Develop and Implement a Cross Agency Strategy

The problem

When different agencies in the public sector develop and implement their own strategies on open data, it is hard to apply central planning and evaluation. A strategy that coordinates the efforts of multiple agencies allows different agencies to understand what is required, plan accordingly and measure progress. Both the G8 Open Data Charter, published in 2013, and the Shakespeare Review of Public Sector Information, emphasised the need for a clear, visible, auditable plan for publishing data as quickly as possible, defined both by bottom-up market demand and by top-down strategic thinking, as well as a process to overcome institutional and technical obstacles.

The solution

An Open Data ombudsman and rethinking oversight authorities, Sunlight Foundation: This piece explains the importance of creating an Open Data ombudsman tasked with implementation and management of open data programs and policies within government, acting exclusively within the public interest. Examples of these authorities from U.S. cities are cited.

Encourage collaborations across sectors, ODImpact Key Findings: Key Findings from the Open Data Impact case studies (ODImpact) conducted by the GovLab recommends collaboration and data sharing between agencies.

Improving government access to government data, Value Story: In British Columbia, one third of the government data portal’s visits came from within the government, demonstrating the importance of cross-agency data sharing.