The Future is Data Conference

On 28-29 April, the Public Service Transformation Team attended the Future is Data Conference, held in Łódź Poland as part of the Polish presidency of the Council of the EU. The meeting was organised by the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs in cooperation with the City of Łódź, and was held in the EC1 centre, a unique venue which has been converted from a power plant to a centre for science, culture and technology. The programme covered a range of topical issues relating to the European data ecosystem.

The Conference was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski, who emphasised the value of data as a resource to be used and managed responsibly. He noted the importance of Open Data for local governments in particular, joining the Deputy Mayor of Łódź, Adam Pustelnik, in signing a letter of intent for the province of Łódź to join the Polish national portal for data sharing.

The European institutions presented on the upcoming Data Union strategy and on insights from the 2024 Open Data Maturity Assessment.

The Director General of the European Commission's DG Connect, Roberto Viola, made a presentation on the upcoming Data Union strategy. This strategy will build on the successes of the previous plan, addressing remaining barriers to data sharing and ensuring that high quality data is available to support AI innovation. The strategy is centred on the following themes:

• Making data available to innovators
• Simplifying regulation
• Fair and strategic approach to data flows
• Develop AI models and digital services

The Data Union Strategy is currently in development, with a public consultation phase opened, and planned publication by Q3 2025.

On Tuesday 29 April, Nataliya Rozbroj -Jasinkaja of the Publications Office of the European Union presented on the 2024 Open Maturity insights. In discussion of the results across the four dimension (policy, portal, quality, impact), she noted that all countries have strategies in place, and were working on implementation. Challenges identified included search and discoverability of data, and developing data quality.

In addition to these presentations, over the two days, a number of expert presentations and discussion panels were held on data for AI, data protection in the digital market, and data spaces. Participants represented a range of backgrounds, from European Union officials, members of Polish national and local government, delegates from EU Member States and competent authorities, academics, and tech industry representatives.