About

The DSSC Toolbox is a curated catalogue of solution implementations (tools) that are aligned to the DSSC Blueprint and have passed the Toolbox validation scheme. These tools aim at helping organisations to set up, participate in and operate a data space. It contains open and closed solutions for both technical and business & organisational functionalities provided by software and non-software tools.

Why a Toolbox?

The DSSC Blueprint is a consistent and comprehensive set of guidelines to support the implementation, deployment and maintenance of data spaces. The Blueprint consists of a set of building blocks that specify the required functionalities and capabilities. To set up and participate in a data space you need practical solutions that provide these functionalities. You need data space tools! For the technical building blocks these are mainly software solutions, like a participant agent, a credential store or a vocabulary service. For business and organisational building blocks it is about frameworks, canvasses, rule books and templates.

Relationship between DSSC Blueprint and Toolbox

The glue between the Blueprint buildings blocks and the implementations in the Toolbox is the categorization of services. This is a limited list of data space services that are currently identified by the DSSC. These data space service implementations realize the functionalities in the building blocks; otherwise, they remain stand-alone specifications. In addition to self-deploying these implementations, many companies are now offering them "as-a-service," resulting in a wide range of implementations provided by various organizations.

Currently, the Toolbox only identified data space services that realize technical building blocks, which you can find that here. Upcoming release(s) of the Blueprint will include the overview of services for the business & organisational building blocks and align the identified data space services with other initiatives, including Simpl.

Toolbox validation scheme

The validation scheme offers numerous benefits to various stakeholders within the data space ecosystem.

• Solution providers gain the advantage of being able to assess their implementation of a data space solution against the Blueprint specifications, ensuring that their solutions meet industry standards and best practices. By undergoing the validation process, solution providers can also publish their validated implementations in the Toolbox, making them readily discoverable by other stakeholders.

• Data space authorities benefit from the validation scheme by being able to assess the alignment of their data spaces with organizational and business building blocks outlined in the Blueprint.

• For data space participants, the Toolbox serves as a valuable resource where they can easily find validated implementations that meet their specific needs and requirements. By accessing validated implementations, participants can streamline their integration efforts and accelerate the development of robust data spaces.

The core of the validation scheme consists of a self-assessment process. Successful completion of the validation process ensures inclusion in the Toolbox, empowering data space initiatives with validated solutions.

Toolbox submission process

The validation process begins with the applicants familiarizing themselves with the specifications (building blocks) outlined in the Blueprint, as these serve as the foundation for the self-assessment questions. Once applicants believe that their implementation aligns with the Blueprint's specifications, they proceed to apply through the DSSC website homepage.

Applicants are required to fill out the metadata template and provide detailed responses to the questionnaire, demonstrating how their implementation fulfils the specified criteria.

Following the completion of the self-assessment questionnaire, the DSSC reviews the submitted responses to assess the alignment of the implementation with the Blueprint's requirements. If the validation is successful and the implementation meets the necessary criteria, it is subsequently listed in the Toolbox.

The responsibility of publishing validated implementations and updating the self-assessment questionnaires in accordance with the latest version of the Blueprint rests with the DSSC. This ensures that the Toolbox remains up-to-date with the most current standards and specifications, providing users with accurate information about each listed implementation. Additionally, the Toolbox allows users to identify under which version of the Blueprint each implementation was validated, enabling them to make informed decisions based on the compatibility of the implementations with their specific requirements.