Role Nomenclature

The iSHARE Trust Framework defines a set of roles that apply to legal entities participating in data sharing ecosystems. These roles are designed to align conceptually with those used in complementary initiatives such as IDSA, DSSC, and regulations like the EU Data Governance Act. Although each initiative has its own approach to defining roles, the comparison table below provides an overview of how these roles relate to one another. This helps create a shared understanding across data space communities and supports interoperability and trust.

Adhering roles

Roles in iSHARE	Alternative names currently in use for this role	IDSA	Data Space Protocol	Data Governance Act	DSSC Blueprint
Service Consumer	Data Consumer, Data User, Data Recipient	Data Consumer	Participant, fulfilling their technical requirements using a Participant Agent	Data user	Data product consumer
Service Provider	Data Provider, Data Node	Data Provider	Participant, fulfilling their technical requirements using a Participant Agent	Data holder	Data product owner or Data product provider
Entitled Party	Data Owner, Data Holder	Data Owner		Data subject or data holder	Data product owner or Data rights holder

Certified roles

Roles in iSHARE	Alternative names currently in use for this role	IDSA	Data Space Protocol	Data Governance Act	DSSC Blueprint
Identity Provider	Human Identity Provider				Can be seen as a Trust anchor
Identity Broker
Authorisation Registry				Part of a data intermediation service	Can be seen as a Participant Agent Services
Participant Registry			Not present, this role will likely fulfill it’s technical requirements by using a Dataspace Registry	Competent Authorities for both data intermediation services and data altruism organisations	A combination and/or parts of Data Space Registry, Registry, Validation & Verification Service, Compliance Service, Notary, Intermediary, Federation Services, Data Space Intermediary, Conformity Assessment Body, Common Intermediary

Other relevant roles

These roles are necessary in the framework and data spaces context however, they are not necessarily registered as participants. The roles will still be essential to enable trusted data sharing and governance around it.

Roles in iSHARE	Alternative names currently in use for this role	IDSA	Data Space Protocol	Data Governance Act	DSSC Blueprint
Scheme owner					(Data Space) Support Organisation
Data Space Governance Body	Data Space Coordinator, Scheme Satellite, Data Space Governance Authority	Dataspace Authority	Dataspace Authority	May be considered equivalent to European Data Innovation Board (EDIB)	(Data space) governance authority