As part of the CERTAIN project’s Pilot 4 co-creation activities, focused on Human Resources (HR), INCOM successfully organised and conducted two Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to support the development of the Human Resources Data Space and the integration of AI-powered tools for recruitment processes.
Held on 10 June 2026 and 6 July 2026, the sessions brought together a diverse group of external stakeholders representing the Pilot 4 personas, including project managers and recruiters, job seekers and freelance experts, AI solution providers, and Data Space developers.
The primary objective of the discussions was to gather practical insights and stakeholder perspectives to ensure that the Pilot 4 solutions address real user needs while remaining aligned with ethical, legal, technical, and regulatory requirements.
Participants explored a wide range of topics, including:
- Current challenges in HR data sharing, particularly the management and exchange of Curriculum Vitae (CVs), and existing recruitment processes.
- Requirements for a secure, trusted Human Resources Data Space for sharing workforce-related data.
- Expectations for AI-supported recruitment, job matching, workforce planning, and labour market intelligence.
- Privacy, transparency, fairness, and bias mitigation in AI-enabled recruitment.
- Functional requirements and user needs for the proposed Data Space infrastructure and AI tools.
- Potential barriers to stakeholder participation in a federated HR data ecosystem.
The meetings followed a structured agenda, beginning with an introduction to the CERTAIN project and Pilot 4, followed by stakeholder presentations, interactive discussions, and question-and-answer sessions designed to validate and refine the Pilot 4 use cases.
The valuable feedback collected during the FGDs will directly contribute to the further development of the CERTAIN Human Resources Data Space, helping to create a secure, trustworthy, and user-centred environment for data sharing that supports more efficient recruitment processes and evidence-based policymaking across Europe.
In addition to the co-creation activities, the sessions also introduced CERTAIN’s initial exploitation strategy. Participants were presented with the project’s Key Exploitable Results (KERs) and the potential pathways for transforming them into sustainable exploitation models.
Particular attention was given to the Regulatory Operations Services (RegOps), which enable automated regulatory compliance workflows within Data Spaces. The discussion highlighted several exploitation opportunities, including commercial RegOps services integrated with Data Space connectors, adoption of the HR Data Space for GDPR-compliant recruitment, advisory services, open-source exploitation of the MLOps engine, and the delivery of continuous compliance monitoring, AI governance, and trustworthy AI certification services.
The focus group discussions represent another important milestone in the co-creation process, ensuring that CERTAIN’s innovative HR Data Space and AI solutions are developed in close collaboration with the stakeholders who will ultimately use and benefit from them.