Report on International open data best practices

Based on the analysis of the results in the third edition of the Open Data Barometer, the Iniciativa Aporta publishes the report on “International open data best practices” which reviews in detail the best practices in the most outstanding countries and with the best performance for each of the main study areas of the Barometer: Preparation, Data Availability and Impact.

In the first chapter, a number of examples of best practices and use cases for each of the indicators covered by the Barometer are reviewed to obtain an adequate preparation to make data openness more efficient, including:

• Examples of open data policies, initiatives and government actions that show how governments prepare to make the most of open data.
• Real cases of how governments prepare to promote innovation and economic development through open data.
• Regulatory and normative frameworks around the world that supports privacy, freedom of information and the right to access public sector data.

Once the preparation plans for open data in the world are analysed, this document, following the assessment criteria of the Open Data Barometer, studies the international good practices as regards data availability and quality in fourteen high-impact industries: cartography, education, health, public procurement or criminality, among others. 

In this section, it is possible to locate in different maps those open data initiatives that have obtained the best scores in each area according to the indicators of the Open Data Barometer, quickly and easily enjoying a global overview of the open data ecosystem in the world.

Then, the report reviews some examples of good practices and use cases for each of the main impact areas: political, social and economic impact. In this way, and following the methodology based on real examples used along the document, the reader discovers how open data may contribute to improving the government transparency and accountability; facilitating the inclusion of marginalized groups in society; promoting the environmental sustainability and influencing the macroeconomy or boosting the entrepreneurship.

Finally, this reports concludes with a set of general recommendations for further progress in the global open data agenda and solving some of the problems detected in the data quality, gratuity, completeness, licences and re-use:

• Machine readable and reusable formats, which are also open and follow the reference data model.
• Complete and free access to maximise the number of beneficiaries, promote equal opportunities and maintain a neutral position regarding the market.
• Clear and public guidelines on the publication and updating of data; state them adequately and put them into practice.

This last report of Iniciativa Aporta, elaborated with the collaboration of experts in the field, is added to the catalogue of materials and resources available in the Documentation section of the national portal data.gob.es, designed to advise and support the different members of the open data community in the implementation and management of their open data policies.