[okfn-discuss] Defining open data - blog post

[Laura James]

*All,

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*We just posted about "Defining Open Data" on the Open Knowledge Foundation
blog - setting out a clear and accessible explanation (hopefully!).  There
will be more posts about the Open Definition and how it relates to other
open principles in the next few days.*

http://blog.okfn.org/2013/10/03/defining-open-data/

Laura

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*Open data is data that can be freely used, shared and built-on by anyone,
anywhere for any purpose*. This is the summary of the full Open
Definition<http://opendefinition.org/okd/>
 which the Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/> created in 2005 to
provide both a succinct explanation and a detailed definition of open
data<http://okfn.org/opendata>
.

As the open data movement grows, and even more governments and
organisations sign up to open data, it becomes ever more *important that
there is a clear and agreed definition* for what “open data” means if we
are to realise the full benefits of openness, and avoid the risks of
creating incompatibility between projects and splintering the community.

*Open* can apply to information from any source and about any topic. Anyone
can release their data under an open licence for free use by and benefit to
the public. Although we may think mostly about government and public sector
bodies releasing public information such as budgets or maps, or researchers
sharing their results data and publications, any organisation can open
information (corporations, universities, NGOs, startups, charities,
community groups and individuals).

There is open information in transport <http://transport.okfn.org/>,
science<http://science.okfn.org/>
, products <http://product-open-data.com/>,
education<http://education.okfn.org/>
, sustainability <http://sustainability.okfn.org/>,
maps<http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=5/51.500/-0.100>
, legislation <http://legislation.okfn.org/>,
libraries<http://openbiblio.net/principles/>
, economics <http://openeconomics.net/>, culture <http://openglam.org/>,
development <http://open-development.okfn.org/>,
business<http://opencorporates.com/>
, design <http://design.okfn.org/>, finance <http://openspending.org/> ….
So the explanation of what open means applies to all of these information
sources and types. Open may also apply both to data – big data and small
data<http://blog.okfn.org/2013/04/22/forget-big-data-small-data-is-the-real-revolution/>
–
or to content, like images, text and music!

So here we set out clearly what open means, and why this agreed definition
is vital for us to collaborate, share and scale as open data and open
content grow and reach new communities.
What is Open?

The full Open Definition <http://opendefinition.org/okd/> provides a
precise definition of what open data is. There are 2 important elements to
openness:

   - *Legal openness*: you must be allowed to get the data legally, to
   build on it, and to share it. Legal openness is usually provided by
   applying an appropriate (open)
license<http://opendefinition.org/licenses/> which
   allows for free access to and reuse of the data, or by placing data into
   the public domain.
   - *Technical openness*: there should be no technical barriers to using
   that data. For example, providing data as printouts on paper (or as tables
   in PDF documents) makes the information extremely difficult to work with.
   So the Open Definition has various requirements for “technical openness,”
   such as requiring that data be machine readable and available in bulk.

There are a few key aspects of *open* which the Open
Definition<http://opendefinition.org/okd> explains
in detail. Open Data is useable by anyone, regardless of who they are,
where they are, or what they want to do with the data; there must be no
restriction on who can use it, and commercial use is fine too.

Open data must be available in bulk (so it’s easy to work with) and it
should be available free of charge, or at least at no more than a
reasonable reproduction cost. The information should be digital, preferably
available by downloading through the internet, and easily processed by a
computer too (otherwise users can’t fully exploit the power of data – that
it can be combined together to create new insights).

Open Data must permit people to use it, re-use it, and redistribute it,
including intermixing with other datasets and distributing the results.

The Open Definition <http://opendefinition.org/okd> generally doesn’t allow
conditions to be placed on how people can use Open Data, but it does permit
a data provider to require that data users credit them in some appropriate
way, make it clear if the data has been changed, or that any new datasets
created using their data are also shared as open data.

There are 3 important principles behind this definition of *open*, which
are why Open Data is so powerful:

   - *Availability and Access*: that people can get the data
   - *Re-use and Redistribution*: that people can reuse and share the data
   - *Universal Participation*: that anyone can use the data

Governance of the Open Definition

Since 2007, the Open Definition has been governed by an Advisory
Council<http://opendefinition.org/advisory-council/>.
This is the group formally responsible for maintaining and developing the
Definition and associated material. Its mission is to take forward Open
Definition work for the general benefit of the open knowledge community,
and it has specific responsibility for deciding on what licences comply
with the Open Definition.

The Council is a community-run body. New members of the Council can be
appointed at any time by agreement of the existing members of the Advisory
Council, and are selected for demonstrated knowledge and competence in the
areas of work of the Council.

The Advisory Council operates in the open and anyone can join the mailing
list <http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/od-discuss>.
About the Open Definition

The Open Definition <http://opendefinition.org/okd/> was created in 2005 by
the Open Knowledge Foundation with input from many people. The Definition
was based directly on the Open Source
Definition<http://opensource.org/osd-annotated>
 from the Open Source Initiative <http://opensource.org/> and we were able
to reuse most of these well-established principles and practices that the
free and open source community had developed for software, and apply them
to data and content.

Thanks to the efforts of many translators in the community, the Open
Definition is available in 30+ languages <http://opendefinition.org/okd/>.
More about openness coming soon

In coming days we’ll post more on the theme of explaining openness,
including a more detailed exploration of the Open Definition, the
relationship of the Open Definition to specific sets of principles for
openness – such as the Sunlight Foundation’s 10
principles<http://sunlightfoundation.com/policy/documents/ten-open-data-principles/>
and
Tim Berners-Lee’s 5 star
system<http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/LinkedData.html>,
why having a shared and agreed definition of open data is so important, and
how one can go about “doing open data”.
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