We live in turbulent times. On one hand the data and AI landscape has exponentially developed. On the other, they have unfolded in ways that consolidate power and reshape geopolitical relations, raising concerns about the diminishing influence of civil society. Building on its European Data Strategy, the European Commission has pushed forward the Data Union Strategy and the AI Continent Action plan aiming to make industry data ready for competitiveness and innovation, especially in AI development. However, we argue that more work is needed for these strategies to ensure data and AI benefit people and the planet. To respond to these developments, and as part of a series of events held in Europe to launch our Policy Brief, The Data Tank (TDT) convened a panel in Berlin with speakers representing civil society and Berlin-based philanthropic organisations active in the fields of democracy, data, and AI.

Hosted by Bertelsmann Stiftung, the event welcomed around 50 participants from across the public, private, civil society, philanthropic and academic sectors. It kicked off with a presentation by Dr. Stefaan Verhulst (Co-founder of TDT and The GovLab) on TDT’s latest policy brief and its five key recommendations, namely:

Recommendation 1. Articulate open innovation as innovation that is purpose-driven and avoids monopolistic capture: We suggest defining openness as guided by a shared, purpose-driven vision to prevent inequity and ensure that governance, funding, and knowledge flows avoid monopolistic capture and empower innovators of all kinds to create public value. ‍

Recommendation 2. Prioritise high-impact and tangible purposes: We highlight the need to focus data-related investments on tangible societal challenges, such as: preventive health, skills and education, information integrity and civic engagement, and sustainable urban and rural development, to name a few.

Recommendation 3. Build the missing human infrastructure: We emphasize the need to upskill people and organisations to strategically steward data governance and incentivise data reuse for the common good.

Recommendation 4. Update data governance: beyond consent towards a public mandate and new licensing forms: We argue here that current consent-based approaches should evolve in a way that capture meaningful democratic governance and participatory approaches so that there is a clear public mandate or social license for data reuse.‍

Recommendation 5. Adopt polycentric and participatory governance‍: There is a need to enable a dynamic and decentralised governance model in the context of the Data Union strategy and AI Continent Action Plan so that the planned data labs and data flows across data spaces benefit diverse and local innovation and avoid top-down control.

Strengthening Democracy, Empowering Local Actors

The need for local, people and need-driven alternatives to data practices was also highlighted by the panel. Clara Ruthardt, Project Manager for Digitalization and the Common Good at Bertelsmann Stiftung flagged the changing nature of democracy in the digital space and the importance of empowering local and regional actors. Clara underlined the need to balance curbing harmful data practices with strengthening collective alternatives — reimagining data governance, platforms, and participation so that technology serves real human and societal needs. One way Bertelsmann Stiftung is pursuing this is by building bridges and translating, convening, and connecting civil society, policymakers, and local and international partners to strengthen alternative data governance models and enable the sovereign use of data for people, communities, and democracy.

Strong Civil Society and Fair Markets for Better Alternatives

Openness and democracy was a recurring theme in the panel, also highlighted by Elisabeth Nöfer, Project Manager at the Centre for Digital Society at Stiftung Mercator. Elisabeth emphasized the role of civil society in ensuring that the digital transformation is in line with democratic principles and openness, as well as a fair, equitable and competitive data economy to allow better alternatives to emerge. For Stiftung Mercator, then, opening up markets, striving for European digital sovereignty and protecting democratic values should go hand-in-hand in order to develop data and AI solutions that push for the common good.

Citizen Science for a Participatory Future

Kai-Ti Wu, Strategic Tech Development and Fundraising Officer at the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) raised important points about empowering a citizen science approach for EU data and AI policies. ECSA, a non-profit network of over 500 organizations and individuals across Europe, is dedicated to advancing citizen science in Europe and beyond. Connecting communities, data, and institutions lies at the core of its mission. Citizen science empowers people to collect and use data — such as monitoring air quality — to inform policy, generate local insights, and promote inclusive innovation. By aligning technical and ethical infrastructures, ECSA advocates for the integration of citizen generated data, demonstrating how participation can become infrastructure in itself. ECSA’s view emphasised the importance of a democratic, human-centred data ecosystem, where civil society and philanthropy play an active role in shaping Europe’s digital strategy through collaboration and participation.

Finding the Leverage for Civil Society

Ultimately, an important question that was raised and resonated with the speakers and the audience was: what is our leverage as civil society and philanthropy representatives in light of European data and AI developments?

Matthias Spielkamp, Founder and Executive Director of AlgorithmWatch acknowledged that we indeed live in turbulent times and there is a need for the voices of civil society, media, and communities to be amplified so that data and algorithmic systems benefit the many, not the few. Matthias also brought forward food for thought on different channels that can be used to push for effective implementation of data and AI laws and regulations, drawing, for example, on his active membership in the advisory board to the German Digital Services Coordinator elected by the German Bundestag.

Overall, the main points raised by both speakers and audience participants highlighted a common thread: i) ensuring that Europe’s industrial and data union strategy is steered in a more participatory way; ii) including voices that are often absent from the conversation to prevent extractive practices by major players; and iii) promoting a more human-centric approach.

This event was organised as part of The Data Tank’s 2025 events series. Stay tuned for more insights from our roundtable in Brussels, which gathered representatives of the European Commission, the European Committee of the Regions, Wikimedia, and Open Future among many other key players from the private, public and civil society sectors!

Acknowledgments: A special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their contributions and review for the following blog: Anna Colom (The Data Tank), Clara Ruthardt (Bertelsmann Stiftung), Elisabeth Nöfer (Stiftung Mercator), Kai-Ti Wu (European Citizen Science Association), Matthias Spielkamp (Algorithmwatch).