Open Data and Entrepreneurship
Publication Date/Time
2018-02-28T10:00:00+00:00
5 principles to stimulate innovation
The mechanisms of value of Open Data operate on multiple levels.
Multiple Open Data benefits can be outlined, including transparency,
increased government effectiveness and efficiency, increased
participation and engagement and the release of social and commercial
value through innovation. Regarding the latter, Open Data is
increasingly connected to the creation of new products and services,
as well as to helping businesses derive new insights and knowledge.

Although Open Data innovation takes place in organisations of all
sizes and maturity levels, entrepreneurs and start-up businesses are
crucial stakeholders in harnessing the full potential of Open Data, by
creating new Open Data based products and business models.
Entrepreneurs are known for their creativity and ability to turn ideas
into successful business. More and more entrepreneurs who have an Open
Data based business model rely on the availability and high quality of
data and public sector information. Open Data has an enabling effect
for entrepreneurs, by creating opportunities for new business models,
products and services, by providing a wealth of free material to
develop software applications for desktop and mobile use.
Consequently, a large share of the 100,000 Open Data jobs in 2020
[/en/highlights/economic-benefits-open-data] can be expected to
consist of Open Data skilled people. In addition, the Open Data
movement is strengthened by the presence of Open Data driven
start-ups.

Such start-ups reinforce the general string of argumentation related
to the high economic impact that Open Data has. They show - through
their business activities - the immediate benefits that Open Data can
have for job creation, new business models and the economy as a whole.
Entrepreneurs working as data analysts, data intermediaries, software
developers and other data related professionals, shape an important
group of re-users. By coming up with tangible Open Data products and
services, public organisations are convinced to further invest in Open
Data programmes. Moreover, small innovative start-ups that work with
Open Data, may pave the way for larger corporations and public
organisations to adopt new Open Data solutions.

The importance of the enabling effect of Open Data on start-ups and
vice-versa is highlighted in the latest Analytical Report on Open Data
and Entrepreneurship. The report discusses the role of entrepreneurs
in Open Data innovation, the relationship between Open Data and
sustainability as well as the main Open Data barriers to
entrepreneurship. The report also looks into the main policies
implemented at the EU level to foster Open Data driven
entrepreneurship and provides an overview of Open Data best practices.
Examples such as Xpressomics (a search engine for genetic data), Farm
Dog (a data driven company making healthy and environmentally
sustainable food accessible to everyone) or PlumeLabs (an example of a
company that was able to achieve minimum viable product and prototype
with Open Data).
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/img/media/ode-image.png]
 

As the report also highlights, the relationship between Open Data and
entrepreneurship is dual in its form. Entrepreneurs and Open Data
mutually reinforce one another. Open Data fosters entrepreneurship on
the one hand, and entrepreneurs boost Open Data developments on the
other hand.
In order to make Open Data entrepreneurship flourish even further, the
report highlights five key principles that need to be promoted:

 	* Build the ecosystem: a vivid ecosystem needs evolve around
start-ups, including domain experts, business experts and technical
experts, as well as citizens, journalists and data providers.
 	* Engage students and young people from early stages: educating
young people about Open Data value and skills helps to shape (Open)
Data driven solutions and enterprises after all.
 	* Invest in national and regional acceleration and incubation
programmes with links to local ecosystems: it is essential to support
entrepreneurs with virtual accelerators, mentors, trainers and
community managers.
 	* Make the link between business, domain and data skills: organising
hackathons and other challenges on specific policy themes and issues
ensures more domain applicability.
 	* Separate entrepreneurs from other re-user groups so that they can
be tracked and supported: in addition to current measurements, such as
the EDP Open Data Maturity assessment
[/en/highlights/open-data-maturity-europe-2017], it would be valuable
to differentiate between different types of re-users (entrepreneurs
specifically, as compared to other businesses, citizens, public
organisations, etc.) to further pinpoint those making Open Data
impact.

About to start or boost your Open Data entrepreneurial journey? Read
the full Analytical Report on "Open Data and Entrepreneurship in
Europe" to discover related European Union policy, the impact of
entrepreneurs with Open Data and various best practices in Open Data
entrepreneurship. Download the report here
[/en/what-we-do/factsheets-and-reports].
