Europeana Foundation Business Plan 2024

A sovereign, resilient and open data space

We want the common European data space for cultural heritage to make available data which is interoperable, manageable and reliable. In 2024, we will develop our approach towards assigning persistent identifiers (unique and long-lasting references to digital entities) to data, review and extend our data governance mechanisms, and work to bring more and higher quality data into the data space. At the heart of these efforts, we want to embed the principle of sovereignty, ensuring that data owners - as opposed to platforms - keep control of their data and what can be done with it. In practice, this will see us explore the decentralisation of our aggregation models and roles in the data space through an Innovative Operating Models Working Group. We will work closely with the Data Space Service Support Centre to ensure that our data space is interoperable with other data spaces.

A compelling data space brand

In the coming years, the common European data space for cultural heritage will grow to encompass new actors, services and kinds of data. This will make the data space a more meaningful and interesting place for those using it and those contributing to it. We need to ensure that they are aware of the opportunities the data space holds through the continued development of the data space brand. We will release a new webpage to present the benefits and opportunities of the data space, foster participation and understanding , and in time, promote related developments and activities. We will also position the potential of the data space to actors, stakeholders and professionals in the sector through our events programme and annual conference.

Innovative approaches to infrastructure and technology

From establishing mechanisms to ensure our platforms are continuously reliable and available, to improving the technical foundations of multilingual search, to incorporating AI technologies, in 2024 our activities will ensure that the data space leads with technical innovation and is built upon a robust and reliable infrastructure. We will work to make data sharing easy and rewarding for cultural heritage institutions by further developing and extending the Metis Sandbox, its API and its different data quality reporting features. And we will develop training to build the capacity of our professional audiences to use these valuable tools. 

Bringing our shared cultural heritage to life

In 2024, we will continue to support our audiences to access and reuse cultural heritage items from across Europe. Participatory initiatives like GIF IT UP and the Digital Storytelling Festival will encourage culture lovers and professionals to reuse digitised cultural heritage in creative ways, while also promoting open access. New website features, including improved browse and media experiences, will help audiences to explore content on the Europeana website. And innovative editorial will promote Europe’s shared cultural heritage to audiences across the world, with new approaches for engaging our network to contribute more multilingual content. We will also extend and diversify user engagement activities in education and research and explore XR/VR opportunities, for example, as part of the Built with Bits initiative.

Information when - and where - our audiences need it

As the data space - and its offer - expands, we will ensure that it remains easy for our audiences to navigate our products and services. We will take a strategic approach to content across our platforms to help audiences to access the information they need where they expect it. We will work with the Europeana Aggregators’ Forum to promote our offer to inactive and new data partners, and support a rewarding onboarding experience for new institutions. On the Europeana website, updated feedback mechanisms will give audiences the opportunity to easily tell us how we can improve their journeys and experiences.

Experiments and developments in 3D

Making more digital cultural heritage data available in 3D will be a focus across all of our work areas in 2024. Through a 3D Working Group, we will continue to support aggregators and cultural heritage institutions to publish 3D content in the data space, and improve the documentation around these activities. We will review our frameworks to ensure that they better reflect 3D activity and are equipped to cover new activities around 3D digitisation. The Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture campaign is mobilising all EU Member States to submit at least one 3D digitised heritage asset to the data space by the end of the campaign in 2024, and its final event under the Belgian Presidency will showcase the achievements of the campaign and further encourage the scaling-up of 3D digitisation beyond Twin it!. In 2024, we plan to use the lessons from Twin it! to keep the momentum going and make sure its impact lasts.

Working with - and for - our Member States

To achieve a thriving data space, the active engagement and continued support of the Member States is crucial. We will develop an engagement strategy to nurture our relationships with the Member States, and will work closely with the incoming Belgian and Hungarian Presidencies of the Council of the EU. In particular, we will support Member States’ advancement towards the targets set out in the European Commission’s Recommendation of 2021 for 3D content in the data space, building on the opportunities and learnings offered by Twin it!. We will also amplify our impact at national level through new country groups, coordinated by the Europeana Initiative and piloted by colleagues in Bulgaria, Slovenia and Italy.