Understanding Trust Frameworks: Goals and Components Identified Through a Case Study

Amidst increasing online data sharing among organisations, there is a growing need for interoperability and trust in the digital space. When there is no infrastructure provider for sharing information (e.g. by Big Tech players and/or government-owned infrastructures), public and private actors must figure out how to reach agreements about the technical specifications and data infrastructure components to facilitate inter-organizational collaboration. This paper zooms in on the empirical phenomenon of trust frameworks emerging in practice. The main research question is twofold: (1) what are the goals actors strive for with trust frameworks and (2) which components are developed for achieving these goals? Drawing on previous literature and a case study approach, interoperability, certainty, efficiency, and security emerge as goals of trust frameworks. As for the second question, we draft an exhaustive diagram of components from both the literature and our case study. This explorative research lays the foundation for future research into trust frameworks as a major change in traditional approaches to cross-sector data exchange.