COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet)
Date: 2023-07-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: access to information, data collection, disclosure of information, environmental policy, environmental protection, marine environment, resources of the sea, scientific research, sea, sustainable development

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 26.7.2023  SWD(2023) 282 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of the   European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) {SWD(2023) 281 final}  
 
 
Introduction 

What is EMODnet? 
In  the  Commission  Communication  Marine  Knowledge  2020  (1),  published  in  2010,  the 
European  Marine  Observation  and  Data  Network  (EMODnet)  is  defined  as  a  network  of 
marine  organisations  that  would  provide  a  single  entry  point  for  accessing  and  retrieving 
marine  data  derived  from  in  situ  observations,  surveys  or  samples  from  the  hundreds  of 
databases maintained throughout the EU.  

Today,  EMODnet  is  a  partnership  of  more  than  120  organisations  that  provide  access  to 
marine  data,  data  products  and  data  services  in  seven  thematic  disciplines:  bathymetry, 
biology,  geology,  chemistry,  physics,  seabed  habitats  and  human  activities.  It  follows 
Findable,  Accessible,  Interoperable  and  Reusable  (FAIR)  principles  and  makes  available 
quality-assessed data and data products. 

What is EMODnet used for and by whom? 

The largest user group of EMODnet are academia and research  (61%). They acknowledge the 
significantly  faster and cheaper  marine research, the  increased quality of  their work and the 
reduction of uncertainty.  

EMODnet is also used by national, regional and local government bodies to access, share and 
reuse marine data across EU borders, use readily available data products, and speed up their 
planning and decision-making processes. 

Private  industry  is  responsible  for  about  a  quarter  of  downloads  from  the  EMODnet  portal. 
Many  of  these  users  are  small  to  medium-sized  enterprises  who  incorporate  the  data  in  the 
services they provide to other industries or public authorities. 
EMODnet is also powering the European Atlas of the Seas (2), which makes available a wide 
range of marine-related information to students, teachers and the wider public in the form of 
maps. 
Examples of use cases can be found on the EMODnet website (3) 

Purpose of the evaluation and methodology 
The evaluation of EMODnet was planned in the Marine Knowledge 2020 roadmap (4). 

This evaluation mainly aims to assess whether the original objectives have been reached and 
are  still  valid,  to  assess  the  performance  of  EMODnet,  and  to  assess  progress  to  enable 
reflection  about  the  future  of  EMODnet.  The  European  Commission  analysed  the  five 
standard  evaluation  criteria:  effectiveness,  efficiency,  relevance,  coherence,  and  EU  added 
value. 

The evaluation is centred on the period from 2014 to 2020, corresponding to the programming 
period of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and to the multiannual financial 
framework  covering  the  same  years.  Elements  of  information  from  official  texts  and  yearly 

1 COM(2010) 461. 
2 European Atlas of the Seas: https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/atlas/maritime_atlas/. 
3 https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/use-cases 
4 SWD(2014) 149. 

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contractual  reports  were  also  included  for  the  periods  from  2013  to  2014  and  from  2020  to 
2022 for a better understanding and to be able to draw pertinent conclusions. 

Today  EMODnet  provides  access  to  data  and  knowledge  for  all    seas  and  oceans  of  EU 
coastal Member States,  as well as seas and ocean bordering neighbouring non-EU countries 
and EU outermost regions. EMODnet also provides information on landlocked countries, e.g. 
on aquaculture. 

What was the expected outcome of the intervention? 

Rationale for the intervention 

The  needs  that  motivated  the  Commission  to  set  up  EMODnet  were  the  need  to  achieve  a 
coherent  approach  to  marine  data  collection,  the  need  to  remove  barriers  to  application  of 
marine data, the need to enable competition to deliver products and services, and the need to 
reduce uncertainty.  In line with  these needs, the general,  specific and operational  objectives 
are summarised in Table 1, and the impacts expected from the action are logically: 

- 
- 
- 

improved productivity; 
increased innovation; and 
reduced uncertainty. 

Wider policy context before 2014 

The main policy initiatives were: 

- 

- 

in  2008,  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive (5)  (MSFD),  calling  on  Member 
States to achieve or maintain good environmental status in each marine region; 
in 2014, the Maritime Spatial  Planning Directive (6) (MSPD), with  the goal  to  bring 
coherence in  possibly  competing use of maritime space such as fishing, aquaculture, 
shipping,  renewable  energy,  nature  conservation  and  other  uses.  The  EMFF 
Regulation was also adopted in 2014. 

Point(s) of comparison / Assessment of the achievements 

At  the  start  of  the  evaluation  period  (2014),  EMODnet  was  not  yet  operational.  It  was  still 
time-consuming to find data and obtain permission to use it. It was also hard to put together 
data  from  different  sources  and  of  different  types  because  of  differing  standards, 
nomenclatures and baselines. The resolution of the data and sea-basin coverage were limited. 
Thematic disciplines were operating independently and usage of the EMODnet prototype was 
low because the amount of data available was limited. 

How has the situation developed over the evaluation period?  

The main phases developments can be summarised as follows: 

5 
6 

Directive 2008/56/EC. 
Directive 2014/89/EU. 

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2013-2015: performance of stress tests, first Digital Terrain Model made available, set-up of 
the ingestion service to access data outside of the network; 

-  2016-2017:  EMODnet  Geology  and  Seabed  Habitats  improved,  and  role  of  the 

Secretariat expanded; 

-  2018-2019: focus on user needs, applications for EU policies; and 
-  2020-2021: increased use for EU policies. 

Evaluation findings 

Efficiency and effectiveness 

To quantify the  efficiency  and assess the effectiveness  of  EMODnet,  an external  evaluation 
study (7) has assessed the benefits in relation to expected gains in productivity, innovation and 
data accuracy. 

There  are  clear  benefits  in  terms  of  productivity,  i.e.  time  saved  for  professionals  and 
organisations.  For  example,  before  EMODnet,  acquiring  data  at  sea-basin  level  would  have 
required  to  contact  organisations  in  all  countries  bordering  a  sea  basin,  request  permission, 
access the data, and most likely get it in different formats and quality. Thanks to EMODnet, 
data can be accessed in a few clicks.  

EMODnet  has  also  been  developing  and  maintaining  data  products  at  EU  level  and  when 
possible  beyond  (8).  One  of  the  most  emblematic  products  is  the  EU-wide  Digital  Terrain 
Model.  It  provides  the  best-resolution  bathymetry  existing  for  EU  seas,  and  it  is  used  in 
various applications from marine modelling to spatial planning and more. 

There  are  also  clear  benefits  in  terms  of  innovation,  i.e.  new  products,  services  and 
applications that can be developed based on readily available, free data. Today, more than 100 
use cases are listed on the EMODnet website (9).  

Another  important  benefit  is  the  increased  accuracy  of  data  thanks  to  a  quality  control 
process. This  results in reduced uncertainty for the various uses of the different data, which 
also  has  economic  benefits,  e.g.  reduced  uncertainty  can  have  a  positive  impact  on  risk 
mitigation of floods. 

Overall, the external evaluation study assessed that improvements in productivity, innovation 
and accuracy  yielded cumulative  benefits  in  the order of 20 times the annual  cost.  Between 
2014 and 2020, the funding provided by the EMFF amounted to EUR 51.3 million, i.e. EUR 
7.3  million  per  year.  So  EMODnet  has  not  only  been  effective  in  helping  to  achieve  its 
objectives, but it is also efficient because it generates benefits that are larger than its cost. 

Coherence 

From the beginning, EMODnet has sought coherence with EU policies such as the INSPIRE 
Directive (10)  and  the  MSFD.  In  particular,  EMODnet  is  used  in  the  context  of  MSFD 
Descriptor  10  on  marine  litter,  where  it  supports  the  creation  of  a  standardised  collection 

7  
8 
9 
10 

https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2771/3245 
https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/data-portfolio 
https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/use-cases 
Directive 2007/2/EC. 

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methodology  and  provides  access  to  the  aggregated  data  of  Member  States.  As  the  policy 
context has changed, EMODnet has been adapted too. It now also helps achieve the objectives 
of  the  MSPD  by  making  available  some  Member  States’  maritime  spatial  plans  in  a  visual 
form.  

EMODnet  services  are  developed  in  close  collaboration  with  the  Copernicus  Marine 
Environment  Monitoring  Service  (CMEMS),  powering  part  of  its  In  situ  Thematic  Centre. 
EMODnet  products  are  used  in  the  Copernicus  Marine  forecasting  models  or  products  for 
validation  purposes  and  are  also  provided  to  CMEMS  users  for  further  research  and 
downstream activities. 

How did the EU intervention make a difference? 

Today,  EMODnet  provides  free  and  open  data  covering  the  27  Member  States  and  other 
regions in a standardised format and saves its users a lot of effort. 

EMODnet  makes  a  difference  for  national  hydrographic  offices,  national  or  other  research 
centres and academic labs who are performing expensive in situ measurements and surveys on 
water  temperature,  on  pollution,  on  the  nature  of  the  sea  floor,  on  habitats,  on  human 
activities, etc. EMODnet also  makes a difference for some of  the Member States’  reporting 
obligations (e.g. under the MSFD and the MSPD).  

Without  EMODnet,  such  a  data  network  would  not  exist  at  EU  level  and  stopping  the 
activities would directly impact the benefits listed above.  

EMODnet also respects subsidiarity. Member States keep their right to decide on the way they 
manage data at national level. 

Is the intervention still relevant? 

Over  the  years,  the  Commission  has  adapted  the  action  to  include  new  policies,  e.g.  the 
MSPD  in  2014,  the  Single-Use  Plastics  Directive  in  2019,  or  the  EU  Mission  ‘Restore  our 
Ocean and Waters by 2030’ in 2020. 

In the context of digitalisation and initiatives such as Destination Earth and the Digital Twin 
of the Ocean, there is an increasing need for marine data, reduced operational costs and faster 
access for those who use marine data.  

With all the environmental policies that are in place and the upcoming ones, it is more than 
ever  needed  to  improve  the  quality  of  public  decision-making  at  all  levels  by  making 
available data of the best quality. 

Conclusions 

Table 1 provides a summary of the estimated impact  of EMODnet in relation to the various 
objectives  (+  meaning  low  impact,  ++  meaning  medium  impact  and  +++  meaning  high 
impact). 

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General objectives 

Underpin  EU  policies  that  preserve,  protect  and  improve  the  quality  of  the 
environment 
Strengthen the scientific and technological basis 

Prudent and rational utilisation of resources 

Support common transport policy 

Progressively establish an area of freedom, justice and security 

Increase fisheries productivity 

Support an open market with free competition 

Specific objectives 

l. Reduce operational costs and delays 

a) Help private industry compete in the global economy 

b) Improve the quality of public decision-making at all levels 

c) Strengthen marine scientific research 

2. Increase competition amongst users of marine data 

3. Reduce uncertainty in knowledge of the oceans and the seas 

4. Enhance marine knowledge for maritime surveillance, licensing and fisheries 
management 
Operational objectives: Setting up and maintaining at EU level 

l.  A  catalogue  of  European  marine  data  collections  with  common  formats  and 
nomenclature 
2. A set of complete interoperable layers for European sea basins 

3. A user-driven process that determines priorities for the collection and assembly 
of data 

+++ 

+++ 

++ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

+++ 

+ 

+++ 

+++ 

++ 

Table 1: Summary of the strength of the estimated impact in relation to the various objectives 

Lessons learned 

The progressive development and growth of the network resulted in multiple contracts that are 
not  synchronised  and  operating  independently.  Other  ways  of  contracting  could  be 
investigated, keeping a competitive dimension for some of the needs but formalising the fact 
that some specific entities are necessary and cannot be selected on a competitive basis. 

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Experience also showed that further IT developments targeting easier accessibility and better 
user-friendliness would further improve overall efficiency. Further action to increase outreach 
and engagement would also enable a larger base to both provide and use the data. 

In addition to collecting data using a bottom-up approach, a top-down approach could also be 
developed to better answer policy needs, e.g. more coherent and uniform sea-basin coverage. 

EMODnet had to adapt to a developing EU policy landscape several times. In the future, this 
flexibility should be preserved, enabling EMODnet to cover new areas, satisfy new needs and 
continue to develop synergies for the technical reporting under EU policies.  

A  better  linkage  between  EMODnet  and  CMEMS  would  also  increase  the  relevance  and 
pertinence  of  both  services,  EMODnet  providing  data  for  validation  and  calibration  and 
CMEMS  delivering  information  with  a  coverage  that  cannot  be  achieved  with  in situ 
measurements. 

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