About the Data Sharing Coalition
Who we are
The Data Sharing Coalition is an open and growing, international initiative in which a large variety of organisations collaborate on unlocking the value of (cross-sectoral) data sharing.
The initiative started in January 2020, after the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy invited the market to seek cooperation in pursuit of (cross-sectoral) data sharing. The Data Sharing Coalition started as a direct result of this invite.
Our mission and goal
The Data Sharing Coalition aims to drive (cross-sectoral) data sharing, under control of the entitled party, by realising data sharing use cases, enabling interoperability between data spaces, and strengthening individual initiatives. In an ongoing iterative process, the Data Sharing Coalition explores and defines generic agreements on a wide range of topics that are relevant for (cross-sectoral) data sharing. This includes topics such as technical standards, data semantics, legal agreements, and trustworthy and reusable digital identities. Our goal is to explore and document generic agreements for data sharing, define and realise (cross-sectoral) use cases, and share knowledge to support the development of existing and new data spaces. The generic argeements for data sharing will be collected and captured in a generic Trust Framework for data sharing, governed by a common governing body consisting of participants of the Data Sharing Coalition. The first practical steps towards these agreements have already been made with the publication of our Data Sharing Canvas. Data spaces that implement and adhere to the common agreements in this Trust Framework will set the first step towards interoperability with other spaces and enabling (cross-sectoral) data sharing at scale for their users.
Our principles
The Data Sharing Coalition has determined the following six core principles that are leading when carrying out our activities and realising our objectives:
- Be open and inclusive: Any interested party is welcome to participate in the Data Sharing Coalition
- Deliver practical results: The Data Sharing Coalition will deliver functional frameworks and facilities that provide true value for all stakeholders of the data economy and that will help them accelerate their data sharing use case
- Promote data sovereignty: The Data Sharing Coalition aims to enable the entitled parties to control their data by including this as a requirement in the use cases and frameworks that we develop
- Leverage existing building blocks: All Data Sharing Coalition frameworks and facilities will make use of international open standards, technology, and other existing facilities where possible
- Utilise collective governance: All frameworks and facilities produced by the Data Sharing Coalition will be governed in a transparent, consensus-driven manner by a collective of all Data Sharing Coalition participants
- Be ethical, societal, and compliant: All activities of the Data Sharing Coalition are in line with societal values and compliant with relevant legislation
Our activities
We believe the true value of (cross-sectoral) data sharing can only be unlocked by fostering collaboration between a wide range of relevant stakeholders. The Data Sharing Coalition has various activity tracks in which participants can participate to help reach our goals.
The first track is ‘Use cases’. Together with participants from different domains, the Data Sharing Coalition has defined and realised several data sharing use cases. By realising use cases, we prove the value of (cross-sectoral) data sharing, for example cost reduction, improvement of process efficiency, or development of new products/services. Besides that, these use cases provide valuable, real-life insights into what it takes to realise scalability of and interoperability between differentdata spaces.
Based on our experience with developing these different use cases, we created a use case development approach which consists of three phases, because we believe that working step by step ensures progress and enhances the chances of success. This three phased approach is based on the common challenges we identified per stage in the development of our use cases. For every phase, we created a tool that will help you with your use case development – from exploration to implementation.
The second track is ‘Knowledge development’. To support the development of existing and new data spaces, the Data Sharing Coalition provides a platform for the structured exchange of knowledge between a wide range of organisations involved in the Data Sharing Coalition community. Examples of knowledge development are the tools that help to develop use cases and documents containing insights into the data economy such as our Data Sharing Canvas and our Position Paper. Next to that, we align our activities with other data sharing initiatives.
The third track is ‘Community’. We are an open, international initiative in which a large variety of organisations participate and we want to continue to grow our community. To support knowledge exchange and networking, we organise activities such as our monthly Community Meeting and Speed Dating Sessions.
The Data Sharing Coalition welcomes organisations that support our goal and want to accelerate together. Are you interested to become a participant of the Data Sharing Coalition? Read more and join us.
Our Steering Committee
Our Steering Committee consists of selected representatives of the Data Sharing community. The Committee is responsible for making strategic and tactical decisions about the activities of the Data Sharing Coalition, aggregating insights and learnings from these activities, and further developing generic agreements for data sharing. Below, we introduce our Steering Committee members and their backgrounds.
Sander Middendorp | Chair of the Data Sharing Coalition
Besides our Chair, Sander is also Director/Partner at Contakt Consulting. He helps organisations to get a better understanding of data sharing and to unlock the value of data. He also helps them to realise this in a more responsible and easy way. Sander has been Chair of the Data Sharing Coalition since the start.
Reinier van der Heijden | Vice-Chair of the Data Sharing Coalition
Besides our Vice-chair, Reinier is also the CEO at our participant HDN (Hypotheken Data Netwerk). His strength lies in making (parts of) companies profitable (again) and he believes IT is an indispensable part of this, as is the sharing of data between organisations and individuals.
Bert Meerman | Steering Committee member
Bert Meerman is the Director at our participant GO FAIR FOUNDATION (GFF). GFF aims to promote and protect the correct implementation of the FAIR Principles. Bert is a senior business executive with a successful track record in Finance, Network, Information and Data technology. In addition, he has been the Secretary General of the International Factors Group, a consortium of finance companies, where he implemented a successful worldwide data-exchange platform, based upon agreed network protocols and EDIFACT standards.
Miranda Graftdijk | Steering Committee member
In her role at Verbond van Verzekeraars, one of our participants, Miranda is responsible for data and services to its members and partners. She focuses on creating value from reliable data, for example by researching various (new) types of risk or by combating insurance crime. She is an advisor who always strives to connect people and organisations.
Andre Walter | Steering Committee member
Andre currently holds the position of Head of Data Law Solutions at our participant Pinsent Masons. Andre and his team provide data law service based on the highest standards of legal, technical, and business knowledge and expertise. He is an executive legal and business advisor, experienced corporate developer, and has a passion for innovation and co-creation. Previously Andre has worked for Baker McKenzie, Capgemini Invent, and Vodafone.