Call for Proposals: Data Space for Skills (Deployment)

Deadline: 29-May-24

The European Commission (EC) is seeking proposals to develop and deploy a secure and trusted data space for skills.

Databases of job offers, qualifications, learning opportunities, lists of curricula and certifications, inventory of topics studied at all levels of education and training, as well as skills classifications, can help better define human resource, business, employment as well as education and training policy strategies and add value for learners.

Data is at the core of skills, education, training and employment, offering enormous potential for innovative applications. All data spaces benefit from the Data Space Support Centre (DSSC), which makes sure common tools such as the Simpl software and common concepts are used. The Commission has already laid out work on the European data space for skills via the preparatory action funded under the 2021-22 work programme of DIGITAL and the call DIGITAL-2022-CLOUD-AI-03-PILOTSCLOUD-SERVICES.

The data space for skills is expected to be a European Common Data Space for sharing and accessing skills data for various purposes, from analytical and statistical purposes to policy development or re-use in innovative applications in line with European values, with a particular emphasis on ethics, diversity, security and privacy.

Companies and organisations in Europe face major shortages of digital experts especially in advanced disciplines such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud, internet of things, extended reality or blockchain. Universities are not delivering enough qualified specialists to the labour market and companies lack the ability to provide appropriate reskilling and upskilling opportunities to their employees. By providing the means for enhanced data-based collaboration, the data space for skills should open new opportunities to address, innovate and transform existing and new challenges of the labour market and stimulate the digital transformation.

Scope

This action seeks to deploy a secure and trusted common European data space for skills.
The awarded proposal will integrate, test, and deploy the data space, allowing participants to make data available and accessible, as well as sharing it, in a controlled, simple and secure way. In addition, it will put in place a governance mechanism. The awarded proposal should not only facilitate access to a vast volume of accurate and reliable data, but also ensure there are a strategy and adequate means to allow for data to be updated after the project concludes. The awarded proposal will also provide continuous maintenance operations of the data space, monitor the usage of the data space, and offer a helpdesk. Furthermore, it will take appropriate measures to foster engagement of relevant stakeholders across the EU. The project will have to demonstrate a clear European dimension.
The awarded proposal must build upon the Data Space for Skills Blueprint and take into consideration the Interactive inventory of skills data initiatives, both of which are outcomes of the EU-funded preparatory action DS4Skills.
In addition, the awarded proposal must work in close partnership with the Data Spaces Support Centre to ensure alignment with the rest of the ecosystem of data spaces implemented with the support of the Digital Europe Programme, in particular in view of a data spaces reference architecture; common building blocks, toolboxes and standards, semantic interoperability; and data governance models. The data space will use, insofar as possible and when available, the smart cloud-to-edge middleware platform Simpl.
Complementarity should be sought with existing initiatives in the domain of skills and qualifications, such as Europass, ESCO, European Digital Credentials for Learning, European Learning Model, EURES, the EU Digital Identity Wallet, Skills-OVATE, and the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform by establishing links to actions of these initiatives as appropriate. Furthermore, the action will ensure close connections with other related common European data spaces and should take into account, to the extent possible, similar public or private data spaces developed at national or regional level across the EU.
The winning proposal is expected to ensure that major stakeholders adopt the data space and its value is proven at an EU wide level. In order to achieve this, particular attention should be paid to:
The implementation of a minimum of three use cases with a clear impact as outlined under Objective. Examples could include, but would not be limited to, data-based innovative solutions involving job offers, qualifications, learning opportunities, lists of curricula and certifications, etc. The use cases should have long-term sustainability prospects and encompass all the European Union regions.
Connecting data and service providers to the data space infrastructure to ensure that the foreseen use cases can be implemented. This entails support for these providers to ease the technical and operational effort. Possible measures include organizing events for presenting advice about onboarding and for providing networking opportunities.
Right from the outset, the awarded proposal is expected to work towards achieving financial sustainability by the end of the project. Therefore, the proposal should consider relevant actions in this respect and establish a clear plan.
The active participation of data providers and users from the project’s inception is highly recommended since it will ensure that the data space is designed and structured to meet their needs, making the data space more relevant and leading to increased adoption rates and a stronger sense of ownership of data providers and users by the end of the project.

Funding Information

The estimated available call budget is EUR 20 000 000.
Data Space for Skills (deployment): EUR 3 000 000 per project
Data Space for Skills (deployment): 36 months

Outcomes and Deliverables

Technical infrastructure for the deployment of the data space for skills;
Implementation of three operational use cases;
Data governance framework, comprising a set of rules of legislative, administrative and contractual nature covering access rights, processing, using and sharing data in a trustful and transparent manner, including code of conduct and contract template;
Setup of the Data Space Governance Authority;
Guidance support and training documentation to reduce the entry barrier for stakeholders wishing to participate in the data space. This should also include guidance support and materials on how to adopt a human-centric approach to skills data spaces;
Update of the Blueprint inherited from the preparatory action DS4Skills to keep it aligned with the most recent version released by the DSSC and considering the lessons learned by the projects funded under the Call DIGITAL-2022-CLOUD-AI-03-PILOTS-CLOUD-SERVICES;
A long-term economic sustainability business plan for the skills data space, which considers scaling with cross-sectoral operation in mind;
Once the data space is deployed, reports should be generated covering usage, detected problems, and the solutions provided. The frequency of these reports should be quarterly and on an ad hoc basis;
A report about the connection of the data space with other relevant local, national and European initiatives on skills and qualifications data, such as for example the Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills.

KPIs to measure Outcomes and Deliverables

Uptake and engagement KPIs:
- Number of individual end users (e.g. students, workers, jobseekers), organisational end users, service providers, data providers, and data intermediaries connected to the data space.
- Number of datasets from existing EC initiatives (Europass, ESCO, European Learning Model, EURES or Skills-OVATE) used during the project to develop solutions.
- Total number of data records (across all datasets) available via the data space.
- Number of data records broken down into categories such as job offers, training offers, CVs, curricula, certifications.
- Number of final users impacted by the developments produced within the project (e.g. through job or training matchings). If applicable, reported separately for Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Cloud Computing.
Interorganizational synergies KPIs:
- Total number of private and public organisations that exchanged data. This measurement tracks the extent to which private and public organisations work together, reflecting the level of collaboration and synergy achieved. Reported separately for SMEs.
Innovation and policy KPIs:
- Number of innovative use cases that have been developed by participants of the data space beyond the initially foreseen use cases. This KPI assesses the degree to which initiatives incorporate and innovate with skills-related data spaces, showcasing the platform’s adaptability and potential for various innovative applications.
- Number of new services (as origin of new business models) created during the project by SMEs.
- Number of contributions to educational, labour market, and innovation policies (for example through network effects or policy or research papers for which the data space was used).

Targeted Stakeholders

Schools, higher education institutions, vocational education and training institutions, other education and training providers, businesses, Human Resources (HR) organisations and employment agencies, public employment services, guidance providers, IT developers, other private and public actors (particularly in job search and recruitment services as well as data sharing), trade and industry associations, alliances and social partners

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  - EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
  - non-EU countries:
- EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme (list of participating countries)

For more information, visit European Commission.