Public-private partnerships

Promote access to research data and other research-relevant digital objects resulting from public-private partnerships in ways that helps ensure data collected with public funds is as open as possible while recognizing and protecting legal rights and legitimate interests of stakeholders, including private-sector partners.

Open access requirements in public-private partnerships should be carefully implemented in order to avoid being an obstacle to the attraction of private partners.

Open access provisions should be included in the partnership instrument so that the rules are clear to all parties.

To implement this provision consideration should be given to the following:

• Strenghten co-operation with commercial partners and data sharing between companies and research is an important topic.

• Develop of data trustee models to ensure safe data sharing (see Project "Fair Data Spaces" in Germany) may be considered.

• Provide specific considerations to aid data sharing from public-private partnerships, ensuring the parameters of protection for legitimate interests are clear. Take a balanced approach, allowing for multiple contractors with different priorities (e.g. commercial, higher education institutes, health care trusts etc) to be comfortable in participating in research. Anti-shelving clauses can also ensure that any legitimate commercial interest does not disproportionately effect dissemination. 

• Archive research data publicly funded in public digital infrastructures for open science, limiting private-lucrative services in managing them.

• Avoid that research results from projects in public-private cooperation are left in an accessibility limbo. 

• Ensure national policies take into account the accessibility of results from public-private partnerships and regulate the use of public data by industry.

Promoting access to research data from public-private partnerships presents several hurdles in balancing openness with the protection of legal rights and stakeholders' interests. 

• Commercial sensitivity often limits data sharing, with private partners requiring safeguards, such as grace periods, before data is made publicly available. Navigating the diverse priorities of multiple stakeholders and ensuring compliance with anti-shelving clauses to prevent data hoarding adds complexity.
• Legal and ethical considerations, including intellectual property rights and data privacy laws, can further restrict access, particularly in cross-border partnerships where regulations vary. Establishing clear data-sharing agreements and governance mechanisms, such as data trustee models, requires significant effort.
• The lack of standardized frameworks for managing publicly funded data in partnerships creates implementation challenges