The Open Data Maturity Assessment: A roadmap for the next decade of data sharing

For more than a decade, the Open Data Maturity (ODM) assessment has helped track the development of open data ecosystems across Europe. It helps participating countries to better understand and strengthen their data policies, portals, metadata quality and data reuse. 

As Europe's data market continues to evolve – driven by new legislative proposals like the 'Digital Omnibus', technological developments such as AI, and growing expectations around data quality and impact – the ODM assessment must also adapt. Drawing on legislative analysis, international benchmarking, technical testing and consultation with Member States, the latest methodological study published by the European Data Portal explores how the ODM framework can remain a trusted and relevant benchmarking tool. It examines short-, medium-, and long-term opportunities to strengthen the assessment. 

The study concludes that future ODM assessments should build on the strengths of the current approach while introducing targeted improvements. Rather than transitioning away from the existing self-assessment model, it recommends a streamlined questionnaire to be distributed in the short term, stronger independent validation mechanisms, and a greater use of automated evidence to support and verify assessment results. These measures aim to reduce reporting complexity, strengthen the reliability of results and place greater emphasis on real-world performance, while providing continuity and preserving the collaborative approach valued by Member States. 

To support implementation, the study presents a phased roadmap outlining practical steps to continuously improve the assessment, ensure alignment with the evolving EU data policy landscape, and ensure that the ODM assessment continues to provide valuable insights into the maturity, performance and impact of open data across Europe and beyond. 

Are you curious what countries are doing in practice to improve their open data maturity? The latest ODM best practices report summarises a selection of real country examples from the 2024 and 2025 assessments. The report offers practical guidance and inspiration for governments seeking to strengthen their open data ecosystems. This is one of the ways the ODM assessment supports learning and knowledge-sharing. 

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