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Governance: Data sharing frameworks

The following indicator is under consideration for this pilot edition of the Barometer: To what extent is there a comprehensive legal or policy framework that governs data sharing for the public good in the country?

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Show/hide supporting questions

Existence

  • What is the nature of the framework?
    • No framework exists
      Supporting questions: In the absence of a strong legal framework, are there alternative norms or customs that play this role in the country? If so, please explain how. If there are draft laws or regulations not yet in force, but that would provide a more robust framework in future, please provide brief details here.
    • A framework exists but lacks full force of law
      Supporting questions: In the absence of a strong legal framework, are there alternative norms or customs that play this role in the country? If so, please explain how. If there are draft laws or regulations not yet in force, but that would provide a more robust framework in future, please provide brief details here.
    • A framework exists and has the force of law
      Supporting questions: Please identify the framework(s) you have assessed (e.g. name of law(s) or regulations)

Elements

Part 1: What forms of data sharing is covered?

  • The framework(s) cover data sharing within government (No, Partially, Yes)

  • The framework(s) cover how government should share data with other sectors (No, Partially, Yes)

  • The framework(s) cover data sharing from other sectors to government (No, Partially, Yes)

  • The framework(s) cover data sharing within the private sector (No, Partially, Yes)

  • **** ()

Part 2: What do the framework(s) contain?

  • The framework(s) contain requirements for certain private sector data to be shared in the public interest (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially or Yes: Please give a brief example of data covered by such requirements

  • The framework(s) contain requirements for certain private sector data to be shared in the public interest (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially or Yes: Please give a brief example of data covered by such requirements

  • The framework(s) require some form of Privacy Impact Assessment to be carried out before data is shared, and require these to be published (No, Partially, Yes) Answer partially if assessments must be conducted, but there is no requirement for them to be published.

  • The framework(s) establish oversight mechanisms for data sharing (No, Partially, Yes) Answer partially if assessments must be conducted, but there is no requirement for them to be published.

  • The framework(s) provide incentives for data to be shared where there is an identified public benefit (No, Partially, Yes)

Part 3: Other aspects

  • The framework(s) explicitly focus on Artificial Intelligence uses of data (No, Partially, Yes)

  • The framework(s) explicitly focus on Artificial Intelligence uses of data (No, Partially, Yes)

  • The framework(s) mention data collaboratives (No, Partially, Yes)

  • The framework(s) mention data trusts (No, Partially, Yes)

Extent

  • How broad is the coverage of legal or policy frameworks for data sharing for the public good?
    • The framework(s) assessed cover a very limited number of government agencies or themes, and no other relevant frameworks could be located
    • The framework(s) assessed cover a limited number of government agencies or themes, but there are other similar examples covering different agencies and themes
    • The framework(s) assessed cover a substantial number of government agencies or themes
    • The framework(s) assessed covers all government agencies, and many themes

Definitions and Identification

Data sharing frameworks may take the form of policies, laws or provisions designed to govern and support the wider use of sensitive, proprietary or otherwise non-open data. These are distinct from data protection frameworks which primarily set out restrictions on use of personal data.

Some regions and countries are developing comprehensive frameworks to govern data sharing. Other countries have ad-hoc frameworks for particular sectors, or covering particular themes (such as the use of data for artificial intelligence application).

This indicator asks you to identify relevant frameworks that are in force during the study period.

More on data sharing

Government agencies, civil society and private sector actors may all have access to datasets containing sensitive or personal information that, if made available to other stakeholders, could potentially be used for the public good, including, for example:

  • Improving planning and policy making - for example, the use of data on mobility patterns from private taxi apps to support transport planning.
  • Supporting crisis response - for example, sharing of mapping data or logistics datasets following an Earthquake to help first responders, or sharing of health data to support COVID-19 pandemic response.
  • Developing new products and services - for example, by training a machine-learning model to monitor crop diseases and pests, or using farm production data to develop improved insurance products.

Data sharing involves making data accessible to a defined group of other stakeholders with certain controls and restrictions on use. It is distinct from open data, which involves making data available without restrictions.

A legal or policy framework to facilitate data sharing within or across sector may cover*:

  • Government to government sharing - establishing the basis on which different parts of government may exchange data;
  • Government to third-party sharing - establishing when and how government can share sensitive data with third-parties (e.g. private sector, research or others);
  • Private sector to government sharing - establishing when and how government can access and use data generated by the private sector;
  • Private sector to business sharing - establishing rules and incentives for public benefit pooling or exchange of data.

Frameworks that promote public good data sharing should combine incentives or rules to support appropriate data sharing, with clear mechanisms to make sure sharing is well regulated, safe and possible harms are well managed.

(* This list of types of data sharing is not exhaustive)

Starting points

  • Sources:

  • Search:

    • "National Data Sharing Frameworks"
    • Recent academic papers on data sharing in the country
    • Articles or papers about data sharing in particular sectors such as transport, health or education

  • Consult:

    • National experts on data sharing

National and sub-national considerations

Research for this indicator should focus on national policy frameworks. If there has been no work on national frameworks, but there is a sub-national government that has more advanced policy or legislation, you may carry out the assessment with respect to this, noting this in the justification and sources.

Much data that might be used for the public good is not suitable for sharing as open data, either because of proprietary interests held in the data, or because of the risk of harm if the data was misused. However, such data can still be used for public benefit through data sharing arrangements.

The OECD describe a range of initiatives to enhance data access and sharing, addressing the different governance approaches being taken to support data re-use across organisations and sectors, including European Union measures to create 'common data spaces', efforts to create increased interoperability and exchange of data within the public sector, and the creation of sectoral requirements for public and private sector data sharing.

The 2021 World Development Report calls for the integration of civil society, academia and the private sector into National Data Systems, both as users of public data, and suppliers of data that can be re-used for public benefit.

Although international normative standards for good data sharing practice are still to be fully developed, this indicator aims to identify the extent of national data sharing frameworks, and to identify whether they provide incentives, restrictions and transparency mechanisms.

This indicator is exploratory, and we anticipate future editions of the Barometer may include a substantially revised indicator based on the findings from the pilot year.