Data licensing is permission plus context
A local business dataset may contain names, categories, locations, websites, public-page links, observation dates, source notes, verification status and calculated measures. Licensing gives another organization defined permission to use an agreed portion of that information for an agreed purpose. It does not automatically transfer ownership, remove source restrictions or make every field verified.
That distinction matters because local business knowledge is assembled from different layers. Some fields may come from open data, some from business-provided information, some from original research and some from on-site verification. Other observations may be available for internal analysis but not for redistribution. A responsible licence describes those differences instead of presenting every row as equivalent.
The useful product is therefore more than a spreadsheet. It is a bounded dataset accompanied by definitions, dates, provenance and rules that make the information interpretable.
What The Ground Truth Index can provide today
GTI is in its founding stage, beginning with local business research in Barcelona. We can evaluate a prospective partner’s question, define a realistic geography and category, identify the fields we are permitted to share, and prepare a curated pilot extract from the approved data available within that scope.
A current pilot can be delivered as a CSV or JSON snapshot, with a field dictionary and a written scope note. Where the underlying information supports it, the delivery can include entity identifiers, normalized business names, categories, locations, public URLs, observation dates, source or provenance labels, public-page status, verification status and approved aggregate measures. The exact fields depend on rights, coverage and the intended use.
We can also produce a concise aggregate analysis—for example, completeness or coverage patterns within a defined category or area—and agree a manual or scheduled refresh process when the source rights and operating workload make that practical. Each proposal is scoped before pricing or delivery.
- A defined geographic and category scope.
- A curated CSV or JSON snapshot of approved fields.
- A field dictionary, provenance notes and observation dates.
- Clear labels distinguishing public-source observations, calculated measures and verified facts.
- An optional aggregate summary or narrowly scoped refresh plan.
What we are not promising yet
The Ground Truth Index does not currently offer a self-service global database, an always-on production API, real-time updates or guaranteed coverage of every business and category. We will not promise unrestricted redistribution of third-party fields, and we will not describe a public-source observation as a verified fact.
A licence also cannot guarantee that every record is complete or that a business has not changed since the last observation. Local information decays. A responsible delivery states when information was observed, how it was obtained, what quality checks were applied and where uncertainty remains.
These limits are not a weakness to hide. They are part of a trustworthy data product. We would rather decline an unsuitable request or propose a smaller pilot than sell a dataset that cannot support the decision a partner intends to make.
A useful licensing conversation starts with six questions
The fastest way to determine whether GTI can help is to begin with the intended decision—not with a request for ‘all the data.’ A city program assessing digital inclusion needs different fields from a platform studying category coverage or a research group comparing information freshness.
Before offering a pilot, we clarify the use case, scope, fields, delivery method, refresh expectations and permitted use. We also review whether the requested data can legally and responsibly be shared. If a required field is unavailable, restricted or not yet reliable enough, we say so before work begins.
- What decision or product will the data support?
- Which geography, business categories and time period are required?
- Which fields are essential, and which are merely helpful?
- Is a one-time snapshot sufficient, or are periodic refreshes needed?
- Who will access the data, and will any redistribution be required?
- What evidence, provenance and quality thresholds must accompany it?
Why we are starting with pilots
A focused pilot lets both sides test usefulness before pretending the relationship is larger than it is. It can reveal whether entity matching is strong enough, whether the chosen fields answer the intended question, how often updates are needed and which documentation a partner requires.
For GTI, pilots also improve the product. They expose ambiguities in field definitions, licensing terms, corrections and delivery processes while the research base is still growing. Those lessons can shape future standardized datasets and, when the operational foundation is ready, more automated access.
Organizations interested in local business knowledge can contact us with a geography, category, intended use, desired format and timeframe. We will respond plainly with what is available now, what would require a custom research project and what is not yet ready to offer.