Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (NFDI4Earth Deliverable D2.3.1)

Deliverable D2.3.1 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities Availability of Government Data for Research Purposes Astrid Ziemann ([email protected]), Alois Georg Wieshuber , Tim Schürmann , Stefan Krämer , Maximilian Berthold , Frank Kratzenstein 2025-09 | Version: 1.0 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17553005 nfdi4earth.de Citation Astrid Ziemann, Alois Georg Wieshuber, Tim Schürmann, Stefan Krämer, Maximilian Berthold, Frank Kratzenstein. 2025. Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (NFDI4Earth Deliverable D2.3.1). NFDI4Earth Community on Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ze nodo.17553005 License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license. Acknowledgement This work has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project NFDI4Earth (DFG project no. 460036893, https://www.nfdi4earth.de/) within the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI, https://www.nfdi.de/). NFDI4Earth D2.3.1 Executive summary This report examines how governmental data can be made more accessible and usable for research in Earth System Science (ESS) by applying the FAIR principles — Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Using High-Value Datasets (HVD) defined under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 (DVO-HVD) as a pilot case, it analyses workflows, standards, and infrastructures that support discoverability and reporting. HVD—such as national-scale climate, hydrology, and land-use datasets—must be published as Open Data, tagged in metadata, and reported at the Member State level. Their stringent requirements expose gaps in metadata quality, harvesting consistency, and cataloguing, making them ideal for testing improvements. The report focuses on three key questions: how agencies can improve the way, they publish datasets; how ESS scientists can effectively find and access them; and what is needed for a sustainable, end-to-end data pipeline. It reviews the legal context (PSI Directive, DVO-HVD, DNG, GeoZG) and infrastructures including GDI-DE, GovData, umwelt.info, and NFDI4Earth (OneStop4All/KnowledgeHub). Findings highlight the need for harmonised metadata, semantic search, stronger feedback channels, and richer documentation. Without claiming to propose complete technical solutions, the report provides a roadmap for strengthening data infrastructures to serve both governmental agencies and the scientific community. It shows how HVD can act as a catalyst for broader, FAIR-aligned improvements. Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) Call for review This document is intended to be updated regularly. We invite you to actively contribute by providing feedback, particularly on missing data or information relevant to researchers in the OneStop4All portal of NFDI4Earth. Your input will help improve this report and ensure it meets the needs of the research community. Please send your comments to the NFDI4Earth User Support Network contact form:https://onestop4all.nfdi4earth.de/. Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) Abbreviations API: Application Programming Interface BGR: Bundesanstalt für Geologie und Rohstoffe BSH: Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie BKG: Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie BDSG: Bundesdatenschutzgesetz / Federal Data Protection Act CSW: Catalogue Service for the Web DCAT: Data Catalog Vocabulary DCAT-AP: Data Catalog Vocabulary Application Profile DCAT-AP.de: deutsche Adaption des Data Catalog Vocabulary Application Profils (= gemeinsames deutsche Metadatenmodell zum Austausch von offenen Verwaltungsdaten) Destatis: Statistisches Bundesamt DNG: Datennutzungsgesetz / Data Use Act DSGVO: Datenschutzgrundverordnung -> GDPR DVO-HVD: Durchführungsverordnung High-Value Datasets DWD: Deutscher Wetterdienst ESS: Earth System Science EU: European Union EUHVD: European High-Value Dataset Act FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable GDI-DE: Geodateninfrastrukur Deutschland / German Spatial Data Infrastructure GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation GeoZG: Geodatenzugangsgesetz / Geodata Access Act gov-agencies: governmental agencies gov-data: governmental data HVD: High-Value Datasets INSPIRE: Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community ISO: International Organization for Standardization IWG: Informationsweiterverwendungsgesetz JSON: JavaScript Object Notation (Dateiund Datenaustauschformat) JSON-LD: JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data Landes-GDI: Landesgeodateninfrastrukturgesetze / spatial data infrastructure and geospatial regulations LDSG: Landesdatenschutzgesetze / State Data Protection Acts NFDI: Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur / National Research Data Infrastructure NGO: NonGovernmental Organization OCG: Open Geospatial Consortium OpenNRW: Open Government in Nordrhein-Westfalen RDF: Resource Description Framework Turtle: Terse RDF Triple Language (Syntax und Datenformat für RDF) UBA: Umweltbundesamt W3C: World Wide Web Consortium WFS: Web Feature Service Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Legal and Infrastructural Foundations for Governmental and HVD Metadata 3 2.1 Legal framework for governmental data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2.2 Governmental metadata host – aggregator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.3 GDI-DE Profile convention for metadata of High-Value Datasets . . . . . . . . . 14 3 Method for increasing gov-data 16 3.1 Searchdefinition ................................. 17 3.2 Data availability search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 3.3 Coverage comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3.4 Direct action and feedback channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 3.5 Identification of weak points and solution pathways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4 Recommendations 20 4.1 Strengthening feedback channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 4.2 Improving data preparation and documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4.3 Metadata quality for scientific use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4.4 Enhancing cross-sector collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4.5 Contact points to science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5 Outlook 24 Acknowledgements 25 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) List of Figures 1 Connection between legal requirements for governmental data and responsible authorities..................................... 5 2 Workflow for High-Value Dataset metadata within the GDI-DE framework. . . . . 15 3 Workflow for identifying and resolving gaps in the visibility of governmental data. 20 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) List of Tables 1 Overview to focused Aggregators, Metadata providers (governmental authorities) and Interfaces/ tandards for governmental data in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3 Comparison of HVD dataset availability across infrastructures . . . . . . . . . . 18 4 Compilation of recommendations with responsibilities, prioritization, and expectedimpact.................................. 23 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) 1 Introduction This report, titled “Report on Data Made Available for Research by Governmental Authorities,” aims to improve access to governmental data (gov-data) in alignment with the FAIR principles1— Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. It is targeted at scientists and data-providing authorities in the field of Earth System Science (ESS) and outlines a process-oriented approach to enhance the discoverability and usability of gov-data. To support this goal, we focus on High-Value Datasets (HVD), using a defined and delimitable dataset as a practical entry point. HVD represent standardised, high-quality inputs (e.g., climate, hydrology, land use data) that underpin Earth system models and analyses; improving their discoverability directly benefits the ESS community. Under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 (“DVO-HVD”)2, HVD are public-sector geospatial datasets that: • Are listed in the Annex to the DVO-HVD (six thematic categories): –Geospatial –Earth observation and environment –Meteorological –Statistics –Mobility –Company and business registers • Are provided in machine-readable form at all generalization levels down to 1:5 000, and • Collectively cover the entire territory of an EU Member State. In Germany, meteorological HVD (e.g., station observations, validated climate series) are provided by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), while other authorities may contribute additional datasets. HVD must be published as Open Data, marked in metadata, and included in national reporting. Their demanding scope exposes shortcomings in harvesting, metadata quality, and cataloguing—making them ideal pilots for pipeline improvement. The report addresses three guiding questions: • How can governmental agencies make their datasets discoverable for the scientific community? 1Wilkinson, M. D., et al. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data, 3, Article number: 160018. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18 2https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R0138 1 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) contribute to the further development of this report and to provide feedback via the User Support Network25 of NFDI4Earth. 2.2.1 GDI-DE The Geodateninfrastruktur Deutschland (GDI-DE) is a joint initiative of the Federal Government, the 16 federal states and municipal associations to make their spatial data interoperable and easily accessible online. It implements the EU INSPIRE Directive (2007/2/EC)26 by providing central technical components—Geoportal.de27, Geodatenkatalog.de28, Registry29, Testsuite30 and Monitor31—that allow users to search, view, download and interlink geospatial datasets from all administrative levels. GDI-DE’s mission is to support science, administration, economy and the public by ensuring that distributed geodata (topographic, thematic, environmental, cadastral) conform to open OGC/ISO standards and FAIR principles. It thereby fosters cross-border and cross-sectoral collaboration in policy-making, research and applications.32 The Coordination Office (Koordinierungsstelle) GDI-DE at the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) in Frankfurt am Main acts as Germany’s National INSPIRE Point of Contact. It: • Advises the Steering Committee (Lenkungsgremium GDI-DE) on INSPIRE implementation33 • Represents Germany in EU INSPIRE Working Groups and liaises with the European Commission • Develops GDI-DE concepts, guidelines and best practices for metadata, services and data harmonisation. 2.2.1.1 GDI-DE monitoring metrics 25 https://onestop4all.nfdi4earth.de/ 26 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2007/2/2024-11-26/eng 27 https://geoportal.de 28 https://geodatenkatalog.de/gdi-de/srv/ger/catalog.search#/home 29 https://registry.gdi-de.org 30 https://www.gdi-de.org/en/SDI/components/GDI-DE%20Testsuite 31 https://www.gdi-de.org/en/SDI/components/GDI-DE%20Monitor 32 https://www.gdi-de.org/ 33 https://ggim.un.org/UN-IGIF/documents/Aktionsplan-IGIF-german.pdf 8 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) The GDI-DE Monitor is the national quality-assurance tool for checking availability and conformance of all metadata in the GDI-DE. As of the latest harvesting cycle (28.08.2025): • 747 295 metadata records have been harvested into the Monitor • 349 503 of these records are identified as INSPIRE-relevant (“inspireidentifiziert”), yielding a MDi1.134 (The number of spatial data sets for which metadata exist) conformance rate of 72 % • 3176 datasets carry the HVD keyword, of which 54 originate from BGR and 3 from DWD –Those numbers are extracted directly via the monitoring tool and are not available for outside access. Questions regarding more precise queries and exact numbers should be directed to: [email protected] 2.2.1.2 GDI-DE operational observations and challenges Based on the current state of the Monitor and HVD-tagging workflow, the following issues have been identified: •Inconsistent HVD thesaurus naming: The HVD keyword is case-sensitive and not applied uniformly, making consolidation across records difficult •Downstream catalogs opaque: Harvesting via Geodatenkatalog.de does not transparently identify secondary catalogs, hindering traceability of metadata origins •Outdated Monitor structure: The existing Monitor UI and data model are antiquated; a redesign focused on metadata quality metrics is already underway •Mixed provider catalogs: Multiple data-providing authorities (federal and Länder) share catalogs; since the “Bund” flag is assigned at catalog level, identifying the true origin of each dataset later is non-trivial •CSW performance limitations: Current CSW queries are slow and were not designed for large-scale HVD searches •No CSW HVD thesaurus: There is no dedicated HVD thesaurus for CSW, so HVD identification falls back on “any text” searches, resulting in imprecise tagging Compiling these issues and challenges provides value to the research community: it raises awareness among researchers, helping to explain why certain data may not yet be discoverable. Additionally, these points can inform researchers’ own work on data and metadata. If further challenges are identified, they should be added to the list and communicated to the GDI-DE Monitor. In this way, the exercise also provides added value for GDI-DE. 34 https://wiki.gdi-de.org/download/attachments/1334739009/DOC6_MIG10_IndicatorsGuide_v2019-07-19.pdf?ap i=v2 9 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) 2.2.2 GovData GovData35 is the official open data portal of the German federal government. It serves as a central metadata aggregator and publication platform for administrative datasets originating from various levels of government—federal, state, and municipal. As a metadata hub, GovData enables structured, standardized, and FAIR-aligned access to public data, supporting scientific, administrative, and civic reuse. It relies primarily on the DCAT-AP-DE36 metadata standard and provides interfaces for both manual access (via its web portal) and machine-readable harvesting37 (via RDF, TURTLE and JSON-LD APIs). Several federal institutions provide metadata to GovData that is relevant to the ESS domain. These include: •Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) – Socio-environmental indicators, land use, demography, •Federal Environment Agency (UBA) – Environmental monitoring data, air quality, water quality, •Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) – Geology, mineral resources, soil data, •German Meteorological Service (DWD) – Climate and weather data, •Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) – Marine and coastal data, •Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) – Base geospatial datasets, topography, reference systems. These institutions typically expose their metadata through INSPIRE-compliant or DCAT-based catalogs, which are harvested by GovData on a regular basis. GovData plays a central role in the implementation of the European High-Value Dataset (EU-HVD) regulation. As Germany’s official HVD focal point, GovData is tasked with publishing metadata for all federally maintained datasets falling under the six HVD categories (see HVD). In addition to federal institutions, state and municipal authorities also contribute metadata to GovData. Examples include: •Open.NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia), •OpenData.Berlin, 35 https://www.govdata.de 36 https://www.dcat-ap.de 37 https://www.govdata.de/suche/daten/govdata-metadatenkatalog 10 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) • and other regional platforms that syndicate their metadata through DCAT-AP-DE catalogs. These non-federal contributors play a crucial role in publishing spatial These non-federal contributors play a crucial role in publishing spatial and administrative datasets, often complementary to those of federal agencies. However, their metadata often lacks consistent HVD or thematic annotations relevant to ESS, limiting semantic discoverability. 2.2.2.1 GovData monitoring metrics The following results are based on our own survey conducted on the GovData portal. For this purpose, the portal’s search function and the keyword HVD were used. This approach relates solely to the search and retrieval process within the portal and does not imply that HVD is used as a keyword in the underlying metadata. As of August 13, 2025, the platform lists: • 6,295 HVD-designated metadata records, • of which 5,206 are INSPIRE-identified datasets (“inspireidentifiziert”), • and 642 datasets are tagged with the keyword ”HVD”. 45 HVD datasets come directly from the BGR, 9 from the BKG and 34 from DWD. HVD metadata is not consistently annotated with thematic keywords from controlled vocabularies, which restricts discoverability through keyword-based filtering. This inconsistency points to the need for improved metadata annotation practices, particularly with respect to the application of controlled vocabularies and the classification of datasets as HVD. Nonetheless, GovData has begun aligning its metadata practices with EU implementation guidelines, including the systematic use of controlled vocabularies and semantic tagging. Germany’s reporting on high-value datasets under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/13838 may reference its national open data catalogue (GovData) for metadata, API and licence links (Art. 5(3)(a)–(c)). The EU framework monitors Member State compliance for the following points: • completeness and timeliness of HVD publication, • interface availability, • and accessibility of metadata and underlying datasets. 2.2.2.2 GovData operational observations and challenges 38 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/138/oj/eng 11 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) While GovData provides essential infrastructure for metadata aggregation, several challenges have been observed. In particular, the incomplete mapping of ISO 19139 to DCAT-AP-DE leads to a loss of metadata at the aggregator site: •Inconsistent use of the ”HVD” keyword across datasets, making search and filtering unreliable, •Incomplete thesaurus integration, limiting semantic interoperability and keyword harmonisation across data providers, •Redundant metadata entries or catalog overlaps due to repeated harvesting from both federal and regional catalogs (e.g., the same dataset listed by both BKG and GDI-DE), •Lack of linkage between metadata records and authoritative vocabularies (e.g., GEMET, INSPIRE themes), •Variation in metadata quality, especially in descriptive fields such as abstract, temporal coverage, and licensing, •Sparse metadata for APIs or real-time data feeds, which are increasingly important for research in Earth System Sciences. GovData fulfills a vital role as Germany’s central metadata aggregator, especially in the context of EU-HVD implementation. While its coverage and technical infrastructure are substantial, metadata quality assurance,keyword governance, and semantic annotation practices remain areas for improvement. Continued alignment with the FAIR principles and EU metadata guidelines will be key to increasing the value of GovData for scientific users, particularly in the Earth System Sciences. 2.2.3 UBA umwelt.info umwelt.info39 is a search engine developed by the German Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environment Agency, UBA) as a central access point to publicly available environmental and nature conservation data across Germany. It aims to make environmental information—such as maps, measurements, research findings, educational materials, and funding program descriptions—findable and comparable. The search results are evaluated based on the fulfillment of the FAIR criteria. The portal umwelt.info is hosted by the UBA (National Center for Environmental and Nature Conservation Information). The web portal complements the offerings of GDI-DE and GovData with a thematic, useroriented access point that focuses on environmental topics and makes searching easier for both experts and non-experts. For ESS researchers, umwelt.info provides an intuitive, central 39 https://umwelt.info 12 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) entry point to locate relevant environmental datasets across various institutions—ranging from federal agencies to civil society. The portal’s intelligent search functionality, combined with editorial content and clearly displayed metadata, enhances data discovery and lowers access barriers. umwelt.info collects metadata and references to datasets. Harvesting covers a broad range of providers—including federal agencies, research institutions, regional authorities, NGOs, and even private individuals or organizations. The engine harvests metadata via technical interfaces—such as APIs—where available, and employs web harvesting (crawling) and scraping to gather metadata from sources that lack machine-readable interfaces40. The internal metadata model is influenced by DCAT-AP.de but remains flexible enough to accommodate diverse, non-standard data sources. The portal does not store full datasets, but integrates metadata—like titles, descriptions, licenses, spatial and temporal extent, source links, and resource links to datatsets if openly accessible—into its search index. If metadata are missing or unstructured, umwelt.info creates structured metadata (e.g., via scraping) to ensure consistency and discoverability. 2.2.3.1 UBA monitoring metrics There is no publicly displayed metric on umwelt.info about how many HVDs are listed. While the portal may indeed capture metadata from HVD sources, the number of HVDs, completeness, or timeliness is not reported in its public interface or documentation. 2.2.3.2 UBA operational Observations and opportunities While the portal’s flexible metadata (and data) search capabilities offer clear advantages, they also pose several challenges: •Heterogeneity of data sources: Because umwelt.info harvests from very diverse systems, metadata quality and format vary widely— making stringent filtering necessary before applying the index for individual use cases. •Metadata standardization limits: umwelt.info does not impose a strict metadata standard but uses an adaptive internal schema. This ensures wide coverage but can impact consistency41.� Therefore umwelt.info offer a publicly accessible API based on CKAN-standard. •Completeness vs. feasibility: Since not all data providers offer APIs or structured metadata, some sources must be scraped—raising concerns about completeness, 40 https://umwelt.info/de/artikel/ueber-den-metadatenexport 41 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/umweltinfo-faq 13 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) freshness, and data integrity. At the same time, scraping enables the capture of additional, even unstructured, content, but this approach introduces specific challenges that need to be carefully addressed and resolved. •Scaling editorial support: Presenting thematic, curated search results and editorial context (articles, infographics) requires ongoing coordination and resource allocation42.� Currently, this is implemented through dedicated editorial workflows at umwelt.info, where experts curate and contextualise content for specific environmental and thematic domains. •Data provider engagement: Encouraging agencies and institutions to expose structured metadata (e.g., via DCAT or APIs) remains crucial and challenging. The portal is open to advising organizations on best practices. In the governmental domain, there are additional portals—beyond those previously mentioned—that collect structured metadata to varying degrees. However, as far as we can determine, all of this metadata is harvested by one of the aggregators we have already discussed. 2.3 GDI-DE Profile convention for metadata of High-Value Datasets To ensure consistent identification, discovery, and harvesting of HVD, the GDI-DE has issued a binding profile convention for ISO 19115/19139 metadata applicable to all datasets falling under the scope of the DVO-HVD. This requirement supplements the general metadata conventions described in Chapter 6 of GDI-DE “Konventionen zu Metadaten”43, which govern all Open Data transfers to the national portal GovData. A dataset is recognised as HVD within the GDI-DE ecosystem only if its metadata explicitly carries the HVD tag as prescribed by the profile convention. Such tagging ensures that the dataset is ingested into GovData and is counted toward Germany’s national DVO-HVD reporting obligations. Within each gmd:descriptiveKeywords element, one of the six EU HVD category Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) must be embedded as a gmx:Anchor value, for example: In each gmd:descriptiveKeywords section, one of the six EU HVD-category URIs must be inserted as a gmx:Anchor: 42 https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/umweltinfo-start-tab 43 https://www.gdi-de.org/download/AK_Metadaten_Konventionen_zu_Metadaten.pdf 14 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) Figure 2: Workflow for High-Value Dataset metadata within the GDI-DE framework. HVD Category (German categories) URI Geospatial (Georaum) <http: //data.europa.eu/bna/c_ac64a52d> Earth Observation and Environment (Erdbeobachtung und Umwelt) <http: //data.europa.eu/bna/c_dd313021> Meteorology (Meteorologie) <http: //data.europa.eu/bna/c_164e0bf5> Statistics (Statistik) <http: //data.europa.eu/bna/c_e1da4e07> Business and Ownership Information (Unternehmen und Eigentümerschaft von Unternehmen) <http: //data.europa.eu/bna/c_a9135398> Mobility (Mobilität) <http: //data.europa.eu/bna/c_b79e35eb> The list provided by the Publications Office of the EU itself is referenced as the associated source in the thesaurusName element as follows: •title element: gmx:Anchor pointing to “http://data.europa.eu/bna/asd487ae75” •date element: “2023-09-27” with dateType="publication" As an interim compatibility measure, metadata records may alternatively include the German category name as free text while citing HVD categories in the gmd:thesaurusName element. The associated source is specified in the thesaurusName element as follows: •title element: “High-value dataset categories” •date element: “2023-09-27” •dateType element: “publication” However, this approach is less robust for automated harvesting and is therefore discouraged in favour of the URI-based method. Fig. 2 summarizes the path from the original data provider through the GDI-DE metadata catalogue to the GovData national portal and, ultimately, to DVO-HVD reporting. HVD tagging according to the GDI-DE profile convention is applied at the metadata ingestion stage. 15 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) 2.3.1 Observed shortcomings and next steps • National scope only44 – The DVO-HVD requires coverage at Member State level; transboundary datasets of relevance to ESS are currently excluded. • Metadata-only limitation45 – HVD tagging addresses discoverability but does not guarantee underlying data quality, completeness, or interoperability. • Pipeline reliability issues46 – Variations in thesaurus naming (including case sensitivity) and the absence of a dedicated HVD thesaurus in the CSW endpoint reduce harvesting consistency. These results are expected to be incorporated into the planned redesign of the GDI-DE monitor and the HVD processing pipeline. The objective is to implement more rigorous metadata quality controls, harmonised thesaurus handling, and end-to-end traceability from the original data provider to the national GovData reporting framework. 3 Method for increasing gov-data Ensuring that gov-data relevant to ESS is findable, accessible, and usable requires more than simply publishing metadata. It depends on a coordinated strategy for searching, aggregating, and validating metadata across multiple portals, with consistent use of standards and identifiers. In addition, robust quality controls for (meta)data and semantic search options play a key role in improving the findability and reuse of government data in research. This chapter presents a workflow for improving gov-data visibility through the NFDI4Earth OneStop4All47 (OneStop4All) portal as the primary discovery interface for scientists with the NFDI4Earth KnowledgeHub48 serving as its metadata backend. HVD are used as a worked example, both because of their legal relevance under DVO-HVD and because they present an excellent test case for end-to-end data pipeline quality. For OneStop4All to function as a comprehensive discovery service, it must integrate gov-data from national metadata providers (e.g., GDI-DE, GovData). Within this framework, HVD can be flagged or prioritized in the KnowledgeHub to highlight their importance for ESS research. 44 https://dataeuropa.gitlab.io/data-provider-manual/hvd/Reporting_guidelines_for_HVDs 45 https://dataeuropa.gitlab.io/data-provider-manual/hvd/Reporting_guidelines_for_HVDs 46 https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/lcsh/PDF%20scripts/1-2-WhyCV.pdf 47 https://onestop4all.nfdi4earth.de 48 https://knowledgehub.nfdi4earth.de 16 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) 3.1 Search definition The process begins with the definition of the search scope. This includes: •Dataset scope – e.g., all HVD categories relevant to ESS: –Geospatial (land use, administrative boundaries) –Earth Observation & Environment (remote sensing products, habitat maps) –Meteorological (weather station data, climate series) •Target authorities – e.g., –Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) for meteorological HVD, –Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) for geological HVD. •Additional filters – e.g., “High-Value Dataset” tagging, spatial coverage (national), temporal coverage (past 30 years), formats (NetCDF, CSV, GeoPackage), licences (Open Data). In order to make search definitions more effective, it is essential to supplement them with semantic search options (e.g., synonyms, ontologies, controlled vocabularies), as these compensate for differences in terminology between portals and authorities. Example: Define a search for Meteorological HVD provided by DWD, with the keywords “climate time series” and “station observations”, restricted to datasets covering Germany in machinereadable form. 3.2 Data availability search The defined search is executed in parallel across three primary platforms: 1. GDI-DE (national INSPIRE-based spatial data catalogue), 2. GovData (German national open data portal), and 3. OneStop4All (NFDI4Earth). For each platform, the number of matching datasets is recorded. This produces a 3 × 2 result matrix for the example of two authorities (three platforms × two counts: HVD-tagged matches for DWD and BGR). Example: In addition to GDI-DE (Chapter 2.2.1 produces a 3 × 2 result matrix for the example of two authorities (three platforms × two counts: HVD-tagged matches for DWD and BGR). 17 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) Re commendation Respons ible Priority Expected Impact Adopt ESS-specific metadata extensions for HVD Data providers, NFDI4Earth IG Metadata Medium Improved scientific relevance and d iscoverability of datasets. Harmonise tagging practices for HVD categories Data providers, metadata catalog operators Medium Consistent search results and reduced false negatives in dataset discovery. Register authorities in re3data Data providers, institutional data managers Low Increased international visibility and integration in research data in frastructures. Create regular exchange formats (forums, workshops, hackathons) NFDI4Earth, authorities, ESS community Medium Strengthened trust and shared understanding between data providers and scientists. Map and integrate existing science contact networks NFDI4Earth, authorities High Direct and efficient communication between stakeholders, enabling rapid feedback cycles. Develop a rapid-response mechanism for feedback resolution Authorities, NFDI4Earth USN High Timely corrections and improvements without long delays, ensuring up-to-date data availability. 5 Outlook The present report constitutes an initial step toward enhancing the discoverability and usability of governmental data (gov-data) for the Earth System Science (ESS) community. A followup version — planned as Deliverable D2.3.2 — will incorporate direct feedback from ESS researchers to refine both the methodological approach and the technical recommendations. To ensure that the updated report reflects the practical needs of its users, feedback channels will be actively promoted and maintained. Options include: •User Support Network (USN)51 and its ticketing system, enabling structured and trackable issue reporting. •Direct author contact for case-specific inputs. The choice of feedback mechanism will depend on the required immediacy, the complexity of the feedback, and the need for follow-up discussions. Engagement will be further supported by targeted calls for contributions via ESS mailing lists, NFDI4Earth communication channels, and relevant community forums. 51 https://onestop4all.nfdi4earth.de/ 24 Report on data made available for research by governmental authorities (D2.3.1) The continued development of workflows and conventions for metadata and data publication will be aligned with ongoing work in standardization bodies (e.g., DIN) and relevant European and international initiatives. This will ensure that national practices remain interoperable with broader frameworks and benefit from community-driven best practices. Future efforts must not focus solely on the discovery of datasets, but also on their transformation into value-added products and services: 1. From Data � to Data Products – ensuring validation, standardization, and rich metadata to guarantee scientific reusability. 2. From Data Products � to Data Services – offering static and dynamic portals or APIs for visualization, analysis, editing, downloading, and generating actionable insights. This progression will support a fully FAIR-aligned ecosystem, where datasets are not only findable but also directly usable in applied and research contexts. The next phase of work will be guided by four interlinked goals: 1. Finding the Data – integrating services and metadata search engines for comprehensive discovery across domains and infrastructures. 2. Using the Data – providing clear access and enabling effective FAIR-compliant utilization. 3. Interoperable Data – ensuring compatibility across disciplines, applications, and regions. 4. Reusable Data – facilitating adaptation and application of datasets for new use cases. Through this framework, the future work will progressively close existing gaps, improve collaboration between public authorities and ESS scientists, and strengthen the overall infrastructure for open and interoperable gov-data. Acknowledgements We thank Eric Habiryayo (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe) for his valuable discussions within Measure 2.3, which contributed indirectly to the conceptual framing of this report. Furthermore, we thank Jonas Grieb (Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung) and Anna Brauer (TU Dresden) from the KnowledgeHub Team of NFDI4Earth for supporting us with SPARQL requests. This work has been partly funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project NFDI4Earth (DFG project no. 460036893, https://www.nfdi4earth.de/) within the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI, https://www.nfdi.de/). 25