As part of the NQDM project (“draft standard for high-quality data and metadata”) funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), Fraunhofer FOKUS developed a guideline for the creation of high-quality data and metadata in selected formats. The aim of this guideline is to assist data providers from the start in publishing high quality data. This makes it easier for distributors to find and disseminate the data, so that data users can receive data in a simple, goal-oriented and high-quality manner, and then convert it into added value.

In the meantime, more and more authorities are publishing their data in open data portals. On closer inspection, however, it must often be noted that many data records are not available, not explicitly openly licensed or not machine-readable. Complete descriptions of metadata are often missing. Yet the quality of the data and metadata is of particular importance. Because a low data quality has a negative influence on the added value of the data and makes its use more difficult. This can also entail economic disadvantages if data becomes unusable in the worst case or is not suitable for value-added use. Therefore, data must be provided in high quality and with sufficient metadata right from the start.

The guideline provides practical guidance on how to achieve high data quality. The guideline is particularly aimed at data providers from the public administration. Ultimately, the recommendations can in principle be applied to any type of data, regardless of accessibility, origin and sectoral reference, which is why the guide is also helpful for all those who generally work with data and want to achieve the highest possible data quality.