What services and topics should an open data portal include?

When launching an open data initiative, there are many issues to consider: what data I will include, what technical infrastructure I need, which governance model will be developed, how to monitor the activity... and also how to design and development the portal used by citizens to interact with the published data.

In addition to a data catalog, many open data portals usually include other types of sections and services that seek to provide added value to users. It is not uncommon to find sections where use cases are collected, blogs with articles that explain the latest technological trends or support services where users can send their doubts. But, are user interested in this type of services?

In order to know what services are useful and should be included in an open data portal, the best option is to directly ask users. And that is just what datos.gob.es has done. Through a small survey – you can still participate-, users have told us what their needs and interests are. Here are some of the main conclusions:

• The most interesting section of datos.gob.es is the data catalog, followed by the applications and documentation sections. The catalog is the central core of an open data portal, but users also look for examples that show the opportunities of reusing shared information, as well as guides and training materials

• In the same line, the most useful topics are those that explain new technological models or provide examples of data value for administrations, companies and citizens. Also highlight the data training documents, especially those related to new profiles and new skills.

• With regard to the services offered, users show a similar interest in the different options. The most important is the federation service, which highlights the value of having automatic data publication services. In addition, services aimed at both publishers and reusers are valued in equal measure. Having a support service for publishers or re-users requests can increase the value of your initiative.

• When choosing to create an open data portal, one of the main objectives is increase the number of users that access and reuse the information. Therefore, it is appropriate to include in our strategy actions that promote the use of published data to generate new services and products that provide social or economic value. Among all the actions that can be carried out, training stand out the most, as well as the publication of examples. This is aligned with the previous questions.

• Finally, it should be noted that the most visited datasets during the first quarter of 2019 show 3 trends: data that is aligned with the main concerns of Spaniards (unemployment, politics), data that solve everyday doubts of citizens (fuel price) or data that respond to the needs of specific professional groups (operational fishing fleet). It is important to take these factors into account when prioritizing the information to be published.

In short, providing added value services and content in an open data portal is an activity positively valued by users who visit an open data portal. Although keeping these contents updated requires an additional effort, the repercussion may be worthwhile.

As a user of datos.gob.es, do you agree with these conclusions? Share your opinion with this survey. It's only 2 minutes!