Simpl-Live is a dedicated initiative within the Simpl programme, designed to assess and facilitate the practical integration of Simpl-Open into various Common European Data Spaces through targeted feasibility studies. The ongoing studies aim to assess how Simpl-Open will be integrated in the data spaces, and provide a comprehensive roadmap and recommendations for this purpose.
The European mobility data space (EMDS) is one of the initiatives benefitting from a Simpl-Live Feasibility Study launched in January 2025. The study has just completed the detailed assessment which gathered first-hand feedback from data space stakeholders about the preliminary assessment made by the Simpl-Live team on both, the EMDS and Simpl-Open specifications.
During the study, the Simpl-Live team collaborates with key EMDS stakeholders, including the owners of the EMDS initiative as well as the two main projects - 'deployEMDS' and 'Interlinking Layer' aimed at facilitating real-life implementation, by establishing a common technical infrastructure and developing appropriate governance mechanisms.
Between April and June 2025, three workshops were held as part of the EMDS Simpl-Live Feasibility Study - the Legal & Organisational Workshop, the Semantic & Technical Workshop and the Follow-up Workshop. These workshops were the core of the detailed assessment and marked key milestones in identifying the synergies between Simpl-Open and EMDS and the integration needs.
Three productive sessions
Legal & Organisational Workshop
The first workshop, held on 25 April 2025, aimed to address the legal and organisational aspects of deployEMDS and the Interlinking Layer — a critical component enabling data exchange among different data spaces — along with a preliminary analysis of its alignment with Simpl-Open.
The session was essential to validate:
The legal landscape and the regulatory mobility requirements of EMDS;
A preliminary analysis of the differences between deployEMDS and the Simpl-Open business processes;
The detailed exploration of how Simpl-Open plans to support governance within federated data spaces.
Semantic & Technical Workshop
The second workshop was held on 5 May 2025 and focused on comparing the architectural aspects of deployEMDS and Simpl-Open.
This workshop’s primary objective was to validate the assessment findings on the architectural alignment between deployEMDS and Simpl-Open, including the fit-gap analysis developed, that compared specifications between EMDS and Simpl-Open. This lays the groundwork for defining a reliable strategy and roadmap for the integration of Simpl-Open within EMDS.
Follow-up Workshop
Building on the momentum of the previous workshops, a third session was held on June 25, presenting key findings from the assessment and fit-gap analysis between Simpl-Open and EMDS Interlinking Layer specifications.
What is the outcome of these workshops?
The main outcome was the validation of the fits and gaps between EMDS and Simpl-Open, allowing a better understanding of potential integration needs and challenges. One example is the need of the EMDS to build a multi-level governance – EU, national and local – to effectively become a “data space of data spaces”. This requirement highlights an area where Simpl-Open, an evolving product, needs to put focus on to support complex governance structures. Therefore, this type of challenges will be carefully assessed within the Simpl-Live Feasibility Study to ultimately determine how Simpl-Open can provide meaningful support to EMDS.
The active engagement and valuable contributions from participants (deployEMDS and DG MOVE) in both workshops were instrumental in driving Simpl-Live progress forward. Insights gained from these workshops directly support the definition of a reliable integration strategy as well as the Simpl-Open’s continuous improvement. The goal remains clear: defining the best strategy for Simpl-Open integration with EMDS.
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