Bringing data spaces into practice: acatech Foundation agrees strategic cooperation with Gaia-X and IDSA

 The acatech Foundation has sealed a cooperation with the Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL and the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA). The aim of the partnership is to move data spaces from the development phase into broad practical application: in Germany, in Europe and worldwide.

Data spaces enable sovereign, rule-based data exchange between organisations. The technical foundations and governance options for this are in place: standards, architectures and reference implementations have been developed. Now the task is to transfer these building blocks into application and scale them across industry and national borders. This is where the cooperation between the three organisations comes in. They are bundling competencies, networks and resources in order to bring trusted data infrastructures into widespread use – as a driver of innovation, competitiveness and digital sovereignty.

Connecting competencies, accelerating application

As an independent anchor of trust, the acatech Foundation brings in its ecosystem from business, science and politics. It also strengthens the partnership with experience from practical transfer projects such as the Mobility Data Space and its practice-oriented work in the pre-competitive sphere.

Gaia-X and IDSA contribute their international network of hubs and competence centres as well as the established technological and organisational foundations of sovereign data spaces – including the IDSA Rulebook, Manifesto for Data Spaces, Reference Architecture Model, and the Gaia-X Trust Framework. These proven building blocks are to be strengthened through the cooperation and scaled in use.

Planned activities include joint initiatives, mutual involvement in network and exchange formats, awareness and knowledge sharing campaigns, and coordinated activities to position sovereign data spaces vis-à-vis politics, business and society as an integral element for conducting the multi-faceted transformational changes we are encountering these days.

Statements on the cooperations

Ulrich Ahle, CEO of Gaia-X AISBL: “Trusted data infrastructures are no longer a promise for the future, but ready for use. Together with the acatech Foundation, we are accelerating their application – in Germany, Europe and worldwide.”

Manfred Rauhmeier, Board Member of the acatech Foundation: “The phase of concepts is behind us – now implementation counts. With IDSA and Gaia-X, we connect our ecosystem with the leading initiatives for trusted data spaces and bring them to where they create value: in the practice of business and society.”

Lars Nagel, CEO of IDSA: “We have developed the foundation for trusted and sovereign data sharing – now we need partners who bring them into wide-scale application. The cooperation with the acatech Foundation is an important step to bring data spaces into practice.”

About the partners

Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL: Gaia-X AISBL is an international non-profit organisation based in Brussels. It develops the Gaia-X Trust Framework as a basis for trusted, sovereign data infrastructures and promotes their dissemination through an international network of national Gaia-X Hubs.

acatech Foundation: The acatech Foundation sees itself as an impulse generator for the responsible shaping of digital transformation. With its activities, it focuses on practice-oriented transfer projects to promote competitiveness and accelerate innovation in Germany.

International Data Spaces Association (IDSA): IDSA is a non-profit association with more than 180 members from companies, organisations and research institutions in 33 countries. It has developed over the last 10 years the technical and governance foundations for global data spaces, including the IDS Reference Architecture, the IDSA Rulebook and international standards

For further information, visit: www.gaia-x.eu