A decade on: The evolution of open data maturity in Europe
The data.europa.eu flagship publication has been documenting the open data landscape for ten years
What makes 2024 a big year for the digital landscape in Europe? Maybe the AI Act, the first-ever legal framework on AI, or recent progress in the health data space comes to mind. All good suggestions – but there is more. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Open Data Maturity (ODM) assessment, our flagship publication that documents the year-on-year progress of European countries in making data openly accessible and stimulating its reuse.
When it was first launched, ODM measured two dimensions of maturity in 31 countries. Today, it assesses maturity across the entire open data value chain using four dimensions: policy, portal, quality, and impact. And in 2023, 35 countries participated, covering the EU-27, three EFTA countries, and five candidate countries.
Having established their open data policies, including transposing the open data directive into national law, and created modern portals to search for open data (see our recent features of France and the Netherlands), the 2023 ODM report found that countries are turning their attention to the quality of the metadata they provide to reusers.
But the story is not over yet. The impact dimension remains an area for improvement. With increased efforts to achieve impact, better measurement techniques will be needed to monitor open data reuse and its effects on society. And, of course, the open data policy and technology landscape continues to evolve. In 2024, the implementing regulation on high-value datasets comes into force, setting additional requirements for certain categories of open data that can help turbocharge digital innovation in Europe.
Over the past decade, the ODM report has aimed to support the development of open data best practices among participating countries and to provide an annual snapshot to its readers on the ever-evolving open data landscape in Europe. To keep abreast of this dynamic landscape, the ODM methodology will undergo a planned revision ahead of the 2024 exercise. This way, the assessment can continue to celebrate the achievements, highlight the challenges, and reflect on the opportunities ahead in Europe’s open data journey.
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