This document discusses linked open governmental data from a data management perspective. It describes linked open data as using standards to publish and consume data in a flexible and semantically interoperable way using RDF triples. While open data is valuable, true interoperability requires careful data management practices like defining vocabularies, schemas, and metadata. Ontologies can also serve as domain reference models. An incremental and evolutionary approach is needed to publish linked open governmental data. Universities can help by developing technologies, forming partnerships, and providing insights from different knowledge areas to discuss best practices.

1. Governmental Linked Open Data:
A Data Management Perspective
(or: what is in a link?)
Profa. Maria Luiza Machado Campos
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
mluiza@ufrj.br

2. Maria Luiza (UFRJ) e Giancarlo (UFES)

3. Yes, we have data!
Maria Luiza (UFRJ) e Giancarlo (UFES)

4. Is it open?
Maria Luiza (UFRJ) e Giancarlo (UFES)

5. Open Governmental Data
• In some sense
– There is a lot already available
– But…
• Is it easy to find, access and use together?

6. Open Governmental Data
• Interoperability and Integration requires a lot of
work
– Even inside a single organization!
(We’ve had DBMS for more than half a century, but have we
achieved the integration we aimed at? What was missing?)
– And now, on the Web:
• Distributed, heterogeneous, in large scale, highly visible,
large number of different users, …

7. Linked Open Data (LOD)
– What is it all about?
• Using standards
• A very “fine-grain” representation (RDF triples)
– Enables LINKING with flexibility!
– Simple?
– Powerful!
• It has interoperability in its essence
– RDF: Resource DESCRIPTION Framework
» Created to interoperate METADATA!
– Common understanding

8. Linked Open Data (LOD)
– An exciting “new” way of publishing and
consuming data!
• The power of linking
• The power of collaboration
– Consumers are publishers too!
• More and more data being generated and linked
– Sensors
– Web of things
• Data and Metadata being explored together
– Are some links more important than others?
– Links between types; Data hubs
• Querying AND Navegating AND Searching

9. Linked Open Governmental Data
– It is not just about converting to a new flexible
representation
– It is important to be “linkable”
– Descriptions are important
• To know what it really means
• To know where it comes from
• To know what we have available
• ….
– Some data are more difficult to describe than
others

10. Linked Open Governmental Data
– Open is good!
– Flexible is good!
– Semantically interoperable is even better!
• Having a “ data management approach” to Gov. LOD
– The role of vocabularies, glossaries
– The role of database schemas
– Creating/using existing complementary metadata
» e.g. Provenance metadata, voID
– Creating/Exploring ontologies as reference models of a domain
» Using Foundational Ontologies as a common ground
A data quality – oriented Governmental LOD

11. But how long will it take?
Will it ever happen?
– Lessons learned from the past
• Incremental, evolutionary
• Agile, but planned
– Estimulate initiatives
• Learn by practicing!
– Pilot projects
• Evaluate feedback and impact
– Observe standards and best practices from existing
initiatives

12. Linked Open Governmental Data
– Plan and act for the next steps
• Capacitate
– Not only on available technologies, but on reflecting about their use
– There is a lot to be learned from different knowledge areas
» Semantic web + databases and data management + AI +
• What has worked, and also what has not worked
• Define standards and strategies
– In Brazil:
» E-Ping, INDE, INDA

13. Linked Open Governmental Data
But can we what have we learned from data management
in the past?
• To define priorities
– There are very different kinds of data
– Master and reference data need special attention
– Statistical data is not trivial
» Faceted or multidimensional, sampled, spatio-temporal
heterogeous
• To define strategies for building good reference
models/ontologies
– They are fundamental for interoperability
– Conceptual modelling is important!
• To support maintenance, lineage, evolution
– LOD in the data management process of govern. institutions

14. Where universities can help
• Forming
• Developing, prototyping and experimenting
new technologies, approaches, innovative
applications
• Partnerships (with government and private
initiative)
– Applying new approaches and technologies
– Insights from different knowledge areas
– Discussing perspectives and practices
• Defining new and rescuing old trends!

15. Thank you !
mluiza@ufrj.br