High Value Data Sets-Regulation - Everything you need to know

In order to reduce data asymmetries, the EU data strategy aims to harmonize the use and provision of data across national borders. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 aims to ensure access to high-quality data for all relevant stakeholders, for example by promoting open data and data cooperation. Open data is data that is freely available and released for general use, reuse and distribution, such as the geodata of the freely accessible and editable world map OpenStreetMap. In a data cooperation, various organizations or institutions share their data to achieve common goals, such as the City Data Exchange in Copenhagen. Here, companies and the City of Copenhagen share data to improve the city's infrastructure and services.

High-quality data sets are highly valuable for society, business and science. They have a high potential for creating significant additional value by improving accuracy, efficiency and innovation. High-quality data is accurate and reliable, enabling improved decision-making and increasing efficiency through process automation. In this article, we look at the key aspects of the High Value Data Sets Regulation and explain how authorities can prepare to collect the required data and comply with the new directive.

In Germany, there are already a number of open data initiatives at federal, state and communal level. With GovData, a central component for the digitalization of public administration was published in 2013, which promotes an open and participatory society. The graphic below provides an overview of the best-known open data portals in Germany:

Why was the High Value Data Sets-Regulation established?

The Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 is based on the PSI Directive (EU) 2019/1024 on open data and the re-use of public sector information. This was later translated into German law in the form of the Data Use Act. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 aims to maximize the availability and usability of public data to achieve economic, social and environmental benefits, increase administrative efficiency and improve the transparency and accountability of public bodies. The aim is to establish harmonized standards for access to and use of public data in the EU to improve interoperability and cross-border data exchange. Standards for metadata are also to be introduced to improve the findability and usability of datasets. In addition, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 is intended to promote cooperation between the various public administrations within the EU to facilitate data exchange and the shared use of data resources.

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What is the High Value Data Sets-Regulation?

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 defines which datasets are considered “high quality” and belong to the thematic categories from Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (see above) and must be held and made available by public sector bodies. These include: Geospatial, Earth Observation and Environment, Meteorology, Statistics, Business and Business Ownership, and Mobility. These datasets have a high potential for economic, social and environmental benefits. Through free access to public data, new products, services and business models can be developed to drive economic growth. It can also enable solutions to social challenges such as better urban planning or environmental monitoring.

The regulation also defines the modalities for the publication and reuse of the datasets. The datasets must be made available in machine-readable formats via application programming interfaces (APIs) and, where appropriate, as bulk downloads. The public administration defines the terms of use of the API and the criteria for performance, capacity and availability. The terms of use must also be available in a human-readable and machine-readable format. The aim is to make the data as freely and openly accessible as possible to promote innovation and economic use. Data sets are generally provided free of charge to maximize accessibility.

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Who is affected by High Value Data Sets-Regulation?

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 affects a wide range of entities involved in the collection, publication and use of data in the European Union. This includes national, regional and local authorities and other public sector bodies that collect and provide data. All public sector bodies holding datasets in the categories of geospatial, earth observation and environment, meteorology, statistics, business and business ownership and mobility must publish and make them available in accordance with the prescribed formats for re-use.

Local authorities must identify relevant data sets and make them publicly accessible. This primarily concerns data from areas such as urban planning, traffic management, environmental monitoring and public health. To accomplish this, they must set up or adapt the necessary IT infrastructure to be able to store and manage the data securely. The state authorities must act as coordinating bodies to support the activities of the municipalities and ensure that uniform standards are applied nationwide. They are also responsible for monitoring data quality and security. In addition, the state authorities must identify and publish their own datasets that are considered high-quality datasets. This could primarily include areas such as education, transport infrastructure, environment and economy. Under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138, the federal authorities are responsible for defining the legal framework and standards for the high-quality datasets. This includes the definition of data formats, metadata standards and security requirements. In addition, it must be ensured at federal level that the legal requirements of the PSI Directive (EU) 2019/1024 on open data and the re-use of public sector information are met. The federal authorities have key tasks in setting up and maintaining a national data infrastructure to facilitate access to high-quality datasets. They must also implement mechanisms to monitor and enforce data security and data protection standards.

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Current status and timetable of the High Value Data Sets-Regulation

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 is based on Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council adopted in June 2019. On December 21, 2022, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 establishing certain high-quality datasets and the modalities of their publication and re-use in the EU was adopted and entered into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal on February 09, 2023. 16 months after entry into force, the Implementing Regulation has been valid since June 9, 2024.

At the latest two years after the Regulation enters into force, the Member States must submit a report to the European Commission on the implementing measures of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 establishing certain high-value datasets and the modalities of their publication and re-use. Every two years, the Member States must then prepare an updated version of the report and send it to the Commission.

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What benefits can result from High Value Data Sets-Regulation?

The provision and reuse of high-quality data sets can promote innovation, efficiency and transparency in many areas. The regulation creates the basis for data to be used effectively to maximize social and economic benefits. It enables the creation and updating of maps, GPS services and route planners in the fields of geospatial and earth observation and environment. Historical development data can be used in the planning of further development. In addition, analyses of environmental changes can be carried out or deforestation can be monitored. Water data can be used to monitor availability and support emergency measures. In disaster control, the high-quality data sets can support the planning and implementation of rescue measures in the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and forest fires.

In the field of meteorology, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 can also help with the development of more accurate weather forecast models and climate analyses. The weather forecasts and climate data can be used to support high-quality data sets in agricultural planning or for the planning and implementation of climate adaptation measures. In addition, energy production can be optimized, especially for renewable energies such as solar and wind energy. In the field of mobility, the high-quality data sets can improve traffic control and reduce congestion through real-time traffic data. It also supports the development of smart cities in the area of intelligent traffic solutions and public transport systems, and optimizes delivery routes and times.

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How can the public sector prepare for High Value Data Sets-Regulation?

In the future, authorities at all federal levels will have to identify and make publicly available high-quality data sets. This will require close collaboration with other municipalities and higher-level authorities to harmonize and ensure data standards. The challenges for the public sector in implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 are therefore coordination between different actors, ensuring data quality and interoperability, and creating a data infrastructure that also promotes international cooperation.

To prepare for the implementation of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138, datasets need to be identified and the technical implementation of their collection and interoperable accessibility needs to be planned. A data platform such as Polyteia's enables the collection of data without media discontinuity and the subsequent identification of high-quality data sets. Thanks to the possibility of interorganizational cooperation, the various authorities can communicate and collaborate with each other without restriction across the different administrative levels of federal, state and local government. With Polyteia's data platform, you can connect any number of data sources via connectors and collect data using data entry masks where no data sources are available. With an intuitive user interface, you can collaboratively create reports and share them with selected organizations or individuals.

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Summary of High Value Data Sets-Regulation

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 establishing certain high-quality datasets and the modalities of their publication and re-use enables the availability and usability of high-quality datasets to increase the efficiency of the public sector and to increase the transparency and accountability of public authorities. In order to meet the requirements, Member States should be aware of the additional burden on public authorities. It is therefore essential that they understand the guidelines of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 and prepare for the collection and identification of high-quality datasets without media discontinuity and in a secure manner.

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