This content was created by the Data Sharing Coalition, one of the founding partners of the CoE-DSC.
DenkWerk, an independent think tank that wants to contribute to a prosperous, inclusive and progressive Netherlands, recently published their report ‘The Data Driven Future.NL’. The report states that the Netherlands is in a good position to realise data sharing on a large scale. It also mentions the Data Sharing Coalition as a frontrunner when it comes to this topic, thus making an important contribution to this data driven future.
Download the report by DenkWerk
How to counterbalance the competitive advantage of data conglomerates
In their report, DenkWerk addresses that big tech companies in the United States and China have a competitive advantage compared to European companies. These ‘data conglomerates’ have created a free flow of data by combining a broad spectrum of data-driven activities within their own ecosystem. This enables them to develop propositions based on innovative applications and combinations of data.
DenkWerk states that to counterbalance this competitive advantage, Dutch and European companies need to find a way to get access to many and various sorts of data. Not through buying data from data conglomerates but through data sharing. However, data sharing on a large scale is still not self-evident due to a lack of standards and because there is much uncertainty about data sharing in general. For data to flow freely, DenkWerk pledges for the use of standards to ensure that data systems from different organisations become interoperable.
DenkWerk emphasises trust is key for organisations to start sharing data. Besides through standards, trust can be stimulated when organisations and citizens become data sovereign: they gain control over who has access to their data and for what purposes. Data sovereignty is a shared key principle by both DenkWerk and the Data Sharing Coalition.
Our contribution to organising standards and trust for data sharing
DenkWerk believes public-private and intersectoral collaboration is needed to organise standards and trust for data sharing. DenkWerk also states that the Netherlands is a frontrunner with regards to data sharing initiatives that work on organising standards and trust for data sharing. The Data Sharing Coalition is explicitly mentioned as an example of an initiative that works on agreements for data sharing. By exploring and documenting generic agreements for data sharing in our Harmonisation Canvas, we have created the first stepping stone in facilitating a Trust Framework. By doing that, we aim to achieve harmonisation in a fragmented landscape, ultimately helping organisations to unlock the true value of data.
