[open-government] Defining Open Data

Thu Oct 3 15:53:46 UTC 2013

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-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>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> 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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>

-- 
*

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>|
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*
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