Open Government / Open Data

in Canada

July 2013

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• Advancing the government’s accountability and democratic

reform agendas

• Generating economic value for Canadians and supporting the

Digital Economy Strategy

• Aligning Canada with other countries (UK, Australia, USA)

• Responding to exploding volume of requests for access to

information, order paper questions, e-mail campaigns, media

• Giving Canadians their say in decisions that affect them and the

resulting potential for innovation and value (builds trust and

credibility)

• Setting the stage for future reforms

Background

Drivers of Open Government / Open Data

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• In March 2011, the Government of Canada announced its

commitment to expand Open Government along 3 activity streams:

Open Data: making raw data available in machine-readable

formats to citizens, governments, not-for-profit and private sector

organizations to leverage it in innovative and value-added ways.

Open Information: proactively releasing information on

government activities on an ongoing basis, making it more

accessible to Canadians and easier to find.

Open Dialogue: giving Canadians an opportunity for two-way

dialogue with the Government of Canada on federal policies and

priorities.

Background

A Commitment to Open Government

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• In April 2012, Canada released its Action Plan on Open Government; 12

concrete commitments to advance open government principles along the 3

activity streams.

• Commitments focus on enterprise solutions (e.g., policies, processes,

IM/IT) to provide foundational support for government-wide transformation.

Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government

Modern engagement tools

(e.g., social media, Web 2.0)

Common platforms (e.g.,

Open Data, Virtual Library)

ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS

Sharable Open

Source solutions

Foundation policies (e.g., IM/IT, communications, security)

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Open Data in the Government of Canada

Government of Canada’s Open Data Plan:

1. Launch Next-generation data.gc.ca: enhance public access to

Government of Canada data and supports its reuse.

2. Issue Policy Direction on Open Government: shift departments

and agencies towards a culture of ‘open by default’.

3. Issue Open Government Licence: provide simple and

unrestricted rights to reuse government data for commercial and

non-commercial purposes.

4. Maximize Multi-Jurisdictional Data Availability: work with

provinces and municipalities on common approaches to open data.

5. Drive Open Data International Standards: work with G8

countries to establish common open data approaches and

standards.

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1. Next-generation data.gc.ca

• Objective: develop a next-generation platform to support

the delivery of federal open data.

• The Government of Canada’s next-generation data.gc.ca

was launched on June 18, 2013.

• Built using the Open Government Platform (OGPL), this new

portal features significant enhancements to search capacity

and social media features designed to respond to what we

heard from Canadians.

• Establishes a foundation on which to build future open data

services (e.g., communities, developer tools, etc.).

Open Data in the Government of Canada

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2. Directive on Open Government

• Objective: maximize the release of government data and

information to the public in order to support transparency,

accountability, and socio-economic benefits through reuse.

• The Directive on Open Government will provide specific

direction to departmental data owners on:

• What data and information is to be published; and

• How data and information is to be published.

• The Directive will be issued in the fall of 2013, and federal

departments will be required to develop and maintain a plan

for the phased implementation of the Directive’s requirements.

Open Data in the Government of Canada

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3. Open Government Licence (OGL)

Objective: regularize and simplify the licensing of published

Government of Canada information (data, info, websites,

publications) as allowed by policy and legislation

The Open Government Licence was issued on June 18, 2013.

Key features of the new Open Government Licence:

Focuses on broader reuse of government “information”, not just

“data”;

Uses simplified, plain language to clearly state conditions for use;

Aligns with existing and developing international best practices.

Licence has been designed as a “template” for open licensing

that could be adopted by other government open data providers

in Canadian provinces, territories, and municipalities.

Open Data in the Government of Canada

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4. Multi-jurisdictional Data Availability

Objective: collaborate with other levels of government to

advance common open government priorities and initiatives.

An intergovernmental working group supports the prioritization

and implementation of key open data / information initiatives

(e.g., licencing, common standards, pan-Canadian open data).

5. International Open Data Standards

• Objective: share expertise and be transparent about data

collection, standards, and publishing processes.

• Plans underway to support implementation of the G8 Open Data

Charter by working with G8 countries to establish common open

data approaches and standards.

Open Data in the Government of Canada

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• Measuring success of open data / open government

• Driving Pan-Canadian collaboration across multiple

levels of government

• Shifting government culture to be “open by default”

• Managing the distributed ownership of data

Moving Forward

Four Major Challenges