Valencia

Valencia City Council has launched a call to reward projects that promote the culture of open information and open data in the city. Specifically, it seeks to promote the culture of government transparency and good governance through the reuse of open data.

If you are thinking of participating, here are some of the keys you should take into account (although do not forget to read the complete rules of the call for more information).

What do the prizes consist of?

The awards consist of a single category that encompasses projects that demonstrate the potential of the reuse of public open data , and may also include private data. Specifically, applications, technological solutions, services, works, etc. may be presented. that use public data from the city of Valencia to benefit the community.

The requirements that must be met are the following:

• To present an innovative character and highlight its impact on improving the lives of people and their environment.
• Be current  and be implemented in general, in the territorial area of the municipality of Valencia. The final projects of bachelor's, master's or doctoral theses can have been carried out at any university, but it is mandatory that they refer to and base their research on areas of transparency in the city of Valencia.
• Use inclusive and non-sexist language.
• Be written in Spanish or Valencian.
• Have a single author, which may be a legal entity or association.
• Be written in accordance with the terms and conditions of the call, and articles previously published in journals may not participate.
• Not have received a subsidy from the Valencia City Council for the same purpose.

Who can participate?

The contest is aimed at audiences from wide sectors: students, entrepreneurs, developers, design professionals, journalists or any citizen with an interest in open data.

Both natural and legal persons from the university field, the private sector, public entities and civil society can participate, provided that they have developed the project in the municipality of Valencia.

What is valued and what do the prizes consist of?

The projects received will be evaluated by a jury that will take into account the following aspects:

• Originality and degree of innovation.
• Public value and social and urban impact.
• Viability and sustainability.
• Collaborative nature.

The jury will choose three winning projects, which will receive a diploma and a financial prize consisting of:

• First prize: 5,000 euros.
• Second prize: 3,000 euros.
• Third prize: 2,000 euros.

In addition, the City Council will disseminate and publicize the projects that have been recognized in this call, which will be a loudspeaker to gain visibility and recognition.

The awards will be presented at a public event in person or virtually in the city of Valencia, to which all participants will be invited. An opportunity to engage in conversation with other citizens and professionals interested in the subject.

How can I participate?

The deadline for submitting projects is 7 July 2025. The application can be made in two ways:

• In person, presenting the standard form and Annex 1 of the declaration of responsibility.
• Digitally through the Electronic Office, where an online application form (which includes the responsible declaration) will be completed.

In both cases, in addition, an explanatory report of the project will have to be presented. This document will contain the description of the project, its objectives, the actions developed and the results obtained, detailed in a maximum of 20 pages. It is also necessary to review the additional documentation indicated in the rules, necessary according to the nature of the participant (natural person, legal entity, associations, etc.).

For those participants who have doubts, the email address sctransparencia@valencia.es has been enabled. You can also ask any questions on the 962081741 and 962085203 phones.

You can see the complete rules at this link.

60 participants, 10 mentors and €2,000 in prizes. These are the figures managed by DiValHack, the Hackathon promoted by Red.es and the Diputación de Valencia to bring the project "Connecta Valencia: Smart and Sustainable Tourism Territory" to the citizens. This project, financed by the public entity Red.es with FEDER funds, seeks to improve the tourism competitiveness of Valencian municipalities, increasing their knowledge to offer a better and more sustainable experience to tourists.

What is DiValHack?

DiValHack participants must develop a technological solution that responds to a challenge using the resources and infrastructures that Connecta Valencia offers.

Participants can propose a challenge of their choice related to Connecta Valencia or try to respond to some of the organisation's proposals:

• Mobility challenges: for example, determining the actual congestion of different points of interest, helping to locate parking spaces or helping tourists to travel with a lower carbon footprint.
• Environmental challenges: such as monitoring the air situation or comparing environmental quality between municipalities.
• Tourism challenges: e.g. showcasing thematic routes or promoting nomadism and rural tourism.

Solutions that address several challenges, as well as combining different data sources, from Connecta Valencia and other external repositories, will be considered positively. For example, solutions that monitor noise in contrast to the influx of people or that recommend routes based on the weather or air quality.

When does it take place?

The hackathon will be held on 10 and 17 November 2022, starting at 12:30. Both sessions will be face-to-face.

In the first session, resources will be presented and teams and roadmaps will be defined.

During the week the teams will work on their projects, supported by online mentoring.

On the 17th, the teams will present their solutions, which will be evaluated by a jury, and prizes will be awarded to the three solutions with the best scores. The evaluation criteria are defined in the terms and conditions of the call.

Who can participate?

The hackathon is aimed at students and professionals. The only requirement is to be of legal age.

Participation will take place in teams of three to six people. The team should be multidisciplinary, including technological, financial, business, communication and/or social science profiles, as the evaluation criteria are not only technical.

What do the prizes consist of?

The three proposals with the best scores will receive cash prizes of 2,000 euros, distributed as follows:

• First prize: 1,000 euros
• Second prize: 750 euros
• Third prize: 250 euros

How can I participate?

Participation is free of charge. The deadline for registration is 30 October. To register you must fill in this form.

You can register alone or in a group. If you register alone, the organisation will find a group for you at the event.

Find out more about Connecta Valencia

The Connecta Valencia project has provided the 266 Valencian municipalities with the necessary infrastructure to analyse the flow of tourists in their territory, as well as their impact on the environment, by installing devices that measure mobility and environmental quality. This information allows informed decisions to be taken and public policies to be improved.

To this end, an open source platform has been set up to facilitate access to data through two mechanisms: an API and an open data portal that offers datasets in CSV and JSON formats. Among other information, users can access to data from meteorological and environmental sensors, mobility flows, etc.

You can learn more about the project in the following videos:

On March 5, communities around the world will join together to celebrate Open Data Day 2022. It is an annual celebration that seeks to showcase the benefits and encourage the adoption of open data policies in governments, businesses and civil society.

Throughout the day -and on upcoming dates- local groups from all corners of the world organize different actions related to the publication and reuse of data. In Spain, some activities are also being held, such as:

DATATHON 2022

• Date: From March 4 to April 30, 2022.
• Format: Online
• Organizers: University of Alicante, Miguel Hernández University, PAGODA, Dades Valencia, Cátedra Transició energética, Catedrades, Valencian Government, Polytechnic University of Valencia, University of Valencia, ACICOM and MESURA.

The Datathon 2022 kicks off on March 4, in which participants will have to use machine learning, artificial intelligence or data science tools to respond to a challenge of their choice related to the following fields:

A) Responsible production and consumption.

B) Environmental aspects (agriculture, waste, energy transition...).

C) Culture.

This is a free event. All natural persons of legal age can participate, in teams of 2 to 6 people. It is necessary to register before March 4 through eventbritte.

Prizes will be awarded in two categories: undergraduate students (€750 for each challenge) and master's, doctoral and corporate students (€500 for each challenge). In addition, in both categories, three runners-up prizes of €350 will be awarded to the winners of each challenge.

The competition will be accompanied by various informative sessions and workshops aimed at participants, which will take place throughout the competition (from March 4 to April 30, 2022). Some examples of these workshops are: "How to request information from the administration and legality of data use", "Data mining and visualization" or "Telling stories with data".

Open Data Day 2022

• Date: 4-8 March 2022.
• Format: Face-to-face and online.
• Organizers: Government of Catalonia.

The Open Government Secretariat of the Government of Catalonia also joins the celebration of the International Open Data Day, with activities from March 4 to 8.

• March 4, at 9:30 am (fase-to-face and online). The value of open data. The day will be dedicated to open data reusers. There will be a round table with experts in the field of reuse and two documents of interest will be presented: the new volume of the Open Government collection, "The value of open data and use cases", by the consultant Alícia León Molina, which collects examples of use related to open data in different countries, and the III report on data reuse prepared by the COTEC Foundation. It will be broadcasted via youtube.
• March 7, at 10h (online). Open Science and Citizen Science. Monday will be dedicated to the use of open data in the world of research. The Directorate General for Research will present CORA - Catalan Open Research and experiences from the private sector will be presented by Ideas for Change.
• March 8, at 13:30h (online): What can be the role of local governments in an emerging data economy? Representatives from the city of Rennes, France, and Catalonia will explain the RUDI data Rennes project, led by Rennes Métropole and funded by the European Union: a "social data network". This event will be held in English and French.

Open Data Day 2022: For a more effective reuse of open data

• Date: March 9, 2022, 17h
• Format: Face-to-face
• Organizers: Open Data Barcelona Initiative

Just two years after its last face-to-face event, Open Data Barcelona Initiative brings back the "face-to-face" meetings with a conference aimed at disseminating knowledge and experiences about public open data and its reuse. The evento will last from 5pm to 7pm and will be structured around two round tables:

• Opportunities linked to open data in institutions, where the new features of institutional data portals will be discussed, highlighting the datasets offered and the new functionalities that boost their reuse.
• Projects based on the reuse of open data, focusing on how to use such data in a project, highlighting its potential as a source of knowledge to solve the challenges faced by various groups.

The event is free of charge, but prior registration is required.

Other international events

In addition to the activities held in our country, events are also taking place in other parts of the world, some of which can be followed online.

For example, New York City celebrates from March 5 to 13, 2022 its Open Data Week, organized by the Office of Data Analytics of the New York City Mayor's Office and BetaNYC. This celebration occurs each year to coincide not only with Open Data Day, but also with the New York City Open Data Act, which was enacted on March 7, 2012. This year, NY Open Data Week is being celebrated in a hybrid format with both in-person and online activities. All activities are directly related to publicly available open data about New York.

Another example of an online event is the OSM Africa March Mapathon: Map Sierra Leone, an initiative that seeks to support the development of the OpenStreetMap community in Africa.

If you want to know about other activities that will be held on the occasion of Open Data Day 2022, you can visit their website.

The Audit Office of the Valencian Community  (Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana) has just become the first public institution of external control (ICEX) in Spain to open its data to the portal datos.gob.es. This initiative is part of the 2019-2022 strategic plan of the Valencian Community's auditing body and highlights its ongoing efforts in transparency, as well as its constant desire to offer its data in a reusable format.

Thanks to its presence in the ww.datos.gob.es platform, the data of the Audit Office will also be reflected in the European data portal, which it periodically synchronizes with the national catalogue, making visible the efforts of Spanish institutions beyond our borders.

A year of intense work

Open data allows citizens to be involved in democratic life, facilitating access to public information and its reuse to create services of value to society. In this sense, the Sindicatura de Comptes, and especially its e-government department, has been working hard for a year to open its data in what represents a novelty in the field of ICEX.

The first dataset they have published, which will be followed by others, contains the information of their inventory INVENS, which includes the entities subject to the subjective scope of this institution's audit activity.  This inventory records the accounts that have been rendered, their date and, if applicable, the incidents occurred.

The audited bodies are obliged to inform the Sindicatura de Comptes about any additions or modifications affecting this inventory. In this sense, it should be clarified that the scope of this Audit Office is broader than that set forth in the budgetary and tax legislation applicable in the Generalitat Valenciana, to local entities and universities. This means that there are entities that, not being part of these public sectors, have the obligation to render accounts and are subject to audit. The way to control all these situations and obligations was the creation of INVENS. The first phase of this was published on the Sindicatura de Comptes' website in 2019 and has been implemented with subsequent updates, the last one in February of this year.

From now on, the data included in this inventory will also be available on the national open data portal.

A dataset with multiple uses

Opening up this dataset not only facilitates access to such information, but also its reuse, which can be of interest to multiple groups and use cases, for example:

• This is information of interest to the segment of bodies audited by the Valencian Community's Audit Office and adds value to the databases of each of the associates/infomediaries.
• It is a source to update, complete and standardize data in the databases of this segment.
• It offers useful information for infomediaries that cannot be found in other similar portals.

Other pioneering background: BADESPAV

The Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana has always been a pioneer in registering and publishing its information. In 2010 it began to compile a historical record of data which, under the name "Economic Database of the Valencian Autonomous Public Sector", can be consulted on the website of this institution, at the link BADESPAV. This is a useful and easy-to-use tool that constitutes the only place where the economic and financial data provided to the Syndicate by all the entities that make up the autonomous public sector can be consulted.

It currently includes data from 1990 to 2018 and will soon add data from 1983 to 1989. It is a reliable and relevant source of information, presented in a clear and systematic manner, related to the accounting and budgetary statements (balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, budget settlements, number of employees, guarantees provided, etc.), both of the Generalitat and all its instrumental or dependent public sector, which will be updated periodically.

Future plans

Precisely the mentioned BADESPAV database is the perfect candidate for the publication of new datasets in datos.gob.es. In fact, the Syndicate plans to open the data from this database progressively in the portal as the next step. Other datasets that may be published are the Valencian public sector contracts that have been sent to the Public Sector Procurement Platform from 2012 to 2019, as well as the data from the Operational Audit Report on the environmental actions carried out in the town halls of more than 10,000 inhabitants, which the Audit Office has recently carried out.

La Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana se acaba de convertir en la primera institución pública de control externo (ICEX) del estado español que abre sus datos al portal datos.gob.es. Esta iniciativa forma parte del plan estratégico 2019-2022 del ente fiscalizador de la Comunitat Valenciana y pone de manifiesto su esfuerzo continuo de transparencia, así como el deseo constante de ofrecer sus datos en un formato reutilizable.

Gracias a su presencia en la plataforma ww.datos.gob.es, los datos de la Sindicatura tendrán también su reflejo en el portal europeo de datos, que sincroniza periódicamente con el catálogo nacional, haciendo visible el esfuerzo de las instituciones españolas más allá de nuestras fronteras.

Un año de trabajo intenso

Los datos abiertos permiten involucrar a los ciudadanos en la vida democrática, facilitando el acceso a información pública y su reutilización para crear servicios de valor para la sociedad. En este sentido, la Sindicatura de Comptes, y en especial su departamento de administración electrónica, ha estado trabajando intensamente durante un año para abrir sus datos en lo que representa una novedad en el ámbito de los ICEX.

El primer dataset (o conjunto de datos) que han publicado, al que seguirán otros, contiene la información de su inventario INVENS, que recoge los entes incluidos en el ámbito subjetivo de la actuación fiscalizadora de esta institución.  En este inventario se hacen constar las cuentas que se hayan rendido, con la fecha en que se reciben y, si es el caso, las incidencias producidas.

Los entes auditados tienen la obligatoriedad de comunicar al ente fiscalizador cualquier alta o modificación que afecte a este inventario. En este sentido, cabe aclarar que el ámbito de fiscalización de la Sindicatura es más amplio que el recogido en la legislación presupuestaria y hacendística aplicable en la Generalitat Valenciana, a las entidades locales y en las universidades, lo que hace que existan entes que, no formando parte de estos sectores públicos, tengan la obligación de rendir cuentas y estén sujetos a fiscalización. La manera de controlar todas estas situaciones y obligaciones fue la creación de INVENS. La primera fase del mismo se publicó en la web de la Sindicatura en 2019 y se ha ido implementando con posteriores actualizaciones, la última en febrero de este año.

A partir de ahora, los datos incluidos en este inventario se podrán consultar también en el portal nacional de datos abiertos.

Un dataset con múltiples usos

Con la apertura de este conjunto de datos no solo se facilita el acceso a dicha información, sino también su reutilización, que puede ser de interés para múltiples colectivos y casos de uso, como, por ejemplo:

• Se trata de información de interés para el segmento de organismos auditados por la Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana y aporta valor a las bases de datos de cada uno de los asociados/ empresas infomediarias.
• Es una fuente para actualizar, completar y normalizar datos en las bases de datos de este segmento.
• Ofrece información útil para las empresas infomediarias que no se encuentra en otros portales semejantes.

Otros antecedentes también pioneros: BADESPAV

La Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana ha sido siempre pionera en el registro y la publicación de su información. Ya en el año 2010 empezó a elaborar un registro histórico de datos que, bajo la denominación de “Base de datos Económicas del Sector Público Autonómico Valenciano”, se puede consultar en la web de esta institución, en el enlace BADESPAV. Una herramienta útil y sencilla de utilizar que constituye el único lugar donde se pueden consultar los datos económico-financieros rendidos a la Sindicatura de todos los entes que forman el sector público autonómico.

Actualmente incluye los datos de los años 1990 a 2018 y en breve se añadirán los de los ejercicios 1983 a 1989. Se trata de una fuente de información fiable y relevante, presentada de manera clara y sistemática, de los estados contables y presupuestarios (balances, cuentas de resultados, liquidaciones de presupuestos, número de empleados, avales prestados, etc.), tanto de la Generalitat como de todo su sector público instrumental o dependiente, que se irá actualizando periódicamente.

Planes de futuro

Precisamente la mencionada base de datos BADESPAV es la candidata perfecta de cara en la publicación de nuevos datasets en datos.gob.es. De hecho, la Sindicatura tiene previsto como siguiente paso ir abriendo los datos de esta base progresivamente en el portal. Otros conjuntos de datos susceptibles de ser publicados son los contratos del sector público valenciano que han sido remitidos a la Plataforma de Contratación del Sector Público desde 2012 a 2019, así como los datos del Informe de auditoría operativa sobre las actuaciones en materia medioambiental llevadas a cabo en los ayuntamientos de más de 10.000 habitantes, que la Sindicatura ha realizado recientemente.