Objective: To improve the understanding of the roles of intermediaries in the open data ecosystem and to design business strategies to embed such roles sustainably in the open data ecosystem. The project aims to train the ESR to identify and compare different types, roles and contribution of intermediaries in/to the open data ecosystem, and to investigate their sustainability. The research will use an international case study approach, to:

• Analyse existing models/ types of data intermediaries, the services they provide and their relationships with open data providers and users.
• Investigate the role of open data intermediaries in the open data ecosystem.
• Examine the different business models of open data intermediaries.
• Identify organisations that rely on open data intermediaries and uncover motivations for using intermediaries’ services.
• Investigate how existing and emerging technologies could lead to changing and/or new business models for open data intermediaries.
• Investigate current and future roles of open data intermediaries in a sustainable open data ecosystem.

Beneficiary – Host institution:
TU DELFT

Partners – Planned secondments: 
ESRI 
KU LEUVEN