With the influx of new technologies being used as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has brought about a range of new questions around how data should or should not be used; intellectual property rights; limitations on data re-use; how long data should be used for; and ultimately what should happen to collected data once the pandemic is over. Building upon issues discussed in the C4DC report, “Laying the Foundation for Effective Partnerships: An Examination of Data Sharing Agreements,” this brief examines the potential of sunset clauses or sunset provisions to be a legally binding, enforceable, and accountable way of ensuring COVID-19 related data sharing agreements are wound down responsibly at the end of the pandemic.

This case study documents a data collaboration between the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Vodafone Ghana, and Flowminder. The collaboration enabled the GSS to access insights from mobile phone data to plan public health and sustainable development policies, and it is a useful example of how a government and a private company were able to work with an intermediary partner to gain insights from sensitive data. The mobile data being used by the GSS as a result of the collaboration has proven especially valuable during the current Covid-19 pandemic to document the impact of restriction measures in Ghana.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in new demands for data, and many countries are engaging in emergency data sharing arrangements to understand different dimensions of the health crisis. In particular, there is growing interest in the use of mobile network operator (MNO) data for tracking population movement. In response to this, SDSN TReNDS on behalf of C4DC, has gathered and analyzed example data sharing agreements (DSAs) that have been used to share MNO data for health applications to help guide other data actors considering similar arrangements.

Data sharing agreements (DSAs) are written agreements that establish the terms for how data are shared between parties and are important for establishing accountability and trust. In a new C4DC report, we review the DSAs in our online library and consider how six major issues, including data use, access, breaches, proprietary issues, publicization of the analysis, and deletion of data are addressed in the agreements.

This case study documents a data management plan (DMP) established by Development Gateway and the Government of Moldova to collect data on its development and aid programs. It is a useful example of an unsigned data sharing agreement, which can be a valuable alternative for certain data collaborations. The plan was produced through joint-collaborations and negotiations between the Government of Moldova, Development Gateway, and other data contributors. Informed by an interview with Development Gateway and the agreement text, this case study describes how the DMP was formed and highlights key elements of the agreement. The complete DMP is available in the Contracts for Data Collaboration Repository.

Contracts for Data Collaboration (C4DC) aims to shed light on the opportunities and challenges inherent to data sharing practices. This insight report draws extensively on interviews with partners and key stakeholders. It aims to break down the complexities and opacity of DSAs as much as possible and to raise awareness of their value and potential, using terms from project partners and development and humanitarian professionals.

This case study documents a successful data sharing agreement between a private company and an international organization dealing with global environmental data. Google and UN Environment signed a memoranda of understanding (MOU) in 2018 that formalized their collaboration around measures of surface water. Informed by interviews with the parties and the actual agreement text, this case study describes how the MOU was negotiated and highlights key elements from the MOU. The complete MOU can be found on the Contracts for Data Collaboration repository.

This project from TReNDS, the GovLab at New York University, University of Washington, and the World Economic Forum aims to shed light on the opportunities and challenges inherent to data collaboratives, and facilitate understanding of the written agreements that underpin them. Learn more about Contracts for Data Collaboration here.