Data-driven Economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Challenges and Perspectives

The recently published Communication on “Building a European Data Economy” (COM(2017)9) clearly highlights the increasing importance of data as a driver for growth, innovation and job creation. It is estimated that by year 2020, the value the EU data economy will increase to EUR 643 billion, representing over 3% of the EU GDP. At the same time there is no comparable and quantifiable evidence on the current state and the future perspectives of the data driven economy in the European Union neighbouring countries. It can however safely be assumed that the role of data will be following a similar pattern, and is therefore expected to be contribution to an increasing relative share of GDP. Furthermore, some European neighbouring countries, most notably those in Central and Eastern Europe, are a recognised destination for IT businesses that grow two to three times faster than in their economy of origin. Within this context, a workshop was co-organized by the World Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). The workshop took place on 05 September as part of the annual INSPIRE Conference in 2017 (co-organised in Strasbourg and Kehl by France and Germany). The workshop explored the challenges and possibilities related with Data driven economy in Central and Eastern Europe. All the presentation of attendees are available online. The rapidly emerging spatial data infrastructures (SDI) were used as a use case to have a better insight into the data economy as they address a broad spectrum of topics that relate to the legal, technological and organisational challenges towards the use and reuse of data. Particular emphasis was put on good practices that if re-used and extended, can further foster innovation and intensify growth. This JRC technical report summarises the outcomes of the WB/UNECE/FAO/JRC workshop. It includes (i) overview of relevant processes on the global and European agenda, (ii) good practices from countries in the target region on the value-added from data that provide indications future policy directions and emerging opportunities.JRC.B.6-Digital Econom

Roadmap on CeOS in the Balkans

This document outlines the potential for Citizen Science, as a component of Open Science, to be more broadly used in the Balkan countries. It highlights the importance of knowledge exchange, trust-building, and long-term collaboration in the region, specifically focusing on the topic of CeOS (presumably referring to a specific field or initiative). The Roadmap aims to identify the capacities of university libraries in the Balkans and uncover any unused opportunities for public involvement in Open Science. Read more about the CeOS_SE project on our website: https://ceosse-project.eu

An empirical study of the purpose of the Irish Protected Disclosures Act 2014

The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 enacted on 15 July 2014, is Ireland’s first pan-sectoral whistleblowing law. The purpose of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is described in its preamble as being ‘An Act to make provision for and in connection with the protection of persons from the taking of action against them in respect of the making of certain disclosures in the public interest and for connected purposes.’ The aim of this research is to determine whether the 2014 Act is fulfilling its purpose of providing protection to disclosers, as set out in its preamble. This thesis contributes to knowledge by identifying the weaknesses of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 that are undermining its purpose and makes suggestions for reform in order to remedy these weaknesses at an early stage before the protected disclosures protection system in Ireland becomes futile. For the purpose of this research, an assessment of the case law under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 from 15 July 2014 to 16 July 2018 was undertaken to highlight certain patterns emerging from the use, interpretation, and application of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. An assessment of the prescribed persons system under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 was also undertaken in order to ascertain whether the system is functioning as intended. In addition, an analysis of prescribed persons’ compliance with the governmental guidance on protected disclosures procedures was carried out. This analysis focussed on the non-statutory framework implemented by the government to complement the legislative framework. The research also included an evaluation of the difficulties faced by organisations when implementing protected disclosures procedures in relation to balancing the rights of the discloser and the rights of the alleged wrongdoer. This thesis concludes that the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is not fulfilling its purpose and that urgent action is required to be taken, in line with the recommendations made in this thesis

Briefing paper 'On the European workforce for health'

A critique of the EC report 'On the European Workforce for Health', together with workshop conclusions

EHRO-N 2012 Annual Activity Report

This report contains information on the activities performed under the framework of EHRO-N or the European Human Resource Observatory for the Nuclear Energy Sector in the year 2012. The mission of EHRO-N is to provide 1) qualified data on the needs regarding human resources in the nuclear field within the European Union, and 2) high-level expert recommendations on EU-wide nuclear E&T actions, promoting lifelong learning and cross border mobility. Following the EHRO-N objectives numerous activities were performed in 2012. These fall under the following headings in the present report: • Two Senior Advisory Group (SAG) meetings • E&I workshop and a visit to the Energy Institute of the Istanbul Technical University • EHRO-N “Putting into Perspective” Report 2012 • EHRO-N presence and presentation of its activities at the VGB training and career event (in original: VGB Studentenkurs „Kerntechnik“) • EHRO-N Contribution to the SET-Plan • Preparation of the EHRO-N Roadmap 2020 preparation • Launch of the survey on the Mobility of Nuclear Professionals • Attendance at conferences (ENC 2012) • Studies by EHRO-N • Guidelines on the way to produce a capacity building exercise nationally • Contributions to other DGs of the EC • Networking and EHRO-N relations with other organisations • EHRO-N website • ECVET ActivitiesJRC.F.4-Nuclear Reactor Integrity Assessment and Knowledge Managemen

Implementation of EU energy policy priorities in the Baltic Sea Region countries: Sustainability assessment based on neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method

The European Union (EU) has set ambitious goals for climate change and energy in its pursued policies (20% of renewable energy until 2020, 27% until 2030, and the aim to become the global leader in energy produced by renewable energy sources). Even more ambitious goals are established in the strategy of Energy 2050. Today European energy policy is oriented towards energy security, expansion of energy markets, energy efficiency, decarbonisation, and scientific research and innovations

An Analysis of Open Science Policies in Europe, v6

This report is the sixth in a series of SPARC Europe and DCC analyses of national Open Science policies in Europe and covers the period between March 2020 and August 2020. This issue provides an update on activity across European Member States and relevant countries from the European Research Area. This issue includes a section on policy change related to Covid-19 and an overview of European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) policy-related activities among the European Commission supported INFRAEOSC 5b projects. To access previous versions of the analysis of Open Data and Open Science policies in Europe and other SPARC Europe reports related to Open Data please see https://sparceurope.org/what-we-do/open-data/sparc-europe-open-data-resources/

Identifying patterns and recommendations of and for sustainable open data initiatives: a benchmarking-driven analysis of open government data initiatives among European countries

Open government and open (government) data are seen as tools to create new opportunities, eliminate or at least reduce information inequalities and improve public services. More than a decade of these efforts has provided much experience, practices, and perspectives to learn how to better deal with them. This paper focuses on benchmarking of open data initiatives over the years and attempts to identify patterns observed among European countries that could lead to disparities in the development, growth, and sustainability of open data ecosystems. To do this, we studied benchmarks and indices published over the last years (57 editions of 8 artifacts) and conducted a comparative case study of eight European countries, identifying patterns among them considering different potentially relevant contexts such as e-government, open government data, open data indices and rankings, and others relevant for the country under consideration. Using a Delphi method, we reached a consensus within a panel of experts and validated a final list of 94 patterns, including their frequency of occurrence among studied countries and their effects on the respective countries. Finally, we took a closer look at the developments in identified contexts over the years and defined 21 recommendations for more resilient and sustainable open government data initiatives and ecosystems and future steps in this area.Regional Government of Andalusia, Spain (Research projects number P20_00314 and B-SEJ-556-UGR20).Institutional support of the University of Pardubice and by European Social Fund via IT Academy programme, University of Tartu (Estonia