4. Why Open Data?
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Improved Public
Service
• Efficiency: 33%
internal use
• Fact based
decisions
• New Economic
& Social Value
47. • August 2011: Motion „Starting an Open Data Project“ (Pirates)
• January 2012: Motion „EU Funding for Open Data and Digital
Content“ (Pirates)
• March 2012: Motion „Central Open Data Portal for Frankfurt“
(CDU/Green coalition)
• January 2013: Motion „Open Data: Don‘t hesitate, do it“ (Pirates)
• May 2013: Proposal by the City government
• July 2013: Decision by the City Council
• December 2013: Final concept by Fraunhofer Institute
• December 2013: First test run of CKAN on Red Hat Linux servers
A basis for open data in Europe is the legislation on public sector information (PSI). It regulates publication of governmental data, requests for data according to freedom of information acts for free or reasonable fees. In a reform of 2013, cultural data has been included with special rights for libraries and museums.
By opening up government data politics can be held accountable for their decisions. For example, there are more than 500 apps using London public transport data. The transport authority stopped making their own app. NeelieKroes estimates the revenue from open data to €30 billion per year with a potential of €70 billion.
The Climate Corporation was founded in 2006 by two former Google employees. Their database manages 50 TB of Open Data from the National Weather Service and the Department of Agriculture from the last 60 years, calculating crop risks for increasingly extreme weather. The company sold to Monsanto in October 2013 for $1.1 billion.
Of course the EU publishes their own data at https://open-data.europa.eu, although the number of views is still low.
On a European level, open data helps making fact based political decisions. Here is a map of broadband connections in households.http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistical-atlas/gis/viewer/
In Germany 80% of persons aged 16 to 74 are using the Internet regularly, but still 13% never use it, and only 49% currently use the Web for communication with the government. eGovernment is still behind in Germany, though Germans are slightly better than the European average.http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/guip/mapAction.do?mapMode=dynamic&indicator=tin00091_1#tin00091_1
International comparison charts help getting an objective view of your country’s performance. Germany still doesn’t have equal payment for equal work, less women in upper management positions, and 90% of domestic violence is against women.http://eige.europa.eu/content/gender-equality-index#/?country=DE
Cities administer data that are most relevant for citizens. Most interesting apparently are transportation, health, employment, and demographic datasets. Those should be published first. http://data.london.gov.uk/categories-tags
Greater Manchester estimated savings of £6.5 million from finding and using its data more efficiently. Again, transportation and traffic data is most popular. http://datagm.org.uk/
San Francisco has been one of the open data pioneers. There are apps for public transport, but also about health checks at restaurants.https://data.sfgov.org/
Open data isn’t limited anymore to a few pioneers. It’s a smart thing to do. http://hackathonist.tumblr.com/
Even cities in developing countries like Kathmandu in Nepal have started to benefit from opening up their data about education and health. http://opencitiesproject.com/cities/#kathmandu
Visualization of data is important to attract people to inform themselves and eventually embrace the benefits of public sector information. Also for data journalism. http://data.london.gov.uk/london-dashboard
Crime rates are interesting if you are looking for a new apartment for rent or sale. There are commercial services available gathering information from multiple open data sources. http://data.london.gov.uk/datastore/applications/crime-rates-type-and-borough-visualization
Social indicator data is important for providing support in areas where it is needed. In an inclusive society people are not discriminated or separated because of individual disabilities, but the society has the right offers in the right places, for example free meals at schools or teachers for special education where data indicates there is a higher probability for children with behavioral disorders. http://www.intelligentlondon.org.uk/
If there is 3D mapping information available, uses are only limited by your imagination.http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/innovate/developers/minecraft-map-britain.html
One of the most popular categories for public data is transportation data. This is a live map of London underground trains from datasets that provide the geo-location of stations, train schedules, but also live information that is otherwise used on the station displays. http://traintimes.org.uk/map/tube/
Of course there are also live maps for bike sharing stations like in Barcelona. http://bikes.oobrien.com/barcelona/
Vienna cooperates with the cities of Linz, Graz, and Salzburg on an open data portal.http://www.wien.gv.at/stadtplan/
