Revolution in research: TU Dresden introduces broad consent!

Revolution in research: TU Dresden introduces broad consent!

On July 23rd, 2025 the Dresden University of Technology (TUD) introduced the concept of broad consent outside the field of medical research for the first time. This innovative measure aims to promote sustainable and data protection-compliant use of personal data in science. Participants have the opportunity to consent to the use of their data beyond a single project for specific research areas.

The introduction of broad consent represents a significant development, particularly in the context of the challenges posed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to the processing of data in scientific research. Loud Privacy Notices The processing of data based on the consent of the data subject is a common practice enshrined in Articles 6 and 9 of the GDPR. However, the exact purposes of data processing cannot always be clearly defined at the time of data collection. This requires precise and informed consent from those affected.

Legal framework

The TUD has developed clear ethical, legal and organizational frameworks for broad consent. These serve as the basis for reusable and trustworthy data sets in data-driven science. The project that serves as a use case for broad consent is the smartphone-based study “Cities on the Move.” This study, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), examines the mobility behavior of participants and demonstrates how effective research data infrastructures can work.

An outstanding aspect of the study is the high level of agreement among participants about the use of their data. Over 80 percent of those surveyed gave their consent, which underlines the acceptance of the broad consent. This positive feedback also shows that a trusting relationship between research and participants is of central importance.

Interdisciplinary cooperation

The introduction of this new form of consent is being supported on an interdisciplinary basis by various TUD institutions. To the partners inDDtrust scaleproject includes, among others, the CIDS, KFDM, SCD, the ZIH as well as the Institute for International Law, Intellectual Property and Technology Law and the Professorship for Mobility System Planning. This broad cooperation underlines the importance of including different perspectives in the development of data protection-compliant research approaches.

The methodological basis for the concept of broad consent is based on experiences from the medical field, which allows the transfer of best practices to a new context. TUD experts are working on transferring the developed solutions into operational research operations in order to meet the requirements of the GDPR and at the same time protect academic freedom.

For further information, Jens Syckor, the data protection officer at TU Dresden, is available on +49 351 463-32839.