Different reasons exit to why large parts of Danish and international research data today are inaccessible for the outside world. A greater part of Open Access to data can form the basis for more and better research and innovation because it will be possible for other researchers and businesses to reuse and build on already existing data.
For various reasons Open Access to data is not as developed as Open Access to research publications. One of the reasons is that providing Open Access to data is more complicated. Protection of personal data and intellectual property rights (IPR) must be taken into consideration. Moreover, for the individual researcher it can be experienced as a competitive advantage not to provide access to one’s data. The researcher might like to have access other researchers data but lack incentives to provide access to his or her own data. Furthermore, challenges exit in relation to ensuring the quality of data so that other researchers can access the data and believe it to be trustworthy. Questions regarding how data should be stored and shared (infrastructure) also need answering.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Science has not yet formulated an official strategy for Open Access to data but the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation carefully follows the development and participates in relevant, international forums – e.g. in the EU where Open Access is discussed and experiences exchanged.