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In many countries across the world, discussions, policies and developments are actively emerging around open access to government data. It is believed that opening up government data to citizens is critical for enforcing transparency and accountability within the government. Open data is also seen as holding the potential to bring about greater citizens' participation, empowering citizens to ask questions of their governments via not only the data that is made openly available but also through the interpretations that different stakeholders make of the open data. Besides advocacy for open data on grounds of democracy, it is also argued that opening government data can have significant economic potential, generating new industries and innovations.

Rufus Pollock, co-founder of the Open Knowledge Foundation, was interviewed at the Open Government Partnership conference (OGP) in Brasilia, Brazil in April 2012. In the video embedded above, Pollock talks about his involvement with OGP and how civil society will be involved in holding government accountable. He also explains what open data means to him, including a definition and how it relates to traditional open government goals of transparency and accountability. Pollock recommends the Open Data Handbook as a resource to learn more and put data to work in the service of better government.

Well, we made it this far! it has been a rollercoaster ride but we finally have the new site up and running. When I first took on the role of Head of Data.gov.uk I knew that we had a challenging task ahead; making the best government data portal around into something even better.  I think the amazing team at Data.gov.uk has achieved just that. Adopting the mantra of 'meaningful experience' we wanted to achieve several things: Simplify the process of finding data without taking away the more complex aspects expected by the seasoned users Expand the amount of information available around a dataset as to promote better contextualisation Make it easy to 'discover' data be it through search or through perusal of publishers or tags Make the engagement aspects of the site more comprehensive, dynamic and substantial Strengthen the location data presence across the site Bring back the emphasis on new developments and innovation around open data technologies Make it easier and better for data owners to publish more data With this in mind we set out to re-rationalize the experience of the site, as a result you will notice a series of new functionalities both in the catalogue and the engagement section.

While I was thinking about this post, I have seen Tom Slee's one titled "Why the Open Data Movement is a Joke", which has raised some discussion and understandable outrage in the open government circles. Tom's argument starts from underlying an inherent conflict between the Canadian government's decision to join the Open Government Partnerships (see my earlier post) and some of its behaviors. Then he postulated that the Open Data Movement is more focused on formats, digitally-accessible data sets, free access to postal codes, and so on than it is focused on actual government transparency around issues that matter. It's a movement that has had no impact on government accountability

"City governments, faced with decreased resources after the Great Recession and rising citizen demand for services with increased urbanization, must be able to make better decisions that are informed by data. To put it another way, in 2012, mayors need to start playing Moneyball in government with evidence-based analysis. From public health to education to energy policy, if governments can shift resources to where they're needed more quickly and accurately, there's substantial positive outcomes for citizens from the application of data for public good. Predictive data analytics - like any data analysis - can only be as effective as the data that they're based upon. Data quality is a long-term concern for any policy maker that wishes to make data-driven decisions, from foreign policy to energy to transportation. If it's bad data, policymakers are going to have a problem, even with superior methodology and algorithms."

The British government is doubling down on the notion that open data can be a catalyst for increased government transparency, civic utility and economic prosperity. Yesterday, the United Kingdom's Cabinet Office hosted an event in London, England to highlight the release of a new white paper on "unleashing the potential of open data," linked at the bottom of the post, and the relaunch of a Data.gov.uk, the country's open data platform. The site now has over 9,000 data sets on it, according to the Cabinet Office.

The Open Data Institute (ODI) will be a global first: a collaboration between our leading businesses and entrepreneurs, universities and researchers, government and civil society to unlock enterprise and social value from the vast amount of Open Government Data now being made accessible. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has put Open Data at the heart of his agenda for government and in his Autumn Statement last November Chancellor George Osborne announced the intention to launch the ODI to stimulate innovation and enterprise. The ODI, an independent organisation led by Professors Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt, will be formally opened in October.

The Open Data Census 2012 will monitor the current status of open data across the globe. The primary focus of the Census is data. Policies are crucial, but as Chris Taggart's analysis of corporate data demonstrates, actual practice can be very different. Focussing on data will also allow us to keep the census very concrete. Analysing policy or even law is a complex process; whether a dataset is 'open' or not is usually a clear yes or no answer.

 Two recent announcements from Canada prompt my mood this morning: Canada Joins International Open Government Partnership Conservative Cuts put half of Statscan jobs at risk A government can simultaneously be the most secretive, controlling Canadian government in recent memory and be welcomed into the club of "open government". The announcements highlight a few problems with the "open data movement" (Wikipedia page): It's not a movement, at least in any reasonable political or cultural sense of the word, It's doing nothing for transparency and accountability in government, It's co-opting the language of progressive change in pursuit of what turns out to be a small-government-focused subsidy for industry. In short, the open data movement is a joke. Those who are on the political left who lend their support to it have some hard decisions to make.

Over the past several years, I've been writing about how government data is moving into the marketplaces, underpinning ideas, products and services. Open government data and application programming interfaces to distribute it, more commonly known as APIs, increasingly look like fundamental public infrastructure for digital government in the 21st century. What I'm looking for now is more examples of startups and businesses that have been created using open data or that would not be able to continue operations without it. If big data is a strategic resource, it's important to understand how and where organizations are using it for public good, civic utility and economic benefit.

"We live in an age of sharing. As consumers and online, we regularly share personal information, and generate new data through our browsing or purchasing history. Businesses and government are increasingly aware of the value of this information, which can result in better and cheaper services for customers, new sources of income for businesses and improved public services. But the question of who owns this information, and how it is collected, stored and used, is becoming a major consumer rights issue. It is crucial, therefore, that people are at the heart of any new settlement. The Data Dialogue sets out the results of the largest ever poll of public attitudes on personal information and data- sharing. Based on a representative sample of 5,000 adults, the report finds a growing crisis in consumer confidence over how government and business handle personal data, and discomfort about the way in which personal information and data are currently being used. The report argues that this loss of confidence could have a knock-on effect on the economy and on the quality of services available to consumers. However, it also finds that views about sharing change when people are given more control and choice about what data is shared, and when the benefit of sharing that data is made clear to them. It therefore suggests that consumers should be engaged in an honest dialogue about how data are collected and used, and be given meaningful choice and control over the information they share. That will be good for business and consumers alike."

he Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for FedNor, today announced the recent addition of more than 1,000 data sets to the Open Data Portal at www.data.gc.ca . "The release of these additional datasets will help spur innovation. The information in these data sets provides Canadian entrepreneurs with business opportunities that will benefit them and all Canadians," said Minister Clement.

Researchers can find and read papers online, rather than having to manually track down print copies.  Machines  (computers) can index the papers and extract the details (titles,  keywords etc.) in order to alert scientists to relevant material.  In addition, computers can extract factual data and meaning by "mining" the content, opening  up the possibility that machines could be used to make connections (and  even scientific discoveries) that might otherwise remain invisible to  researchers. However,  it is not generally possible today for computers to mine the content in papers due to constraints imposed by publishers.  While Open Access (OA) is improving the ability for researchers to read papers (by removing  access barriers), still only around 20% of scholarly papers are OA. The  remainder are locked  behind paywalls. As per the vast majority of subscription contracts, Subscribers may read paywalled papers, but they may not mine them. Content  mining is the way that modern technology locates digital information. Because digitized scientific information comes from hundreds of  thousands of different sources in today's globally connected scientific  community [2] and because current data sets can be measured in  terabytes,[1] it is often no longer possible to simply read a scholarly  summary in order to make scientifically significant use of such  information.[3]  A researcher must be able to copy information,  recombine it with other data and otherwise "re-use" it so as to produce  truly helpful results.  Not only is it a deductive tool to analyze  research data, it is how search engines operate to allow discovery of content. To prevent mining is therefore to force scientists into blind  alleys and silos where only limited knowledge is accessible.  Science  does not progress if it cannot incorporate the most recent findings and  move forward from there.

Deloitte a publié une étude affirmant que l'open data apportera à l'économie du Royaume-Uni non seulement croissance, mais aussi innovation et ingéniosité. Selon ce rapport, l'écosystème open data a des implications fondamentales pour le futur des affaires et la nature des relations client. La tendance vers une plus grande offre et un plus grand usage de l'open data sera irrésistible, obligeant les entreprises à concevoir de nouveaux modèles commerciaux. Elles devront en tirer de meilleurs enseignements, mais aussi développer de nouvelles façons d'échanger avec les parties prenantes et ainsi permettre aux bénéfices économiques et sociaux de l'open data d'émerger.

Open311 is a form of technology that provides open channels of communication for issues that concern public space and public services. Primarily, Open311 refers to a standardized protocol for location-based collaborative issue-tracking. By offering free web API access to an existing 311 service, Open311 is an evolution of the phone-based 311 systems that many cities in North America offer.

he government of the province of Quebec today released the Gautrin Report, which covers Web 2.0 and government transformation related to technology.  It includes ideas such as a provincial open data site and improved internal collaboration for government employees.  In the press conference I also heard mention of a dashboard for government IT projects (with reference to the dashboard created by the US CIO).

"The ACT government today announced the soft-launch of their new open data site, dataACT, through their equally new  Government Information Office blog. In my view this is now the best government open data site in Australia."

This book is the culmination of several years of thinking about the principles behind the open government data movement in the United States. In the pages within, I frame the movement as the application of Big Data to civics. Topics include principles, uses for transparency and civic engagement, a brief legal history, data quality, civic hacking, and paradoxes in transparency.

MONTREAL - The Quebec government has pledged to increase transparency and turn citizens into decision makers by using the latest online tools and embracing a new culture of openness. In Wednesday's release of a long-awaited report into how to bring open governance to Quebec - billed as "historic" by advocates of open governance - the government said that by next month, it will launch a web portal that will make public data easily accessible. Another website, to be created later, will gather public opinion on how the government is run.

The UK Royal Society is a fellowship of the world's most brilliant scientists. Founded in 1660, its members have included Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. Distinguished thinkers Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking and Tim Berners-Lee are current members of the society. It is arguably the most prestigious scientific community in the world. And so it is of note how strident it is about the importance of open data for the advancement of science.