diff --git a/src/initializer/data_provider.hpp b/src/initializer/data_provider.hpp
index 0927579eb..b1a99ee2f 100644
--- a/src/initializer/data_provider.hpp
+++ b/src/initializer/data_provider.hpp
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ T const& dict_get(Dict const& dict, std::string const& path)
 }
 
 template<typename T, typename Dict>
-T const& dict_get(Dict const& dict, std::string const& path, T const& default_value)
+T dict_get(Dict const& dict, std::string const& path, T const default_value)
 {
     auto leaf = traverse_to_node(dict, path);
     if (leaf)