Our 2025-2028 strategy is coming soon!
Our vision
Access to data remains unequal, limiting innovation and leaving people without agency over its use. As a result, solutions and breakthroughs that could benefit society and the planet remain out of reach.
We envision a future where societies are equipped to access, share and reuse data in inclusive, responsible, systematic and sustainable ways to make informed decisions and improve people’s lives, and that of the planet.
Our mission
Responsible data-driven AI and
other data-driven emerging technologies.
Meaningful public
participation.
The complexity and unpredictability of current challenges and the risks associated with them, requires meaningful participation of people and organisations from all social, economic, cultural and professional contexts. We want to see how these meaningful processes of participation are embedded in decisions that impact responsible, sustainable and systematic data reuse.
People understand
and value data.
To address power asymmetries, we need to improve data literacy across society. This also means that people value and are used to exercising agency over their data and the use of data collaboratives or data commons is normalised.
How we will achieve our mission?
Four Programmes
To contribute to these changes, we will work in the following four streams of work:
01. Data Stewardship
We reimagine and redesign Data Stewardship as essential human infrastructure. We will improve the Data Stewardship capacity and competences of organisations from all sectors and continue to develop our training syllabus so it is fit for different contexts and technologies. We expect Data Stewards and Data Stewardship teams to roll out across companies, organisations and the public administrations and for this function to help break silos and enable collaborative approaches for responsible data reuse.
02. Social License Lab
We enable spaces for meaningful participation and democratic decision-making on data governance and reuse. This is essential to ensure there is a social license and public mandate for data to be accessed and reused. We do this through research and engagement to improve understanding of what a social license for data reuse means in different contexts and ensure it includes all relevant publics and voices. We will build evidence on how processes for a social license can be embedded within data collaboratives, companies, organisations and public administrations.
03. Data, AI and emerging technologies
We go straight to the source of AI and emerging technologies: data. We leverage it to ensure technologies work in the public interest and for everyone. We work to improve and anticipate data governance and responsible data reuse in the context of data-driven AI systems, frontier AI, and other emerging technologies.
04. Governance and business models for data sharing ecosystems
We offer research services and advice for data collaboratives to develop data governance and business models. For data governance to be systematic and scalable, we need evidence and experiences on what works and does not when setting up and sustaining a range of ecosystems for collaborative data reuse and there is a growing demand we can contribute to meet.
Four Core Activities
01. Research and evidence
Our research and evidence are key to generating knowledge on how data reuse can be done in inclusive, responsible, systematic and sustainable ways. We do action research that is rigorous, agile and context-based to understand what limits data access and what works in creating ecosystems for data reuse in different societies and regulatory systems.
02. Skills and capacity strengthening
Our Data Stewardship programme is a training and skills-development activity that helps to build the human infrastructure needed for data reuse. Building the roles and competencies for Data Stewardship contributes to making emerging regulatory frameworks implementable and fosters collaborations.
03. Policy and evidence-based advocacy
Our research and capacity strengthening programmes go hand-in-hand with our ability to have an influence on the development and implementation of regulatory frameworks that can foster responsible data reuse. We convene dialogues, engage with relevant decision-makers and stakeholders, and publish our research in different ways to bring our knowledge to the development of policies of responsible data reuse.
04. Thought leadership
We want our work to serve as a compass for the pathways that will enable societies to govern and reuse data to improve people’s lives. We offer thought leadership through publications, public speaking, and engagement with partners, supported by our evidence and engagement, and are a reference and respected voice on data governance and reuse.
The Board appoints the organisation’s leadership, provides budgetary and operational oversight, steers the strategic development of The Data Tank, and supports fundraising and partnerships
Luc Tayart de Borms
Non-executive Chair of the Board, independent
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Wim De Waele
Non-executive Board Secretary, Co-founder, independent
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Emily Pryor
Non-executive Board Member, Independent
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Dr Corinna Hörst
Non-executive Board member, Independent
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Silvana Fumega
Non-executive Board member, Independent
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The Data Tank Steering Committee brings together representatives of our core funders and partners to advise on the strategic direction of The Data Tank.
Filippo Candela
Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation
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Stefan Schäfers
King Baudouin Foundation
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Jessica Bither
Robert Bosch Stiftung
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Carla Hustedt
Stiftung Mercator
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The Data Tank’s Global Advisory Council is key to putting our mission of using data differently into action. Comprising 11 exceptional thought leaders from a broad range of backgrounds, regions, and sectors, our Council brings together experienced and thought leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and civil society representatives. Their role is to support us with strategic advice, critique, and recommendations, shaping our activities to align with our mission of unlocking data’s potential. Additionally, they act as advocates for The Data Tank, expanding our reach and visibility within their respective areas of expertise and helping us liaise with their communities.
Parminder Singh
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Marietje Schaake
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Bitange Ndemo
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Brandeis Marshall
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Eniola Mafe
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Olivia Gambelin
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Silvana Fumega
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Claudia Chwalisz
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Ciro Cattuto
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Jean-Claude Burgelman
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Anil Ananthaswamy
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The Data Tank is a diverse team with cultural experiences from multiple continents. With members from various corners of the world, we bring together a broad range of perspectives and insights. Our unique backgrounds and experiences help us to innovate and provide The Data Tank and our partners with a truly global approach to data re-use.
Dr Stefaan G Verhulst
Co-Founder
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Marta Poblet
Senior Research Lead
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Anna Colom, PhD
Senior Policy Lead
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Vasty Miguel
Communications Manager
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Moiz Shaikh
Program Manager
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Natalia Mejia Pardo
Program Manager
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Paulina Behluli
Program Manager
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Elena Murray
Project Associate
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Jasmin Menten
Executive Assistant
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