Open Data: Publication and reuse of Open Data as an initiative of Open Government in the Administration

Why are open data important? What is their relationship with open government? How can I start an initiative of this kind? Who can I take as a reference? These are some of the questions that the Open Data Guide: Publication and reuse of Open Data as an initiative of Open Government in the Administration tries to answer

Prepared by the Ministry of Development and Environment of the Junta de Castilla y León, this guide is part of the Rural Digital Community (CRD), a collaboration project between Public Administrations of Portugal and Spain. The objective of the project is to improve the technological innovation of rural institutions, promoting cooperation and competitiveness.

The guide is divided into 5 sections: introduction to open data, current status of open government and open data, open data implementation , innovative solutions and success stories, and conclusions.

In the first introductory section, perfect for those unfamiliar with the open data world, some basic concepts are reviewed. The report focuses on open government as a sociopolitical mode of interaction based on 4 pillars - transparency, accountability, participation and collaboration - which can be promoted and improved thanks to open data. All this is explained in this section, which also describes the principles that data must meet to be considered open.

Next, the report address the current situation of open government and open data in Spain, Portugal and Europe, including existing regulations. In the case of Spain, the report highlights the existence of almost 300 initiatives, included in the initiatives map of datos.gob.es, as well as more than 660 companies that reuse information, with a business volume higher than 1,700 million euros per year. These data, together with the good position of Spain in the European Open Data Maturity Landscaping 2018 report, show the good momentum of open data in our country.

The third section of the report focuses on the implementation of open data in an organization. To facilitate this process, the authors of the guide have drawn up a plan with a series of stages that are detailed in the report:

Finally, the report shows several examples of innovative solutions and success stories, based on 2 criteria:

• Examples of open data portals, which stand out for their functionality, such as Aragon Open Data or the download center of the National Geographic Institute (IGN), among others.
• Examples of good practices regarding reuse, due to their innovative nature and the economic or social value they generate. Examples of different sectors are included, such as real estate (TerceroB), meteorological (Meteogrid), public procurement (EuroAlert) or data journalism and public transparency (Civio).

The report concludes with a series of conclusions, such as the need to improve the training of both public employees who are immersed in data opening and companies and individuals to promote the use and analysis of data.

Below you can download the full report and delve into all of these sections.