Contracts for Data Collaboration (C4DC) seeks to strengthen trust, transparency, and accountability of cross-sector data collaboratives. The intent of this initiative is to enable more effective and efficient ways of accessing, sharing and using data for public problem-solving and sustainable development.
Central to C4DC is the objective of demystifying the complexity of data sharing agreements. Establishing the legal provisions for a data collaborative can be time-consuming and complex. By providing both an analytical framework and an online library of legal clauses which capture the key elements involved in a data collaboration, the transaction costs and misunderstandings that often occur during the negotiating of a data collaborative can be reduced.
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.