Data trustees are seen as a key element to facilitate and intensify data sharing between enterprises, public authorities/government agencies, research institutions as well as non-profit organizations. Currently, there are many attempts to develop data trustees in various sectors/data domains. These projects reveal an impressive variety of organizational configurations regarding operator constellations and differing types of data trustees. However, the concrete design of their corporate structure poses complex legal challenges. There is hardly any experience and scientific evidence about the optimal design of such data intermediaries. Hereby, it is important to take into consideration the heterogenous preferences and needs of data users and data suppliers as well as the specific requirements of different sectors and data domains.
Against this background the research project Refo_DaT examines different legal forms and design options concerning governance and operation of differing types of data trustees. Existing data trustee projects will be surveyed with regard to their specific needs. A decision matrix, backed by legal analyses and enriched by practical examples, will be developed to guide the selection and design of a suitable legal form as well as sustainable governance structures and business models for data trustees of different types and in different operator constellations. Likewise, prototypical governance concepts and articles of association/company statutes are provided as aid to orientation.
ReFo_DaT combines legal analyses and structured expert interviews to clarify the numerous and complex legal issues associated with the choice of legal form and the design of sustainable governance structures. Thus, the research project contributes to the further development of the concept of “data trustees”. The transfer of research results into practice is ensured by workshops and the publication of guidelines.
The research project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Union.
Principal Investigators
Prof. Dr. Petra Gehring, Technische Universität Darmstadt | more information
Prof. Dr. Florian Möslein, LL. M. (London), Philipps-Universität Marburg | more information
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Omlor, LL.M. (NYU), LL.M. Eur., Philipps-Universität Marburg | more information
ReFo-Mat – the interactive quick check for choosing a legal form for data trustees
The question of legal independence, the selection of a suitable legal form, and the specific corporate structure of a data trustee are key legal challenges facing emerging data trustees. To address these challenges, an interactive question-and-answer tool, the Legal Form Selection Quick Check (ReFo-Mat), was developed as part of the BMFTR-funded ReFo_DaT project. The tool provides founders with an automated decision-making aid that assists them in clarifying the corporate law options for structuring their data trustee. It thus enables users to quickly gain a concise overview of the requirements, specifications and criteria of different legal forms, allowing them to make an initial assessment of which legal form might be suitable for their own data trustee project. The guidance tool therefore offers valuable assistance to data trustee projects in selecting suitable legal forms. The ReFo-Mat is managed and further developed by the Data Trustee Competence Network DaTNet and made available via the DaTNet website.
Link to the web tool
Christian Person & Petra Gehring
Choosing a Legal Form: A Challenge for Data Trustees
The idea of data trusteeship is associated with high hopes of overcoming existing barriers to data sharing and intensifying data exchange between individuals and organisations. The novel regulatory regime for new data intermediaries, which is emerging as a result of the EU’s Data Governance Act, creates an innovative field of experimentation for this purpose. Numerous initiatives are currently attempting to develop functional data trustees, as can be seen from the impressive variety of models and operator constellations. A key challenge for the sustainable establishment of data trustees is the question of the legal independence and corporate structure of these entities. The article examines this in more detail and also concludes that, beyond the DGA, there is a need for discussion about governance and business models for data trustees.
Published in: Recht der Datenverarbeitung (RDV) H. 1/2026, pp. 15-22
Link to the article
Previous events
Transfer workshop of the BMFTR project ‘Legal forms for data trustees – ReFo_DaT’
Workshop, 26 November 2025 | more about this event
