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Data economy

Data Strategy for Austria

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Data plays a crucial role in Austria's economic and social development
The intelligent and targeted use of data in various areas makes it possible to generate new knowledge and valuable insights for politics, science and business. In the pursuit of a digitally responsible society, everyone should have access to the opportunities that digitalisation provides.

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OUR VISION:
The vision of Austria's data strategy: utilizing data for the greater good of society!

Data Strategy: An Overview

A national data strategy highlights the increasing significance of data in today's digital economy and society. Data is a key resource and opportunity for innovation, sustainable growth and efficient public administration. Austria aims to capitalize on the growing opportunities presented by increased and trustworthy data usage. The market value of the data economy is projected to triple from 2019 to 2025, driven primarily by advancements in artificial intelligence. However, much of Austria's data potential remains untapped, limiting the ability to leverage data from both public and private sectors.

In response, the European data strategy calls on member states to develop their own data strategies to enhance the data ecosystem, including the implementation of the Data Governance Act and Data Act. Austria's data strategy will therefore emphasize the responsible and legally compliant management of data, with a strong focus on data protection and information security.

This strategy builds upon the digital action plan “The Big Data Opportunity - Die große Datenchance” published in 2020, and complements the AI strategy “Artificial Intelligence Mission Austria 2030” released in 2021.

High Standards

We are fully aware of the responsibility that comes with the use of data. It is therefore important to us to maintain high standards while at the same timestrengthening our country’s innovative power.

Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Digital Affairs, Youth Affairs and Civilian Service
Data Reuse

We want to raise awareness of how important the reuse, analysis and utilization of data is for our progress. Only this way we can improve the quality of products and services and secure the long-term prosperity of the community.

Claudia Plakolm, State Secretary for Digital Affairs, Youth Affairs and Civilian Service

Objectives of the data strategy

The data strategy pursues an all-encompassing vision and sets three essential goals, which are to be achieved through the implementation of currently 45 different measures. Active participation from all ministries and stakeholders in science, business, and civil society is essential for the implementation of the measures.

Implementation goals, visions and measures for the data strategy Quelle: BKA/Digital Austria

OBJECTIVE 1: Developing sustainable data infrastructures and technical solutions for efficient data exchange

  • 14 measures, particularly in the area of infrastructure and data exchange which should contribute to achieving this goal.
  • Focus of the measures:               
    • Promote projects and innovative technologies that enable data sharing and exchange.
    • Invest in trustworthy data infrastructure and cloud solutions.
    • Promote technical and semantic interoperability.
    • Support the development of technical tools and services.

OBJECTIVE 2: Activate the potential for responsible data use

  • 14 measures that support the responsible data use in business, science and public administration should contribute to achieving this goal.
  • Focus of the measures:
    • Develop and implement mechanisms for improved data governance
    • Improve accessibility and reuse of public sector data sets
    • Improve cataloging, licensing and searchability of data sets
    • Improve data quality

OBJECTIVE 3: Create an innovative data culture and increase data literacy

  • 17 measures aiming in particular at strengthening data literacy in society and administration and unserstanding of the use of data will contribute to this objective.
  • Focus of the measures:
  • Promoting a change in values in the use of data
  • Promote the responsible reuse and use of data
  • Increasing the skills and knowledge of the population and the administration in the area of data use (data literacy)
  • Promote the proactive use of data for evidence-based decisions

The Austrian data strategy defines itself as an adaptive approach, designed to respond to dynamic market and technological developments.

An interministerial and stakeholder committee, led by the Federal Chancellery, will facilitate the coordination and implementation of the outlined measures.
 

Broad involvement in the development of the data strategy

Stakeholders from public administration, business, and society actively collaborated and participated in developing the national data strategy. To create a comprehensive strategic approach, numerous workshops were organized as part of the DigiConnect initiative, fostering dialogue and gathering proposals from diverse sectors. The University of Economics also provided scientific support throughout the strategy process. After coordinating the draft data strategy with federal ministries, a public online consultation was conducted through the “datenstrategie.at” website. This consultation gathered feedback from the interested data community, which was subsequently incorporated into the final strategy. As a result, the data strategy effectively reflects the perspectives and needs of all involved stakeholders.

Overview about Data strategy development process Quelle: BKA/Digital Austria

Following a final political vote, Austria's data strategy was published at the beginning of October (October 2, 2024).

Further information

Data Strategy for Austria - PDF Download (German)

Data Strategy for Austria - Summary - PDF Download (German)

Data Economy