The Gaia-X Framework

Build the Gaia-X Ecosystem

All you need to know about the Gaia-X Framework at a glance/click:

For more information dial in to our monthly member events or listen to our recorded version of the “Introduction to new generation Gaia-X“  – soon available here.
The CTO has displayed the Gaia-X Framework at https://docs.gaia-x.eu/framework/ and it is equally available through the Gaia-X site at https://gaia-x.eu/gaia-x-framework/
For first time visitors, we highly recommend to take the “TOUR” by just pressing the “Take the Tour” button on top of the page.

You can select your view by choosing the necessary filters.
When activating “show/releases” you will find a link to the documents published and the ones that are still “Work in Progress”.

To understand which documents are mandatory, pleaseactivate the mandatory button.

What is needed to be compliant

What is needed to be Gaia-X compliant?

To be Gaia-X compliant you would need to realise the following content within your Project.

Look at our list of all mandatory components with a short description, the link to the current version of the document (and some best practice and tips and hints – coming soon).

Policy-Rules Document

Compliance with these policy rules objectives can be achieved via complying with established standards, certifications, and codes of conduct. The addition and maintenance of these accepted standards will be performed as part of the labelling criteria document (WG labelling) and in the trust framework document (WG compliance).

Where such tools are not available or approved, specific methodologies can be further developed and agreed within Gaia-X to be included in the self-description of service offerings.

Labelling Criteria

Gaia-X distinguishes 3 levels of Labels, starting from Level 1 (the lowest), up to Level 3 (the highest), which represent different degrees of compliance regarding the goals of transparency, autonomy, data protection, security, interoperability, flexibility, and European Control. Some of the following requirements are specific to a respective label level.

Architecture Document

This document describes the top-level Gaia-X Architecture model. It focuses on conceptual modelling and key considerations of an operating model and is agnostic regarding technology and vendor. In doing so, it aims to represent the unambiguous understanding of the various Gaia-X stakeholder groups about the fundamental concepts and terms of the Gaia-X Architecture in a consistent form at a certain point in time.

It forms the foundation for further elaboration, specification, and implementation of the Gaia-X Architecture. Thus, it particularly creates an authoritative reference for the Gaia-X Federation Services specification.

The Gaia-X Architecture enables Data and Infrastructure Ecosystems using the elements explained in the Gaia- X Conceptual Model, the Gaia-X Operational Mode,l and the Federation Services together with the Gaia-X Trust Framework.

Trust Framework

The Trust Framework is the set of rules that define the minimum baseline to be part of the Gaia-X Ecosystem. Those rules ensure a common governance and the basic levels of interoperability across individual ecosystems, while letting the users in full control of their choices.¹

In other words, the Gaia-X Ecosystem is the virtual set of participants and service offerings following the Gaia-X requirements as these are derived from the Gaia-X Trust Framework.

The Trust Framework uses verifiable credentials and linked data representation to build a FAIR knowledge graph of verifiable claims from which additional trust and composability indexes can be automatically computed.

Gaia-X Compliance Service

Transparency, Trust, Consistency rules implementation
Compliance service document, described in the Architecture Document

Gaia-X Registry Service

Transparency, Trust, Consistency rules implementation,
Described in the Architecture Document

Identity-Access Management (optional)

Transport and Exchange protocols
Self Description information Model

Federated-Catalogue (optional)

Inter-Catalogue Synchronisation
Wallet and Catalogue Interaction

Data Exchange Services  (optional)

Functional Requirements
Data Sharing Agreement

For more information on the Gaia-X Framework interactive components;an artefact view and to learn more about which workgroup is working on which documents, please click here.