Leveraging technologies for data management and sharing to foster collaboration and implement data spaces

The 2020 European Strategy for Data aims at developing Common European Data Spaces as a means to build a pan-European single market for data, thereby supporting economic growth and maximizing citizens' use of data. It demands data spaces in strategic sectors, with capabilities for effective data management and sharing. Although several initiatives support their adoption, data spaces are still in the early stages of development and face several data management and sharing challenges. To identify the requirements needed to address these challenges, we review the literature in developing a conceptual framework for applying data management and sharing in the context of data spaces. We then evaluate the practical implementation of the proposed solutions by analysing six representative European-funded projects. Focusing on requirements from trust and business models to interoperability, workflow orchestration, energy efficiency, and data quality, the work highlights prominent issues and explains how each project addresses them through technical means. Our evaluation outlines each project's aim and contribution along with a representative use case from different domains, e.g., water, agriculture, and energy. We recognize widely accepted strategies such as the use of semantic standards, data catalogues, distributed ledger technologies to enhance trust, and federated identity management. This work highlights recurring patterns, common practices, and key differences in implementation and identifies open research gaps. Thus, it aims to inform future initiatives and provide concrete recommendations to researchers and practitioners on achieving data spaces with best practices. As the field matures, the work hopes to help achieve scalable, stable, and cross-domain data spaces that support sustainable innovation and long-term collaboration throughout Europe.