Contractual Framework
Contracts are the formal expression of trust within a data space. They define the relationships, responsibilities, and rights that make collaboration possible.
The DSSC Blueprint views the contractual framework as the set of agreements that make a data space function smoothly, legally, technically, and organisationally.
These agreements fall into three categories:
Institutional agreements that define governance and participation terms,
Data-sharing agreements that set the conditions for using and protecting shared data,
Service agreements that clarify expectations around operational support or enabling services.
Rather than prescribing a single format, DSSC encourages flexibility, recognising that each data space has its own sectoral needs, risk profiles, and cultural norms. What matters most is that contracts are clear, fair, and enforceable. They should support collaboration while protecting each party’s rights and responsibilities.
This building block is also closely tied to governance and compliance: your contracts should reflect the rules of your data space and create a reliable foundation for onboarding, policy enforcement, and conflict resolution.
In iSHARE, all participants adhere to a consistent set of baseline agreements that establish fairness, accountability, and interoperability. Therefore, the iSHARE Trust Framework is underpinned by legal agreements to which all participants (both Adhering Parties and Certified Parties) need to adhere:
In the iSHARE Terms of Use, 'Conditions of Exchange' are referred to as the ‘Licenses’ as mentioned also in the Legal Provisions section. See the iSHARE Licenses Portal.
Part of the Terms of Use are the service level agreements with which adhering and certifying parties should comply:
The service levels for Certified Parties or Adhering Parties are monitored by the Foundation as the Scheme Owner. For each data space, the members can define service levels more firm or specific, but not conflicting with ones defined by the Framework. A service level requirement for 95% availability can be set to 99% if it is more applicable for the data space, but not reduced to 80%.
The guiding questions can help in the co-creation process and in defining this building block, so please see the next section.
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