Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Clear and simple solutions regarding DS4M Mediterráneo
What is the project and what is its objective?
Data Space for Mobility Mediterráneo (DS4M Mediterráneo) is a project funded by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – Next Generation EU in the call established in Order TDF/1461/2023 (Sectoral Data Spaces Program). The beneficiary is the University of Valencia (UV), and it is led by INTRAS with the collaboration of IRTIC.
Its objective is to develop and maintain a Mobility Data Space focused on the Mediterranean Corridor where existing data from various sources, both public and private, converge. This will allow for improved and more sustainable mobility, as well as incentivizing strategic digital autonomy and data quality.
Its objective is to develop and maintain a Mobility Data Space focused on the Mediterranean Corridor where existing data from various sources, both public and private, converge. This will allow for improved and more sustainable mobility, as well as incentivizing strategic digital autonomy and data quality.
What is a Data Space?
A Data Space is a collaborative ecosystem that provides a means for various participants to share and use data, and offer services in a secure, reliable, and regulation-compliant manner, with the aim of driving innovation and generating economic and social impact. To achieve this, they rely on interoperable architectures that facilitate data reuse across multiple use cases and applications.
Who can join DS4M Mediterráneo?
Participation in our Data Space is open to any entity that operates, or wishes to operate, in the Mediterranean Corridor, which covers the territories of Catalonia, Aragon, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, and Andalusia.
How can my entity participate?
The project allows for different levels of involvement, which each entity decides based on its interests. Currently, the following participation roles are available, which are not mutually exclusive:
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Provider | The role that offers data and/or services. |
| Consumer | The role that uses the offered data and/or services. |
| Intermediary | Acts as a third-party facilitator between Providers and Consumers, ensuring operational neutrality and the traceability of exchanges. |
| Promoter | Performs functions of promotion, encouragement, or facilitation of the use of the ecosystem and its services, without intervening in the content or assuming responsibility. |
Who can access my entity's data and how?
Our Data Space functions as a marketplace: entities can consult the catalog to see what data is available, but they cannot access its content directly. Each entity retains full governance at all times over what data it shares and with whom, through Data Exchange Agreements generated via the platform.
What are use cases and which ones will be developed in the framework of this project?
Use cases are practical applications of data sharing and exploitation technologies to achieve a specific goal within the Data Space ecosystem. Initially, this project has use cases regarding Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) and Low Emission Zones (LEZ). In any case, in line with the project's open and flexible approach, the proposal and incorporation of additional use cases based on the specific needs of participating entities are contemplated.
What benefits does an entity obtain by participating?
Participation in our Data Space offers entities and Public Administrations the opportunity to be part of a strategic project and obtain institutional recognition for their involvement. Furthermore, it allows them to network with other participants and establish multilateral agreements that contribute to the generation of economic and social value, as well as access funding and grants, such as the Data Space Kit.
What types of data, formats, and standards are required to participate in the Data Space?
The Data Space accepts various types of information. These include structured or tabular data, such as CSV, JSON, JSON-LD, or Parquet (for large volumes); geospatial data in formats such as GeoJSON, GML, WKT, WKB, or GeoPackage; and semantic data in formats like RDF/Turtle, RDF/XML, and JSON-LD. Time series are also supported and can be provided in CSV with metadata, JSON, or RDF following the SOSA/SSN models.
Regarding quality standards, DCAT-AP or DCAT-AP-ES metadata are considered mandatory, which must include title, description, owner, license, and frequency; clear identification of the dataset provider; definition of an explicit license (such as CC-BY or CC-BY-SA); a guarantee of basic quality control, ensuring complete and consistent data with correct types; and compliance with the GDPR, applying anonymization or aggregation techniques where appropriate. As additional recommendations, the adoption of FAIR principles is promoted, along with the use of persistent identifiers such as URIs or stable IDs, the use of standard ontologies and vocabularies (SOSA/SSN, GeoSPARQL, QUDT, INSPIRE, SKOS, or DATEX II), and semantic validation through SHACL.
Regarding quality standards, DCAT-AP or DCAT-AP-ES metadata are considered mandatory, which must include title, description, owner, license, and frequency; clear identification of the dataset provider; definition of an explicit license (such as CC-BY or CC-BY-SA); a guarantee of basic quality control, ensuring complete and consistent data with correct types; and compliance with the GDPR, applying anonymization or aggregation techniques where appropriate. As additional recommendations, the adoption of FAIR principles is promoted, along with the use of persistent identifiers such as URIs or stable IDs, the use of standard ontologies and vocabularies (SOSA/SSN, GeoSPARQL, QUDT, INSPIRE, SKOS, or DATEX II), and semantic validation through SHACL.
Does joining imply mandatory data transfer and, if so, is there an essential dataset whose sharing is required?
No. Data provision is only one of the possible roles within the Data Space, so an entity can join without needing to make data available to others, acting solely as a Consumer, Promoter, or Intermediary.
Likewise, there is no essential dataset whose sharing is mandatory. Each entity is free to decide what data to share, under what conditions, and, if it prefers, not to share any at all. Participation in DS4M is not linked to a minimum volume or the contribution of specific data.
Likewise, there is no essential dataset whose sharing is mandatory. Each entity is free to decide what data to share, under what conditions, and, if it prefers, not to share any at all. Participation in DS4M is not linked to a minimum volume or the contribution of specific data.
How is collaboration between participating entities organized?
Collaboration is organized through the negotiation of access and use policies between parties and the formalization of a specific Data and/or Service Exchange Agreement for each case, thus safeguarding the principle of data sovereignty that governs our ecosystem.