Core Assessment Vocabulary
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Core Assessment Vocabulary

CAV Logo

Release: 21/03/2025

This version:
http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#
Latest version:
http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#
Revision:
1.3.0
Issued on:
21/03/2025
See also:
https://github.com/isa-camss/CAV
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/common-assessment-method-standards-and-specifications-camss/solution/core-assessment-vocabulary-cav
Download serialization:
JSON-LD RDF/XML N-Triples TTL
License:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Cite as:
Core Assessment Vocabulary. Revision: 1.3.0. Retrieved from: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#
CAV 1.3.0

Abstract

CAV represents and defines what an “Assessment” of “assets” is and how to perform the assessment based on “Criteria”. It is a domain-agnostic vocabulary, meaning that it can be used to assess any type of assets. It is an European Commission solution.

Introduction back to ToC

The Core Assessment Vocabulary represents, expresses, and defines what an “Assessment” of “Assets” is and how to perform the assessment based on “Criteria”. It is a domain-agnostic vocabulary, meaning that it can be used to assess any asset. The CAV addresses semantic interoperability by reusing existing generic ontologies and vocabularies. This way, the semantics of common concepts and properties are agreed without having to re-discuss them. When concepts or properties have not been identified nor defined for the purposes pursued, they have to be proposed either as extensions or from scratch.

The methodological approach followed for the development of the CAV reuses the following ontologies and vocabularies:

Namespace declarations

Table 1: Namespaces used in the document
adms<http://www.w3.org/ns/adms#>
cav<http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#>
cc<http://creativecommons.org/ns#>
cv<https://data.europa.eu/m8g/>
dc<http://www.omg.org/spec/UML/20131001/UMLDC>
dcat<http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#>
dct<http://purl.org/dc/terms/>
foaf<http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/>
org<http://www.w3.org/ns/org#>
owl<http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#>
rdf<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
rdfs<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
sch<https://schema.org/>
skos<http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#>
vann<http://purl.org/vocab/vann/>
xml<http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace>
xsd<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#>

Core Assessment Vocabulary: Overview back to ToC

This ontology has the following classes and properties.
CSSV UML

Classes

Object Properties

Data Properties

Core Assessment Vocabulary: Description back to ToC

A CAV Assessment is a specialization of an Asset, which is itself also a specialization of the dcat:Dataset and, by extension, of dcat:Resource. As any adms:Asset, the Assessment can be identified and described, and has individuals' distributions, publishers, etc. Additionally, to these properties, the cav:Assessment needs to specify who are the requestors and evaluators of the Assessments. These can be anything represented by a foaf:Agent, such as a natural person, a group, or an organization. Notice that the objects assessed are also Resources, meaning that the CAV may be used to assess anything that is considered a valuable resource. Examples of such resources could be products, services, or, in the case of CAMSS, standards and specifications.

An Assessment results in Statements capturing the produced knowledge and providing value judgments. These can refer to the Assessment as a whole or a specific section, even being as detailed as to refer to individual evaluated criteria.

A cv:Criterion is typically derived from a Reference Framework, which is to be understood as a series of “agreed and descriptive reference requirements” coming from one or more sources (e.g., legislation, specifications and standards, ICT policy-related works like the EIF within the EIS, etc.). Throughout the Assessment, each cv:Criterion is assigned a cav:Score (in principle by humans, but potentially also by systems) as the value output that is considered when formulating the resulting Statement(s). The cav:Score can take into consideration any resource input (e.g., when the score is calculated based on different input parameters, algorithms, and formulae).

Any Assessment is performed in the context of a cav:Scenario. The Scenario defines the purpose of the Assessment and the set of Criteria to be scored by one or more Agents. Scenarios can be defined with a flexible structure, including nested sections (represented as sub-Scenarios) that serve to provide additional context, group thematically Criteria, and be referred to by the assessment’s resulting Statement(s). Criteria can themselves be simple or complex and originate from various reference sources. The overall context for the evaluation of the Criteria is provided by the Scenario; however, in case certain Criteria require additional contextualization or evaluation instructions, these can exceptionally be provided by means of an cav:EvaluationContext, which is related to a resource. Moreover, an Assessment might trigger another related Assessment of different content, which has its own Scenario and Criteria.

Finally, an Assessment has a dct:title and a dct:description to facilitate the identification of the Asset. Note that it is also possible to model work in progress, expressed by having the Assessment define optional links to Scores, Statements, reports, and summaries. The versioning of an Assessment is represented by the dcat:version to keep track of the current version of the Assessment and its relationship with a previous one; setting up the dct:issued (assessment performance date) and the dcat:releaseDate (assessment publication date) of the Assessment is also recommended, where the CAV reuses the dct:issued (date) property for both.

Cross-reference for Core Assessment Vocabulary classes, object properties and data properties back to ToC

This section provides details for each class and property defined by Core Assessment Vocabulary.

Classes

Assessmentc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#Assessment

The intellectual work to evaluate an asset against the criteria of a given scenario.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has super-classes
Asset c
is in domain of
Assesses op, Considers op, Contextualised by op, Description dp, Documented in op, Has report op, Has summary op, Issued dp, Performed by op, Previous version op, Release date dp, Requested by op, Results in op, Status dp, Title dp, Triggered from op, Triggers op, Version dp
is in range of
Previous version op, Triggered from op, Triggers op

Assetc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#Asset

A resource, probably resulting from a work, with purpose and value.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has super-classes
Dataset c
has sub-classes
Assessment c
is in domain of
Documented in op, Value description dp

Datasetc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#Dataset

has super-classes
Resource c
has sub-classes
Asset c, Scenario c
is in domain of
distribution op
is disjoint with
Scenario c

Evaluation contextc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#EvaluationContext

The context for a criterion providing guidance on its evaluation considering the given scenario. This is used exceptionally to extend the context offered by the scenario when it is not sufficient for the evaluation of a given criterion. An criterion's evaluation produces an objective output that will then be considered to form value judgments expressed as the assessment's statements.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
is in domain of
Contextualises op, Defined by op, Instruction description dp, Relates to op
is in range of
Based on op, Defines op

Scenarioc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#Scenario

The context of the assessment establishing its purpose, the organisation of criteria being evaluated, and its reference frameworks.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has super-classes
Dataset c
is in domain of
Defines op, Defines sub op, Includes op, Purpose dp
is in range of
Contextualised by op, Defined by op, Defines sub op, Refers to op
is disjoint with
Dataset c

Scorec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#Score

The value output assigned to the criteria as part of the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
is in domain of
Assigned to op, Based on op, Has input op, Provided by op, Value dp
is in range of
Considers op, Provides score op, Refers to op

Statementc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#Statement

A value judgement, resulting from the assessment, pertinent to its entirety or to one or more of its specific parts.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
is in domain of
Formulated by op, Interpretation dp, Judgement dp, Refers to op, Type dp
is in range of
Results in op

Object Properties

Assessesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#assesses

The reference to the asset(s) that are the object of the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Resource c

Assigned toop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#assignedTo

The assignment of a value output to the criterion.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Score c
has range
Criterion c

Based onop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#basedOn

The consideration of a specific evaluation context when assigning the score to a criterion.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Score c
has range
Evaluation context c

Considersop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#considers

The evaluation of an assessment score as input to issue one or more statements.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Score c

Contact pointop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: https://schema.org/contactPoint

A contact point for a person or organisation.
has domain
Agent c
has range
Contact Point c

Contextualised byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#contextualisedBy

The assignment of the scenario for the current assessment providing its context, purpose and criteria.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Scenario c

Contextualisesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#contextualises

The provision of context for the evaluation of the criterion.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Evaluation context c
has range
Criterion c

Defined byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#definedBy

The link to the scenario that provides the evaluation context for one or more criteria.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Evaluation context c
has range
Scenario c
is inverse of
Defines op

Definesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#defines

The link to the evaluation contexts for specific criteria provided by the given scenario.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Scenario c
has range
Evaluation context c
is inverse of
Defined by op

Defines subop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#definesSub

The definition of nested scenarios grouped based on different sub-purposes, commonalities or particularities of the sub-sets of criteria.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Scenario c
has range
Scenario c

distributionop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#distribution

has sub-properties
Has report op, Has summary op
has domain
Dataset c
has range
Distribution c

Documented inop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#documentedIn

A link to any information supporting the value of the asset and any other related relevant details.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
Asset c
has range
Resource c

Formulated byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#formulatedBy

The agent(s) that issue value judgement(s) resulting from the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Statement c
has range
Agent c

Has inputop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#hasInput

The different resources provided to feed the context for the evaluation of a criterion.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Score c
has range
Resource c

Has reportop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#hasReport

A manifestation of all the information related to and resulting from an assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has super-properties
distribution op
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Distribution c

Has summaryop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#hasSummary

An abbreviated manifestation of the performed assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has super-properties
distribution op
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Distribution c

Includesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#includes

The aggregation of criteria to one scenario or parts of it.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Scenario c
has range
Criterion c

Performed byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#performedBy

The agent(s) that carry out the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Agent c

Previous versionop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#previousVersion

The previous version of a resource in a lineage.
Is defined by
https://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Assessment c

Provided byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#providedBy

The agent assigning the score for a given criterion as part of the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Score c
has range
Agent c
is inverse of
Provides score op

Provides scoreop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#providesScore

The agent providing a score for a given criterion as part of the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Agent c
has range
Score c
is inverse of
Provided by op

Refers toop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#refersTo

The provision of a value judgement on one or more elements of the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Statement c
has range
Scenario c
Score c
Criterion c

Relates toop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#relatesTo

The context for a criterion related to a resource.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Evaluation context c
has range
Resource c

Requested byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#requestedBy

The agent(s) requesting the assessment of an asset.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Agent c

Results inop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#resultsIn

The creation of the statements resulting from the assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Statement c

Triggered fromop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#triggeredFrom

The event causing the current assessment as the result of another related assessment.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Assessment c
is inverse of
Triggers op

Triggersop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#triggers

The event causing further related assessment(s) due to the current one.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Assessment c
is inverse of
Triggered from op

Data Properties

Descriptiondp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/description

Brief description of the resource.
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Literal

Instruction descriptiondp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#instructionDescription

Guideline or description that needs to followed during the evaluation of one particular criterion.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Evaluation context c
has range
Literal

Interpretationdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#interpretation

The favourability perception of the statement (e.g. positive, negative or neutral).
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Statement c
has range
Concept ep

Issueddp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/issued

Date of formal issuance of the Specification.
has sub-properties
Release date dp
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Literal

Judgementdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#judgement

The text expressing the statement’s resulting value judgement.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Statement c
has range
Literal

Purposedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#purpose

The reason for which the assessment is done.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Scenario c
has range
Literal

Release datedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#releaseDate

Date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Specification.
has super-properties
Issued dp
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Literal

Statusdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/ns/adms#status

The status of the Asset in the context of a particular workflow process.
Is defined by
http://www.w3.org/ns/adms#
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Concept ep

Titledp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/dc/terms/title

A name given to the resource.
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Literal

Typedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#type

The categorisation of the statement.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Statement c
has range
Concept ep

Valuedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#value

The literal representing the score assigned.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Score c
has range
Literal

Value descriptiondp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://data.europa.eu/2sa/cav#valueDescription

Brief description of the Asset.
Is defined by
http://data.europa.eu/w21/2c930c7b-5e2f-4954-8522-bd3411339d6c
has domain
Asset c
has range
Literal

Versiondp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#version

The version indicator (name or identifier) of a resource.
Is defined by
http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#
has domain
Assessment c
has range
Literal

Legend back to ToC

c: Classes
op: Object Properties
dp: Data Properties
ep: External Properties

References back to ToC

Add your references here. It is recommended to have them as a list.

Acknowledgments back to ToC

The authors would like to thank Silvio Peroni for developing LODE, a Live OWL Documentation Environment, which is used for representing the Cross Referencing Section of this document and Daniel Garijo for developing Widoco, the program used to create the template used in this documentation.