What is EU Datathon?

The Publications Office of the European Union organises in close collaboration with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy the EU Datathon 2020.

EU Datathon is a competition intended to highlight the potential of linking EU data and regional data as well as to promote innovation and digital transformation opportunities by using open data.

Participants are invited to develop applications addressing the four challenges.

The EU Datathon will help citizens to engage and innovate presenting new ideas to the EU institutions. As indicated in the Conference of Future of Europe, the hackathons are one of the initiatives that should encourage people to take part in the policy-making.

The EU Datathon is aligned with the newly released European strategy for data of the European Commission.

The competition is supported by Horizon 2020 – the EU Research and Innovation programme and the European Commission ISA² programme (Interoperability solutions for public administrations, businesses and citizens).

The partners of the EU Datathon 2020 are:

• Digital Luxembourg
• Eurofound
• European Asylum Support Office
• European Central Bank
• European Court of Auditors
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Communications
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Energy
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Informatics
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
• European Commission – Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
• European Commission – Eurostat
• European Commission – Joint Research Centre
• European Commission – Representation of Belgium
• European Commission – Representation of Luxembourg
• European Commission – Secretariat-General
• European Environment Agency
• European Investment Bank
• European Parliament
• European Patent Office
• European Union Intellectual Property Office
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Government of Luxembourg
• Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• Province of Vienna Statistics Department
• The World Bank

What are the objectives?

• To find new suitable approaches and solutions through the use of open data to an identified need or problem.
• To produce innovative applications, including visualisations.
• To showcase opportunities for a concrete business model, a social enterprise, or a reusability concept for the open data community.
• To stimulate the use of open data released by public administrations.

The result should be a new, original mobile or web application, visualisation or demonstration of applying data science by linking datasets for generating new insights. Explanatory webinars will be set up and announced on the website for participants to obtain more information on the features and datasets of the challenges.

The rules are based on Article 206 and 207 of the financial regulation. The competition will respect the principles of transparency and equal treatment.

• The EU Datathon 2020 is open worldwide to anyone who is interested in creating a profit or non-profit (social) business model through data exploration and/or in creating open data prototype products based on open and public data.
• A team can be composed of one or more individuals (up to 4), one or more companies or one or more other legal entities.
• Finalists from previous EU Datathons can only participate with a new project for this year’s competition. The EU Datathon 2020 is not open to staff working in the EU institutions, agencies, bodies and partnering organisations.

The EU Datathon 2020 consists of four challenges which are based on the von der Leyen Commission Priorities. Each challenge is organised as a separate competition of equal importance, under the umbrella of the EU Datathon competition (separate registration, shortlisted teams, presentations and prizes).

The competition is taking place within the annual ‘European Week of Regions and Cities’, and therefore it has a special focus on regional and local level.

Teams may participate in any or all of the following challenges but with only one proposal per challenge.

Challenge 1: ‘A European Green Deal’

• Potential opportunity to be addressed by team: Demonstrate how EU research and innovation initiatives for a greener Europe can positively influence the EU and/or European regions. Alternatively, show how regions and cities can contribute to a greener Europe.
• Mandatory datasets: Combine at least two datasets. One dataset from HORIZON 2020 (Horizon 2020 open data from CORDIS and/or European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation) and one dataset from either the European Structural Investment Funds (Open data portal and list of operations), the European Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the European Environment Agency, the European Investment Bank, the EMODnet website, the European Data Portal, the EU Open Data Portal, the OECD, Eurostat, the World Bank and/or the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
• Optional datasets: Any other dataset.

Challenge 2: ‘An economy that works for people’

• Potential opportunity to be addressed by team: Show how the European Union helps achieve cohesion in regions and cities through EU research funding. Alternatively, outline how research and patents can contribute to creating jobs and growth for Europe.
• Mandatory datasets: Combine at least two datasets from HORIZON 2020 (Horizon 2020 open data from CORDIS and/or European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation), the EU Open Data Portal, the European Structural Investment Funds (Open data portal and list of operations), the European Investment Bank, the European Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the European Central Bank, the European Data Portal, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Eurostat, the OECD and/or the World Bank.
• Optional datasets: Any other dataset.

Challenge 3: ‘A new push for European democracy’

• Potential opportunity to be addressed by team: Develop new ways to empower citizens and businesses to tackle societal challenges by using open data: improve transparency; fight disinformation; protect elections; foster citizen engagement; make the voices of the EU people heard. Alternatively, improve the fairness of public investment and fight corruption with the social control of public affairs (as for example the initiatives: of Integrity pacts or At the School of Open Cohesion).
• Mandatory datasets: Combine at least two datasets from the European Central Bank, Eurostat, the European Structural Investment Funds (Open data portal and list of operations), the European Asylum Support Office, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the OECD, the World Bank, the European Patent Office, the European Data Portal and/or the EU Open Data Portal.
• Optional datasets: Any other dataset.

Challenge 4: ‘A Europe fit for the digital age’

• Potential opportunity to be addressed by team: Propose apps or services to support the European digital transformation by improving data skills or making data more understandable for everyone.
• Mandatory datasets: Combine at least two datasets from the European Central Bank, Eurostat, the European Structural Investment Funds (Open data portal and list of operations), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the OECD, the World Bank, the European Patent Office, the European Data Portal and/or the EU Open Data Portal.
• Optional datasets: Any other dataset.

Phase 1 — Preselection

Preselection will take place after the deadline of the submission of project descriptions.

Project descriptions within each challenge will be evaluated by a preselection jury that shall be composed of experts from within the EU institutions and agencies.

During this phase, the jury will assess each submitted project description against the preselection award criteria (see table below). For each challenge, a maximum of three teams having scored the highest number of points will be preselected. All teams will be notified about the results of the preselection for the challenge they took part in.

Phase 2 — Final selection

The Publications Office will offer to the teams rehearsals for the presentations. The preselected teams should fill-in a dedicated feedback report on the datasets they used and submit it with the final app.

The preselected teams (three per challenge) will be invited to develop their applications. The final applications within each challenge will be evaluated on 15 October 2020 during the final event by one jury, which will be composed of at least five experts from within and outside the EU institutions and agencies.

These set of rules will provide a level playing field to all the competitors by taking the maturity of the solution before submitting into account.

Shortlisted teams that do not deliver a developed app will not be entitled to continue participating in the final stage of the competition. They cannot claim any prize award.

Step 1— Launch of competition

The competition is published on the EU Datathon 2020 website of the Publications Office and the Funding & Tenders Portal on 19 February 2020.

The competition starts with explanatory webinars addressing the different challenges that will allow potential participants to learn more about the available datasets.

Step 2 — Deadline to submit proposals

Teams should register their project descriptions here by 3 May 2020 at 23:59:59.

Step 3 — Shortlisted teams announced

The project descriptions are evaluated by the jury of the preselection phase. All participating teams will be notified about the results within their challenge via email by 29 May 2020 at the latest.

Step 4 — Final selection of winning apps

The preselected teams (represented by a maximum of two members) will be invited to the European Week of Regions and Cities in ‘The Square’ in Brussels, which will include participation in three compulsory days:

• 13-14 October 2020: Present the app to the public in an exhibition stand;
• 15 October 2020: Final conference with presentations and live demonstrations of the apps by the teams followed by Q&A from the audience. The winners will be announced at the end of the day.

The total award fund for the competition amounts to EUR 100 000 (EUR 25 000 for each challenge) and will be split in the following order for each challenge.

Shortlisted teams are entitled to the reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses incurred in relation to the conference provided that they have been purchased on the day of the notification of the shortlisted teams at the earliest. No other costs will be reimbursed. Further details will be sent via e-mail.

Clarifications

Participants may request any clarification on the competition up to five (5) working days before the deadline for the submission of project descriptions.

Requests for clarification should be submitted in writing to the following email address: op-datathon@publications.europa.eu.

All questions and answers will be published on the EU Datathon 2020 website.

Payment of awards

The payments of awards are subject to the registration of the winners in the legal entity (LEF) and bank account file (BAF) database of the European Commission. For this purpose, after being notified of the award, winners are required to provide the necessary supporting documents duly signed and stamped where necessary. Additional information as well as the forms for the creation of the LEF/BAF can be downloaded here.

The Publications Office and its partners take no responsibility regarding the distribution of the awards within the teams.

Cancellation of the competition

The Publications Office reserves the right to cancel the competition before the final conference without any obligation to indemnify the teams.

Participation in other competitions

The teams must inform the Publications Office when submitting their proposal if their application has participated or will participate in other competitions. Multiple award of prize for the same application is not allowed.

Sole liability of the teams

Neither the Publications Office nor the partners may be held responsible for any claim relating to the activities carried out by teams in the framework of the competition.

Neither the Publications Office nor the partners shall be held liable for any damages caused or sustained by any of the teams, including any damages caused to third parties as a consequence of or during the implementation of the activities related to the competition.

Intellectual property and copyright

In case teams use pre-existing material (such as open source) for their applications, they must guarantee that they have obtained all the necessary authorisations in order for such material to be used according to the rules described above.

The project description (short description of the idea) submitted for the preselection will remain the property of the teams (authors) and will not be made public (or disclosed), but will be accessible to the jury.

The final proposals submitted for the final selection will remain the property of the authors, but will be accessible to the jury and to all teams at the final conference. The EU institutions, agencies and bodies will be allowed to mention, describe and promote on their channels (websites, social media, press releases, etc.) the winning applications with due reference to the author without any further economic compensation.

Publicity

The winning applications will be featured in the ‘Applications’ section of the EU Open Data Portal. Where appropriate, the name and copyright of the authors will be mentioned.

Teams may, upon written request, gain access to their personal data and correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete. They should address any questions regarding the processing of their personal data to the Publications Office via the contact e-mail announced in the rules of the competition. The teams may, at any time, lodge a complaint against the processing of their personal data with the European Data Protection Supervisor. On the EU Datathon website the Publications Office will publish the name of the winning teams and of their members, their locality, the prize amount and the nature and purpose of their applications. Participants may request that the Publications Office waive such a publication if disclosure risks threatening their security and safety or if it could harm their commercial interest.

Sole liability of the teams

Neither the Publications Office nor the partners may be held responsible for any claim relating to the activities carried out by teams in the framework of the competition. Neither the Publications Office nor the partners shall be held liable for any damages caused or sustained by any of the teams, including any damages caused to third parties as a consequence of or during the implementation of the activities related to the competition.

Applicable law and competent jurisdiction

The competition is governed by the applicable European Union law complemented, where necessary, by the law of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The General Court or, on appeal, the Court of Justice of the European Union, shall have sole jurisdiction to hear any dispute between the EU and any team concerning the interpretation, entry or validity of the rules of this competition if such a dispute cannot be settled amicably.

Exclusion criteria and administrative sanctions

By submitting the project description teams declare that they are not in one of the situations mentioned in Article 136(1) of the Financial Regulation. Teams who are in any of those situations or fall into other categories indicated in Article 141 of the Financial Regulation shall be rejected from participating and from being awarded a prize under the present competition. The rejection shall be without prejudice to the decision of exclusion from participating in award procedures governed by the Financial Regulation and application of financial penalties (Articles 136-140 of the Financial Regulation).

Early Detection and Exclusion System

In case the participants are in one of the exclusion situations as stated above, personal data on them may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) in line with the Articles 135, 142, 143 and 144 of the Financial Regulation. For more information, see the privacy statement for EDES.

Suspension of the competition, cancellation of the award and reduction of prize

Where the award procedure has been subject to irregularities or fraud, the Publications Office applies the measures referred to in Article 131 of the Financial Regulation.

Checks, audits and investigations

The winning teams accept checks, audits and investigations by the European Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office, the Court of Auditors and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in relation to the competition and the prize received.