ArcGIS INSPIRE Open Data

High-value datasets (HVDs) are categories of public sector data defined under the EU Open Data Directive that carry significant potential for socioeconomic benefit, transparency, and innovation across Europe. They span six thematic categories—geospatial, earth observation, statistics, mobility, companies, and meteorology—and must be made available free of charge, in machine-readable formats, and accessible via APIs. 

ArcGIS INSPIRE Open Data enables European public authorities to publish and deliver HVDs at scale as ready-to-use data layers, web services, and APIs, ensuring they are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) across borders.

ArcGIS for INSPIRE (Classic) was built to support an earlier phase of INSPIRE implementation, focused on complex, schema-driven data models and service-based compliance. To align with the INSPIRE Directive’s continued evolution and modern data practices, ArcGIS for INSPIRE (Classic) will retire on August 1, 2026. Its next-generation replacement, ArcGIS INSPIRE Open Data, provides a simpler and more pragmatic approach—implementing endorsed INSPIRE good practices using modern web architecture, streamlined data models, and DCAT-AP-based federation to EU open data portals. Organizations currently using ArcGIS for INSPIRE (Classic) should begin planning their transition now.

DCAT-AP (Data Catalog Vocabulary – Application Profile) is the European metadata standard that makes public sector datasets discoverable and interoperable across EU open data portals. Based on the W3C DCAT specification and adapted for European public administrations, it enables dataset metadata to be automatically harvested and shared across national and pan-European portals—including data.europa.eu. ArcGIS INSPIRE Open Data, via ArcGIS Hub, automates DCAT-AP feeds so that organizations can federate their spatial datasets with EU open data portals with minimal manual effort, helping them meet EU Open Data Directive obligations while maximizing the visibility and reuse of their data.

Open data is data that is freely available for anyone to access, use, and share—typically published by public authorities in open, machine-readable formats. In the European context, open data is governed by the EU Open Data Directive, which requires member states to make public sector information—including geospatial data—available for reuse. ArcGIS INSPIRE Open Data supports this mandate by enabling organizations to publish geospatial open data aligned with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, discoverable across EU data portals, and ready to drive transparency, innovation, and evidence-based policy.

The European Open Data Strategy is a cornerstone of the EU’s broader European Strategy for Data, which aims to create a single European data space where data flows freely across borders and sectors for the benefit of society, science, and the economy. It encompasses the EU Open Data Directive, the European Green Deal, and the INSPIRE Directive—all working together to ensure that public sector data, especially high-value datasets, is available in interoperable, reusable, and machine-readable formats. 

For geospatial data, this means aligning spatial datasets with common standards, publishing them as open data via APIs and DCAT-AP-enabled portals, and reducing barriers to cross-border data reuse. ArcGIS INSPIRE Open Data helps European public authorities deliver on this strategy by combining GIS-based workflows with endorsed INSPIRE good practices to produce, publish, and share geospatial data that supports environmental policy, digital public services, innovation, and resident engagement.