"The European Commission has commissioned Technopolis Group, Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) to conduct an international study on innovative data-driven approaches to inform policymaking. The topic cuts across all policy areas and societal challenges, therefore the study will not be limited to the portfolio of the Commission's Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), but will include other services and policy areas. We are experiencing a step change in the possibilities to collect, link, analyse and visualise data ('big data'). Data sources include social media, real-time sensor data, public administration data (including open data), data from statistical offices, commercially traded data, and the like. The increased volume and variety of data, together with advances in connectivity, data storage and computing, allow for improvements in data analytics. Options for visualisation of data go well beyond interactive maps, heat maps, timelines and network graphs. Public policymakers have started to explore how big data can be used throughout the policy cycle of agenda and priority setting, policy options generation, policy design, ex ante impact assessment, monitoring and ex post evaluation and impact assessment. At the same time, policymakers explore data-driven approaches that maximise the use of well-established datasets, qualitative data and data that is relevant for specific organisations and individuals only ('small data'). One of the challenges of data-driven approaches is to ensure that well-designed indicators, more data and new analytical tools actually lead to better insights and policy impact. Another challenge is to address privacy and other legal and ethical issues."--Editor.