18+ Sample Data Exchange Agreement

What Is a Data Exchange Agreement?

Before we define the main agreement document, first and foremost, what is data exchange all about? Data exchange, in its most basic definition, is the process of transmitting and obtaining data in such a way that the information contained or meaning attributed to the data is not affected during transmission. Data exchange, in the context of business, describes the process of sharing data among multiple parties. It also enables various types of firms to access as many pieces of data as they need to power data-driven marketing operations and advertising, as well as to fill in any gaps of knowledge about their present audience, to discover what their preferences are when they aren’t on the company’s site.

Since the process of data exchange can be complicated and can involve some form of data that is very high in value but not necessarily confidential, rules need to be set between companies involved in a data exchange process, one of which is signing a data exchange agreement. A data exchange agreement is a legal document that specifies what type of data will be chosen to share among the relevant parties, who has access to that data, and the legal structures that specify how that information will be assigned, analyzed, and disseminated, as well as to whom it will be disseminated. This may also function as a sort of confidentiality agreement to ensure that no one other than the parties participating in the exchange agreement is aware of the details that have been exchanged. This agreement is the minimum standard of documents required for the companies concerned to participate in a data exchange endeavor.

What’s In a Data Exchange Agreement?

Here are some of the key components that make up an effective data exchange agreement; depending on the parties involved and the type of data to be exchanged, some more elements may need to be present.

Title of the Agreement. This is the first key part of the data exchange agreement and is usually located at the top of the page. Since this is the case, it’s also the first thing that the reader of the agreement will see. Its role is to describe the main purpose of the agreement. In this case, the title of the document would be “Data Exchange Agreement”.Recitals Section. After the title of the agreement document, the next key component that is present is usually the recitals section. The prologue section or recitals addresses a few significant elements of the agreement, the associated transaction, or the parties’ companies, and allows the reader to comprehend the context before delving into the agreement’s subsequent parts. This section is also required since it provides background information on the parties, the context of the agreement, and an introduction to the agreement’s main body.Definition of Terms. The next part of the data exchange agreement would be the definition of terms section. This section of the data exchange agreement defines the words in the legal document. The inclusion of the definition of terms section in this agreement is required to reduce the possibility of misunderstandings among the parties concerned. This section of the agreement can include as many or as few definitions of words as needed and has the ability to greatly alter the result of the parties’ relationship and any possible conflicts. It is critical that the defined words be clear and written in simple language.Purpose and Intended Use. This section serves as the first part of the main body of the data exchange agreement. This portion of the agreement should outline in broad terms the sort of data to be exchanged, the amount of data to be exchanged, the parties that are involved, and how the data will be utilized. It is critical that the terminology used here should be consistent throughout the agreement.Term of the Agreement/Agreement Period. The next critical part of the data exchange agreement talks about the period of effectiveness of the agreement. The period in which the data exchange agreement is valid must be specified in this part of the agreement. This part should also state that various parties to the data exchange agreement must be able to withdraw their involvement with reasonable notice.Description of the Data Involved. The next key part of the agreement describes the data that is involved in the exchange. This part of the data exchange agreement describes the information that will be obtained, utilized, or made accessible. This section of the paper also identifies the kind and volume of the data that will be created, collected, or re-used. Also, when writing this section, keep in mind that any form of identification of who possesses the data should be given. This might include the agreement’s or partnership’s participants, a consortium, local communities, and so on.Updates. The next part of the data exchange agreement to be written after the description would be the timing and frequency of the updates given throughout the exchange. As data are to be exchanged on an ongoing basis throughout the duration of the agreement, it is important to have a section that dictates when data should be shared and how often should it be shared.Responsibility and Stewardship. The next part of the data exchange agreement talks about responsibility and data stewardship. This section of the data exchange agreement should specify who is responsible for data security. This should cover the secure file transmission procedure as well as any specific file format. If there are any particular conditions for data access, they might be defined here. This section may also justify the usage of a certain data exchange type on grounds of usability and endurance.Usage, Linking, and Sharing. The next key part of the agreement talks about the usage of permissible data including its linking and sharing. This section of the data exchange agreement should specify the specific regulations for the receiving organization’s use of the data, including access rights and data sharing with other organizations. Furthermore, the rules should be in accordance with the standards indicated when the data was still being gathered.Resources and Costs. This part of the data exchange agreement talks about the resources needed during the data exchange and how much it can cost. Additionally, this part of the agreement may also stipulate the parties who are responsible for specific data sharing costs.No Warranties. After the section that talks about the resources and costs of data sharing and management, this section talks about any form of warranty for data or linkage quality. This provision of the data exchange agreement should safeguard the receiving company of the agreement, which agrees to take reasonable steps to promote data quality. However, this provision of the agreement makes no guarantees about the quality of the data to be transferred.Indemnification. The next key component of the data exchange agreement will be the indemnification section/clause. The data exchange agreement’s indemnification clause states that in the event of legal assertions against any of the parties to the agreement, existing legal rules and principles will apply and that if one party has become aware of a claim against the other, they must notify the other party in a timely manner.Publication and Dissemination. After the indemnification section, the publication and dissemination section will then come next in the data exchange agreement. This provision of the data exchange agreement should include a review of any results that are to be distributed, along with a review to ensure that third-party researchers preserve individuals’ confidentiality while publishing findings. Such constraints should not allow for arbitrary or unjustified data suppression, but should instead be confined to preserving people’s privacy rights. It may also indicate correct data source citation or any disclaimer necessary on reports.Termination and Modification. The last important part of the data exchange agreement is the clause regarding the agreement’s termination or modification. It is quite beneficial to indicate the terms in which the agreement can be terminated or modified in a data exchange agreement. It should also be noted that this agreement provision offers precise instructions on how the data involved in the exchange should be disposed of when the agreement is terminated or modified.

How to Create a Data Exchange Agreement

As said earlier, depending on the companies involved in the data exchange agreement and the type of data to be involved in the entire exchange, a data exchange agreement may look different from one company to the next. But the common thing is, that it needs to be written properly in order for the document to be effective. With that being said, here are the necessary steps to take when writing a data exchange agreement:

1. Determine the Involved Parties

The first important step of creating the data exchange agreement is to determine who are the parties involved in this ordeal. It usually is simple in this case, as the parties involved in this agreement are usually just two different companies looking for different information to help them in cases such as marketing situations. In this step, the relevant addresses and contact details (such as emails, phone numbers, etc) of the companies need to be identified, as well as the details of the authorized people who will be involved in the transaction alongside their titles/roles within the organization they’re representing.

2. Write the Main Parts of the Document

After identifying who is involved in the data exchange agreement and after gathering their necessary details, it’s time to start writing the main parts/clauses of the document. Some of the main parts of the agreement include the intended purpose of the data exchange, the description of the data that is involved in the exchange, and the clause regarding data updates. The purpose of the data exchange clause should outline in broad terms the sort of data to be exchanged, the amount of data to be exchanged, the parties that are involved, and how the data will be utilized. The clause regarding the data description describes the data that will be obtained, utilized, or made accessible throughout the agreement and also identifies the kind and volume of the data that will be created, collected, or re-used. The updates section dictates when data should be shared and how often should it be shared.

3. Write the Boilerplate Parts

After the main parts of the agreement have been written down, it’s time to proceed with writing the boilerplate parts of the data exchange agreement. Some of the boilerplate parts of the agreement are the warranties section, indemnification section, and termination section. In the case of a data exchange agreement, the warranties section should safeguard the receiving company of the agreement but at the same time should make no guarantees about the quality of the data to be transferred. The indemnification section states that in the event of legal assertions against any of the parties to the agreement, existing legal rules and principles will apply, while the termination section indicates the terms in which the agreement can be terminated or modified in a data exchange agreement and also stipulates how the data involved in the exchange should be disposed of.

4. Finalize the Agreement

After the main and boilerplate parts of the data exchange agreement have been written down, it’s time to finalize the entire document. In this step, perform any final checks, including verifying for any errors and inconsistencies in the document, checking if there are any clauses that are missing, and checking if everything that needs to be included in the document is present. When all the final checks have been completed and the parties are satisfied, then the last step would be to put the agreement into action by signing it.

FAQs

What is Qualitative Data?

Qualitative data is a category of data that uses a finite number of discrete classifications to characterize the item under study. This means that this sort of data cannot be readily tallied or quantified using numbers and must therefore be categorized. This form of data typically answers questions such as “how this happened” or “why this happened,” and it typically consists of words, images, and symbols rather than numbers.

Who benefits from data exchange?

An example of an entity that can benefit from data exchange would be various agencies. Data exchange allows agencies to climb above their rivals and exceed client expectations by giving them access to data they wouldn’t otherwise see, allowing them to target their campaign efforts, enhance engagement, and consolidate and manage their customers’ databases. All of the data exchanged may assist agencies to attain highly appropriate content and delivery, resulting in maximum engagement and keeping their clients returning for more.

What is Nominal Data?

Nominal data is a type of data under the qualitative data type that is only used to name variables and has no quantitative value. This form of data is essentially a collection of values that do not have a natural ordering. In other words, there is no underlying ordering of variables in nominal data.

As stated earlier, having a data exchange agreement in place should be one of the rules that need to be followed when both parties decide to participate in a data exchange endeavor. This enables both parties to have a legal framework in place that can protect the security of the companies involved in the agreement as well as the value of the data involved in the exchange. In this article, there are plenty of sample templates that exist that can help you have a further understanding of this topic should you need one.