Opportunities for Data Exchange (ODE) is a FP7 Project carried out by members of the Alliance for Permanent Access (APA), which is gathering evidence to support strategic investment in the emerging e-Infrastructure for data sharing, re-use and preservation. The ODE Conceptual Model has been developed within the Project to characterise the process of data sharing and the factors which give rise to variations in data sharing for different parties involved. Within the overall Conceptual Model there can be identified models of process, of context, and of drivers, barriers and enablers. The model of drivers, barriers and enablers provides a comprehensive description of the factors that motivate, inhibit and enable the sharing of research data. Drivers, barriers and enablers are variously defined in terms of individual-psychological, social, organisational, technical, legal and political components. They affect whether data are shared, how they are shared, and how successfully they are shared.