Being Open About Data: Analysis of the UK open data policies and applicability of open data

[Use the link above to access the full text report published by the The Finnish Institute. “The Finnish Institute is a London-based private trust. Our mission is to identify emerging issues relevant to contemporary society and to act as catalyst for positive social change through partnerships. We work with artists, researchers, experts and policy makers in the United Kingdom, Finland and the Republic of Ireland to promote strong networks in the fields of culture and society... The Reports of the Finnish Institute in London is a series of publications, which publishes research, studies and results of collaborative projects carried out by the institute. The reports provide evidence and ideas for policymakers and civic society organisations dealing with contemporary social and cultural challenges.”] An excerpt from the Executive Summary reads as follows: “This paper presents an analysis of the recent UK open-data policies and draws an argument on how governments can sustainably promote the development and use of open data. Moreover, research contributes to the ongoing discussion on the normative values of openness by presenting a conceptual analysis of open data as an integral part of the freedom-of information continuum. The key findings can be listed as follows: [1] Key to benefits is the quality of user engagement [2] Open data and its objectives should be addressed as a part of the freedom-of-information continuum [3] The decision to emphasise the release of expenditure data was not ideal: governments do not know best what kind of data people want to have and should aim at releasing it all [4] Leadership, trust and IT knowledge are crucial, not only political leadership but within organisations too [5] The social and democratic impacts of open data are still unclear and in future there is a need for sector-specific research Research was conducted from September 2011 to January 2012, mostly by semistructured interviews of key experts and analysis of the government policies. Starting point for the research was to primarily address the applicability of open data: how data is being used and what kind of benefits is it possible to identify from the data use. During the research process it became evident, however, that open data as a concept is so diverse that a mere analysis of data use would be insufficient in order to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Open data is applied in various ways with lots of small-scale success stories available, mostly in the form of mobile-phone or web applications. These apps and websites –as innovative and useful as they are – are yet not the key issue when addressing the overall value of open data. These services make everyday life of citizens a tiny bit easier, and when accumulated they may result in significant economic benefits. However, the open-data community has also been vocal about the potential positive impacts on democracy. These impacts are significantly harder to identify and need more research in order to produce comprehensive and reliable results. In addition, we must realise the difference between transparency and democracy oriented goals that are usually associated with the freedom-of-information movement and the technology and innovation-oriented goals of the open-data movement.Key to further benefits, whether economic or democratic, is more education and improved user engagement – of both citizens and public officials. The level of knowledge and understanding of open data is currently rather low, and most data producers don’t yet see the potential benefits that lie in open data. Equally, individual citizens are not necessarily capable of using datasets as the threshold for accessing and using raw datasets effectively is, at times, quite high...”