INSPIRE conference 2023

• Damiano Oldoni

INSPIRE European Commission 2023 Belgium Brussels
Image by INSPIRE Knowledge Base
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General

  • Website
  • Program: pdf
  • Organizer: Joint Research Centre on behalf of the European Commission
  • Host: Conference Centre Albert Borschette, Brussels, Belgium
  • Date: 28-29/11/2023

INSPIRE stands for “Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe”. Check the website.

Session 10: A multidisciplinary perspective on common European Data Spaces

Introduction to the session. Science and policy context

Presenters: Alex Kotsev and Marco Minghini (JRC)

They described the main framework at EU level and describing the Joint Researh Centre (JRC) data space.

Check the JRC dataspaces wiki.

Digital Infrastructures and the role of GAIA-X

Jürgen Moßgraber and Phillip Hertweck, Fraunhofer IOSB

Gaia-X: website.

Gaia-X association with working groups and interconnect with Gaia-X Hubs above the whole Gaia-X community.

Gaia-X does NOT do:

  • define domain data models,
  • define domain ontologies,
  • define domain related softwre and services,
  • define domain APIs.

What Gaia-x well does is providing the way of describing them via Gaia-X.

Now they are picking a use case to implement it with Gaia-X and demonstrate it. map the Gaia-X and non Gaia-X components. In this way a blue print of Gaia-X for INSPIRE will be ready next year.

Enabling Open Source technologies

Codrina Maria Ilie (Open Source Geospatial Foundation - OSGeo)

Foundations of the Open Source (for geospatial) world are:

  1. Openness and Transparency
  2. INstitutional Neutrality
  3. Release early and often
  4. Collaboration
  5. Active contribution
  6. Inclusive meritocracy
  7. Community

Consider the oss4geo website to get an idea about the open source system.

OSGeo is a not-for-profit software foundation. From OSGeo About Us:

OSGeo mission is to foster global adoption of open geospatial technology by being an inclusive software foundation devoted to an open philosophy and participatory community driven development.

Goals:

  • promote and support open source Geo related projects
  • outreach and advocacy

Some important committees:

  • GeoForAll
  • Incubation (important for data spaces probably)

They have memorandum of Understanding with other communities, e.g. OGC and Apache foundation. They organize annually code sprints with both at year basis.

Projects are listed in osgeo.org/projects/.

OSGeo projects: 21 projects hwich passed graduation through incubation committee Comunity projects: 27 projects? lower barrier to pass the incubation committee graduation, but still checked and evaluated.

Worth to mention the OSGeoLive:

  • 50 + Open Source Geospatial appliactions with consistent overviews and quickstarts.
  • Sample datasets for testing and learning are provided.
  • Translations for multiple language support available.

Interoperability and user uptake – a SME perspective

Presenter: Vlado Cetl

SME stands for Small Medium Enteprises.

Project: DIS4SME, co-funded by the EU. Project duration: 3 years Project started on Jan 1, 2023

Project goal: DIS4SME offer trainings for ICT teams of SMEs.

They are collecting surveys for mapping the current state of the art and the needs of SMEs. They are also identifying Business Case studies.

Next: co-creation of training materials.

Challenges and opportunities for the deployment of data spaces in the Netherlands.

Presenter: Ine de Visser

Ine presents the way how they created a National Spatial Data Infrastructure in the Netherlands, called Geonovum.

Geonovum’s building block model:

On the bottom there is a tech insfrastructure. On top of it, there is a reference architecture, with some building blocks divided in some categories: Governance, Interoperability (“Data” (models and formats), “Data exchange APIs”, “Metadata”), vertrouwen (“Identiy and Access management”, “usage control”), Data value (“Catalogus”, “Vocabularies”, “Marketplace”, “Clearinghouse (logging)”).

What is the Dutch situation?

  • Important data still missing
  • Data not standardized
  • Limited demand-driven approahces

What are the Dutch challenges?

  • How to align many stakeholders within the living Dutch data space environment.
  • How to align to external developments e.g. the EU data space initiatives.
  • Education

Session 3: High-value datasets: Unlocking accessibility of Environmental data

Common EU data spaces:

  • Staff working document, Feb 2022

A cross-sectoral legislative framework:

Towards a single EU data space from multiple EU or local initiatives by:

  • EU Data Innovation Board
  • EU horizontal and sectoral legislation
  • Governance mechanisms and infrastructure
  • Interoperability(standards): essential requirements
  • Cloud to Edge middleware (SIMPL)

Open data directive:

  • introduces a minimal set of rules make more data easier and cheaper to

Open data directive -> Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 () List of high value datasets:

Adoption 21 Dec 2022 Applicability from 9 June 2024 See online

Datasets listed in the implementing act to be made available:

  • For free
  • In machine readable formats
  • Via API’s

Main Act includes:

  • Subject matter
  • Definitions (e.g. API)
  • Arrangements for publicatoin (e.g; details on APIs)

Annexes could be domain specific. There is for example a geospatial specific annex. ANother important is Earth observation and environment, both very interesting for INSPIRE.

The datasets will be published under CC-BY 4.0 licence and metadata will be avaiable.

DCAT-AP 3.0, metadata descriptions for high-value datasets

SEMIC Support Centre website.

SEMIC goals is to deliver pragmatic support to help build an interoperable Europe.

How to make Data more accessible?

  • Through Data agreements
  • Data exchange protocols (APIs, LDES, SPARQL, …)
  • Data solutions

What about interoperability for Dataset sharing? DCAT-AP

  • Harmonised metadata
  • Long-term management and maintenance
  • Facilitate once-only description of metadata
  • Multi-domain collaboration (reusing metadata specs) is the key

DCAT-AP Profiles: a growing ecosystem over time since 2012, when DCAT-AP was born.

Examples of some specifications: HEALTH DCAT-AP, DCAT 3, GEODCAT-AP 2, STATDCAT-AP, DCAT-AP 3, MOBILITY DCAT-AP. There are also national/regional specs.

Online interaction welcome on GitHub repo: SEMICeu/DCAT-AP

About High value datasets: there are 28 GitHub issues related on this. See also the related release.

First release is in prep to be launched by 14 December 2023.

Check also the 4 webinars.

The latest release: https://github.com/SEMICeu/DCAT-AP/releases/tag/3.0.0

Metadata, the beating heart of FAIR data

Speakers: Loes Deventer, Geraldine Nolf (DIGITAL Flanders Agency)

HVD - About Article 3 - Arrangements for pucalition applicable to all categories of high-value

Metadata of APIs are defined using geoDCAT-AP specs.

Denotation as HVD is also defined in the metadata, which are both machine and human readable.

About licenses, Flanders suggested three possible compliant licenses which are the only ones allowing re-use: CC0, CC BY 4.0 or equivalent ones.

Suggestion 1: automatically generating the report for HVD based on metadata (DCAT-AP) Suggestion 2: trat all metadata ctegorizations Suggestion 3: suggest to DG to create a list of expected equally seen licenses Suggestion 4: introduce self-declaration to rport on HVD

Bringing High-Value Datasets to INSPIRE

Amount of datases made available through INSPIRE is gradually growing However, avaialbility and accessibility is clearly not enough. Example of low data availability and accessibility: IACS agricultural data

The HVDs content/data themes are:

  • Geospatial
  • Earth Observation and environment
  • Meteorological
  • Statistics
  • Companies and company ownership
  • Mobility

INSPIRE Geospatial portal has been revamped and includes HVD browsing.

Metadata & Catalogues:

  • DCAT-AP for HVDs - profile extensing DCAT metadata includeing HVDs requirements (see release 2.2.0-hvd)
  • New WG lead by SEMIC Group

About data accessibility:

  • Datasets must be made available through API and Bulk download

Status of the INSPIREd Network Services:

  • OWS, WFS, WFS, SOS: both API and bulk download supported.
  • OGC QPIs: STAand OGC API -Features: both API and bulk download supported.
  • ATOM : no API supported

About Licensing, the HVDs says to use CC BY 4.0 or any equivalent or less restrictive

There is a new MIG Action 2.5, subgroup specifically busy on aligning INSPIRE and HVDs.

Session 4: Standardisation building blocks and technologies for the Green Deal Data Space

Best practices and common standards

PResenter: Clara Pezuela (FiWare)

Value of data space: data sharing.

Data spaces were introduced in the European Data strategy to support data sharing and data usage

Data Spaces support Centre (DSSC) main mission:

  • First line of support of Common EU data spaces
  • Support rolde to EDIB

First blueprint (v 0.5) was released (End september 2023). New release: v1.0. General blueprint page to follow the blueprint development.

Building Blocks two tipes:

  • ORganizational & business (Describe capabilties on a governance, legal and business level)
  • Tehcnical (data interoperability, data sovereignity & Trust), Data Value Creation (e.g. marketplace, catalogus)

Standards in DSSC Blueprint:

Source analysis of standards: mostly from Industry related standards. 20% are EU specs, only 4% from formal standards organization (e.g. ISO). Note: OGC is one of the most endorsed standards.

After the standards collection phase, In January 2024 DSSC will release a new blueprint with some recommendations about the standards to prefer.

OGC building blocks - Powering geo-enabled APIs for Data Spaces and Digital Twins

Goal of the BB concept:

  • Modernize and simplfiy standards by bringing franularity/modularity in the standards in a disciplined way

Waht are the OGC Building Blocks?

OGC Location Building Blocks:

  • Somce concepets such as Feature or Bounding Box are used by many standards but sometimes with different meaning. Redefining is risky as they are used by many actors.

Check the Building Blocks Register to get all BBs and their description.

Example: Bbox Building Box

Anatomy of a Building Block:

  • source files and JSON schema

This part was by presenter considered too technical for the audience (unfortunatley, in my opinion). Also, due to time constraints she preferred to move further.

What do we need in the future?

  • A more coherent suite of standards
  • Tested examples

Key message: reusability of standards.

ISO Standards enabling next generation of environmental data sharing

Presenter: Jari Reini (ISO-TC211)

ISO-TC211 Geographic information/Geomatics

N 5842 Draft Resoultions from the 55th pleanry meeting, 2022-12-09. They are almost ready to finalize this document. Recommendations in the document are structurally based on DSSC Technical Building Blocks.

Current developments: check for example ISO 19115-4 Metadata -Part 4 about JSON

ISO-TC/211 AHG10: Input to EU Data spaces

Recommendations:

  • Use ISO/OGC/W3C standards nand specs, INSPIRE Good Practies
  • Data product specs are very important: persistent unique identifiers
  • Metadata ISO/DCAT-AP/GeoDCAT and Geospatial API’s are very imortant
  • Do not re-invent the wheel: there is a lot already available

Interoperability provisions for the Green Deal Data Space

Presenter: Thorsten Reitz (wetransform)

Dimensions of interoperability: from Intra-Domain Space to Inter-Common European Data Space Collaboration

Interoperability must be considered as part of the Architecture.

What does it contribute to interoperability the most?

Semantic interoperability:

  • dictionraies, vocabularies, taxonomies, IMPORTANT
  • Standds-based conceptual models
  • Well-defined units of measure and Ref systems IMPORTANT
  • …

Technical interoperability:

  • usage of open dat aformats IMPORTANT
  • Usage of open APIs
  • …

Process interoperability:

  • lifecycle rules
  • …

Data interoperability in INSPIRE: what should be improved in the future?

  • Early implementation testing
  • All or nothing complaiance
  • Gaps in vocabulaires/codelists
  • Accidental complesity in logical data mdoels
  • …

Take-home messages:

  • Use what we have as a foundation
  • Commit to robust interoperability provisions
  • Be agile and innovative, fill gaps

Session 19: Plenary II

Athumi

Prsenter: Björn De Vidts (CEO Athumi). Athumi is the Flemish Data Utility Company. Athumi is enhancing citizens’ trust in sharing data, and builds bridges between citizens, companies and associations for better cooperation.

Goal: making more data more usable for more companies.

Launched by Flemish Authority, 7 months ago to help companies and citizens and broader society. Special attention to charing sensitive data.

Sectors where athumi is active: Real Estate, utilities, health, construction, energy, media, mobility, …

Problems to tackle by Athumi:

  • High cost getting data published by privates
  • Lack of standards: Intrepret dat automatically across sectors without loss of quality
  • Lack of trust (who takes the first step?): athumi tries to create trust by installing the right governance

Core activities:

  1. Developing and managing new ecosystems
  2. Developing and operating data-platforms, e.g. KLIP, GIPOD, Solid personal online Data store platform (athumi Pod), Digital declaration of death (DAO) is in progress , [VIP]

Survey in Flanders: 7/10 citizens don’t trust companies with their data

Adopting solid specification can help people to store their data securely. Check solid website. Athumi’s solid Pod platform is based on this spec. Use case: diploma data (operational since May 2023). Same needs seem to pop up in other EU countries as well. Athumi is cooperating/contributing with them.

Statement and belief of the speaker: “as for people and goods, there will be a EU single market for data”.

The CDP Role

Presenter: Pietro Bertazzi

CDP helps investors, companies and citie sto measure, understand and address their environmental impact in more than 50 countries. It is a global organization, with regional offices and local partners.

CPD has been launched in 2000. The name reflects the original goal of the organization which was the Carbon Disclosure Project. Once a company starts to disclose data it gets more virtuous and start setting some targets to reach. But this is due to legal obligations (my personal addition).

The Corporate Enviornmental Action Tracker can be used by everybody to follow corporate goals and initiatives.

Challenges and opportunites:

  1. CDP Leverage: the authorities
  2. Data Quality and importance of Standards
  3. Usage Open data and the Operating Costs

SITRA

Presenter: Kristo Lehtonen (Director “Fair Data Economy” at the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra)

Related to but independent by EU Parliament.

Relevant document this presentation talks about: THE RIGHT TO DATA PORTABILITY IN THE FAIR DATA ECONOMY.

Session 9: Research and innovation integrating multi-source environmental and location data in the Green Deal Data Space

GeoE3 as fuel for Green Deal Data Space

GEOE3 project: cross-border and cross-domain integration of geospatial data

GEOE3 integration platform acts as a proxy to deliver API’s into DAta Spaces. All datasets are available via OGC API Featuers, OGC API Coverages. Metadata are available via OGC API Records. It runs on a cloud service platform

It integrates weather related data (sunshine hours, windspeed, temperature) from different meteorological national agencies.

Services: -OGC API Features, Coverages

Data encodings:

An Overview of Open Source Geospatial Solutions for GDDS

Presenter: Angelo Twotsos (OSGeo President)

OSGeo is a not-for-profit software foundation. It’s volunteer driven, a Do-ocracy.

This presentation overlaps partly with the presentation of Codrina Maria Ilie entitled “Enabling Open Source technologies” (session 10).

It’s a Open Source community. Software security is also considered: software produced by OSGeo proejcts is EU CRA (Cyber Resilience Act) compliant.

Strong relationship between INSPIRE and OSGeo:

  • OSGeo memeber very active in devleopment of INSPIRE services
  • OSGeo member involved in OGC Standard WOrking Groups
  • Many INPIRE Portals are implemented with Open Source Software
  • OSGeo is collaborting in many cases with JRC
  • ETF and Registry projects included in OSGeoLive
  • ETF is an OSGeo Community project

How OSGeo contributes to Green Deal Data Space?

OSGeo Live has been again promoted.

How to contribute?

  • Join/contribute to a Proejct
  • Join a committee
  • Join an initiative
  • Host organizevents
  • Participate to Outreach initiatives