IASSIST 2007 Montreal, May , 2007 Session A2 Open Data and the Common Good Technology Solutions for Difficult Challenges Pascal Heus Open Data Foundation

Open Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 Managing open data is challenging! We are in charge of the data. We support our users but also need to protect our respondents! We want easy access to high quality and well documented data! We need to collect the information from the producers, preserve it, and provide access to our users! Producers Librarians Users General Public Policy Makers Sponsors Media/Press Academic Business Government We have an information management problem

Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 What is open data? Answer the needs of producers and users Fit for use and purpose (high quality): –coherent, consistent, exhaustive, timely, relevant, etc. Accessible –Discovery, Retrieval Safe and Secure –Physical access is under control / log –Respondents are protected Well documented –High quality metadata for casual users, researchers, producers and policy makers –Meets the replication standard –Based on accepted standards / specifications

Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 XML Solutions Producers Librarians Users General Public Policy Makers Media/PressAcademicBusinessGovernment Sponsors XML Specs Use our specifications and your will be happy! It will harmonize everything. Great, I can provide public metadata! Well documented data, here we come! Now we can talk to each other!

Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 The need for Tools We produce data not tools! We dont have the expertise. We use data and software but we dont build tools! We dont have the expertise We preserve and disseminate data not software! We dont have the expertise Producers Librarians Users XML Specs We set specifications and standards. Tools are not our mandate Open Data Foundation

Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 Open Data Foundation The need for Tools Mandated to develop tools Provide cross-domain expertise in ICT and statistics Provide umbrella for coordinated development Ensure inter-operability Outline harmonized architecture and environment Promote open source / maximize reusability Build global registries Assume liability Resources/Fund raising …

Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 ODaF Vision Promote and facilitate the production and use of open data –Public metadata, high quality, fully documented, respondent protected, easy to find, accessible in accordance to statistical principles and legislations Foster a global harmonized framework –Facilitate the flow of data and metadata –Promotes dialog between all stakeholders Unlock the Data!

Data Foundation – IASSIST 2007 Open Data and the Common Good Data Confidentiality and the Common Good Julia Lane and Kyle Fennel National Opinion Research Center The Open Data Environment Chuck Humphrey Canada Research Data Center University of Alberta Walking the Wire: How Technology Helps Us Achieve the Correct Balance Arofan Gregory and Jostein Ryssevik Open Data Foundation