Capability: Open data initiative

To what extent is there a well-resourced open government data initiative in the country?

DefinitionsResearch GuidanceQuestion sub-componentsIndicator Justification

Definitions and Identification

An open government data initiative is a program by the government to release government data online to the public. It has four main features:

1. The government discloses data or information without request from citizens. This may be according to a release schedule or ad hoc.

2. The Internet is the primary means of disclosure (including mobile phone applications);

3. Data is free to access and reuse (e.g., is released under open licenses);

4. Data is in a machine-readable format to enable computer-based reuse, e.g., spreadsheet formats, application programming interfaces (APIs), etc.

Resources for an open government data initiative include a sufficient budget, personnel, and facilities to carry out the initiative's mandate, including technical personnel with appropriate qualifications for dealing with open data issues.

This indicator investigates not merely the presence of an initiative, but an active initiative. Over the last decade, many countries launched open data initiatives. This indicator is concerned with whether these remained active during the study period.

Signs of activity may include (but are not limited to):

• Commitments from senior leaders to continued or new open data publication;

• Updates to relevant policies and guidance, or monitoring of policy/guidance implementation;

• Dedicated staff and financial resources supporting open data activities;

• Active participation in international fora such as the Open Data Charter;

• Regular updates to a national open data portal.

Note: This question focuses on initiatives led by government. Open government data initiatives covering the country but organized by a civil society organization, or a transnational third party such as the African Development Bank or another regional organization, may be noted in response to the indicator’s existence sub-question and described in the relevant summary box.

Examples

• The Open Data Côte d'Ivoire Initiative (2014) encourages public bodies to disseminate data systematically via its open data portal; the portal offers datasets, documentation, API access, and various interactive tools, including games.

• In Korea, in conjunction with the Act on Promotion of Provision and Use of Public Data, national and local government heads establish annual implementation plans to ensure public data is consistently updated and made available. Further, various committees, including the Open Data Strategy Committee, the Data Quality Control Committee, and the Public Data Management Committee, oversee the strategic direction and implementation of the country’s open data policies.

• In the Netherlands, the national open data portal, which is maintained by the country’s Knowledge and Exploitation Centre for Official Government Publications (KOOP), currently hosts more than 17,000 datasets from over 180 government organizations; it is updated daily.

Start by identifying the national open data portal. Check there for recent updates, as well as information regarding the team behind the initiative. You may also want to look for social media accounts related to the initiative, which may share about recent activities with regard to guidance or senior leadership.

Consulting individuals or organizations working on open data can help you identify additional sources regarding budgets and other evidence.

Starting points

• Sources:

  • The World Bank Digital Government/GovTech Systems and Services 2020 survey provides information on open data initiatives and portals (columns IZ–JB).

  • The Open Data Charter's list of government adopters and the Open Government Partnership's action plans can help identify which offices or agencies manage open data activities, and may provide leads to current open data initiatives.

  • The qualitative data from the Open Data Barometer may provide details of policies and initiatives identified prior to 2017 generally, prior to 2019 for Latin America and the Caribbean; look for sheets with primary data on ODB context and impact and filter by question ID "ODB.2015.C1."

  • Answers to the current Barometer's core governance indicator on open data policies may also provide evidence of an initiative.

• Search:

  • For details of how central government data portals are updated; look for evidence of a team maintaining the portal or providing guidance.

  • Parliamentary or government records for recent mentions of "open data" that might provide evidence of active leadership or monitoring of open data initiatives.

  • General searches for "open data policy," "data strategy," "open data strategy."

  • Search academic search engines (e.g., Google Scholar, arXiv, ResearchGate, etc.) for recent papers on "open data" + [country].

• Consult:

  • Individuals or organizations working on open data in government or civil society.

What to look for?

Look for evidence that can answer the following questions:

• How recent were the latest updates to guidance, data portals, or other open data initiative resources?

• Is there a well-maintained open data portal in place? For example, a portal that offers:

  • A wide range of topics;

  • Data published by a wide range of public agencies;

  • Updated datasets;

  • APIs.

• Does the data portal offer mechanisms for members of the public to provide feedback? To publish data themselves?

• Is there a government team working to support open data activities?

• Do open data activities appear to have allocated funding and budgets?

Show/hide supporting questions

Existence

• Has there been any form of government-led open government data initiative during the study period?

  • There is no evidence of any government-led open government data initiative in the country.
  • There is evidence of an open government data initiative, but it is not led by government.

    Supporting questions: If government is not leading the open government data initiative, who is?When was the open government data initiative first launched?Please provide a URL(s) for where this evidence can be found.

  • There has been a government-led open government data initiative, but there is limited evidence of recent activity.

    Supporting questions: When was the open government data initiative first launched?When was the initiative last active? Please provide the year and, if appropriate, a brief explanation (e.g., “2016: before the last election”). Please provide a URL(s) for where this evidence can be found.

  • There is evidence of an active government-led open government data initiative.

    Supporting questions: When was the open government data initiative first launched?Please provide a URL(s) for where this evidence can be found.

• Extent of existence:

• How nationally comprehensive is this open data initiative? (The open data initiative only covers one or more subnational governments, but there are many subnational governments without such initiatives., The open data initiative covers only one or more subnational governments, but is representative of initiatives that can be found for all or most subnational governments., The open data initiative has national coverage.)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If The open data initiative only covers one or more subnational governments, but there are many subnational governments without such initiatives. or The open data initiative covers only one or more subnational governments, but is representative of initiatives that can be found for all or most subnational governments.: Which subnational government or governments does this initiative involve?

  If The open data initiative only covers one or more subnational governments, but there are many subnational governments without such initiatives. or The open data initiative covers only one or more subnational governments, but is representative of initiatives that can be found for all or most subnational governments.: Please explain your response.

  If The open data initiative only covers one or more subnational governments, but there are many subnational governments without such initiatives. or The open data initiative covers only one or more subnational governments, but is representative of initiatives that can be found for all or most subnational governments. or The open data initiative has national coverage.: Please provide supporting URL(s) as necessary.

• How widely does this open data initiative apply? (The open data initiative covers only a limited part of the government (e.g., only a single agency or a few agencies), and there are many parts of government without such initiatives., The open data initiative covers, or is representative of initiatives covering, many agencies or parts of government, but there are some agencies or parts of government without such initiatives. , The open data initiative covers all or most of government.)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If The open data initiative covers only a limited part of the government (e.g., only a single agency or a few agencies), and there are many parts of government without such initiatives. or The open data initiative covers, or is representative of initiatives covering, many agencies or parts of government, but there are some agencies or parts of government without such initiatives. : Which agency or agencies, or part(s) of government, does this initiative cover?

  If The open data initiative covers only a limited part of the government (e.g., only a single agency or a few agencies), and there are many parts of government without such initiatives. or The open data initiative covers, or is representative of initiatives covering, many agencies or parts of government, but there are some agencies or parts of government without such initiatives. or The open data initiative covers all or most of government.: Please provide supporting URL(s) as necessary.

• Existence summary:

• Please summarize your answers to the preceding existence sub-questions, including the extent of existence. [Open Text] Drawing on the research you have conducted and the evidence you have gathered for this section, describe what you have found (or not found) when answering the existence sub-questions for this indicator.

  Supporting questions

  Please provide the URL(s) for the evidence that supports the summary provided.

Elements

• Specific features:

• There is a government team in place supporting open data activities. (No, Partially, Yes)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If Partially: Please explain your “Partially” response.

  If Partially or Yes: Please provide supporting URL(s) for this team.

• There is a budget allocated for open data activities. (No, Partially, Yes)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If Partially: Please explain your “Partially” response.

  If Yes: Please provide supporting URL(s) for this budget.

• There is a well-maintained open data portal. (No, Partially, Yes)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If Partially: Please explain your “Partially” response.

  If Partially or Yes: Does the portal provide any mechanisms for public feedback? For example, to request the publication of particular datasets or to propose improvements. If so, please explain.

  If Partially or Yes: Does the portal allow members of the public to register as data publishers? If so, please explain.

  If Partially or Yes: Please provide the URL(s) for this open data portal.

• There is guidance and support for government publication of open data. (No, Partially, Yes)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If Partially: Please explain your “Partially” response.

  If Partially or Yes: Please provide supporting URL(s) for this guidance.

• Senior political leaders back the open data initiative. (No, Partially, Yes)

  Supporting questions (conditional)

  If Partially: Please explain your “Partially” response.

  If Partially or Yes: Please provide supporting URL(s) for this leadership.

• Elements summary:

• Please summarize your answers to the preceding element sub-questions. [Open Text] Drawing on the research you have conducted and the evidence you have gathered for this section, describe what you have found (or not found) when answering the element sub-questions for this indicator.

  Supporting questions

  Please provide the URL(s) for the evidence that supports the summary provided.

Promoting the reuse of public data is central to realizing the potential of data for the public good. Consequently, the Open Data Charter calls for countries making commitments to open data to establish delivery mechanisms that will translate such commitments into improved supplies of open data. However, because integrating open data practices can change the way that public institutions work, such efforts benefit from ongoing open data initiatives that provide leadership, resourcing, guidance, support, and infrastructure for government open data activities.

The Open Data Barometer included an indicator (ODB.2013.C.INIT) which asked: "To what extent is there an active and well-resourced open government data initiative in the country?" This indicator is designed to provide comparable data. It converts the guidance from the ODB's 0–10 scoring system to element checklist items that should yield similar scoring for similar situations.