to identify their potential for impact.
After two years, 13 projects continued in the study, including three Spanish ones: Planttes, Tangible Data and UniversiDATA-Lab. Its development over time was studied to understand how the reuse of open data can generate real and sustainable benefits.
The publication of volume III in October 2025 marks the closure of this series of reports, following volume I (2022) and volume II (2024). This last document offers a longitudinal view, showing how the projects have matured in three years of observation and what concrete impacts they have generated in their respective contexts.
Common conclusions
This third and final report compiles a number of key findings:
Economic impact
Open data drives growth and efficiency across industries. They contribute to job creation, both directly and indirectly, facilitate smarter recruitment processes and stimulate innovation in areas such as urban planning and digital services.
The report shows the example of:
- Naar Jobs (Belgium): an application for job search close to users' homes and focused on the available transport options.
This application demonstrates how open data can become a driver for regional employment and business development.
Government impact
The opening of data strengthens transparency, accountability and citizen participation.
Two use cases analysed belong to this field:
- Waar is mijn stemlokaal? (Netherlands): platform for the search for polling stations.
- Statsregnskapet.no (Norway): website to visualize government revenues and expenditures.
Both examples show how access to public information empowers citizens, enriches the work of the media, and supports evidence-based policymaking. All of this helps to strengthen democratic processes and trust in institutions.
Social impact
Open data promotes inclusion, collaboration, and well-being.
The following initiatives analysed belong to this field:
- UniversiDATA-Lab (Spain): university data repository that facilitates analytical applications.
- VisImE-360 (Italy): a tool to map visual impairment and guide health resources.
- Tangible Data (Spain): a company focused on making physical sculptures that turn data into accessible experiences.
- EU Twinnings (Netherlands): platform that compares European regions to find "twin cities"
- Open Food Facts (France): collaborative database on food products.
- Integreat (Germany): application that centralizes public information to support the integration of migrants.
All of them show how data-driven solutions can amplify the voice of vulnerable groups, improve health outcomes and open up new educational opportunities. Even the smallest effects, such as improvement in a single person's life, can prove significant and long-lasting.
Environmental impact
Open data acts as a powerful enabler of sustainability.
As with environmental impact, in this area we find a large number of use cases:
- Digital Forest Dryads (Estonia): a project that uses data to monitor forests and promote their conservation.
- Air Quality in Cyprus (Cyprus): platform that reports on air quality and supports environmental policies.
- Planttes (Spain): citizen science app that helps people with pollen allergies by tracking plant phenology.
- Environ-Mate (Ireland): a tool that promotes sustainable habits and ecological awareness.
These initiatives highlight how data reuse contributes to raising awareness, driving behavioural change and enabling targeted interventions to protect ecosystems and strengthen climate resilience.
Volume III also points to common challenges: the need for sustainable financing, the importance of combining institutional data with citizen-generated data, and the desirability of involving end-users throughout the project lifecycle. In addition, it underlines the importance of European collaboration and transnational interoperability to scale impact.
Overall, the report reinforces the relevance of continuing to invest in open data ecosystems as a key tool to address societal challenges and promote inclusive transformation.
The impact of Spanish projects on the reuse of open data
As we have mentioned, three of the use cases analysed in the Use Case Observatory have a Spanish stamp. These initiatives stand out for their ability to combine technological innovation with social and environmental impact, and highlight Spain 's relevance within the European open data ecosystem. His career demonstrates how our country actively contributes to transforming data into solutions that improve people's lives and reinforce sustainability and inclusion. Below, we zoom in on what the report says about them.
This citizen science initiative helps people with pollen allergies through real-time information about allergenic plants in bloom. Since its appearance in Volume I of the Use Case Observatory, it has evolved as a participatory platform in which users contribute photos and phenological data to create a personalized risk map. This participatory model has made it possible to maintain a constant flow of information validated by researchers and to offer increasingly complete maps. With more than 1,000 initial downloads and about 65,000 annual visitors to its website, it is a useful tool for people with allergies, educators and researchers.
The project has strengthened its digital presence, with increasing visibility thanks to the support of institutions such as the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Granada, in addition to the promotion carried out by the company Thigis.
Its challenges include expanding geographical coverage beyond Catalonia and Granada and sustaining data participation and validation. Therefore, looking to the future, it seeks to extend its territorial reach, strengthen collaboration with schools and communities, integrate more data in real time and improve its predictive capabilities.
Throughout this time, Planttes has established herself as an example of how citizen-driven science can improve public health and environmental awareness, demonstrating the value of citizen science in environmental education, allergy management, and climate change monitoring.
The project transforms datasets into physical sculptures that represent global challenges such as climate change or poverty, integrating QR codes and NFC to contextualize the information. Recognized at the EU Open Data Days 2025, Tangible Data has inaugurated its installation Tangible climate at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid.
Tangible Data has evolved in three years from a prototype project based on 3D sculptures to visualize sustainability data to become an educational and cultural platform that connects open data with society. Volume III of the Use Case Observatory reflects its expansion into schools and museums, the creation of an educational program for 15-year-old students, and the development of interactive experiences with artificial intelligence, consolidating its commitment to accessibility and social impact.
Its challenges include funding and scaling up the education programme, while its future goals include scaling up school activities, displaying large-format sculptures in public spaces, and strengthening collaboration with artists and museums. Overall, it remains true to its mission of making data tangible, inclusive, and actionable.
UniversiDATA-Lab is a dynamic repository of analytical applications based on open data from Spanish universities, created in 2020 as a public-private collaboration and currently made up of six institutions. Its unified infrastructure facilitates the publication and reuse of data in standardized formats, reducing barriers and allowing students, researchers, companies and citizens to access useful information for education, research and decision-making.
Over the past three years, the project has grown from a prototype to a consolidated platform, with active applications such as the budget and retirement viewer, and a hiring viewer in beta. In addition, it organizes a periodic datathon that promotes innovation and projects with social impact.
Its challenges include internal resistance at some universities and the complex anonymization of sensitive data, although it has responded with robust protocols and a focus on transparency. Looking to the future, it seeks to expand its catalogue, add new universities and launch applications on emerging issues such as school dropouts, teacher diversity or sustainability, aspiring to become a European benchmark in the reuse of open data in higher education.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the third volume of the Use Case Observatory confirms that open data has established itself as a key tool to boost innovation, transparency and sustainability in Europe. The projects analysed – and in particular the Spanish initiatives Planttes, Tangible Data and UniversiDATA-Lab – demonstrate that the reuse of public information can translate into concrete benefits for citizens, education, research and the environment.
