What's new in the data ecosystem: second half 2025

In the last six months, the open data ecosystem in Spain has experienced intense activity marked by regulatory and strategic advances, the implementation of new platforms and functionalities in data portals, or the launch of innovative solutions based on public information.

In this article, we review some of those advances, so you can stay up to date. We also invite you to review the article on the news of the first half of 2025 so that you can have an overview of what has happened this year in the national data ecosystem.

Cross-cutting strategic, regulatory and policy developments

Data quality, interoperability and governance have been placed at the heart of both the national and European agenda, with initiatives seeking to foster a robust framework for harnessing the value of data as a strategic asset.

One of the main developments has been the launch of a new digital package by the European Commission in order to consolidate a robust, secure and competitive European data ecosystem. This package includes a digital bus to simplify the application of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation. In addition, it is complemented by the new Data Union Strategy,  which is structured around three pillars:

• Expand access to quality data to drive artificial intelligence and innovation.
• Simplify the existing regulatory framework to reduce barriers and bureaucracy.
• Protect European digital sovereignty from external dependencies.

Its implementation will take place gradually over the next few months. It will be then that we will be able to appreciate its effects on our country and the rest of the EU territories.

Activity in Spain has also been - and will be - marked by the V Open Government Plan 2025-2029, approved last October. This plan has more than 200 initiatives and contributions from both civil society and administrations, many of them related to the opening and reuse of data. Spain's commitment to open data has also been evident in its adherence to the International Open Data Charter, a global initiative that promotes the openness and reuse of public data as tools to improve transparency, citizen participation, innovation and accountability.

Along with the promotion of data openness, work has also been done on the development of data sharing spaces. In this regard, the UNE 0087 standard was presented, which is in addition to UNE specifications on data and defines for the first time in Spain the key principles and requirements for creating and operating in data spaces, improving their interoperability and governance.

More innovative data-driven solutions

Spanish bodies continue to harness the potential of data as a driver of solutions and policies that optimise the provision of services to citizens. Some examples are:

• The Ministry of Health and citizen science initiative, Mosquito Alert, are using artificial intelligence and automated image analysis to improve real-time detection and tracking of tiger mosquitoes and invasive species.
• The Valenciaport Foundation, together with other European organisations, has launched a free tool that allows the benefits of installing wind and photovoltaic energy systems in ports to be assessed.
• The Cabildo de la Palma opted for smart agriculture with the new Smart Agro website: farmers receive personalised irrigation recommendations according to climate and location. The Cabildo has also launched a viewer to monitor mobility on the island.
• The City Council of Segovia has implemented a digital twin that centralizes high-value applications and geographic data, allowing the city to be visualized and analyzed in an interactive three-dimensional environment. It improves municipal management and promotes transparency and citizen participation.
• Vila-real City Council has launched a digital application that integrates public transport, car parks and tourist spots in real time. The project seeks to optimize urban mobility and promote sustainability through smart technology.
• Sant Boi City Council has launched an interactive map made with open data that centralises information on urban transport, parking and sustainable options on a single platform, in order to improve urban mobility.
• The DataActive International Research Network has been inaugurated, an initiative funded by the Higher Sports Council that seeks to promote the design of active urban environments through the use of open data.

Not only public bodies reuse open data, universities are also working on projects linked to digital innovation based on public information:

• Students from the Universitat de València have designed projects that use AI and open data to prevent natural disasters.
• Researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha have shown that it is feasible to reuse air quality prediction models in different areas of Madrid using transfer learning.

In addition to solutions, open data can also be used to shape other types of products, including sculptures. This is the case of "The skeleton of climate change", a figure presented by the National Museum of Natural Sciences, based on data on changes in global temperature from 1880 to 2024.

New portals and functionalities to extract value from data

The solutions and innovations mentioned above are possible thanks to the existence of multiple platforms for opening or sharing data that do not stop incorporating new data sets and functionalities to extract value from them. Some of the developments we have seen in this regard in recent months are:

• The National Observatory of Technology and Society (ONTSI) has launched a new website. One of its new features is Ontsi Data, a tool for preparing reports with indicators from both its portal and third parties.
• The General Council of Notaries has launched a Housing Statistical Portal, an open tool with reliable and up-to-date data on the real estate market in Spain.
• The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has inaugurated on its website an open data space with microdata on the composition of food and beverages marketed in Spain.
• The Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) launched a renewed website, adapted to any device and with a more powerful search engine to facilitate access to its studies and data.
• The National Geographic Institute (IGN) has presented a new website for SIOSE, the Information System on Land Occupation in Spain, with a more modern, intuitive and dynamic design. In addition, it has made available to the public a new version of the Geographic Reference Information of Transport Networks (IGR-RT), segmented by provinces and modes of transport, and available in Shapefile and GeoPackage.
• The AKIS Advisors Platform, promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has launched a new open data API that allows registered users to download and reuse content related to the agri-food sector in Spain.
• The Government of Catalonia launched a new corporate website that centralises key aspects of European funds, public procurement, transparency and open data in a single point. It has also launched a website where it collects information on the AI systems it uses.
• PortCastelló has published its 2024 Proceedings in open data format. All the management, traffic, infrastructures and economic data of the port are now accessible and reusable by any citizen.
• Researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and the Institute of Photonic Sciences have created an open library with data on 140 biomolecules. A pioneering resource that promotes open science and the use of open data in biomedicine.
• CitriData, a federated space for data, models and services in the Andalusian citrus value chain, was also presented. Its goal is to transform the sector through the intelligent and collaborative use of data.

Other organizations are immersed in the development of their novelties. For example, we will soon see the new Open Data Portal of Aguas de Alicante, which will allow public access to key information on water management, promoting the development of solutions based on Big Data and AI.

These months have also seen strategic advances linked to improving the quality and use of data, such as the Data Government Model of the Generalitat Valenciana or the Roadmap for the Provincial Strategy of artificial intelligence of the Provincial Council of Castellón.

Datos.gob.es also introduced a new platform aimed at optimizing both publishing and data access. If you want to know this and other news of the Aporta Initiative in 2025, we invite you to read this post.

Encouraging the use of data through events, resources and citizen actions

The second half of 2025 was the time chosen by a large number of public bodies to launch tenders aimed at promoting the reuse of the data they publish. This was the case of the Junta de Castilla y León, the Madrid City Council, the Valencia City Council and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. Our country has also participated in international events such as the NASA Space Apps Challenge.

Among the events where the power of open data has been disseminated, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit, the Iberian Conference on Spatial Data Infrastructures (JIIDE), the International Congress on Transparency and Open Government or the 17th International Conference on the Reuse of Public Sector Information of ASEDIE stand out.  although there were many more.

Work has also been done on reports that highlight the impact of data on specific sectors, such as the DATAGRI Chair 2025 Report of the University of Cordoba, focused on the agri-food sector. Other published documents seek to help improve data management, such as "Fundamentals of Data Governance in the context of data spaces", led by DAMA Spain, in collaboration with Gaia-X Spain.

Citizen participation is also critical to the success of data-driven innovation. In this sense, we have seen both activities aimed at promoting the publication of data and improving those already published or their reuse:

• The Barcelona Open Data Initiative requested citizen help to draw up a ranking of digital solutions based on open data to promote healthy ageing. They also organized a participatory activity to improve the iCuida app, aimed at domestic and care workers. This app allows you to search for public toilets, climate shelters and other points of interest for the day-to-day life of caregivers.
• The Spanish Space Agency launched a survey to find out the needs and uses of Earth Observation images and data within the framework of strategic projects such as the Atlantic Constellation.

In conclusion, the activities carried out in the second half of 2025 highlight the consolidation of the open data ecosystem in Spain as a driver of innovation, transparency and citizen participation. Regulatory and strategic advances, together with the creation of new platforms and solutions based on data, show a firm commitment on the part of institutions and society to take advantage of public information as a key resource for sustainable development, the improvement of services and the generation of knowledge.

As always, this article is just a small sample of the activities carried out. We invite you to share other activities that you know about through the comments.