OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers

Abstract

This paper describes how marine data made available by public repositories based in Flanders benefit Belgian society and the global community.Key findings from an OECD survey of the repositories' users are discussed and several recommendations are provided for policymakers looking to build upon the provision of public marine data.Data are required for marine sciences, the operation of ocean economic activities and the effective management of marine space, much of it collected through different types of observing systems and made available for reuse through public data repositories.Flanders' public marine data repositories adhere to open data policies, are free-to-use and many do not require login credentials for data access.As a result, limited information is collected automatically from users and bespoke studies are required to understand how societal value is generated from their uses of the data.The OECD aims to provide the evidence policymakers require to assess the societal benefits of sustained marine data infrastructures by collaborating with different data communities.The current OECD project improves understanding of the economics of public marine data by surveying repository users and analysing the responses to construct conceptual value chains of their data uses.The Flanders survey follows-on from a similar survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2020-2021.Flanders provides an interesting case study in understanding the societal value of the reuse of public marine data because a collection of national and international repositories are based there.Open data policies of the Government of Flanders have encouraged multiple Flemish organisations, including Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and Flemish Hydrography, to make marine data publicly available through dedicated repositories.In addition to its national repositories, Flanders is home to a relatively large number of international repositories important for global data provision.Flanders' public marine data repositories involved in the OECD survey are listed in Annex B. Responses to the OECD survey reveal how Flanders' repositories enable the reuse of marine data across a range of sectors, contribute to improved decision making, and generate benefits for wider society.The following key points can be drawn from analysis of the responses:• Flanders' repositories have a large and varied international user base.Some 74% of respondents reported working in countries other than Belgium with a total of 58 different countries represented.They work in diverse occupations: scientists, public officials, business managers and many others.They come from sectors beyond the government/policy sector which tends to fund repositories' activities.• Individual users of Flanders' repositories frequently use multiple repositories and would struggle to complete their tasks without them.They access marine data from across the spectrum of parameter disciplines such as physical oceanography and human activities and combine different data types to generate the information they require for their analyses.• Reuses of data from Flanders' repositories are plentiful, complex and have effects on a broad range of ocean economic activities from traditional industries such as fishing to emerging activities such as marine renewable energy generation.The benefits associated