The DSSC is entering its second phase and shifting its focus from laying the groundwork for European data rooms to supporting initiatives so that they become sustainable, financially viable, and effective.
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The Data Spaces Support Center (DSSC) has entered a new phase in which it helps European data space initiatives move beyond the initial development stage and become sustainable, financially viable, and effective. Funded by the European Commission as part of the “Digital Europe” program, the project is now in its second phase and continues the work of its predecessor to support these initiatives in evolving into mature, self-sustaining ecosystems.
Since work on European data rooms began about a decade ago, the DSSC has served as a coordinator, facilitator, and trailblazer for a broad community of contributors working to define what a data room is and what building blocks it requires. This foundational work led to the DSSC Blueprint, which—along with the accompanying technology and standardization efforts—is now considered one of the most comprehensive bodies of knowledge available on data rooms.
Now that these foundations have been laid, the DSSC’s focus is shifting from conception to implementation: the blueprints, toolkits, and best practices developed to date are to be actively utilized by the data room initiatives that form the strategy of the European Data Union.
To provide practical and tailored support, the DSSC has introduced several new roles: Support is provided through a maturity assessment, a tool that evaluates a data room initiative based on six dimensions: governance, business, legal, interoperability, control over data, and trust and value creation. The assessment has since become a technical specification maintained by CEN-CENELEC and is available for use by any data room initiative.
Support is provided through a maturity assessment, a tool that evaluates a data room initiative based on six dimensions: governance, business, legal, interoperability, control over data, and trust and value creation. The assessment has since become a technical specification maintained by CEN-CENELEC and is available for use by any data room initiative.
Recognizing that data rooms do not operate in isolation, the DSSC places greater emphasis on how they are connected to the broader digital infrastructure stack—from data collection and connectivity through cloud, edge computing, and high-performance computing to AI applications and digital twins. Particular attention is being paid to the relationship between data rooms and European AI factories and data labs to ensure that data rooms can reliably deliver the trustworthy, high-quality data required for training and fine-tuning AI systems in accordance with data sovereignty and trust requirements.
To support this broader engagement, the DSSC will continue and expand activities such as bilateral workshops, a strategic stakeholder forum, thematic exchange events, and a newly launched open forum for technology providers, while collaborating with external working groups, standards bodies, policymakers, and research communities.
The DSSC will continue to expand its community through a revamped website and an updated social media presence. Key community events will also continue: The “European Data Space Awards,” which received more than 60 nominations in their inaugural edition, will once again recognize outstanding initiatives in the areas of end-user engagement, financial sustainability, and innovation; the winners will be honored at the next Data Spaces Symposium, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
The Data Spaces Support Center is a project funded by the European Commission as part of the “Digital Europe” program (Grant Agreement No. 101296969) and coordinated by the Fraunhofer Society in collaboration with a broad consortium of 23 European partners. The project will run for 36 months, from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2029, with the goal of ensuring that its results remain self-sustaining well beyond the end of the funding period.
The Data Spaces Support Centre receives financial support under the European Union’s “Digital Europe” program, grant agreement No. 101296969. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union.
Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering