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EDSC



In nature, everything is connected,
but our data on the environment has been segregated.

We work together to bring information together – in Environmental Data Spaces.
We identify high value use cases, define architectures and governance models,
and test out solutions in concrete projects.

Join the Environmental Data Spaces Community to contribute!

Join Us!

Data Space FAQ

Green Data Space Examples

Noise

Public exposure data + detailed industrial and private sensor networks

Forestry

Public land cover, elevation and area management + detailed remote sensing and stands management data

Soil

Public soil maps + in-depth soil horizons, water content and chemistry

Our Mission

The mission of the Environmental Data Spaces Community (EDSC) is to apply International Data Space standards and principles to environmental data, to increase the availability of high-quality data for any type of private or public decision making that impacts the environment. 

This work is essential to build the Green Deal data space that is part of the European data strategy. We consider our work to be successful when sustainable, effective data ecosystems are forming around this data space.

We take the long-term, infrastructure view on data spaces, as opposed to only collaborating in concrete projects. Our collaboration is informal, and free of cost.

We are active in the following work areas to support our mission:

Clarify the environmental data use cases and gather detailed data requirements, including usage monitoring and data provenance tracking
Identify data assets that are currently not available for usage in these use cases
Determine sharing conditions for such data assets and overall data space governance rules
Define and implement adapters that allow for controlled sharing of data assets
Define data harmonisation and data standards to use in the data space(s)
Validate and demonstrate the relevance of the defined data spaces, e.g. as GAIA-X use cases
Provide feedback to IDSA working groups and to contribute to joint standards development

A major work area of the EDSC will be to research how existing environmental national and international data infrastructures, like the INSPIRE spatial data infrastructure, can contribute to quick and efficient data space implementation. We intend to re-use as much previous work as possible, such as the existing data specifications for environmental data.

The architecture of the environmental data space(s) itself will be open and distributed. It builds on open standards and is vendor independent.

Your Contribution

You can contribute to this mission in many ways. Building the data infrastructure requires different perspectives, such as:

Hidden Data Treasures

As a data provider, which data resources do you currently have that can be valuable to others, but which can’t be open, and where control over usage is important?

Data Gaps

As a data user, are there cases where you have insufficient data, but know that other organisations have the data you would need? Why is that data not available to you

Role and Engagement

You can scale your commitment from a more passive role to a facilitator or work area leader. Here are some examples of possible roles:

Observer: You observe meetings and results and communicate them into your organization
Facilitator: You support the community and provide access to events, new contributors, and other resources
Architect: You create and evaluate technical specifications
Governance Expert: You define roles and rules for own data or whole data spaces
Use Case Expert: You provide domain data usage requirements and test solutions
Operations Expert: You develop and provide infrastructure or development resources
Supporter: You provide funds for activities of the community, such as Proof-of-Concept projects
Partner: You contribute to joint R&D projects (e.g. Digital Europe, Horizon Europe)

QUESTIONS?

You can contribute to the Environmental Data Spaces Community in many ways.
We’re here to answer any questions.

Reach Out!