The Federal Chief Information Officer explained that the “Think-and-Do-Tank” was intended to provide insights for the further development of the institute.
(Photo: IMAGO/Future Image)
Berlin Data is considered the most important raw material for digitization – without it, no artificial intelligence can work, no algorithm can be programmed and no company can collect analyzes of its own work processes.
In Germany, however, public and private data have so far only been used to a limited extent. That is why the federal government had agreed to set up its own data institute. The details of what the institute should look like had been discussed at length in advance.
The Budget Committee of the Bundestag has now given the go-ahead for the concept presented by the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Research. The budget committee has now approved funds of ten million euros per year for the development of the data institute for 2023 to 2025.
With the help of these funds, a “powerful national player” should emerge, which bundles know-how and provides targeted assistance, according to the Federal Ministry of Economics. The concept for the data institute was developed by a commission in which data experts from Germany and abroad took part.
According to this, a “think-and-do-tank” is to be created that will develop pilot projects for data use, in which cooperation between science and companies is to be created. From this, best-practice examples for data sharing and data use are to be derived.
In the course of this process, those involved also want to gain “important knowledge for the further development of the institute”, said the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Chief Information Officer of the Federal Government, Markus Richter.
Advice and assistance with data issues
According to the concept paper, the institute should primarily provide advice and assistance as well as “communication and confidence-building”. On the other hand, the data institute should not take on “regulatory and sovereign tasks”, such as the enforcement of applicable law.
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So far there has been no central office in Germany that companies, science and politics can turn to for data issues. The institute is to assume this role in the future.
As the next step in setting up the institute, a “market dialogue” is planned, in which other experts will comment on what the first pilot projects could look like and how the management of the data institute should be set up.
Anna Christmann (Greens), Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups in the Federal Ministry of Economics, welcomed the fact that a “central project” was being implemented to enable better sharing and use of data in Germany.
The model for the German data institute is the “Open Data Institute” (ODA) in Great Britain, whose representatives were also involved in the consultation on setting up the German institute. The ODA was founded in 2012 as a non-profit organization and advises companies, governments and civil society organizations on the preparation of data.
More: More money for data projects: Which future projects the federal government wants to support