What’s next for Germany’s data economy?
How the incoming coalition government plans to transform data infrastructure
On 9 April, Germany’s incoming governing coalition1 released an agreement setting out its policy agenda, featuring multiple data-related initiatives. For the UK, currently working to innovate its own data infrastructure, including through the National Data Library, German plans offer a case study in how another country is considering approaching some shared challenges.
In the spirit of cross-learning, this post looks at some of the most interesting data-related plans mentioned in the coalition agreement – both for their own merit and for the perspectives they might offer for public data infrastructure development in the UK. The coalition agreement has numbered lines, so the post includes relevant numbers in brackets throughout to help readers navigate the original document.
Data sharing and “Once-Only” principle
The coalition plans to introduce the "Once-Only" principle, prohibiting the collection of the same data multiple times across government agencies. The agreement states:
“We will ensure that citizens and businesses only need to provide their data once to authorities. To this end, we establish a prohibition on double data collection and obligations for data exchange within the administration. We will ensure that seamless data transfer can happen between federal, state and municipal authorities” (translated from lines 476-479).
Germany's federal structure has historically complicated such cross-cutting initiatives, with different levels of government operating different IT systems under different legal frameworks. To address this, the coalition plans to "eliminate barriers that prevent implementing the prohibition on collecting data twice and create clear rules for data transmission and use" (translated from lines 2089-2092), suggesting possible legislative changes to enable data sharing and use between different government bodies.
Foundations of the data economy
The coalition agreement offers a vision for "a culture of data usage and data sharing that establishes a data economy, focuses on innovation, and protects fundamental and freedom rights." To support this, they will “eliminate legal uncertainties, unlock data treasures, promote data ecosystems, and focus on data sovereignty” (translated from lines 2237-2245).
In the centre of this vision are two concepts (line 2242):
Data trustees. The document mentions establishing "data trusteeship to provide trust in data management and high data quality", enabling broader use.
"Public money, public data" principle, suggesting that data collected with public funding should be made available for public use and benefit.
The agreement also proposes creating "the basis to consolidate regulations, for which it makes sense, into a data law book" (translated from lines 2241-2242), indicating a more comprehensive approach to data governance than in previous policies.
There is also a commitment to “improve access to data for AI development” (translated from lines 2262-2263).
Education data infrastructure
Germany’s education system has historically been decentralised, with each federal state (Land) maintaining significant autonomy. This has created challenges in tracking education outcomes consistently across the country. The current system lacks interoperability between different state education databases and makes it difficult to follow education journeys across state borders or between different institutions.
The coalition agreement introduces several interconnected actions to improve education data collection and use.
One core idea is enabling the tracking of student progress throughout their educational careers. The coalition wants to develop a "data-driven school development and an education tracking registry". The document also mentions “a student ID compatible across all federal states, compliant with data protection regulations, and enable linking with the citizen ID” (translated from lines 2321-2324).
This is tied to broader digital education plans, including "DigitalPakt 2.0", which will "expand digital infrastructure and reliable administration" and advance "application-oriented teacher education, digitalisation-related school and teaching development, self-adaptive AI-supported learning systems, and digitally supported substitute teaching concepts" (translated from lines 2332-2337).
Open data
Where possible, the coalition government plans to establish a "legal right to open data from government institutions" (translated from line 2243). This is a shift from the current approach where government agencies have limited obligations to publish certain data towards one where citizens and organisations would have a legal right to access public data.
Sector-specific data strategies
The document includes several sector-specific initiatives:
Health data. The coalition plans a phased rollout of electronic patient records, transitioning from voluntary to mandatory use with penalties for non-compliance.
Beyond this, the coalition plans a digital transformation of healthcare documentation. This includes developing interoperable systems that allow different healthcare providers to access and update patient information securely, simplifying data exchange between insurance providers and physicians, and eliminating redundant documentation requirements, while respecting patient privacy (lines 3518-3525). “All providers of software and IT solutions in the healthcare sector must ensure loss-free, uncomplicated, digital data exchange based on uniformly defined standards by 2027” (translated from lines 3527-3528).
The agreement also proposes establishing a “registry law” and improving data use through the Health Data Research Centre (lines 3529-3530).
Mobility data. The coalition aims to "better connect mobility offerings across different transportation modes" and "mobilise mobility, vehicle, and truck toll data" through data sharing initiatives (translated from lines 893-894). It also plans to create modern regulations for mobility data for better traffic management, transportation planning, and innovative mobility services (line 2246). This would involve establishing frameworks for data sharing between public transportation providers, mobility service companies, and infrastructure managers.
Migration data. The coalition plans to implement "complete data exchange between social, financial and security authorities" specifically for migration control (translated from lines 3990-3991). This would enable authorities to identify patterns of social benefits fraud, verify identities, and manage migration flows better.
Data for pension planning. The agreement proposes a new pension metric to track provision across different retirement systems to enable better pension planning and policy development (lines 594-601).
Property and tax data. The agreement includes provisions for data transfer to simplify property tax procedures and digitalise the entire process (line 614), facilitating data exchange between property registries, tax authorities, and other relevant government bodies to streamline property-related taxation.
Commitment to European data infrastructure
Alongside its more sovereign ambitions, the coalition agreement indicates continued support for EU-wide data initiatives, such as GAIA-X (lines 4345-4347).
Concluding thoughts: what lessons can we draw from this?
While not trying to replicate Estonia's X-Road – which was built as a national data exchange layer in a much smaller, more centralised country – Germany may ultimately achieve similar outcomes through sector-specific strategies that address different domains' unique needs, while wielding legal mandates to cut through data silos and coordination challenges inherent in its decentralised, multi-layered governance structure.
Although the UK doesn't have Germany's federal system, its devolved administrations and institutional autonomy in the public sector pose some similar challenges when it comes to data. Germany's shift towards mandating data sharing after limited progress with voluntary approaches suggests that some level of regulatory teeth may be needed to overcome deep-rooted institutional resistance.
Developing data infrastructure requires both horizontal enablers (e.g. legal frameworks and technical standards) and vertical, domain-specific adoption strategy. Germany's approach is a good illustration: it aims to establish clear cross-cutting principles (e.g. “Once-Only”, “public money, public data”) while encouraging sector-specific implementation in priority areas. Momentum comes from visible success – quick wins in high-impact, citizen-facing areas that demonstrate value can build confidence and accelerate broader efforts.
The UK is not alone in treating data as a strategic asset. Countries with effective, trusted data infrastructure fit for this day and age stand to gain significant advantages. While Germany finds creative ways to break through its federal complexity, the UK has a chance to move faster with its more unified governance structure. The manifesto commitment to create the National Data Library, in particular, presents a timely opportunity to lead in next-generation public data infrastructure. Without rapid implementation, however, this competitive advantage will remain theoretical while other countries translate their data ambitions into reality.
Three parties – Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) – are working to form Germany's next government after February's federal elections, where CDU/CSU won the most parliamentary seats. The parties are expected to formally approve the agreement by early May, clearing the path for CDU leader Friedrich Merz to become chancellor.