SolidLab Vlaanderen, supported and financed by the Flemish government, investigates how the use of personal data pods (or data vaults) can be facilitated in Flanders. Various IMEC research groups (with technological, legal, and social science backgrounds) will collaborate on technological, social, and applied research. SolidLab will focus on the principles and technology of Solid (www.solidproject.org), a set of conventions and tools to decentralise the web. Data pods allow people to store their data securely, so data can be easily shared with different organizations and people (e.g., the government, health professionals). Solid technology can help to provide citizens transparency and control.
The consortium aims for Solid technology to become an important building block of the innovative data-driven economy in Flanders and to create open-source tools and applications. SMIT is mainly involved in the societal research of the Solid ecosystem. SMIT will focus on measuring the trust of citizens in Solid technology, stakeholder mapping, creating business model typologies, and improving the transparency of this technology for citizens. Understanding societal needs is essential for the Solid ecosystem to be viable and for the technology to be adopted.
In a later stadium, SolidLab solutions will be tested in the field. The execution of pilot projects in various application domains together with the industry will help establish an appropriate synergy between citizens, industry, and government.
Project duration:
February 2022 – February 2024
Project partners:
imec-SMIT-VUB
imec-mict-ugent
PIXLES
CiTip
IDLab
DistriNet
COSIC
More info:
Please contact nanouk.verhulst@vub.be or august.bourgeus@vub.be