[@OKFNau] a perspective from local government

Wed Mar 25 09:21:07 UTC 2015

Lachlan,

More than happy to share my experience. I did share the business processes
 established with Qld Gov Departments to get some consistency in open
data.  I am an OK ambassador here in Brisbane, just haven't been able
rectify user access issues. More than happy to travel for a meet-up if it
helps anyone.

I did share the following tips based on my experience with another member
as I am trying not spam everyone, but looks like there is interest in the
topic. So in case anyone is interested here are some tips for getting easy
wins in publishing government open data:

 1. Publish datasets of information already published. As the data is
already matured and the useability already known. An easy win is the
publication of transaction level machine readable data of already published
data such as annual report data.

2. Publish machine-readable forms of website info. - lists of internal and
external service information are easy wins. And external websites will
source this information quickly.

By doing 1 & 2 first the risk to the Department is minimal and the
Department can see the sky is not going to fall in by publishing on open
data.

3. Pick off small systems - these are easy wins allowing time to build up
to the publication of the larger more difficult systems. They also provide
the opportunity to mature your open data processes as small holdings have a
reduced number of issues and are quick to model.

4. Get your websites and intranet to start sourcing information from open
datasets. This reduces time for everyone and creates a single source of
truth. Once matured also get your existing systems to source from open
data. This will reducing information management across silo systems and
improve your data governance. It will also reduce duplication of work, data
owners and data managers.

5. Set the standards for datasets. I set-up a whole user guide which anyone
could follow to publish data, even if a non-data person. The guides covered
everything from managing datasets to ensuring de-identification of data and
how to align datasets with existing published datasets. I used AIHW and ABS
standards where possible as this meant the data can be easily mashed with
federal data but also the Department’s data could be layered over itself
with interesting results.

6. Make sure you apply mapping and standardise the mapping in the extract
codes. For example Yes/No is stored as 0,1 in most systems or Y,N. I set a
standard of extracting for open data publication full text Yes/No, so the
data is useable even by non-data users.

7. One of the less common open data features I added to the datasets was
the publication of the data in formats csv and xlsx. The csv was API
enabled, while xlsx contained a notes tab. The notes tab was in a standard
format and was published for all datasets. The notes tab defined the data,
the dataset, the data fields etc giving the user a full context of the
information. I know the notes tab is used frequently by non-government data
users, increasing the audience for your information. The notes tab also
received positive feedback from hackers at last years GovHack.

8. And perhaps the biggest tip is to publish data moving forward. Unless
there was a historical significance to the data, all data commenced
publication at the current point in time moving forward. Where there was a
request for legacy data the legacy data would be published, but otherwise
data trends from point in time extracted moving forward. This makes huge
efficiency savings, as you don't have to align legacy systems or data
holdings.

Hope this helps.
Regards
Rebecca

On Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 8:58 AM, Lachlan Musicman <datakid at gmail.com> wrote:

> Rebecca,
>
> That sounds really interesting. Could you come to an OK event to talk
> about it?
>
> Cheers
> L.
>
> ------
>  It is through this shadowy emptiness (of negative space) that we walk,
> talk, see, and live; negative space is the impossible cellophane layer that
> drapes the known world and is invisible to all but to the most perceptive
> minds.
>
> It is possible to learn to see negative space though, in both the visual
> and imagined worlds. The first step is developing the ability to see, and
> the second is learning — as romantic poet John Keats put it — to be
> “capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any
> irritable reaching after fact & reason.”
> ----
> Seeking Genius in Negative Space, Chris Messina
>
> https://medium.com/genius-week/seeking-genius-in-negative-space-4e7c755f641f
>
> On 20 March 2015 at 21:01, Rebecca Cameron <rcameron.bis at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi All
>>
>>
>>
>> I initially didn’t send this post to all, sending to Mike only. But as
>> the discussion has taken a detour into the how and why of government open
>> data I thought it wrth sharing
>>
>>
>>
>> I have just finished 18 months working for a government department making
>> their data holdings open. The project assessed and published the data
>> holdings of +250 source systems (the entire data holdings of the
>> department) on open data. The publication of data was subject to a
>> strategic well documented process with identifiable data stripped of names,
>> address etc of clients and small cell population holdings managed for
>> potential linkage risks. The return on investment (investment was 1.5
>> resources for 18 months) was realised in 12 months from completion.
>>
>>
>>
>> Due to the approach taken the short term benefits were twofold:
>>
>> 1.       Internal business benefit.
>>
>> In order to secure a commitment by governments to publishing their data
>> holdings there must be quick wins and long term business gains. A strategic
>> approach which integrated open data publication into core business
>> processes was developed in order to secure business benefits and ensure a
>> long term commitment to the publication of data. Internal business benefits
>> included:
>>
>> ·         a single source of truth model under pinned by Open Data. The
>> open data sourced model supports the existing silo’s for system management
>> whilst enabling consistent data to be held across systems without requiring
>> the implementation or management of data warehousing models. For example
>> Regional boundary data held in system 1 and published on Open Data could be
>> sourced by internal systems to ensure consistency in holdings, reducing the
>> workload for managing information and system dependencies;
>>
>> ·         improved data quality – internal and crowd sourced data
>> cleaning;
>>
>> ·         reduced data modelling and reporting, with Open Datasets
>> replacing existing published reports;
>>
>> ·        the Department's website information set up to source from Open
>> Datasets creating a single source of truth for website information and
>> reducing ongoing resource requirements for the management of website
>> information;
>>
>> ·         collaborative internal approach to data usage. Staff able to
>> identify business opportunities and service delivery improvements through
>> transparency and publication of data;
>>
>> ·         publishing Open Data in standard formats with standard terms
>> and categories (which are consistent with ABS and AIHW standards) enabling
>> the linkage of the departments datasets and the linkage of department data
>> with national datasets;
>>
>> ·         single and consistent source of department data, with figures
>> for Ministerial and other reports sourced from Open Data. Reduced risk of
>> data inconsistency and data sourced from different points in time;
>>
>> ·         spatial display of all address information;
>>
>> ·         reduction in requests for data.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2.       External user benefits
>>
>> The development of new apps and websites in the market place were the
>> most obvious short term benefits and included:
>>
>> 1.       Previous hard copy publication of Business Discounts for
>> Seniors and Carer cardholders by region editions replaced by the app
>> Discount Directory for Seniors & Carers.  The App:
>>
>> ·         provides card holders’ greater access to discount information
>> including a spatial platform
>>
>> ·         increased exposure of businesses to card holders and
>> increased exposure across geographic platforms
>>
>> ·         increased usage of cards by card holders
>>
>> ·         increased usage and platforms will potentially increase the
>> number of businesses in the scheme
>>
>> ·         decrease in government costs for the delivery of the service
>> (app to replace paper based publication)
>>
>>
>>
>> 2.       A number of social service directory websites have been
>> developed including  www.mycommunitydirectory.com.au.
>> Mycomunitydirectory commenced in 2013 with a social services dataset
>> published by the department and has since grown into a complete community
>> directory for public, community and government community services.
>>
>>
>>
>> The long term benefits of social and community service open data should
>> start to be realised in the coming months. As social and community service
>> data relies heavily on trending information, the value of this information
>> will be realised as the department publishes the third year of open data
>> for a number datasets.
>>
>>
>>
>> Happy to provide further information on any of the above or share the
>> experience of publishing the open data holdings of an entire department.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Rebecca
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 9:29 AM, William McIntosh <
>> WMcIntosh at geelongcity.vic.gov.au> wrote:
>>
>>>  Hello all, short time subscriber first time replier…
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I might chime in here to add a view from inside government.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A lot of us in government are working very hard to open up as much of
>>> our data as possible. From my perspective change is happening, but possibly
>>> not as fast as some people had hoped. This is for a whole range of reasons
>>> but partly because I think we’re only seeing Open data becoming
>>> ‘mainstream’ for Australian government in the last couple of years. Perhaps
>>> its simply taken some time to penetrate the different levels of government.
>>> I did see an example of this  at a recent meeting where some councils had
>>> been hit over the head with the idea of embracing Open Data. I like to call
>>> this ‘positively agitating’ councils into action. This is done by actively
>>> promoting the benefits of open data to each council’s community and giving
>>> them some clear achievable objectives to start their journey and the MAV
>>> <http://www.mav.asn.au/Pages/default.aspx> has done a very good job of
>>> this. You will see that even though some councils won’t embrace it straight
>>> away we are starting to see the light bulb flick on across many different
>>> councils right now (Manningham have just uploaded some of their data
>>> <https://data.gov.au/dataset?q=manningham&sort=extras_harvest_portal+asc>
>>> this month).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It’s important to note that its not unique to those outside government
>>> to be frustrated with the rate of change with Open Data, this is something
>>> people inside government face also. All we can do is advocate the benefits
>>> to change the way of thinking.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Types of things that helps government become active open data
>>> participants:*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Steve Bennett’s help creating data schema standards
>>> <http://okfnau.github.io/open-council-data/> for common datasets across
>>> councils has been a huge help. This helps in different ways such as
>>> councils have a clear objective to what their data could be cleaned up to
>>> look like, allows for easy combination of data across the state and also
>>> can be used to help list the metadata. This is only early days yet, but its
>>> important that these are communicated (and debated) now so that we end up
>>> with a well thought out and very functional spec for different data.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thinking further ahead to when most councils are uploading their data
>>> online and having ~50 – 70 datasets online (hopefully to an repository like
>>> data.gov.au) they will be looking at ways to automate this process. So
>>> creation of python/CKAN scripts to automatically update their data online
>>> could potentially be of huge value across many different organisations. At
>>> the moment besides talking to Surrey council I haven’t found many other
>>> people looking at this and willing to share.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hopefully this provides some useful information happy to field any
>>> questions/comments and chat further,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Looking forward to attending an OKFNau event in the coming months,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> be awesome,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Will McIntosh
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Coordinator Spatial Information Systems
>>>
>>> City of Greater Geelong
>>>
>>> Phone: 03 5272 4062
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* okfn-au [mailto:okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org] *On Behalf Of *Cobi
>>> Alison Smith
>>> *Sent:* Thursday, 19 March 2015 3:05 PM
>>> *To:* Open Knowledge discussion list for Australia.
>>> *Subject:* [@OKFNau] speaking of values...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> To throw the cat among the pigeons, I’m going to add a couple of points:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -          I don’t think OKFNau is in a great position to be pushing
>>> for change right now, given lack of transparency about upcoming plans &
>>> governance changes in the wake of broader OK changes. It’s easy to
>>> criticise; it’s harder to lead by example. Consider how hard it is for
>>> OKFNau to manage this – then consider government departments which have way
>>> more inertia & less knowledge. Yes, OK folk are volunteers whereas
>>> government employees get paid, and yes change should and will happen – but
>>> I think OKFNau is unintentionally complacent in the same way governments
>>> can be.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -          I want to echo and amplify Rosie’s comment that you can
>>> speak but that doesn’t mean people will hear. And when people express
>>> frustration via jokes about violence, it means those of us who are trying
>>> to be heard and create change within organizations have to deal with more
>>> barriers. The last thing we need in Australia is for transparency to be
>>> further undermined by perceived risks of kneecapping, kidnapping, or any
>>> kind of bogus security paranoia. Less hostility and more inclusivity
>>> please. The more folk from government who are on this list asking for help
>>> the better; making them feel unwelcome via sneers & such isn’t conducive to
>>> positive change.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Incidentally, Rosie have you considered a Shuttleworth Fellowship?
>>> https://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/applications/ I was being
>>> encouraged to apply while I was in Geneva last year – I think you deserve
>>> it much more.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Cheers, Cobi
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* okfn-au [mailto:okfn-au-bounces at lists.okfn.org] *On Behalf Of *Rosie
>>> Williams
>>> *Sent:* Thursday, 19 March 2015 12:19 PM
>>> *To:* Open Knowledge discussion list for Australia.
>>> *Subject:* Re: [@OKFNau] Examples of Use of Commercial Government Data
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Just this week I had to try to convince a New Enterprise Incentive
>>> Scheme business advisor that what I do has value. His first comment to me
>>> was ' I suspect there might copyright issues'. I then explained to him the
>>> definition of open data and it's relationship to copyright. He seemed
>>> unaware of the concept, not to mention a bit sceptical. How he would
>>> 'advise' me remains to be seen. I spent a fair bit of the time trying to
>>> explain to him that tenders and grants data are actually different things.
>>> I didn't get far.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If I am not able to convince this person of the value of what I do I
>>> will be put to work cleaning hospitals. I don't mind the work but it would
>>> be sad if I have to stop doing what is so valuable for society because of
>>> the lack of appreciation of open data in wider society. I guess when it
>>> comes to convincing people of something you can speak but that does not
>>> guarantee the recipient will hear what you say. Still, I live in hope ;-)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Apologies if you've been visiting BudgetAus this week, I've been making
>>> huge changes and for long periods and both at home and the library where I
>>> work the internet has been up and down like a yo-yo.  It's starting to look
>>> good now though and giving me the opportunity to try new things.
>>>
>>> Rosie Williams BA (Sociology)
>>>
>>> ________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  NoFibs.com.au <http://nofibs.com.au> - Open Data Reporter
>>>
>>>  InfoAus.net <http://infoaus.net> - Founder and Developer
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 02:54:03 +1100
>>> From: steven.decosta at linkdigital.com.au
>>> To: okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
>>> Subject: Re: [@OKFNau] Examples of Use of Commercial Government Data
>>>
>>> You folks are cool :) great discussion going on here.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> After being in Kiev and spending a lot of time with Government officials
>>> there I now realize just how lucky we are in Australia. Ukraine has 1,200
>>> government services and of those only two are currently delivered via a
>>> digital medium.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> There is zero bureaucratic latitude to do anything outside the law so
>>> every process change starts with a change to legislation.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Having said that I still hold to the belief that eGovernment is
>>> inevitable and open data that is generated by transparently operated
>>> digital government services is the 'killer app' for today's democracy.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I expect the Federal Digital Transformation Office will help create a
>>> wave of change through all levels of Australian Government and digital
>>> bureaucrats will become the norm in all agencies.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Going 'native' now has a new meaning.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hoots!
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, March 18, 2015, Tennessee Leeuwenburg <
>>> tleeuwenburg at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Lachlan,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In my frustrated moments, I think that about the whole world, not just
>>> government :). I think it's amazing when anyone manages to find a way to be
>>> successful through openness, and it's the way of the future. If only we
>>> could get there :)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -T
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 16 March 2015 at 15:02, Lachlan Musicman <datakid at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I deserve that rebuke and I think Pia makes a good point. But it's
>>> also true that from *outside* government, it can be hard to be
>>> anything but cynical, and I am not often seeing that change of
>>> attitude that you claim - as someone bubbling with impatience on the
>>> outside, I see feet draggers and excuse makers. I think that different
>>> levels of government (Fed, State, Local) probably have different
>>> opinions and different levels of commitment as well. I know I should
>>> be differentiating between them, but in reality, I just see a wall of
>>> Government.
>>>
>>> Good to see the discussion take off ;)
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> L.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------
>>> The totalitarian society envisioned by George Orwell in 1984 should
>>> have arrived by now. The electronic gadgets are here. The government
>>> is here, ready to do what Orwell anticipated. So the power exists, the
>>> motive, and the electronic hardware. But these mean nothing, because,
>>> progressively more and more so, no one is listening. The new youth
>>> that I see is too stupid to read, too restless and bored to watch, too
>>> preoccupied to remember. The collective voice of the authorities is
>>> wasted on him; he rebels. But rebels not out of theoretical,
>>> ideological considerations, only out of what might be called pure
>>> selfishness. Plus a careless lack of regard for the dread consequences
>>> the authorities promise him if he fails to obey. He cannot be bribed
>>> because what he wants he can build, steal, or in some curious,
>>> intricate way acquire for himself. He cannot be intimidated because on
>>> the streets and in his home he has seen and participated in so much
>>> violence that it fails to cow him. He merely gets out of its way when
>>> it threatens, or, if he can't escape, he fights back. When the locked
>>> police van comes to carry him off to the concentration camp the guards
>>> will discover that while loading the van they have failed to note that
>>> another equally hopeless juvenile has slashed the tires. The van is
>>> out of commission. And while the tires are being replaced, the other
>>> youth siphons out all the gas from the gas tank for his souped-up
>>> Chevrolet Impala and has sped off long ago.
>>> ----
>>> The Android and the Human, Philip K. Dick
>>> sourced from
>>> http://boingboing.net/2015/03/10/philip-k-dicks-androids-blu.html
>>>
>>> On 15 March 2015 at 11:22, Pia Waugh <pia.waugh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> > Hi all,
>>> >
>>> > Just a quick one:
>>> >
>>> > On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 3:30 PM, Lachlan Musicman <datakid at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Government officials. I cannot express how grateful I am that there
>>> are
>>> >> people in this organisation who can talk pretty because I just want
>>> to break
>>> >> their kneecaps and push them into puddles with a sneer.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > It'd be really cool if people could remember that "government
>>> officials" are
>>> > not a faceless enemy. There are a lot of us working in government to
>>> improve
>>> > things, and comments like this certainly don't help. If you make it a
>>> > "you're either with us or agin us" then you make it very hard to
>>> > collaborate, educate or change the status quo. Personally I'm finding
>>> > attitudes are changing within Australian governments (fed,
>>> state/territory
>>> > and local) quite rapidly and I'm cautiously optimistic things will
>>> continue
>>> > to get better. Meanwhile, I guess we'll start issuing knee protectors
>>> as
>>> > standard issue across the public service ;)
>>> >
>>> > Cheers,
>>> > Pia
>>> >
>>>
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > okfn-au mailing list
>>> > okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
>>> > https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
>>> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
>>> >
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> okfn-au mailing list
>>> okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> Tennessee Leeuwenburg
>>> http://myownhat.blogspot.com/
>>> "Don't believe everything you think"
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> *STEVEN DE COSTA *|
>>> *EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR *www.linkdigital.com.au
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> [image: Image removed by sender.]  [image: Image removed by sender.] [image:
>>> Image removed by sender.]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________ okfn-au mailing list
>>> okfn-au at lists.okfn.org https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>> The information in this electronic mail is privileged and confidential,
>>> intended only for use of the individual or entity named. If you are not the
>>> intended recipient, any dissemination, copying or use of the information is
>>> strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error please
>>> inform us by forwarding the original email to
>>> contactus at geelongcity.vic.gov.au. Following this, please delete it
>>> immediately.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> okfn-au mailing list
>>> okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> okfn-au mailing list
>> okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> okfn-au mailing list
> okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-au
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-au/attachments/20150325/8084830a/attachment-0004.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: ~WRD000.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 823 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-au/attachments/20150325/8084830a/attachment-0004.jpg>