Coming soon: The Data Sharing License by ADBEx

Data sharing lies at the heart of equitable, evidence-based innovation in global health. Yet even as researchers increasingly recognise the importance of making their data available, it can be difficult to clearly communicate the specific conditions under which that data may be re-used. Too often, datasets remain inaccessible simply because data generators lack simple, standardised ways to articulate what kind of sharing is permitted and under what terms.

The Data-Sharing License by ADBEx will address this challenge. Drawing inspiration from the Creative Commons model, this online tool will enable data custodians to quickly define clear, accountable, and transparent conditions for data re-use. Through an intuitive, browser-based interface, users will be guided through a series of questions covering permitted modes and conditions of sharing, for example, the sharing models allowed, whether benefit-sharing or cost recovery applies, whether onward sharing is permitted and whether review by the data provider is required before publication.

Each completed license will generate:

• a customised logo for visual reference
• a plain-language summary describing the conditions of use
• a machine-readable license code (JSON) to support interoperability across data platforms
• an HTML version of the license logo and summary for embedding directly in websites or data repositories

By standardising how conditions of use are expressed both for human and machine readability, the Data-Sharing License by ADBEx promotes transparency and accountability when providing data for re-use. It offers a practical way to implement responsible data sharing, ensuring that end-users understand and adhere to the requirements defined by data generators.

The first prototype has already been reviewed at stakeholder engagements and presented at international meetings, receiving strong support as a transparent, equitable, and ethical mechanism for enabling secondary data use.

The Data-Sharing License by ADBEx is being developed under the African Data and Biospecimen Exchange (ADBEx) programme, supported through the Calestous Juma Fellowship awarded to Professor Nicki Tiffin. Its development is further facilitated through the 2025 Charité-WHO Hub Berlin Fellowship in Public Health Intelligence, also awarded to Professor Nicki Tiffin. The platform will join other ADBEx initiatives designed to strengthen data governance and to operationalise equitable and accountable frameworks for data sharing and innovation.

Watch this space. The Data-Sharing License by ADBEx is coming soon!