International Green Data Spaces (InGDS)

Requirements for international and cross-domain connectivity

International cooperation for climate protection

In order to efficiently counteract the climate catastrophe in accordance with the international goals of the European Green Deal, the Paris Climate Goals and the UN SDGs for the creation of a sustainable European data economy, a joint initiative of stakeholders from business, industry and research is needed not only on a national, but especially on an international level.

On a national level, the Data Intelligence Offensive (DIO) is working with a complementary project Linking Green Data Spaces (LiGDS), as part of an R&D service funded by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and managed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), with a network of over 180 members and partners to develop and implement socio-ecologically sustainable use cases in a data service ecosystem. In concrete terms, this means that clearly structured and delimited, domain-specific use cases are defined, processed and completed. This is done step by step by networking the relevant stakeholders to form a continuously expanding community.

Building on these results, this project International Green Data Spaces (InGDS), an R&D service funded by the BMK and managed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), explores the technical, legal and practical requirements for an international and cross-domain connection of sustainability-oriented Data Spaces in order to promote that Use Cases can be connected or developed internationally and across domains.

In coordination with international leading flagship initiatives (such as Gaia-X, International Data Space Association (IDSA), the Data Space Support Center (DSSC), the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), etc.), InGDS aims to gain new insights and increase the knowledge base for the future implementation of international connectivity of Data Spaces and Use Cases in 4 steps:

1. Mapping the status quo in the data service ecosystem

The goal is to identify relevant groups, to actively expand international partnerships through active community building, and to integrate these groups into InGDS. Existing and future Data Spaces and use cases are mapped in a Data Space Radar and classified according to maturity levels (e.g. CMMI).

2. Description of current challenges and solution approaches

The identified Data Spaces will be reviewed for current challenges and possible solutions regarding international connection. For this purpose, different nations and maturity levels are included. These focus on technical aspects (e.g., interfaces, data models, federation service, data governance), legal aspects (e.g., GDPR, IPR, national directives, EU Data Governance Act, EU Data Act) and market requirements (e.g., incentives, collaborative cooperation, value creation).

3. Research of the preconditions for cross-national and cross-domain collaboration

The above results will be used to develop a blueprint for connecting data spaces and use cases. For this purpose, building blocks will be developed that contain technical, legal and economic solution approaches, which will find their form in a structured building block catalog. New Data Spaces and use cases are continuously documented and iteratively evaluated using a standardized process in order to exploit synergies and exchange progress.

4. Development of a Roadmap 2030

In InGDS, a roadmap is being created on how to build and sustain a comprehensive international and cross-domain data service ecosystem by 2030. The starting point is the Blueprint above. In addition, the processes established by InGDS, and the elements of the Blueprint can be exploited after project completion by iteratively adapting and extending them for the cornerstones in the Roadmap.

The intended outcome is to support the realization of an international data service ecosystem. Through the wide range of stakeholders, data diversity, harnessing synergies, and scaling of best practices, great innovation potential will be unleashed, enabling the scaling of sustainable use cases that contribute to the achievement of climate goals. Through InGDS, visibility of best practices and thus accelerated adoption and faster time-to-market of data-driven concepts in the economy will be achieved.

We invite you to participate in Data Spaces for Sustainability!

Cooperation is the guiding maxim in the Green Data Hub: through cross-organizational and international collaboration a multivalent benefit for the public at large is created. We invite you to join forces and create a sustainable European data service ecosystem!

The R&D service International Green Data Spaces (InGSD) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and is handled by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).