# Linked Open Government Data: Still a Viable Option for Sharing and Integrating Public Data?
## 7 What Valuable Examples of LOGD Adoption Can Be Found Today?
### DCAT and Open Data Catalog Interoperability  
DCAT, based on the LD best practice, has an impact on the way data is shared and documented in the context of OGD. DCAT, developed through W3C standardization, facilitates unambiguous and shared data exchange across systems. Initially designed at DERI, it underwent refinement by W3C groups, becoming a Recommendation in 2014. A second version of DCAT [109] was published as a W3C Recommendation in 2020 and the third version is under development as a response to new use cases. DCAT harmonizes diverse community approaches, extending the core for profiles to ensure the semantic uniformity crucial for lossless interoperability.  
DCAT leverages LD best practices, adopting a metadata schema based on the OpenWorld Assumption (OWA) and defined using the RDF data model [54]. The OWA, when applied to the metadata model, signifies that the metadata schema remains open, allowing extension with types and relationships from other schemes. RDF facilitates a machine-actionable approach by assigning each term in the schema a unique identifier, enabling the retrieval of term semantics and the joint use of terms from different vocabularies. These assumptions prove effective in uncoordinated open environments like the Web [110].  
In the LOGD context, DCAT's success is evident in widespread adoption, with DCAT-AP as a notable example. Developed as part of Interoperable Europe ([[https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/interoperable-europe](https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/interoperable-europe)]([https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/interoperable-europe](https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/interoperable-europe)) (accessed on 3 January 2024)), DCAT-AP [111] serves as a profile for sharing catalog information in Europe, with maintenance by SEMIC ([https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/semic-support-centre/welcome](https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/semic-support-centre/welcome) (accessed on 6 February 2024)). It has been used across Europe since 2014, primarily for government and scientific data catalogs, demonstrating broad geographic coverage and support in platforms like the European Data Portal ([[https://data.europa.eu/](https://data.europa.eu/)]([https://data.europa.eu/](https://data.europa.eu/)) (accessed on 3 January 2024)) and CKAN ([[https://ckan.org/](https://ckan.org/)]([https://ckan.org/](https://ckan.org/))). Over the past decade, DCAT-AP has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem, featuring interconnected specifications, GeoDCAT-AP [112], StatDCAT-AP [113], and mobilityDCAT-AP ([[https://mobilitycat-ap.github.io/mobilityDCAT-AP/releases/1.0.0/index.html](https://mobilitycat-ap.github.io/mobilityDCAT-AP/releases/1.0.0/index.html)]([https://mobilitycat-ap.github.io/mobilityDCAT-AP/releases/1.0.0/index.html](https://mobilitycat-ap.github.io/mobilityDCAT-AP/releases/1.0.0/index.html)) (accessed on 18 January 2024)), that are domain-specific extensions for geospatial, statistical, and mobility data, and share the DCAT-AP's geographic coverage. Besides the European profile, extra-European profiles such as DCAT-US ([[https://resources.data.gov/resources/dcat-us/](https://resources.data.gov/resources/dcat-us/)]([https://resources.data.gov/resources/dcat-us/](https://resources.data.gov/resources/dcat-us/)) (accessed on 18 January 2024)) and national profiles have emerged (e.g., DCAT-AP-IT for Italy, DCAT-AP-NL for The Netherlands, DCAT-AP-NO for Norway, DCAT-AP-SE for Sweden, and DCAT-AP-DK for Denmark).