DSIF: Towards a common framework for interconnecting european data spaces
European data spaces are developing across many sectors such as health, skills, media, mobility and tourism. Each relies on its own infrastructure, technologies, contractual models and governance rules. This diversity fosters innovation, but it complicates exchanges between ecosystems. Without a common framework, an organisation cannot easily discover resources, enter into contracts with a partner or share data across multiple data spaces. Each new interconnection requires specific development.
The Data Space Interoperability Framework (DSIF) addresses this challenge by defining the common foundations necessary for interoperability. It proposes a Rulebook, a common governance model, shared contractual concepts and common conventions to enable data spaces to collaborate while retaining their own technologies and autonomy. On this basis, DSIF then enables the federation of catalogs, interoperability of contracts, verification of identities and consents, and orchestration of services across multiple data spaces. Thus, organisations can share and exploit data and services in a secure, sovereign manner and in compliance with European regulations.
DSIF objectives
Facilitate exchanges between data spaces: Enable organisations to discover, contract and share data or services beyond their own data space. This relies on standardised interoperability mechanisms.
Ensure technical interoperability: Connect infrastructures based on different technologies and different connectors. This facilitates the federation of catalogs, contract negotiation and data exchange between ecosystems.
Ensure consistent governance: Define a common foundation of roles, policies and rules. This foundation establishes trust between data spaces while respecting the specific requirements of each community.
Preserve participant sovereignty: Enable data space operators, data providers and users to retain control over their resources. They maintain control over their access policies and conditions of use.
Accelerate cross-sectoral use cases: Promote the creation of new services leveraging data from multiple sectors (skills, mobility, media, tourism, health or smart cities) to drive innovation and value creation at European scale.
Build a European data market: Contribute to the vision of a European data space. Organisations access resources from multiple ecosystems in a secure, transparent manner and in compliance with European regulations.
Connected data spaces, without an imposed unique model
European data spaces are developing across many sectors, notably skills, media, mobility, tourism, health, smart cities and environment. Each data space applies its own governance, its own contracts, its own data models and its own technical infrastructures. This diversity limits the development of services that combine resources from multiple ecosystems.
The Data Space Interoperability Framework (DSIF) provides a common framework that enables these data spaces to collaborate while preserving their autonomy.
DSIF does not replace existing standards or technologies. It creates the interoperability mechanisms necessary to connect catalogs, contracts, usage policies and governance rules across multiple data spaces.
DSIF components
The Data Space Interoperability Framework (DSIF) is based on several complementary components covering publication, federation, catalog discovery, contracting and governance between data spaces. They enable data spaces to collaborate securely. Thus, each organisation retains its infrastructure and governance model.
Technical and governance interoperability
Connecting infrastructures
European data spaces rely on different technologies such as Prometheus-X, Eclipse Dataspace Components, FIWARE or Solid.
DSIF enables these infrastructures to communicate through common mechanisms for catalog federation, contract negotiation and data exchange. Organisations can thus discover resources from multiple data spaces and enter into contracts with partners using different connectors.
Aligning rules
Interoperability does not rest solely on technology. Organisations must also share a common understanding of roles, responsibilities, obligations and governance policies. DSIF defines a shared foundation comprising a role repository, policies readable by organisations and machines, a common ontology, mechanisms for comparing governance models and reusable compliance evidence.
This approach enables the identification of equivalences between multiple governance models without imposing a single regulation on all sectors.
An open and progressive approach
Data space operators, technology providers and organisations are building DSIF together. Work notably focuses on:
- catalog federation;
- interoperability between connectors;
- contract negotiation between different ecosystems;
- alignment between contractual models;
- portability of policies and rules;
- interoperable consent management;
- creation of a common governance foundation.
This approach enables progressive validation of DSIF components based on operational deployments and concrete needs.
Visions’ Contribution
Develop the data space interoperability framework: Design a common framework enabling interoperability between data spaces based on different infrastructures and different governance models.
Integrate DSIF into VisionsTrust: Enable catalog federation, contract negotiation, consent management and orchestration of exchanges across multiple data spaces.
Implement open standards: Ensure compatibility with Eclipse Dataspace Components, FIWARE, Prometheus-X, Solid and the Data Space Protocol.
Develop shared governance: Align roles, policies, obligations and compliance mechanisms while preserving the autonomy of each data space.
DSIF benefits
