[@OKau] A Missing Link

Fri May 8 00:47:04 UTC 2015

There is a lot of recent work on the value of open data and such now
published. There is also recent work on high value datasets. Lots of wok on
data publishing best practices too :)

And, as Alex illustrated, increasing lists of case studies and evidenced
based reports.

I think that all of this provides enough material for analysts to now do
direct work within industry segments and model the expected impact of
shifting Government operations at a policy level, not an agency,
bureaucratic or 'what's in it for me' business-as-usual manner. I also
think that this is already happening with the emergence of the Digital
Transformation Office and the expected digital services focus of of their
assembled group of digital bureaucrats.  State efforts will likely follow
the international trend and renovate their own service delivery approach in
progressive phases.

With all of this in play right now I think we push on the open doors in
front of us and sidestep those that are currently locked (they'll open up
in due time).

Community groups and individuals with domain experience on open data,
knowledge systems, community engagement and humanities are well placed to
partner with Government agencies at this time. One reason why budgets are
lowered is simply that the cost of generating innovation within Government
is higher than it is in the private sector. The cost of innovation within
community groups supported by volunteerism is lower again. As such,
Government can trim back their cake and eat it too via forming
public-private partnerships with groups like Code for Australia, GovHack
teams, Open Australia, ODI, OKAU and many others...

They are doing this, in fact. I think a lot has changed in Government over
the last 30 years. The makeup of a public servant today is not what it
might have been even 10 years ago. They are more digital, as everyone now
is, and they are just as socially aware as anyone else when it comes to
effectively spending public money to get good stuff done.

Anyhoo - maybe I'm having an overly optimistic day but I think the present
day looks bright in every direction I look.

Cheers,
Steven

*STEVEN DE COSTA *|
*EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR*www.linkdigital.com.au

On 8 May 2015 at 10:12, Ben Searle <bensearle54 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you for your responses Steven and Rosie.
>
> While I appreciate the economic argument you have provided Steven, and
> that argument is certainly correct, I still see an issue of “whats in it
> for me”.  I don’t mean to start a ‘hostage negotiation”, but having spent
> over 30 years in technical and managerial roles responsible for data in
> both levels of government and upto Assistant Secretary level, I understand
> the culture of government relatively well.
>
> Government organisations are organisms made up of many different parts and
> like most large organisations do not effectively communicate internally.
> Most managers operate against silo based performance indicators and I must
> say that public good is generally not a performance indicator that is
> widely used.  Most managers must operate within declining budgets and still
> produce greater levels of outputs.  At a purely ‘selfish’’ level, taking
> resources out of the production environment to support getting data into
> the open domain is not something that is rewarded.
>
> Senior executives may agree with the open data concepts and push
> internally, but the bottom line is resources to support an open data
> initiative.  As a manager, if I am asked to meet open data requirements or
> get the major report out on time, I know what path I would take.
>
> But, this is not all doom and gloom….There is a solution where a win/win
> can occur.  Having done some work in Christchurch recently on an earthquake
> recovery project, the answer became very clear….
>
> Organisations can gain significant benefits internally.  Direct benefits
> addressing internal issues and the by product is more useful data put into
> the open data space.
>
> We need to get away from simply looking at the number of data sets put in
> to the open space.  Malcom Turnbull at the Locate15 Conference in Brisbane
> recently was very proudly talking about how the numbers of data sets in
> Data.Gov have substantially increased.  He didn’t talk at all about how
> useful these data sets were and if they are being used…My experience is
> that only a small number well documented datasets from significant
> organisations such as Geoscience Australia, ABS and the Bureau of
> Meteorology are being consistently used.  Most other data sets are simply
> looked at and general not consumed.
>
> So, I am a very strong support of open data, but feel we are not
> addressing the issues that commence at the start of the Open Data supply
> chain.  However, there is a solution….
>
> Cheers
>
> Ben Searle
>
>
>
> Email:    bensearle54 at gmail.com
> Mobile:  +61 (0) 400 453 601
>
> On 8 May 2015, at 9:47 am, Rosie Williams <budgetaus at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> One answer to this question is that use cases are missing. Open data use
> cases should demonstrate the value of open data projects to as many
> audiences as possible.
>
> I have a question or two of my own. How do government agencies define
> benefit? This seems like it could be a good subject of a survey if there is
> not already research that answers this. Are agencies trying to generate
> revenue, cut their costs, improve service to public and if so how is this
> judged?
>
>
>
> Rosie Williams BA (Sociology)
> ________________________________________
>  NoFibs.com.au <http://nofibs.com.au/> - Open Data Reporter | InfoAus.net
> <http://infoaus.net/> - Founder and Developer
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> From: bensearle54 at gmail.com
> Date: Fri, 8 May 2015 09:10:46 +1000
> To: okfn-au at lists.okfn.org
> Subject: [@OKau] A Missing Link
>
> Hi,
>
> An open data related thought based on a number of years working in the
> data management space across different levels of government.
>
> Most government organisations and individuals in those organisations
> understand the benefits of making their data available to the public.  That
> debate has generally been won.  But, most organisations are suffering
> reduced budgets and appreciate that they must expend some resources to
> comply with the open data philosophy.  This costs their organisation.  But
> what benefit do they get back from releasing their data?
>
> Generally not much direct benefit, other than complying with broad
> government objectives.  So, what is their answer to the question of “whats
> in it for me?”….generally not much.  Until we can effectively answer that
> question the supply side of open data will continue to be limited and we
> will continue to have data released purely to increase data set numbers and
> meet KPI’s but will that data be useful?  Based on current activities, much
> of the existing open data would not be consumed by organisations wishing to
> generate digital products.
>
> What is missing?
>
>
> Ben Searle
>
> <PastedGraphic-15.tiff>
>
> Email:    bensearle54 at gmail.com
> Mobile:  +61 (0) 400 453 601
>
>
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