YDS · Project

Open Data Platform That Tracks Government Spending and Fights Corruption

digitalTestedTRL 7Thin data (2/5)

Imagine you could follow every euro of public money — from the government budget all the way to the contractor who received it — on a single interactive map. That's what YourDataStories built: an online platform that pulls together open government financial data from multiple countries, links it all up, and lets anyone — a journalist, a city official, or a regular citizen — explore where the money goes. Think of it as Google Maps, but instead of streets and restaurants, you see spending flows and contracts, making it much harder for corruption to hide in plain sight.

By the numbers

EUR 2,469,038

EU funding for platform development

consortium partners

countries in consortium (BE, DE, EL, IE, NL)

total project deliverables

working demo deliverables

full iteration cycles of all platform components

The business problem

What needed solving

Governments across Europe publish enormous amounts of financial data — budgets, contracts, subsidies — but this data sits in disconnected silos, in different formats, across different countries. Journalists, oversight bodies, and citizens who want to follow the money trail face an impossible puzzle of incompatible datasets. This makes it easy for corruption and inefficiency to hide in plain sight.

The solution

What was built

A customizable online platform for exploring government financial data, including: data harvesters that automatically collect public finance information, an open data repository that links and stores it, interactive visualization applications, and a customization infrastructure — all built through 3 full iteration cycles culminating in a Final Integrated Prototype. The platform was built on top of the Greek government's Transparency Portal.

Audience

Who needs this

GovTech companies building e-government and transparency toolsInvestigative journalism organizations and data journalism unitsAnti-corruption NGOs and international oversight bodiesMunicipal governments seeking citizen engagement on public spendingPublic procurement monitoring and compliance firms

Business applications

Who can put this to work

GovTech / Public Administration

SME

Target: Companies building digital tools for government transparency or e-government solutions

If you are a GovTech company helping municipalities digitize their financial reporting — this project developed a customizable open data platform with data harvesters and visualization components that can pull public spending data from multiple sources and present it in an interactive, citizen-friendly way. The platform was built by a 10-partner consortium across 5 countries and reached its final integrated prototype stage.

Media & Investigative Journalism

any

Target: News organizations and data journalism units

If you are a media company or newsroom that investigates public spending and corruption — this project developed tools that automatically harvest government financial data, link it across borders, and let journalists remix diverse data sources into visual stories. The platform was tested with real government data building on the Greek Transparency Portal initiative.

Anti-Corruption & Compliance Consulting

mid-size

Target: Consulting firms specializing in public sector compliance and anti-fraud

If you are a compliance consulting firm helping governments or international organizations detect irregularities in public procurement — this project built an open data repository and analytics components that trace financial flows across European public services. With 32 deliverables including 15 working demos, the technology can surface suspicious patterns in cross-border public finance data.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or adopt this platform?

The project was funded with EUR 2,469,038 in EU contribution as an Innovation Action. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator (Athens Technology Center, a Greek SME). Since the platform was built on open data principles, some components may be available as open source.

Can this scale to handle national or EU-wide government data?

The platform was designed specifically for cross-border public finance flows across Europe, building on the Greek Transparency Portal. The final integrated prototype included data harvesters capable of fetching data from multiple government sources across the 5 consortium countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands).

Who owns the intellectual property?

IP is held by the consortium led by Athens Technology Center (Greek SME). The project produced 32 deliverables including a final integrated prototype and open data repository. Specific licensing arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator.

Is this compliant with EU data regulations?

The platform was built specifically around Open Government Data, which is public by definition. It was funded under the EU's own Innovation Action program (topic INSO-1-2014) focused on innovation for open government. Compliance with GDPR and national transparency laws would need to be verified for specific deployments.

How long would it take to deploy this in our organization?

The project ran for 3 years (2015-2018) and produced iterative prototypes through three full versions (v1.0, v2.0, v3.0) of all major components. A deployment based on the final prototype would require customization for your specific data sources, but the customization infrastructure was a dedicated component of the platform.

Can this integrate with our existing data systems?

The platform was designed with integration in mind — it includes dedicated data harvesters (built in 3 versions), an open data repository, and a platform customization infrastructure. The architecture supports linking with diverse and dynamic data sources, as stated in the project objectives.

Consortium

Who built it

The 10-partner consortium spans 5 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands) and is led by Athens Technology Center, a Greek SME with technology commercialization experience. The mix includes 2 industry partners, 1 university, 1 research organization, and 6 other partners (likely NGOs and government bodies, consistent with the transparency and public services focus). With only 20% industry ratio and 2 SMEs, this is a public-sector-heavy consortium — strong for government pilot access but would need commercial partners for private sector deployment.

ATHENS TECHNOLOGY CENTER ANONYMI VIOMICHANIKI EMPORIKI KAI TECHNIKI ETAIREIA EFARMOGON YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIASCoordinator · EL
UNIVERSITY OF GALWAYparticipant · IE
DEUTSCHE WELLEparticipant · DE
TENFORCEparticipant · BE
MINISTRY OF ADMINISTRATIVE RECONSTRUCTIONparticipant · EL
ETAIREIA ELEYTHEROY LOGISMIKOY LOGISMIKOY ANOIKTOY KODIKAparticipant · EL
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH "DEMOKRITOS"participant · EL
STICHTING EUROPEAN JOURNALISM CENTREparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

Athens Technology Center (Greek SME) — contact via company website or LinkedIn

Order a report on this consortium See ATHENS TECHNOLOGY CENTER ANONYMI VIOMICHANIKI EMPORIKI KAI TECHNIKI ETAIREIA EFARMOGON YPSILIS TECHNOLOGIAS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how this open data platform could work for your government transparency or data journalism needs? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the development team.

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