Spain, fifth world power in open data, according to the latest OURdata report from the OECD

Spain continues to make progress in open data. This is corroborated by the latest edition of the Open, Useful and Re-usable data Index, also known as OURdata Index. This report is prepared periodically by the OECD to evaluate the efforts made by different governments in designing and implementing national open data policies. 

First launched in 2015, the Index had two subsequent editions published in 2017 and 2019. In this fourth edition, there has been a change in methodology, which does not make it possible to compare the results with those of previous editions.  

To conduct the analysis, data was collected regarding the policies carried out by 40 countries in the 2020-2021 period. This is a period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused an exceptional situation worldwide and highlighted the need for governments to ensure access to high quality data, to build resilience and facilitate joint societal responses to a crisis.  

The final report will be published during the second quarter of 2024. However, the OECD has released a summary of some of the main conclusions of the study.   

Spain is among the world leaders  

According to the study, Spain ranks fifth in terms of open data, behind only South Korea, France, Poland and Estonia, as shown in the following graph. 

The report assesses three pillars and nine sub-pillars, all of which have the same value in the final score:  

• Data availability: this indicator measures the extent to which governments have adopted and implemented formal requirements for open data publication. It also assesses whether the different actors involved in the data publication process (stakeholders) are carrying out some work to identify the demand for data in general and the availability of high-value datasets in particular. In this regard, it should be noted that, although the report speaks of high value datasets, this is not the same concept of high value data as that used by the EU. In the case of the OECD, other high-impact categories such as health, education, crime and justice or public finances, among others, are also taken into account. Details of the categories taken into account are given in the annex to the report. 

• Data accessibility: This indicator assesses whether high-value government datasets are provided in open and reusable formats, updated, with good metadata quality and through application programming interfaces (APIs). It also discusses the involvement of different stakeholders in the central open data portal and in improving data quality. 

• Government support for data reuse: this indicator looks at the extent to which governments play a proactive role in promoting the reuse of open public data, both within and outside the administration. 

Considering these indicators, Spain is in the group of "leading countries". These countries demonstrate a comprehensive approach to open data initiatives and, in general, perform well in all aspects. In the specific case of Spain, it stands out when it comes to promoting the reuse of data, where it is in second place. It has been taken into account how the governmental sphere makes companies and civil society aware of the opportunities offered by open public data, participating in associations and co-creation events to stimulate the reuse of data. It also highlights the availability of awareness-raising and training initiatives for public officials on open data publication, analysis and reuse, as well as efforts to carry out impact assessments of open public data and the presentation of examples of reuse.  

On the other hand, it ranks eleventh in data accessibility in general, although it rises to sixth if we talk about high-value data. Finally, we rank sixth in terms of accessibility.

General conclusions  

The report includes a number of general findings from all countries. According to the study, only 48% of high-value datasets are available as open data in OECD countries. Although the COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the publication of open health data, only 43% of datasets in this category are currently available. Collaboration between public and private healthcare actors is therefore encouraged to promote the publication of these data systematically at the national level.   

The results also indicate that countries should prioritize the publication of open data in areas such as public procurement, public budgets and lobbying, as well as boosting those related to the green agenda, highlighting those related to Earth observation, environmental and meteorological data. In addition, consideration should be given to making company registries and company ownership data available to all citizens as open data.   

On the opposite side of the scale, there is a large availability of statistical and geospatial data. 

Overall, OECD countries have improved the quality of open government data, an important issue that also affects recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The evolving landscape of AI applications makes it necessary to ensure data quality, paying particular attention to metadata quality and access through APIs.  

Ultimately, the report highlights the importance of open public data for democracy in the digital age, as well as in driving innovation in both the public and private sectors.