Data Concepts

The content of the ESPON 2020 Database is the following:

• Main data, i.e. the Project indicators (with their genealogy) and the Base indicators:
  • Project indicators:
    • Key indicators , indicators that are considered by the projects as their main results. As outputs of different types of data processing, they may have multiple parent (background) indicators. All key indicators use a standard nomenclature.
    • Background indicators, indicators used in the process of creating a key indicators (either original compiled data or a significant step in the calculation process), they are described in the genealogy of Key indicators. Standard background indicators use standard nomenclatures, contrary to non-standard background indicators (e.g. grid data, flow data).
  • Base indicators, time-series of base data (e.g. population, Gross Domestic Product) originating from official sources, such as Eurostat or National Statistical Offices, and complemented by estimations in case of data gaps.
• Project Archives, which gathers the whole data content produced by each ESPON Project, including other data of interest, in addition to the above Project indicators.
• Resources, i.e. various types of information resources such as reports, mapkits.
• In addition, the database stores Spatial data, which includes the definition of territorial nomenclatures (NUTS, FUA, etc.), spatial extents (EU28, EU 28+4, Territorial Cooperation Areas, etc.) and geometries (GIS data).

Each content is described by Metadata, which allows its discovery through search tools.

The originality of the Main Data under the ESPON 2020 Database Portal is the extent to which it identifies relations between indicators. Indicators may be linked on two basis:

• Structural relations (Multi indicators / Dimension indicators / Class indicators). A Multi indicator is an indicator that has one or more Dimensions and/or Classes, e.g. “Total population” (Multi indicator) broken down by “Age groups” (Dimension) and specific age intervals (Classes).
• Genetic relations (indicator genealogy). A genealogy relation can be established between one (or several) indicator(s) and another, when one (or several) indicator(s) - the Parents - were used in the process of calculating the other – the Child. A methodology that describes the calculation step is associated to each genealogy relation.

Furthermore, any indicator can be associated to a Dataset (sets of indicators defined by Project) or a Group (any desired grouping of indicators, e.g. a thematic category).