May 12, 2023
Time to act for digital European municipalities! New European Union data laws such as the Data Act and Data Governance Act grant municipalities and municipal companies new rights when handling data – and make it a municipal obligation to publish high-value data, just like the requirements of the IT Planning Council. How can local authorities and companies comply with this as quickly as possible and use the new legal basis for themselves and their municipality at the same time? Find out more here – and in a new workshop offered by DKSR!
The data landscape in Europe is on the move: With the Data Act, the Implementation Regulation on High Value Data and the Data Governance Act, the EU Commission is currently laying the foundations for a new European economic order that brings together the maximization of data usage and technological European sovereignty.
What exactly do the new laws mean for local authorities?
- By mid-2024, municipalities are obliged to share high-value data in a standardized, high-quality and machine-readable format.
- As operators of infrastructure, municipal companies are also “product users”. According to the new legal situation, they must therefore be provided with the data generated when using their infrastructure – for example bus fleets, charging stations, pumps or street lighting.
At first, this sounds like a lot of obligations and bureaucracy – but it means great potential. This is because regulation is also changing the way local authorities handle data and the basis on which data-based services can be provided to citizens in public spaces in the future. Municipalities and municipal companies themselves will gain access to exciting new data sets: These make significant operational improvements, cost savings and important steps in the pursuit of climate targets possible in the first place. The broad availability of data will maximize the creative sovereignty of the public and private sectors and strengthen the digital sovereignty of the individual.
New potential – new pressure to act
Many local authorities and municipal companies do not yet see the relevance and pressure to act of the changes they are facing: A shortage of resources, a lack of expertise and support make it difficult to make arrangements for the publication obligation in good time – and even more difficult to identify the major opportunities for their own city or region and translate them into measures and applications. One thing is clear: local authorities that act now can help define structures and rules, demonstrate their innovative strength and attractiveness to the public and even achieve rapid cost savings.
It is not just traditional energy service providers that are benefiting from the new flood of data: Municipal housing associations, water companies, waste management companies and transport companies in particular can reap massive benefits from the active use of data. There are plenty of examples of this.
What can and should local authorities do in good time to fulfill their obligations and make use of their own opportunities for action?
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- Step one: Carry out a data inventory: Where is what data located in your own municipality or organization? In what quality is it available?
- Step two: Define the publication process: How do I get the data? How do I ensure the quality? Who has to release what and when?
- Step three: Create the technical basis for publication: Where will the data be made available? How do customers find out about it, for example? How can overarching standards be adhered to?
Anyone starting this process will discover that numerous applications for the city lie dormant in the high-value data records, which suddenly become tangible with the structuring. At the same time, municipal value creation can be completely rethought – especially against the backdrop of the rapidly changing business of municipal utilities and other municipal companies. Which services in cities and municipalities can be improved with dynamic and real-time data? With whom in the public services ecosystem should data be shared and partnerships formed? And what new services will be made possible that will create value for both municipal utilities and urban society?
Fast entry into data use under new EU law
But where to start when time and personnel are scarce? To help you get started with repairing your own data in accordance with the new legal situation, DKSR is offering a one-day workshop together with data law expert Hubertus von Roenne to lay the most important foundations for data publication following the steps mentioned above.
Find out more – and learn how to handle the data of your city or municipality in accordance with the legal situation and how to use the data in the best possible way for municipal processes and services in a full-day workshop!