The term open data simply refers to raw data that is made available to the public in a way that can be accessed and processed by computers. By disseminating data in this way, data can be freely used, analyzed and shared by anybody who might want to use it for any purpose. In essence, open data is a tool for delivering greater equality of access to information and greater opportunity for innovation. By enabling improved availability and accessibility of information, open data can empower government, citizens, business and civil society to engage with public issues and make better informed decisions to improve their lives.
Two elements commonly seen as essential for data to be considered “open data"1:
Technical: Data must be technically open by being published in electronic formats that are machine readable and non-proprietary. It should be made available on a public server without any restrictions for use.
Legal: Data must be legally open by being placed on a public domain or with liberal terms of use.
In Nepal’s context, making government, civil society, private sector, academic or scientific data freely available to the public online is an important step towards open data.
Helpful Resources
Open Definition: http://opendefinition.org/od/
Open Data Handbook: http://opendatahandbook.org
European Portal: https://www.europeandataportal.eu/elearning/en/module1/#/id/co-01
World Bank Open Data Toolkit: http://opendatatoolkit.worldbank.org/en/essentials.html
For data to be considered open, it must be in a machine-readable format (e.g. JSON, XML, CSV), ideally free to download, and provided under terms that permit reuse, redistribution and intermixing with other datasets. A number of globally recognized principles have been developed that determine whether data is open. For example, the Sunlight Foundation states that government data shall be considered open if it that complies with the following principles2:
Completeness: Datasets released are the entirety of what is recorded about a particular subject, including metadata, with the exception of personally identifiable information.
Primacy: Datasets released are the primary data collected at the source, with the finest possible level of granularity, not in aggregate or modified forms.
Timeliness: Datasets released are made available as quickly as necessary to preserve the value of the data.
Ease of Physical and Electronic Access: Datasets released are as accessible as possible, though physical or electronic means.
Machine Readability: Datasets are reasonably structured to allow automated processing, and shared in widely-used file formats that can be easily machine processed.
Non-Discrimination: Datasets released are available to anyone, with no restrictions or requirement of registration.
Use of Commonly Owned (Open) Standards: Datasets are available in a format over which no entity has exclusive control.
Licensing: Datasets are not subject to any copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret regulation. Reasonable privacy, security and privilege restrictions may be allowed as governed by other statutes.
Permanence: Datasets are available online in permanent archives, with appropriate version tracking over time.
Usage Costs: Datasets are available at no or minimal charge to the user.
Helpful Resources
Sunlight Foundation: https://sunlightfoundation.com/policy/documents/ten-open-data-principle…
Open Data Charter: https://opendatacharter.net/principles/
2. https://sunlightfoundation.com/policy/documents/ten-open-data-principle…
There are a number of common misconceptions about open data.
Open data does NOT mean that original data-points can be altered by the user – open data does not allow individual data points to be changed on the original source of publication, e.g. the host website or data portal.
Open data does NOT mean that personal data becomes public – the focus of government open data portals is non-personal data. Open data does not contain information about specific individuals, and identifying features can be removed before data is released publicly.
Open data is NOT a breach of national security – the data supplier, often a government, can choose which data they wish to make open. National security restrictions may apply to some types of data.
Open data is NOT necessarily expensive or difficult – Many off-the-shelf frameworks exist already to support data sharing, and modern cloud-based platforms can prevent the need for large-scale hard-ware investment.
Data presented in PDF reports or written as website text is NOT open – for data to be considered open it has to be shared in a machine-readable format.
While efforts to improve the production, sharing and use of data have been taking place for many years, the need for improvements in data have recently received elevated attention on a global stage. In 2015, 193 member states of the United Nations agreed 17 global goals, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which commit every country to address the root causes of poverty and to ensure that development efforts leave no-one behind. At the heart of this new global development agenda is an acknowledgement that timely, usable data is critical to its implementation and monitoring. The term “data revolution for sustainable development” describes the transformational shift required in the way data is produced, shared and used for the planning, implementing and monitoring of development. This requires radical change in the way that data is harnessed to impact on development decision-making and accountability, with a particular emphasis on building a culture of usage. Open data is a critical part of the Data Revolution. The exponential increase in the volume and types of data will only be of value if it is available to the decision-makers that need it.
Helpful Resources
A World that Counts – United Nations: http://www.undatarevolution.org/data-revolution/, https://www.csis.org/analysis/harnessing-data-revolution-achieve-sustai….
Data Revolution and SDGs: https://www.innovations.harvard.edu/blog/data-revolution-and-sustainabl…
Nepal’s Emerging Data Revolution – Development Initiatives: http://devinit.org/post/insights-into-nepals-emerging-data-revolution/
Around the world governments are taking important steps to promote more open, accountable and responsive governance. These aspirations are also reflected in Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda. A global initiative that is supporting this trend is the 'Open Government Partnership' (OGP). The OGP has supported seventy countries, both in the developed and developing world, to implement plans, policies and practices that support government openness. Nepal is not currently a member of the OGP but is eligible to join.
The OGP is an international partnership of reformers in government and civil society, committed to making governments more transparent, responsive and accountable. To achieve these goals the OGP secures national commitments from governments to promote transparency, encourage civic participation, combat corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. These national commitments aim to make government more open in order to improve public trust in government, promote investment climate and economic growth, and to mitigate the grievances that facilitate conflict and violence. An important feature of the OGP is that it brings governments and civil society organizations together as equal partners in developing national level reforms to promote open and transparent government.
Under the four principles of open government, OGP participating countries declare their commitment to increase the availability of information about governmental activities; support civic participation; implement the highest standards of professional integrity throughout their administrations; and increase access to new technologies for openness and accountability.
Helpful Resources
Open Government Partnership: https://www.opengovpartnership.org
Open Government Data (Book): https://opengovdata.io
Open Government Data: Right to Information 2.0 or its Rollback Version: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2152566
Open Nepal’s Briefing on Open Government Partnership – Case of Nepal: http://opennepal.net/resource/briefing-open-government-partnership-case…
Nepal: Open Government Partnership Readiness Assessment (Accountability Lab): http://www.accountabilitylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/nepalOGP-re…
In Nepal, currently, there no specific open data policies or legal instruments have been adopted. However, in August 2017, the Government of Nepal’s National Information Commission submitted an Open Data Action Plan on Open Government Data to the Prime Minister’s Office. The acceptance of this by the Prime Minister’s Office highlights the intention of the Government of Nepal to support the open data agenda in Nepal.
Without specific legal instruments and policies on open data in Nepal, the open data agenda in Nepal is currently linked to the right to information of Nepali citizens. In Nepal, Article 4 of the Constitution recognizes right to information as a fundamental right of the citizens of Nepal. Every citizen has the right to demand and receive information on any matter of public interest, apart from sensitive information that have been classified as not disclosable. The Right to Information Act, enacted in 2007, legislated this right with the aim of making the functions of the state open, transparent, responsible and accountable to citizens in accordance with the democratic system. Nepal therefore already has a legal framework, and an independent oversight body (the National Information Commission) in place to ensure that information sharing by government exists in Nepal and that citizens can obtain information of public importance.
Open Government Data is aligned with Right to Information in many ways. They are both mechanisms that facilitate the availability of government information, however under the Right to Information mechanism the government responds to individual public requests for information, while under the Open Government Data mechanism the government proactively discloses raw data on a public platform. In Nepal, the Right to Information Act 2007 and the Right to Information Rules 2009 support proactive disclosure of information, and requires public agencies to proactively release information, maintain updated information, and appoint an information officer. While Right to Information will always be a critical facilitator of government transparency and accountability, the concept of Open Government Data can augment this process by enabling that transparency to be used for innovation and economic growth.
There are a number of other legal instruments that support the production, sharing and use of information, for example the Local Self Governance Act 1999, which mandates each of Nepal’s 75 district development committees to have an information and record center for collecting and maintaining local information.
Helpful Resources
Nepal’s Emerging Data Revolution – Development Initiatives: http://devinit.org/post/insights-into-nepals-emerging-data-revolution/
Open Government Data and the Right to Information - Opportunities and Obstacles: http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/952/954
Access to Government Information – Right to Information and Open Government Data Synergy: https://ac.els-cdn.com/S187704281404018X/1-s2.0-S187704281404018X-main…
Open Nepal’s Briefing on Open Government Partnership – Case of Nepal: http://opennepal.net/resource/briefing-open-government-partnership-case…
Open Nepal’s Briefing on Links Between Open Data and RTI: http://opennepal.net/resource/open-nepal-briefing-links-between-open-da…
The term “data ecosystem” is used to describe the interactions and relationships between producers, users, owners and beneficiaries of data and information. The groups that make up the data ecosystem include government, civil society, private sector, academia etc, at all levels – local, national and international. Many of these groups act both as suppliers, users and beneficiaries of data. For a data ecosystem to be functional in meeting all stakeholder needs, there needs to be a reliable supply of good quality, accurate, timely, disaggregated and open data. The release of data needs to be driven by demand and there needs to be capacity and skills for people to use the data.
To communicate data demand to data owners, encourage data producers to share data, and turn the data released into information and knowledge that is useful and meaningful for society, there needs to be a community of “data infomediaries”. This includes data journalists, tech specialists, information freedom advocates, governance experts, social entrepreneurs, and accountability activists, etc. The work of these groups helps ensure data ecosystems are functional, inclusive, impactful and sustainable. Open Nepal is a community of such data infomediaries.
Helpful Resources
Open Data: Driving growth, ingenuity, and innovation – Deloitte: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/deloitte-an…
Nepal’s Emerging Data Revolution – Development Initiatives: http://devinit.org/post/insights-into-nepals-emerging-data-revolution/
Open Data Manual – Open Knowledge Nepal: http://odap.oknp.org/files/Open%20Data%20Book%20Manual.pdf
For information about the sources of open data in Nepal please visit the Open Nepal Data Hub
Intellectual property rights often prevent third parties from using, reusing and redistributing data without explicit permission. Therefore, when planning to make data open it is important to add a license to make it clear that people are free to use your data legally.
Creative Commons Licensing means that anyone is able to use and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. Sometimes these licenses require the need for attribution. This means giving appropriate credit by providing a link to the license and indication of any changes made.
Helpful Resources
Reusers Guide to Open Data Licensing: http://theodi.org/guides/reusers-guide-open-data-licensing
Open Definition Guide to Open Data Licensing: http://opendefinition.org/guide/data/
Conformant Licenses: http://opendefinition.org/licenses/
Making your Data Open, A Guide: http://opendatacommons.org/guide/