From Values to Policies: A Value-Based Decision Model for Data Trustees in Data Spaces

As data ecosystems become more complex and regulatory demands intensify, obtaining informed and usercentric consent for data sharing remains a challenge. Data trustees are emerging as intermediaries with a fiduciary duty to ensure responsible and trust-based data handling, operating within data spaces that provide the usage-restricted infrastructure. However, traditional consent mechanisms lack the flexibility and granularity required. This research investigates Value-Based Consent (VBC), which is generalized into a Value-Based Decision (VBD) model, as a dynamic approach to consent management facilitated by data trustees. The VBD model derives specific, consistent decisions by grounding them in the data provider’s stable values and preferences. This research explores how data trustees can leverage the VBD model to not only enhance informed decisions and user control but also to generate machine-interpretable data usage policies for governance and enforcement within data spaces. This process makes value-derived usage rights explicit and unambiguous, which in turn supports accountability. By examining the interplay between the VBD model, data trustees, and data spaces, this research highlights a pathway towards more trustworthy, transparent, and user-driven data sharing, effectively bridging the gap between abstract values and operational data governance.