[open-government] open-government Digest, Vol 44, Issue 5 Open Data Counter Point
Doug Hanchard
doug.hanchard at gmail.com
Thu Oct 3 18:30:00 UTC 2013
As currently written, the definition is fraught with future disaster and
consequences where it concerns government datasets.
Many of you will say - that depends. Fair enough. The definition of
government metadata, etc. must be segmented. Citizen data should have severe
restrictions including relevance to, or for profit organizations and
redistribution rights. Metadata elements that represent traditional bricks
and mortar physical data points including financial data such as real-estate
prices when linked to identifiable individuals is likely stepping over
individual rights to privacy and its ownership (intellectual, commercial,
etc). Safety mechanisms should be included such as peer review or third
party analysis.
These issues and others barely scratch the surface. Medical data is often
cited as the most abused today, let alone in the future. There are benign
public / citizen datasets; public transportation, public works / utility
assets, government fiscal management, and economic statistics that are
useable under the guidelines and definition proposed. What must be defined
are the levels' of granularity and analytical performance that maintains
ethical and legal recourse, all the while creating a level of neutrality and
individual protection rights.
The needs of the many do not always outweigh the needs of the few, or the
one.
Doug Hanchard
Rapid Response Consulting
K0L 2W0
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Defining Open Data (Deniz Susar)
2. Re: Defining Open Data (stef)
3. Re: Defining Open Data (Rufus Pollock)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2013 10:36:34 -0400
From: Deniz Susar <susar at un.org>
Subject: Re: [open-government] Defining Open Data
To: Christian Villum <christian.villum at okfn.org>
Cc: Open Government WG List <open-government at lists.okfn.org>
Message-ID:
<CAJx3TvtweGe9Wj_O4tthyKNDVLAJuJhak0YZ=EgW0777ph8JTw at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>From my experience, government officials still get confused between
statistics portals and open data portals (OGD catalogues). From the diagram
you shared, it implies that the data on statistics portals can also qualify
as open data if it is shared with an open license? I think it will be
helpful to make the distinction btw statistics portals and OGD catalogues?
However, technical openness is not clear, a PDF file with an open license,
does it qualify as open data or not?
On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 10:17 AM, Christian Villum <christian.villum at okfn.org
> wrote:
> Fresh off the Open Knowledge Foundation blog, by CEO Laura James:
>
> Defining Open Data
> *October 3, 2013
> *
>
> *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-dat
> a-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?.
> - See original post at:
> http://blog.okfn.org/2013/10/03/defining-open-data/
>
>
> --
>
> Christian Villum
>
> Community Manager, Open Government Data + Local Groups Network
> skype: christianvillum | @villum <http://www.twitter.com/villum> The
> Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/> *Empowering through Open
> Knowledge *http://okfn.org/ | @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN> |
> OKF on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>
> | Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/> |
> Newsletter<http://okfn.org/about/newsletter>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> open-government mailing list
> open-government at lists.okfn.org
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-government
> Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/open-government
>
>
--
Best Regards,
Deniz
________________________________________
Mr. Deniz Susar
Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
Tel: +1 212 963 8421
Email: susar at un.org
Twitter: @denizsusar
Skype: denizsusar
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2013 17:18:10 +0200
From: stef <s at ctrlc.hu>
Subject: Re: [open-government] Defining Open Data
To: Deniz Susar <susar at un.org>
Cc: Open Government WG List <open-government at lists.okfn.org>
Message-ID: <20131003151809.GA7407 at ctrlc.hu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
On Thu, Oct 03, 2013 at 10:36:34AM -0400, Deniz Susar wrote:
> However, technical openness is not clear, a PDF file with an open
> license, does it qualify as open data or not?
i'd say it's not open, furthermore it reveals the malice/incompetence of the
releasing party. especially if it is scanned.
never use pdfs, except if you're in the printing industry or if you use pdfs
as attack-vectors to deliver malware.
--
pgp: https://www.ctrlc.hu/~stef/stef.gpg
pgp fp: FD52 DABD 5224 7F9C 63C6 3C12 FC97 D29F CA05 57EF otr fp:
https://www.ctrlc.hu/~stef/otr.txt
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2013 16:53:46 +0100
From: Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org>
Subject: Re: [open-government] Defining Open Data
To: Deniz Susar <susar at un.org>
Cc: Open Government WG List <open-government at lists.okfn.org>
Message-ID:
<CAKssCpM6AQ6u+_JK9kyyRO7tX-9Y=acSr704CpZ6Gr9BmOYDhQ at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
Hi Deniz,
This just concerned with providing a clear, simple definition of open data
- whether that data is provided by a statistical office, by another part of
government or by someone else entirely.
Regarding PDF, that's an excellent and common question. This issue is, in
fact, covered by the Open Definition - and mentioned briefly the post (it
will be covered further in a follow-up post).
A key requirement for open data as per the Open Definition is that it be
technically as well as legally open and technical openness requires machine
readability. Specific item 1 of the Definition
states<http://opendefinition.org/okd/>
:
*The work shall be available as a whole and at no more than a reasonable
reproduction cost, preferably downloading via the Internet without charge.
The work must also be available in a convenient and modifiable form.*
*
*
*Comment: This can be summarized as ?social? openness ? not only are you
allowed to get the work but you can get it. ?As a whole? prevents the
limitation of access by indirect means, for example by only allowing access
to a few items of a database at a time (material should be available in
bulk as necessary). Convenient and modifiable means that material
should be machine
readable (rather than, for example, just human readable).*
A fuller definition of machine
readable<http://okfn.org/opendata/glossary/#machine-readable>is
provided as part of the open
data glossary we are maintaining
here<http://okfn.org/opendata/glossary/#machine-readable>
.
Regards,
Rufus
On 3 October 2013 15:36, Deniz Susar <susar at un.org> wrote:
> From my experience, government officials still get confused between
> statistics portals and open data portals (OGD catalogues). From the
diagram
> you shared, it implies that the data on statistics portals can also
qualify
> as open data if it is shared with an open license? I think it will be
> helpful to make the distinction btw statistics portals and OGD catalogues?
>
>
> However, technical openness is not clear, a PDF file with an open license,
> does it qualify as open data or not?
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 10:17 AM, Christian Villum <
> christian.villum at okfn.org> wrote:
>
>> Fresh off the Open Knowledge Foundation blog, by CEO Laura James:
>>
>> Defining Open Data
>> *October 3, 2013
>> *
>>
>> *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-prin
ciples/> 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?.
>> - See original post at:
>> http://blog.okfn.org/2013/10/03/defining-open-data/
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Christian Villum
>>
>> Community Manager, Open Government Data + Local Groups Network
>> skype: christianvillum | @villum <http://www.twitter.com/villum>
>> The Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/>
>> *Empowering through Open Knowledge
>> *http://okfn.org/ | @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN> | OKF on
Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>
>> | Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/> |
Newsletter<http://okfn.org/about/newsletter>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> open-government mailing list
>> open-government at lists.okfn.org
>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-government
>> Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/open-government
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Best Regards,
> Deniz
> ________________________________________
> Mr. Deniz Susar
> Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)
> United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
> Tel: +1 212 963 8421
> Email: susar at un.org
> Twitter: @denizsusar
> Skype: denizsusar
>
> _______________________________________________
> open-government mailing list
> open-government at lists.okfn.org
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-government
> Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/open-government
>
>
--
*
Rufus Pollock
Founder and Executive Director | skype: rufuspollock |
@rufuspollock<https://twitter.com/rufuspollock>
The Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/>
Empowering through Open Knowledge
http://okfn.org/ | @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN> | OKF on
Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>|
Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/> |
Newsletter<http://okfn.org/about/newsletter>
*
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