www.fot-net.eu
NEWSletter
Editorial
Issue 1 - May 2014 In this Issue: 1 Editorial 2
In the Spotlight: About FOT-Net Data Data Sharing Network The FOT Network FOT-Net Wiki The Consortium
3 WP Updates Networking FOT-Net Data Sharing Framework Data Catalogue and Tools FOT Methodology Updates Announcement of Webinars 4 Stakeholder workshops FOT-Net Data workshop: Helsinki FOT-Net Data workshop & paper presentation at ITS World Congress, Detroit 5 News from other projects Accident Data SHRP2 data 6 News Upcoming events Contact Us News service News about your FOT Additional info
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 610453.
Quoting Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, “In a networked age, we all depend on data, and opening it up is the best way to realise its value, to maximise its potential”, I can only confirm that the EC strongly supports open data and re-use. With the EC emphasising this support under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, where “open” public documents will become the default; FOT-Net Data is a vital step in the process towards a Europe of open data and re-use. Open data and re-use guarantee the best value for public money: collecting data is very costly, sharing and re-using data will deliver new services and applications and facilitate correlation between research results. It will also ensure accountancy and transparency of co-finance, and lead to informed policy decisions. Products and services built on open data must rely on the long term sustainability of the open data approach, which needs to be embedded into governments’ strategies. Cross border and cross domain harmonisation and interoperability are key success factors to build a truly connected open data ecosystem. The data collected by Field Operational Tests (FOTs) and Pilots has a significant potential for re-use. FOT-Net Data will develop a data sharing framework, a framework to describe available datasets, deliver recommendations for data protection, strategies to facilitate data sharing, and raise awareness about the value of data sharing. The project will continue building the FOT community, further revise and promote the FESTA methodology for FOTs and data sharing, and enhance international cooperation. Building on the rich heritage of its predecessor FOT-Net 2, I am confident that FOT-Net Data will rise to the challenge and will represent a significant milestone towards a Europe of open research data. Myriam Coulon-Cantuer, FOT-Net Data Project Officer, EC DG CONNECT Smart Cities and Sustainability