Workshop presentation given at #WCIT2014 in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 28 September 2014

1. Implementing a Successful Government Open Data Program
Andrew Stott
UK Transparency Board
Formerly Director,
data.gov.uk
WCIT Guadalajara
28 Sep 2014
@dirdigeng
andrew.stott@dirdigeng.com

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7. What is Open Data?
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Open data is
data
that can be
freely
used,
reused
and redistributed
by anyone
for any purpose.

8. Over 260 national, regional and city Open Government Data initiatives
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9. The first 4 years of data.gov.uk
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Over 10,000 datasets
37 GB of geo data
Public Data Principles
Open Government Licence
Transparency of salaries, spending, contracts and tenders
Four site versions, each in response to user feedback

10. What makes a successful Open Government Data program?
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11. Policy Objectives of Open Data
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New Economic and Social Value
Improved public services
More Transparent Government
More Efficient Government

12. Clarity about objectives
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More Efficient Government
More Transparent Government
Improved public services
New Economic and Social Value

13. Policy Objectives of Open Data
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New Economic and Social Value
Improved public services
More Transparent Government
More Efficient Government

14. Why does (Open) Data create value?
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15. New Data-Driven Services
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estate agents/ realtors
Financial services
builders and other local services

16. Greater Efficiency
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17. Better Decisions
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18. Opening data means the data is used much more
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19. Case Study: Statistics Germany
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Users: +1800% Downloads: +800%

20. Opening Data means it is used much more
“Where PSBs moved to marginal and zero cost charging, the number of re-users increased by between 1,000% and 10,000%.”
“Lowering charges may attract new types of re-users, in particular SMEs.”
“Once re-use facilitation processes are properly organized … they become embedded in the PSB's public task-funded activities at no extra cost.”
-Deloitte/POPSIS study for EU
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21. The Size of the Potential Prize
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22. McKinsey Global Institute
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24. Omidyar/Lateral Economics
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25. What are the Open Data Businesses
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26. Aggregators
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27. Developers
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28. Enrichers
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29. Enablers
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30. Policy Objectives of Open Data
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New Economic and Social Value
Improved public services
More Transparent Government
More Efficient Government

31. Performance of individual hospitals
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12+ Weeks MRSA-free
Good C-Diff record
Low Mortality
2 recent
MRSA
Blood clots
Patient
ratings

32. 1000 less heart surgery deaths each year
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33. Uganda: Open Data and Community Health Monitoring
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33% reduction in under-5 mortality
20% extra utilisation of out-patient services
Significant improvements in:
Immunization
Waiting times
Absenteeism

34. Police
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35. Open Data used to drive Citizen Engagement
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Local team
Telephone, website, Facebook and Youtube ….
Local police Twitter feed
How YOU can get involved
It’s very local
Accessible data on crime
Attract
Inform
Engage
Action

36. Policy Objectives of Open Data
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New Economic and Social Value
Improved public services
More Transparent Government
More Efficient Government

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38. Where does my money go?
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39. Transparent and Accountable Government
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40. Is My Money Being Spent Well?
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41. Pressure to justify and restrain costs
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42. Pressure to justify and restrain costs
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43. What contracts are being granted to who?
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http://www.otvorenezmluvy.sk/
Original text of contract from Gov website
“Rate this contract”
Key details and links
Fair-Play Alliance

44. Organisational Transparency
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Where the person is in the structure
Pay
Responsibilities
Contact details

45. Argentina Bus Subsidies
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Input
•285,000 records
•1.17m rows of data
•PDF documents Findings
•$34bn spent in 8 years
•Aid increased 1,965%
•20 companies benefited most

46. International Corporate Transparency
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47. Policy Objectives of Open Data
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New Economic and Social Value
Improved public services
More Transparent Government
More Efficient Government

48. Knowing what information exists
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49. Getting data more easily
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50. Sharing information
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51. Clarity about objectives
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More Efficient Government
More Transparent Government
Improved public services
New Economic and Social Value

52. Sustained political leadership
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“Public information does not belong to Government, it belongs to the public.”
“Greater transparency will enable the public to hold politicians and public bodies to account”

53. Demand from business and citizens
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54. Also important to have passionate team!
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55. Which data to prioritise?
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56. Data on things that people care about
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57. Data that users want
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58. Maps and Geospatial Data
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59. Addresses and Property Data
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60. Transport Information
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61. Census and other detailed statistics
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62. Government Spending and Procurement
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63. Weather Data

64. National Information Infrastructure
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65. It’s not just about new data
Scope for “Open Data” also includes data previously “published” but …
in non-reusable format
with restricted licence
only aimed at specialist groups
only for payment
only in response to requests
difficult to find
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66. Challenge charging for government data
Economically sub- optimal
Licensing inhibits innovation
Hidden Costs – marketing, payment collection, enforcement
Barriers to entry suit existing customers
No real pressure for efficiency
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67. Incubate Sustainable Applications
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68. Sustainable Applications
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Individual
Community
National
Daily
Periodic
Occasional
Frequency
of Issue
Proximity
of Issue
Transport
Which school?
Which hospital?
FOI Helper
Budget
Crime Maps
Value
of Issue
Low
High

69. Creating Sustainable Applications
Do things that matter to people
Make it quick and easy to do – “while you’re still upset about it”
Use location: input and visualisation
Use simple design
Build in community support, action & stickiness
Sustainable apps come from (social) entrepreneurs – helped by IT people
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70. Open Data does not have to be delivered digitally
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71. Deliver Incrementally
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72. Clear, common, terms and conditions
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73. When Open is not Open
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“You shall not use the data made available through the GC Open Data Portal in any way which, in the opinion of Canada, may bring disrepute to or prejudice the reputation of Canada.”

74. Standards
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75. Make sure data is re-usable
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76. Data Publishing – Star Quality
 Put your data on the Web with an Open Licence (any format)
 Make it available as structured data (e.g. Excel, CSV, instead of PDF)
 Use open, standard formats (e.g. XML, RDF)
 Use URLs to identify things (so people and machines can point at your data)
 Link your data to other people’s data
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Ease of reuse

77. Findability
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78. Not all Government data is accurate
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79. Data Quality
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Release of data will reveal issues of data quality
Surprisingly little criticism
Celebrate greater checking of data!
Use as stimulus to
Measure
Prioritise
Improve

80. Citizens helping improve government data
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81. Consider Privacy of Personal Data
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82. Build and Leverage an Open Data Ecosystem
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83. Promote Use of Data
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84. Photos: @memespring,
@MadLabUK, @paul_clarke
Continuously engage with developers
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85. Measure delivery and conformance
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86. Government needs to play multiple roles
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87. Government as Supplier
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88. Government as Leader
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89. Government as Catalyst
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90. Government as User
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91. Thank You
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