Designing for the Urban Twin Transition: Data Intermediary Challenges in Prototyping Data Collaboratives - A Case Study from Milan

The European Commission (EC) has been actively addressing the regulatory and organizational barriers hindering the European Data Market through its comprehensive European Data Strategy. By implementing key legislative frameworks, such as the Data Act, the Data Governance Act, and the Interoperable Europe Act, the EC aims to foster cross-sectoral data sharing. While these regulations address organizational and technological limitations, it is unlikely that, by themselves, they will sulice in overcoming the contemporary challenges in data-driven innovation. Beneath the regulatory level, meso-/micro-level initiatives (e.g., sense-making, engagement, mission building, prototyping) must be developed to provide data holders with a compelling reason to collaborate around data and create both economic and public value (Bartolomucci & Leoni, 2024). The data collaboration challenge primarily emerges as a matter of conflicting perspectives, and current views often assume that collaboration is inherently beneficial. In reality, private data providers may refrain from participating in data collaboration initiatives due to insulicient incentives and high risks (e.g., privacy infringement) (Alemanno, 2018). For public sector bodies, the successful integration of new data sources into their activities necessitates alignment with existing operational routines and political mandates (Klievink et al., 2017). Meanwhile, data beneficiaries, such as citizens, often rely on intermediaries to access data through usable digital products or services. It becomes clear that while high-level regulation can provide the frame for micro-level data practices, the alignment of interests among actors potentially engaging in new data ecosystems cannot be fully addressed by such general regulations. Instead, this alignment depends on contextual dynamics, particularly given that data is a nonrivalrous, intangible asset whose value is contingent upon its contextual use (Floridi, 2014). This paper explores the key collaborative, representational, economic, and political challenges that data intermediaries face when designing and developing twin transition values within the urban context, contributing to existing research in this direction (Galasso et al, 2022; Liva et al., 2023). The insights presented are drawn from a practice-oriented case study based on a ‘data-centric’ collaborative process aimed at analysing and interpreting the impact of the Salone del Mobile.Milano and Design Week on the city of Milan in 2024. The study involved a heterogeneous group of public and private data holders, who engaged in exploring their respective datasets to generate comprehensive insights. By examining how data holders navigate their own datasets and collaborate across sectors, the study highlights the operational dynamics and challenges inherent in creating a functional data collaborative. This approach not only olers a deeper understanding of the event’s urban footprint but also demonstrates how data-centric processes can support policy-making in complex urban contexts, contributing to the broader goals of the twin transition in urban data ecosystems.