Open Data Maturity Report 2020

Sixth annual study by Capgemini Invent highlights the evolution of open data in Europe and how it’s capitalizing on efforts to deliver better data quality, interoperability and impact

Paris, December 16, 2020 – Capgemini Invent has published its sixth annual report measuring the level of open data maturity across Europe. The “Open Data Maturity Report 2020” records the progress achieved by European countries as they push forward open data publication and re-use, and the different priorities they have set to enable it. The report was requested by the European Commission within the context of the European Data Portal* and coordinated by Capgemini Invent[1].

The 2020 report identified three notable trends:

Peak performance: the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the genuine need for data

Europe is well on track to achieving the goals set regarding open data and making it available so citizens can re-use it. This year, the European countries show a great increase in their maturity levels. The average open data maturity score of the EU27 countries is 76%, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to 2019. The scores have increased across all dimensions compared to last year. A concentration of countries in the higher end of the results spectrum is also clear.

2020 also brought about a renewed emphasis on the importance of systematically collecting and making data available to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to respond to the emergency led many countries to start publishing related data and developing initiatives and dashboards to make the data more easily understandable and insightful.

From quantity to quality: ensuring interoperability

As the open data propositions of the European countries mature, their focus has moved from the quantity of data being made available to ensuring its quality, too. Moreover, quality is not seen in isolation, but as an enabler to interoperability: the ability to collaborate within the countries and across borders by making it easier for computer systems to exchange data. The intensified focus enables re-users to extract the value of the data and create new products and services and realize their benefits.

From publishing to enabling re-use: harnessing the impact created

Generating positive impact on society and the economy by publishing open data has always been the ultimate objective of the wide multi-year effort across Europe. Measuring impact is a complex task and there still is no shared understanding of how to do it best. Many European countries are successfully performing activities to understand and capture the extent to which open data is re-used and how value is created, by engaging with communities of re-users. The European Commission plans to build on that, by developing a shared impact framework over the upcoming years.

The diagram below shows how the assessment scored the countries’ open data maturity, identifying four indicative categories, from the top performers: “Trend-setters” down to the “Beginners”.

“The clear peak in open data maturity performance highlights the efforts of European countries towards more citizen-centric approaches in their open data practices.” said Laura van Knippenberg, Consultant at Capgemini Invent and lead researcher and author of the report. “By engaging with communities of open data re-users, Europe will develop a better understanding of the significant impact that can be achieved.”

“After many years dedicated to developing open data in Europe, it is with great satisfaction that we observe the Member States achieving such heights, also with timely responses to the COVID-19 emergency.” said Gianfranco Cecconi, Director at Capgemini Invent and project lead. “However, there is still plenty to do. The success of the best performing countries just motivates everyone to do more and better.”

End notes:

• The countries covered by this assessment include the EU27 Member States, as well as the EFTA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland. For the first time this year, the process opened participation to the “Eastern Partnership” countries (EaP: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine), as well as the United Kingdom (UK) following the planned withdrawal of the country from the Union.

*The European Data Portal

Open data refers to the information collected, produced or paid for by public bodies which can be freely used, modified and shared by anyone. The benefits of open data include an increase in government transparency and accountability as well tangible social and economic benefits for citizens, businesses and civil society. The Capgemini Invent study “The Economic Impact of Open Data – Opportunities for Value Creation in Europe” published in 2020 estimated a value between 199 and 334 billion EUR in market size for open data in 2025, employing directly and indirectly almost 2 million European citizens. The Portal collects information about the data made available from different European countries. Today, it covers 35 countries, 81 catalogues, links to more than 1 million datasets across Europe and offers a variety of learning resources and open data use cases. For more information and to view the reports visit:

• europeandataportal.eu/en/dashboard
• europeandataportal.eu/sites/default/files/edp_landscaping_insight_report_n6_2020.pdf

About Capgemini Invent

As the digital innovation, consulting and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group, Capgemini Invent helps CxOs envision and build what’s next for their organizations. Located in more than 30 offices and 25 creative studios around the world, its 7,000+ strong team combines strategy, technology, data science and creative design with deep industry expertise and insights, to develop new digital solutions and business models of the future.

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[1] The deployment of the European Data Portal is led by Capgemini Invent in association Intrasoft International, Fraunhofer Fokus, con terra, Sogeti, the University of Southampton, Time.lex, 52 North and the Lisbon Council, on behalf of the European Commission.