Open data in the open government and digitalisation strategies of the autonomous communities

The open data ecosystem in Spain is in a phase of maturity and consolidation. Although the autonomous communities have been promoting data platforms for years, the current scenario requires a further step: moving from the mere publication of data to their strategic openness with social and economic impact.

In this sense, Spain' s V Open Government Action Plan and the various digitalisation plans of each region have served as a basis for various regional bodies to review their roadmap and acquire new commitments to continue promoting the opening and reuse of public data.

As we already did with the IV Open Government Plan, in this article we are going to review these commitments. To do this, we are going to use the evaluation tasks included in the Transparency portal and on the aforementioned strategic plans of each autonomous community. At the end of the article, an infographic is included  with the open data portals of each region and the main documents that form their strategic framework in this area.

Andalusia

As a result of its participation in the IV Plan, Andalusia developed a plan for opening up data and promoting Big Data technologies, and implemented a training plan in open government and open data for administration staff.

The autonomous community has played an active role in the preparation of the V Open Government Plan, with a strategy aimed at turning data into an asset of high social and economic value between 2025 and 2028. The community is committed to a decentralized opening through specific plans in each of its departments, reinforcing active listening with reusers and improving financial transparency through a  more interactive budget viewer. The region also plans to connect its institutional electronic archive (@rchivA) with open data platforms and create a unified observatory for public universities, facilitating access to key information on employability, research and academic performance in fully reusable formats.

Principality of Asturias

The Principality of Asturias launched its Open Government Forum aimed at promoting collaboration, transparency, participation, accountability and technological innovation. Within this framework, the culmination of the Strategic Transparency Plan was pending a mandatory and binding report, necessary in accordance with Law 8/2028 on Transparency, Good Governance and Interest Groups of the Principality of Asturias. Work is also underway on a Digital Transformation Strategy.

In this context, the central commitment of the Principality of Asturias in the V Plan is not focused on data but on legislative development to shield the democratic rights of its citizens through the future Asturian Participation Law.

Aragon

In this period, Aragon has moved from a strategy focused on the dissemination, interoperability and active listening of open data (Aragón Open Data 2019-2022) to a vision of comprehensive data management as a strategic asset of the region, with the development of a Data Governance Platform and the focus on artificial intelligence. It is also worth highlighting its activity in the field of health with the launch of the first Health Data Office in Spain, which will cover the entire life cycle of the data: from its generation to its exploitation.

Its objectives for the V Open Government Plan are more focused on the co-creation of public policies and the improvement of transparency, among other aspects.

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands focused its efforts on the centralisation of open data from the different public administrations in the region, with an automated periodic updating procedure. In this sense, progress has also been made in the development of the Canary Islands Open Government Network to share experiences and needs. Although it was not included in the plan, it is worth highlighting the progress made in the Open Government Strategy of the Canary Islands Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, which has open data and data governance (data-based public management and evaluation of public policies) among its priorities for action.

Among its next plans, the reform of the regulatory framework on transparency and access to information stands out to align it with the most current principles and criteria, eliminate ambiguities and improve clarity in application. Specifically, the desire to "integrate and facilitate advanced digital technologies for the management and dissemination of public information"  is detailed.

Cantabria

As in the previous period, the open data work in Cantabria focuses on statistical data, where datos.icane.es stands out as an open repository, dependent on the Cantabrian Institute of Statistics. The objective of this portal is to promote reuse, as well as improve the dissemination of statistical information to users through tools based on internationally adopted standards. 

Its commitment in the previous Plan focused on the development of citizen participation legislation, which culminated in Law 1/2026. In the new cycle, its commitments in the current Plan are the creation of a citizen participation portal and the improvement of the transparency portal (in particular, improving the monitoring and visualization of economic-budgetary and public procurement information). Likewise, in its Digital Agenda for Cantabria 2024-2028,  it highlights objectives related to data spaces and the creation of data offices.

Castile - La Mancha

The commitments of Castilla – La Mancha focused on the training field, with the creation of a specialization course in open government, where one of its five axes was the publication and reuse of open data. However, it has also recently made progress in governance tasks, with Decree 12/2026, of 31 March, which regulates Data Governance in the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha. Among other aspects, it underlines that the value of data lies in its possibilities of use and reuse. It should also be noted that they have launched a data office, whose tasks include "preparing and maintaining a catalogue of open data and high-value data". In their digital strategy, they highlight their focus on the creation of a shared and secure agri-food data space, and the promotion of data-driven decisions by the Regional Government.

For the coming years, they want to focus their activities on updating their transparency portal, as well as continue to promote training in areas related to open government.

Castilla y León

One of the commitments of the Junta de Castilla y León in the IV Open Government Plan was the creation of a Public Information Catalogue, which lists all the contents of mandatory advertising, those responsible, frequency of updating and formats. In its Smart Specialisation Strategy 2021-2027, the following lines of action are mentioned: the maintenance and expansion of the open data analysis portal; the promotion of the use of the datasets of its open data portal and the generation of applications and services through the announcement of its awards; as well as advancing in data governance towards a corporate data lifecycle management policy. In the more general field of data, mention is also made of the construction of a regional health data space.

Its commitments in the new state open government plan focus on training and technological advice activities aimed at citizens for the acquisition of digital skills. They also include courses on transparency and access to public information for local entities, and highlight their commitment to data governance.

Catalonia

Catalonia's commitments in the IV Open Government Plan focused on the development of a Citizen Participation Platform (Decidimcat). On the other hand, in the Open Government Partnership Action Plan (2025-2028) The focus on the openness and reuse of public data as a driver of innovation and social progress was included. Specifically, they undertake to carry out a Reuse Promotion Strategy. For the moment, they have launched a Data governance model to ensure their interoperability and reuse.

The new commitments made in the V Open Government Plan focus  on citizen participation and optimizing the resources available for the management of requests for access to public information, among others.

Extremadura

In the IV Plan, they committed to simplifying the right of access to public information and reducing response times, which they achieved with positive results. They also focused on citizen labs and citizen participation. At a strategic level, they have recently presented the Extremadura 2027 Digital Transformation Strategy, which includes among its lines of action the implementation of a data governance plan, a unified approach to the collection, processing and management of data, which also mentions the need to promote the publication of datasets on the open data portal.

In the new Open Government Plan, its commitments focus on the implementation of a platform for citizen participation and training, in matters that are more administrative than related to data.

Galicia

Among the many commitments made by the Xunta de Galicia in the IV Open Government Plan, the improvement of the transparency and open government portal  stood out, both at the level of content (promoting its presentation through images, infographics, interactive graphics and geolocation maps), and formats. In this regard, general plans for the management and improvement of the quality of services in the regional public sector  are being published biannually (currently in force for 2026-2027). In the last one, mention is made of the advances in the quality of the formats in which the information is provided and, specifically, in its open nature "so that the information can be reused by citizens". They have also developed the Digital Galicia 2030 Strategy, where they mention the commitment to promote a Galician data strategy that results in intelligent management of public data, improving decision-making and citizen participation.

In the new State Open Government Plan, its objectives are focused on promoting and strengthening citizen participation and simplifying information and administrative procedures.

Balearic Islands

As a result of the IV Open Government Plan, the Balearic Government implemented dissemination and training activities in the field of open government, with special reference to active advertising and open data. The Balearic Islands has focused on creating its own regulations, including the agreement of the Governing Council of 17 April 2023 with measures to promote the opening and reuse of data. Decree 31/2023 was also drafted, which establishes the administrative organization in terms of transparency. It promotes and regulates a Technical Commission on Open Data, in charge of coordinating the inventory, openness, quality and automated publication (API) of public data. This decree includes articles focused on promoting collaboration between agencies to achieve the availability of open data, in reusable formats, in their data catalogue. 

In the new plan, its commitments are more related to citizen participation (creation of a platform for this purpose) and accountability.

La Rioja

Among the commitments made by La Rioja in the IV Plan was the improvement of access to the transparency portal and the open data portal with the implementation of a semantic platform: an internal technological infrastructure that structures and connects its data. In this regard, progress has been made regarding making public information and reusable data available, creating a specific catalogue, for which a prior analysis of the available information was carried out.

With the new plan, the activity will also focus on the creation of an interactive active advertising catalogue and a consultation space focused on files of the right of access to public information.

Community of Madrid

In the context of the IV Open Government Plan, the Madrid government focused on clear communication and transparency. In its 2023-2026 Digitalisation Strategy, it does talk about open data, indicating that the lines of action will be the improvement of the citizen's experience in accessing data and the incorporation of new datasets.

In the V Open Government Plan, they have focused precisely on the need to use clear language (for example, through the publication of visualizations on the Transparency Portal) to facilitate the understanding of information by citizens, as well as on cognitive accessibility and social inclusion of people with disabilities.

Region of Murcia

The Region of Murcia continues to have the same regulatory mechanisms as in the previous plan, its Regional Open Data Strategy and the Regional Open Government Plan. It should be noted that during the period of validity of the IV Open Government Plan, it developed a public governance strategy, whose lines of action included the promotion of a culture of data and open knowledge. In addition, in their Digital Agenda 2022 – 2027, they dedicate a section to data governance, with the idea of becoming a data-oriented organization, where data is used for decision-making and the use of open data and Big Data is encouraged.

Their objective for the new period is focused on the promotion of documentary accessibility: they want to develop a plan to achieve effective access to public information under conditions of equality for all people.

Autonomous Community of Navarre

The development of Open Data Navarra was one of the main commitments made by this autonomous community in the IV Plan. After the update, the focus was on the identification of new datasets and the opening of mini-sites with the incorporation of data from local entities. They are also currently working on the basis of the II Open Government Plan 2025-2028, which is committed to the opening of data through the review, updating and federation of the open data catalogue with new data both at the local level and from other regional and state entities. They have also launched a Data Office, the Navarre 2030 Digital Strategy - which highlights the "promotion of the policy of open and interoperable data between Public Administrations and its implementation for the further development of digital public services" - and an Ethical Data Manifesto.

The commitments of the new plan will focus more on participation and the construction of civic spaces, and local citizen care.

Valencian Community

In 2022, the Valencian Community published Law 1/2022, of 13 April, on Transparency and Good Governance of the Valencian Community, which updated the legal framework relating to open data and the reuse of information with a specific chapter (chapter V). That same year it also presented its open data strategy, which included an action plan and an organizational and monitoring model. The strategy has been almost entirely executed. Currently, the Open Government Strategy of the Generalitat 2023-2027 is in force, whose axes 9 and 10 address the need to increase the data catalogue of the Portal of Open Responsibilities of the Generalitat and promote collaboration between public administrations. In recent years, they have also focused on dissemination, dialogue and collaboration actions for the consolidation of an ecosystem of re-user agents and the development of collaboration mechanisms, among others. Finally, in their 2025 Digital Transformation Plan, they also mention open data, including among their objectives the "creation of a Public Data Management System with the general objective of reusing and valuing the data generated in the Valencian Community".

For the period covered by the V Open Government Plan, they will focus on digital governance and artificial intelligence, while continuing to implement their open government strategy.

Basque Country

In this period, they have updated their open data regulations by including them in Decree 91/2023, of 20 June, on comprehensive and multi-channel attention to citizens and access to public services by electronic means (article 36). They currently have the III Action Plan for Open Government in the Basque Country 2025-2028 in force, which highlights the achievements made in open data, but the new commitments are more focused on citizen participation and accountability. They are also implementing their Strategy for the Digital Transformation of the Basque Country 2025, where they highlight the need for a solid data governance foundation that "will allow the deployment of artificial intelligence, the implementation of public policies and will establish reliable and secure environments for the exchange and reuse of data".

In the V Open Government Plan, they commit to promoting more understandable content in their open government and transparency portals. The aim is to enable clearer communication with citizens, better accountability, as well as to boost collaboration and awareness.

Ceuta and Melilla

The commitments in the IV Open Government Plan of the autonomous cities were not focused on data. However, Melilla has made progress in recent years with the development of its own portal.

In the new Plan, Melilla has committed to promoting transparency, with all the data available to the citizen, as well as to carry out training actions in open government. Ceuta has not indicated any commitment individually.

The analysis of the regional panorama clearly reflects that the public information ecosystem in Spain has reached a turning point. Open data has gone beyond the traditional boundaries of open government to be integrated into the strategic plans for digitalisation and digital transformation of the Autonomous Communities. We are no longer dealing with a mere obligation of active publicity, but with a fundamental pillar of the modern economy and public management. Proof of this is how most regions are evolving from the simple publication of catalogs to true data governance and governance. A trend that will continue over the next few years.

The following infographic summarizes where you can find the open data of each community and its strategic framework:

The interactive version (with links) is here available