Setting the course: Gaia-X and the future of datacentric government

The digitization of local government has seen a growing trend towards data networking. Over the past 20 years, “smart cities” and “smart regions” have emerged as a key concept in this trend. Smart cities and smart regions are areas of settlement where highly integrated networking enables the regular use of (ecologically, economically, and socially) sustainable products, services, technologies, processes, and infrastructures. Of enormous importance are the next steps towards a networked, data-centric administration of cities and regions. On the one hand, the use of data-based systems will expand and improve public services and sovereignty over tasks. On the other hand, more and more public and private actors will be involved along the (digital) value chains. Furthermore, the growing need for sustainable and resilient administrations underscores the importance of developing digital tools and solutions for urban and regional development. Finally, these digital solutions will accelerate the transformation of the energy, transport, and infrastructure sectors. This document aims to describe the concepts of data-centric government and the organizational and technical requirements necessary to achieve it. Section 1 provides a general introduction to data-centric government, addressing governance challenges and legal frameworks. Section 2 introduces the Gaia-X initiative, first in general terms and then as a tool to combine data sets and connect data services and facilitate the digital transformation of local government. Section 3 describes the technical aspects of digital transformation in government: from the current use of data to the technological and procedural tools available. The document concludes with four use cases illustrating the benefits of digitization and data orientation for governments.