Foreword

This report examines the opportunities of enhancing access to and sharing of data (EASD) in the context of the growing importance of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. It discusses how EASD can maximise the social and economic value of data re-use and how the related risks and challenges can be addressed.

In particular, the report examines the different approaches and strategies available to policy makers and business leaders when aiming at establishing data-governance frameworks for data access and sharing. To this end, the report highlights the factors that need to be taken into account including data typologies, key data-access mechanisms and the main types of actors and their roles. The report also presents the available evidence of the direct and indirect economic and social benefits of data access and sharing. It then describes the major challenges facing policy makers, and presents current trends in public policies aimed at addressing these challenges, with examples of EASD approaches and policy initiatives in OECD countries and partner economies.

The initial draft was developed as a background report for the OECD Expert Workshop on “Enhanced Access to Data: Reconciling Risks and Benefits of Data Re-use”, held on 2-3 October 2017 in Copenhagen (Denmark) (Copenhagen Expert Workshop, www.oecd.org/internet/ieconomy/expert-workshop-enhanced-access-to-data-reconciling-risks-and-benefits-of-data-re-use.htm).

The report was drafted by Christian Reimsbach-Kounatze and Elettra Ronchi, with contributions by Suguru Iwaya. It benefitted from the input of the informal Joint Steering Group established to support this work. The work was made possible by the generous contributions of Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, Norway, and Sweden.

A third revision of the report was discussed and approved by the OECD Working Party on Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy (SPDE) at its meeting in November 2018, and declassified by the Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) by written procedure on 6 March 2019.

The report contributes to the horizontal project on EASD under three partner committees: the CDEP, the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP), and the Public Governance Committee (PGC). The report complements other reports produced under the last two committees, namely the forthcoming synthesis report Enhanced Access to Public Data for Science, Technology and Innovation, which is based on insights stemming from analytical work performed by the CSTP between 2017 and 2018, and the 2018 OECD Open Government Data Report, which was written by the PGC Working Party of Digital Government Officials (E-Leader) and provides an overview of the state of open data policies across OECD countries and partner economies.

Foreword