Data purchasing by governments in the context of societal challenges: a mapping study

In order to tackle complex societal challenges, governments need to make evidence-based decisions and need the best available data as input. Much of the relevant data is now in the hands of the private sector, therefore governments increasingly resort to purchasing data from the private sector. This poses several challenges, especially for local authorities with limited IT and procurement capabilities. This project under the guidance of Dr Iryna Sushais the first systematic effort to create an evidence base about when, how, and for what purposes Dutch (local) authorities resort to purchasing data from the private sector and what might be the (adverse) effects of that. For her research project Susha receives funding from NWO's Open Competition SGW-XS pilot programme.

In this project Susha will collaborate with Utrecht University’s Data School. The Data School is a teaching and research platform at Utrecht University. Affiliated scholars actively shape the digital society and study how citizenship and democracy are changing through datafication and algorithmisation.

Governments increasingly resort to purchasing data from the private sector and this poses several challenges.

Iryna Susha is an Assistant Professor at the Innovation Studies group of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geosciences. Her research focuses on how organizations from different sectors can collaborate and leverage data and information to address the societal challenges of the 21st century and contribute to sustainability goals.