MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023

MyData Global Strategy
2024-2026
Summary:
A. The MyData Mission
A.1. Situation analysis
A.2. Implications for the MyData Global Strategy 2024-2026
B. Implementation, monitoring and reporting
C. Strategic areas and objectives
C.1. Operations
C.1.1. The association is financially sustainable and resilient
C.1.2. Team processes are efficient and professional
C.1.3. MyData's values are curated and visible
C.2. Community
C.2.1. Members value their MyData Global membership
C.2.2. The broad MyData community is active and productive
C.2.3. Membership is diverse and representative
C.3. Policy
C.3.1. Implementation of EU data policy puts people at its centre
C.3.2. Embed a human-centric approach in rules emerging globally
C.3.3. MyData is salient with the global data advocacy movement
C.4. Markets
C.4.1. MyData identifies problems and solutions
C.4.2. Business models are demonstrated
C.4.3. Technical solutions are demonstrated

1/11

2
3
4
6
6
7
7
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023

Summary:
MyData Global is an international association constituted by and for its members to empower
individuals by improving their right to self-determination regarding their personal data. Five years
after its founding, this strategy seeks to leverage MyData’s early successes and lessons learned,
to take advantage of a dynamic technological and policy environment, and to bolster the skills anddedication of its membership in pursuit of this mission. It outlines high-level objectives acrossfour strategic pillars, as shown in the figure below.

The first two strategic pillars emphasise an increased professionalisation of the association staff
and leadership and continued empowerment of the MyData community. This is the essential coreof MyData Global.
The second two pillars address areas that we believe are necessary to enable the emergence ofhuman-centric ecosystems in the near term. The Policy window aims to shape how government
actors set rules and regulations for data ecosystems, through direct engagement andcoordination with other advocacy initiatives. The Markets window focuses on incentives for theprivate sector to adopt human-centric approaches, and to help MyData members to adopt
sustainable business models so that they can reach and benefit more people.
This strategic focus on policies and markets leverages MyData’s strengths while focusing
attention on concrete opportunities to advance our mission in the near term. This emphasis does
not preclude other activities or engagement with other actors that can also contribute to realising
MyData’s mission.
This strategy is aspirational and achieving these objectives will require doubling down on what
MyData does well, while expanding the scope and impact of our work. The strategy will be
implemented through annual work plans that prioritise the above objectives, and identify specific

2/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023
activities through which to pursue them. An adaptive monitoring framework will be used to reportprogress towards achieving these objectives on an annual basis.

A. The MyData Mission
MyData is a global movement dedicated1 to empowering individuals by improving their right toself-determination regarding their personal data. It does so by advancing a human-centric
approach to data management that enables individuals to know and decide who uses their data,
and ultimately be empowered by technical platforms and solutions in which they are the point ofintegration and control over their data. This includes the right and ability to access, hold, add,
improve and use data generated about them through enabling tools and technologies,
independent of the organisations that may initially gather, generate and hold this data.
Giving individuals access to and control of their data can help them better manage their lives
online and offline, and improve a range of services and products provided by governments,
companies, and organisations. Unlocking the free flow of information through human-centric
tools and services balances the industry need for data with individual’s digital rights, in order toprotect people from exploitation and to empower them to create and access value, while creating
value for society as a whole. We believe that this approach is key to enabling a fair, sustainable,and prosperous digital society, and that MyData will make an important contribution to thisachieving vision by engaging and serving its global community as a recognised expertiseconnector2.
MyData Global is an international association, mandated by its members to pursue the above
vision as described in the MyData Declaration, which anticipates three major changes that needto take place in order to achieve this vision.
The MyData Shifts: what needs to change
1. From formal to actionable rights
In many countries, individuals have enjoyed legal data protection for decades, yet their rights
have remained mostly formal: little known, hard to enforce, and often obscured by corporate
practices. We want true transparency and truly informed consent to become the new normal forwhen people and organisations interact. We intend access and redress, portability, and the rightto be forgotten, to become “one-click rights”: rights that are as simple and efficient to use as
today’s and tomorrow’s best online services.

2. From data protection to data empowerment
Data protection regulation and corporate ethics codes are designed to protect people from1

See MyDAta’s bylaws, Article 2.1, at https://mydataglobal.github.io/bylaws/
See MyData Global’s identify statement, adopted in the 2022 Autumn General Meeting,https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VgJyW4zJ846Y0Tn1ig1T9hxscbSvYQL3IKvM0ZmzPU4/edit#slid
e=id.g1596d2a9cf5_1_0
2

3/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023

abuse and misuse of their personal data by organisations. While these will remain necessary, we
intend to change common practices towards a situation where individuals are both protected
and empowered to use the data that organisations hold about them. Examples of such uses
include simplifying administrative paperwork, processing data from multiple sources to improve
one’s self-knowledge, personalised AI assistants, decision-making, and data sharing under theindividual’s own terms.

3. From closed to open ecosystems
Today’s data economy creates network effects favoring a few platforms able to collect andprocess the largest masses of personal data. These platforms are locking up markets, not justfor their competitors, but also for most businesses who risk losing direct access to theircustomers. By letting individuals control what happens to their data, we intend to create a truly
free flow of data – freely decided by individuals, free from global choke points – and to create
balance, fairness, diversity and competition in the digital economy.

These shifts represent MyData’s vision for a future where higher-quality data moves more
efficiently between individuals and organisations for the mutual benefit of all participants in any
given data ecosystem. We believe that this can be achieved while improving rather thansacrificing our privacy, but also that we need to summon the best minds within the fields ofbusiness, legal, technology, and social expertise to be successful. Some will direct their efforts
towards disruptive innovation while others may focus on incremental improvements to the statusquo. MyData is an open and inclusive movement, dedicated to providing an enabling foundation
for different perspectives and approaches to pursue this vision.

A.1. Situation analysis
This strategy is developed at a momentous time for the MyData mission, with rapid changes inecosystems, awareness, norms, and expectations about personal data governance. There areseveral factors, both internal and external to MyData Global and the MyData community, that will
shape our ability to achieve our mission over the next three years.
Internally, MyData Global is at an important inflection point. A concerted effort to professionalise
the organisation is underway, including the development of this strategy, hiring of key staff, and areform of the MyData’s governance structure and financial and administrative processes. This
professionalisation process is expected to begin yielding benefits as we enter 2024, and will be
leveraged to support the continued growth and engagement of the MyData community. The
perspectives, innovations, and dedication of this community remain MyData’s most powerfulasset and foundation. Activity and engagement has in some respects lagged, however. This isparticularly evident in regard to local hubs and thematic groups, which have not received
dedicated and continuous support from MyData Global due to resource and capacity constraints.
There has also been a clear request from several members to strengthen the value that MyData
membership conveys compared to other initiatives and networks.
4/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023
Externally, there are several factors that bode well for MyData’s mission. Most notably, there has
been an explosion of interest in the responsible governance of personal data. This is driven in partby the rapid digitalisation of services in many markets, and the visible relevance of data for life
events and everyday life for many consumers. It is also, driven in part by popular concerns related
to emergent technologies, and significant advances in European regulatory frameworks. There isalso a significant amount of activity in developing European data spaces, which has generated aflurry of attention and engagement, where MyData’s advocacy and messaging has been
influential.
Developments in European policy deserve special attention. The European data strategy’s explicit
reference to human-centricity and the MyData movement is an important achievement, but it
remains uncertain how this will be translated into specific regulation or the implementation ofexisting regulation, and implementation of the Data Governance Act is emblematic. Though
MyData has been able to provide ad hoc and informal support to member states struggling tounderstand and implement the Act’s requirements in regard to personal data intermediaries,
MyData has not yet managed to scale or structure this support. Similarly, MyData currently enjoys
a profile and position in the EU discourse on data policy, but that position is not guaranteed topersist and must be continually earned by demonstrating relevance and adding value in a quickly
changing policy environment. With the continued debate and adoption of new regulatory
frameworks for personal data, and ongoing efforts by member states to interpret and adopt
existing regulations, there is a tremendous potential for MyData to increase its impact bysystematising support to these actors.
These developments also represent opportunities to support MyData organisation members. Thiscan be direct support, by helping businesses to understand and access opportunities that emerge
with new regulations. MyData can also support members indirectly, by shaping the expectationsof regulators, customers, and competitors about the value and advantages of a human-centricbusiness model. This is especially relevant as EU regulations such as the Digital Markets Act
impose penalties for companies that manage personal data in a way contrary to the MyData
mission.
There are also significant regulatory developments taking place outside of Europe, with rapid
advances in national regulations of countries like Korea and Brazil, at the subnational level in theUSA, and at the national and regional levels, such as the African Data Policy Framework. This
offers a significant opportunity to facilitate practical and technical learning between
policy-makers in Europe and abroad. Lessons and advances outside of Europe can directly inform
stronger implementation of EU regulations in European markets, while MyData can play animportant role to leverage European experiences for stronger regulation in developing markets.
The latter is of particular importance if established gatekeepers like Apple and Google increase
their efforts to dominate emerging markets in reaction to EU restrictions and penalties.
Increased popular attention to data governance issues is also visible in the rapid proliferation ofcivil society initiatives dedicated to strengthening the responsible governance of personal and
5/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023
collective data. Several new advocacy organisations and projects have recently been launched, as
well as several new funds and philanthropic initiatives. These initiatives tend to employ rhetoric ofresponsible data and digital rights, but are largely unconnected from MyData in terms of policy,
networks, and practice. These initiatives are doing a good job of campaigning and lobbying topolicy-makers, companies, and the general public around the world. MyData has an important
opportunity to collaborate with this new community of advocates, to strengthen its messaging
and contribute to shared objectives.

A.2. Implications for the MyData Global Strategy 2024-2026
The developments described above are all dynamic and fast moving. The implications of many ofthem remain uncertain. Several conclusions have nevertheless been drawn in the development of
this strategy. It is necessary for MyData Global to simultaneously strengthen its internal
processes and its external engagement in order to effectively pursue its mission.
Internally, there is a need to continue improving MyData Global’s operational effectiveness andprofessionalism, while simultaneously strengthening its support to the MyData community. Thereis a clear opportunity to strengthen the value that MyData Global membership conveys tomembers, and to grow membership beyond Europe, in order to extend peer learning andexchange, while also scaling MyData Global’s potential for achieving its mission globally. There isparticular demand to strengthen our support to local hubs and thematic groups in order to enable
this.
Externally, there is also a clear opportunity to strengthen and systematise the contributions that
MyData community has demonstrated in the EU context. Support to policy-makers and thedesigners of services can be strengthened and systematised for improved impact within andoutside of Europe. Simultaneously, the dynamic and uncertain development of market structuresand ecosystems in Europe and beyond provides MyData Global with an opportunity to lead inunderstanding and promoting how small and medium businesses can thrive in these emergent
ecosystems. Showing how businesses can benefit from a human-centric approach will
strengthen emergent ecosystems, markets, and regulations, while also directly supporting andproviding value to MyData Global’s organisation members.

B. Implementation, monitoring and reporting
This strategy will be implemented through adaptive work planning on an annual basis. Annual
work plans will prioritise specific objectives outlined in this strategy, based on an analysis ofresources and opportunities, and will identify specific activities through which to pursue thoseobjectives.
Annual work plans will be accompanied by a monitoring framework that sets multiple SMART
indicators for each strategic objective, and targets to be pursued for that year.

6/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023
Annual work plans and strategic monitoring frameworks will be approved by the MyData Global
board and membership at the beginning of each year, and reviewed at the end of each year.

C. Strategic areas and objectives
For the 2024-2026 strategy period, MyData Global’s activities will be focused on achieving
strategic objectives grouped into four priority strategic areas, presented and described below.
The strategic pillars of operations and community focus on strengthening the efficiency, vitality,
and impact of MyData as an organisation and a community.
The strategic pillars of policy and markets focus MyData Global’s external attention on enabling
the development of human-centric ecosystems, with necessary tools and services.
These goals rely fundamentally on understanding the needs of the people who will use thesetools and services, and contribute indirectly to building users’ awareness and digital rights literacy.
Each strategic pillar and high-level goal is described in detail below, and will be pursued by
specific, time-bound, and measurable activities that are described in annual work plans.

7/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023

C.1. Operations
A well-functioning and efficient organisation is essential to MyData Global’s success and impact.
For this 3-year strategy period, the strategic focus for management and operations will be onorganisational development towards improved efficiency and alignment with our values.
This will be pursued through the following strategic objectives:

C.1.1. The association is financially sustainable and resilient
In order to sustain its work, the association will balance and diversify sustainable revenue
streams to ensure that it is not dependent on, or vulnerable to, any single revenue source,and so that all activities remain aligned with MyData’s core principles and the association’s
strategic priorities.

C.1.2. Team processes are efficient and professional
The organisation is structured so as to facilitate clear prioritisation and decision-making
and to maximise the efficient use of human and financial resources, through appropriate
staffing and agile processes.

C.1.3. MyData's values are curated and visible
MyData values should be maintained and curated in the MyData Declaration and otherdocuments as a social anchor for the MyData community. These values should also be
manifest in the way MyData Global operates, through its use of tools, processes, and staff
activities.

C.2. Community
The MyData community will always be at the core of all MyData Global’s activities as anorganisation in service of the community. For years 2024-2026, the emphasis will be on
consolidating the growth and development of prior years: to ensure that membership in theassociation is valued by members, that the broad community facilitates meaningful andindependent activity and collaboration by participants, and that our membership is representativeof the MyData Declaration’s scope and ambition.
This will be pursued through the following strategic objectives:

C.2.1. Members value their MyData Global membership
MyData Global membership should grow and develop based on a clear sense among
members that membership helps them and adds value to what they do and represent.
Individual and organisation members feel that their needs and perspectives areappropriately represented in global discussions and policy fora. This sense of value should
be visible to members and non-members alike.
8/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023

C.2.2. The broad MyData community is active and productive
Community activities should be supported and revitalised within and beyond MyData
Global members through established mechanisms such as thematic groups and local
hubs as well as new and independent activities, projects, and consortia where MyData
Global is active. These activities should be productive, generating new knowledge,
collaborations, and impact (including contribution to the real and perceived value ofmembership as well as the diversity and representativeness of MyData Global’s
membership).

C.2.3. Membership is diverse and representative
In order to live up to the scope and ambition of the MyData Declaration, the association’s
membership needs to include the active participation by individuals and organisations
from all sectors and from all parts of the world.

C.3. Policy
Influencing and shaping the European rules that regulate personal data governance has been
central to MyData Global’s activities, successes, and potential for impact. In the coming strategy
period, the goal will be to strengthen and extend this work to the implementation of establishedregulatory frameworks, and to embed the human-centric approach in emerging rules andadvocacy initiatives within and beyond the EU.
This will be pursued through the following strategic objectives:

C.3.1. Implementation of EU data policy puts people at its centre
Inclusion of a human-centric approach in the EU data strategy is an important milestone
for MyData, but it is not certain how this will be practically manifest in European
frameworks as new EU Acts are adopted and member states resolve the ambiguities
inherent in existing legislation. MyData Global should engage with policymakers at theregional and national levels in the EU to ensure that the interpretation and implementationof legislation adhere to the principles of human-centricity articulated in the EU data
strategy and the MyData Declaration.

C.3.2. Embed a human-centric approach in rules emerging globally
Regulatory frameworks are developing and emerging beyond Europe at both the regionaland national levels. MyData Global should engage with policymakers beyond the EU toembed the human-centric approach into how these frameworks are articulated,
implemented, and understood. Simultaneously, MyData Global should engage with the
public servants and front-line bureaucrats whose hiring, procurement, and administrativedecisions define the rules for how data is managed in public services at the national or
subnational levels.
9/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023

C.3.3. MyData is salient with the global data advocacy movement
There is currently a thriving, but highly fragmented, global community of civil society
organisations, researchers, and public intellectuals advocating for better rules andlegislation to govern personal and collective data. MyData’s mission and rhetoric currently
have very limited currency with this broad community, which often focuses on punishingmalevolent actors, preventing potential harms, and collective governance mechanisms.
Early work to conceptualise the linkages between “MyData” and collective and aggregate
data dynamics (“OurData”) should be extended and reinforced to improve salience,complementarity, and potential collaborations within this wider advocacy community inorder to better advance MyData’s mission through the advocacy of other groups.

C.4. Markets
Data markets and ecosystems are consolidating and emerging without a clear incentive for open
interoperability or clear business models for how companies and organisations can thrive andgrow without tracking and exploiting people's data. We believe that this is due to a failure of themarket to identify and align market incentives with human and societal well-being. We believe thatsignificant effort should be made to strengthen the openness and human-centricity in moremature and established systems, while also supporting and facilitating the emergence andscaling of ecosystems that are open and human-centric by design. We believe MyData can best
contribute to this by a combination of thought leadership and practical work to facilitate thedevelopment and demonstration of real solutions, collaborating with the myriad stakeholders thatare already building, designing, regulating, and preparing to enter these ecosystems.
This will be pursued through the following strategic objectives:

C.4.1. MyData identifies problems and solutions
MyData’s thought leadership should anticipate and clearly articulate challenges related toa new data economy, and propose opportunities, innovations, and responses that can help
to address those challenges. Conceptual and applied research can help to focus attention
and action among regulators and designers, while providing opportunities andstrengthening the credibility of MyData members that are developing solutions.

C.4.2. Business models are demonstrated
Work with MyData operators and with European data space initiatives has consistently
highlighted the importance and absence of viable business models for a human-centric
approach to data governance in the private sector. MyData Global can help to identify, test,
and promote viable and human-centric business models by facilitating and encouraging
debate and research into new economic models for the collection and use of personaldata, by creating spaces for dialogue and experimentation, by coordinatingcomplementary efforts, by helping members to understand their users’ needs and market
10/11

MyData Global Strategy, 2024-2026
For approval at the Autumn General Meeting 2023
landscape, to access the networks and resources they need to succeed, and by actively
documenting and promoting successful business models.

C.4.3. Technical solutions are demonstrated
The strong technical innovations produced by the MyData community are inhibited by alack of scale, visibility and interoperability. MyData Global can help to overcome theselimits by creating spaces for dialogue and experimentation, by coordinatingcomplementary efforts, by helping members to access the networks and resources theyneed to succeed, and by actively documenting and promoting cutting edge technicalsolutions.

11/11